![BGA Quadrangle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/BGA_Quadrangle.jpg)
Battle Ground Academy (BGA) is an independent college-preparatory school for grades K-12. BGA is located in
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...
, US. Founded in 1889, the school was originally located in part on the site of the
Battle of Franklin in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. BGA has two campuses. The Harpeth Campus is located on Franklin Road in the historic
Cox House and is home to Grades K-4. The Glen Echo campus is centered on historic plantation house
Glen Echo and is located off
Mack Hatcher Parkway and is home to grades 5 to 12.
History
![Cox House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Cox_House.JPG)
Battle Ground Academy was established in 1889, and it was named for its original location during the Civil War Battle of Franklin.
The first campus was erected at the corner of Columbia Avenue and Cleburne Street. S. V. Wall and W. D. Mooney were chosen as the first to lead the new academy. In 1902, the original school building burned at which time the school was relocated to Columbia Avenue in Franklin.
BGA was established to educate boys originally and girls began to attend some time later. The school operated as a
day school
A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...
though students came from outside the local area to attend. They
boarded in private homes until the first dormitory was built in 1922. At this time, BGA evolved to become a
boarding and
day school.
After the construction of the first dormitory, the decision was made to change to an all-male student body. The departure of the last girl students in 1929 ushered in a half-century when BGA was a
boys' school.
In the early 1970s, the boarding program was phased out. BGA once again welcomed girls to its student body. At present, the female enrollment accounts for approximately 50 percent of the student body.
In 1996, the location of the Battle Ground Academy Upper School changed to the current site on Ernest Rice Lane (off of Mack Hatcher Parkway). In 2003, the Middle School joined the Upper School on the Glen Echo campus. Additionally, in 1998, Battle Ground Academy acquired the former Harpeth Academy. This became the BGA Lower School on Franklin Road. Currently, the school operates with two physical campuses and has three divisions: Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School.
Student Honors
The BGA Artist Guild was established in 1987. As the Guild grew in size and prestige, the group began to have public performances. Guild Night has become a tradition for parents and students each year.. Board of Trust Merit Scholarships are provided to some of BGA's most promising incoming freshmen. This scholarship program was established in 2005 to recognize outstanding academic performance.
Digamma is an in-school honor society. Members are BGA students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors having a cumulative academic GPA of 3.1.
Notable alumni
*
C. J. Beathard
Casey Jarrett "C. J." Beathard ( ; born November 16, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and was drafted in the third round of the 201 ...
'12,
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
quarterback
*
Tucker Beathard
Tucker Russell Beathard ( ; born January 24, 1995) is an American country music singer and songwriter. A son of songwriter Casey Beathard, Beathard was signed to Dot Records, Dot Records, a subsidiary of Big Machine Records in 2015 where he rel ...
'14,
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer
*
Paul Woodrow "Woody Paul" Chrisman '67,
fiddle player
The following lists of violinists are available:
* List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards
* List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists
* List of violinist/compose ...
and
nuclear physicist
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
Ph.D. Nuclear Physics, member of
Riders in the Sky
*
Earnest H. “Josh” Cody 1911, college athlete,
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
and
athletics director
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...
*
W. Wirt Courtney
William Wirt Courtney (September 7, 1889 – April 6, 1961) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.
Biography
Born in Franklin, Tennessee, Courtney was the son of Wirt Courtney and Anne (Neely) Courtney. He graduate ...
1907,
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
*
Troy Fleming
Troy Majors Fleming (born October 1, 1980 in Franklin, Tennessee) is a former American football fullback. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee.
Earl ...
'99,
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
fullback
*
McGavock Dickinson "Mac" Gayden '58,
song writer
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
and singer
*
Bob Harris '44,
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player
*
Orrin H. Ingram II
Orrin H. Ingram II (born July 5, 1960) is an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and polo player. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Ingram Industries and the chairman of Ingram Barge Company.
Early life
Orrin H. Ingram II was bor ...
'78, businessman
*
Douglas S. Jackson '72, former
Tennessee State Senator
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...
and
attorney
*
Joe Jenkins
Joseph Daniel Jenkins (October 12, 1890 – June 21, 1974) was an American right-handed Major League Baseball catcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1914 and the Chicago White Sox in 1917 and 1919.
Jenkins was born in Shelbyville, Tennes ...
, Major League Baseball catcher for the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
and
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
*
Mike Keith '86, radio announcer for the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
*
Wendell Mayes
Wendell Curran Mayes (July 21, 1919 – March 28, 1992) was a Hollywood screenwriter.
Background
Wendell Curran Mayes was born on July 21, 1919, in Hayti, Missouri. His father, Von Mayes, was a lawyer, and his mother, Irene (née Haynes), w ...
, screenwriter
*
John P. Newsome,
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
*
George Plaster George Plaster (born May 7, 1959 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a former collegiate sports administrator and a sports broadcasting personality. He previously served as associate athletic director at Belmont University. In May 2019 it was announced that ...
'78,
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
sports radio personality
*
Natalie Stovall '00,
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist
Notes
External links
BGA website
{{authority control
1889 establishments in Tennessee
Buildings and structures in Franklin, Tennessee
Preparatory schools in Tennessee
Private K-12 schools in Tennessee
Schools in Williamson County, Tennessee