Penfield, Georgia, United States was established shortly after 1829 in Greene County, and named in honor of Josiah Penfield (1785–1828), a

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

merchant and silversmith from

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

, who bequeathed $2,500 and a financial challenge to the Georgia Baptist Convention to match his gift for educational purposes.Historic Rural Churches"
– ''Georgia Backroads'' (Winter 2021) The convention, led by Billington Sanders, organized a manual labor school which opened in 1833 as Mercer Institute (renamed

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

in 1837), in honor of Rev. Jesse Mercer of Greene County, a major contributor to the

matching gift Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used inter ...

request. As the university grew, a Female Academy (1838), post office, bank, mercantile stores, print shops, Male Academy Preparatory School (1847), hosiery mill, and cotton warehouses opened on the 450 areas that surrounded the campus. Residential housing, influenced by the requirement that homes provide housing for students, added to the charm of this typical southern community. Before long, the ''Christian Index'', ''Temperance Banner'', ''Georgia Illustrated Magazine'' and ''The Orion'' were all being published in Penfield. Hard times brought on by the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, however, initiated the school's move to Macon in 1871 and the village of Penfield survived on the strength of the

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

industry. Today, the village of Penfield is distinguished by the

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

of Old Mercer Chapel, community churches, town cemetery, and Victorian homes that flourished until 1919 when the prosperity built during the "Cotton Era" was ended by the boll weevil. Ruins of the town's mercantile buildings, bank, post office and Mercer Institute's (science building, dormitory, Phi Delta Literary Society Hall, Ciceronian Hall and others) can be seen next to the still-functioning chapel located just above the old town square along East Main Street. Penfield Cemetery, located a short distance from Penfield Road, on the North end of Cemetery Road, holds the remains of many community leaders. One is noted Baptist minister Jesse Mercer, namesake of the university. Another is (Frances) Etta Colclough Whelchel, a member of the first class of women to graduate from the University of Georgia, who was instrumental in founding the university's first Y.W.C.A. branch and served as its first president, and later ran the Colclough family's Penfield farm. In 1976, the village of Penfield was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in recognition of its contributions to architecture, education and religion from 1825 to 1874. The area now known as the Penfield Historic District comprises 305 acres (1.2 km), including Old Mercer Chapel (now Penfield Baptist Church), Sanders Chapel, Penfield Presbyterian Church, Penfield Cemetery and over a dozen notable houses. Behind the wall of the Penfield Cemetery, lies a slave cemetery. There are some markers still standing, mostly indentations on the ground, and unless you walk down and look over the fence of the nice manicured lawn, you wouldn't even know it's there. The road to it has been blocked. The Penfield Historic District is located north of

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

on GA 5925 (commonly known as Penfield Road). Directions: From

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

travel east on Interstate 20 approximately to Greensboro (exit 130). Exiting the interstate, turn left onto GA-44/ Lake Oconee Parkway. Follow GA-44 into Greensboro. Turn right at the first traffic light onto East Broad St./ GA-12/GA-15. Turn left at first traffic light onto N. East St. for . N. East St. becomes Penfield Rd./GA 5925. Follow Penfield Rd. into Penfield.

References

* ''History of Greene County, Georgia'' 1786–1886 by Thaddeus Brockett Rice and Carolyn White Williams( Washington, GA: Wilkes Publishing Co., Inc., 1973) * ''Penfield Driving Tour'' brochure produced by Penfield House and Gardens for the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, 118 North Main Street, Greensboro, GA 30642 *

.com - Registration #76000637 http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ga/greene/state.html * ''Greetings from a co-ed''by Carol Bishop, Beyond the Pages, Volume 20 Fall 2014, page 16. https://www.libs.uga.edu/development/newsletter/beyondthepages_f14_final_lo.pdf {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Greene County, Georgia Unincorporated communities in Georgia (U.S. state)