Athens, Georgia is a consolidated city-county located about an hour northeast of Atlanta. It is home to the University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university. In the late 18th century, a trading settlement called Cedar Shoals existed where Athens is now located. The university was chartered in 1785 and the town of Athens began to develop around it. Today, Athens is known for its college football culture as the home of the Georgia Bulldogs team, which has been playing since 1892 and is currently having a successful season.

1. THE CITY OF ATHENS, GA

2. ABOUT ATHENS, GA?
• Athens (formally known as Athens-Clarke County) is a
consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Georgia, in the
northeastern part of the state about an hour's drive from the
global city of Atlanta. It comprises the former city of Athens
proper (the county seat) and Clarke County. The University of
Georgia, the state's flagship public research university, is
located in this college town, and contributed to its initial
growth. In 1991, after a vote the preceding year, the original
city abandoned its charter to form a unified government with
Clarke County, referred to jointly as Athens-Clarke County.

3. THEIR COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM (UGA)
• The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the
University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The
Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern
Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their
home games at historic Sanford Stadium on the university's
Athens, Georgia, campus. Georgia's inaugural season was in
1892. And right now they’re doing awesome this season, they
are 1st in their SEC East division and they are (9-1). GO
DAWGS!!!!!!

4. HISTORY OF ATHENS, GA
• In the late 18th century, a trading settlement on the banks of the
Oconee River called Cedar Shoals stood where Athens is located
today. On January 27, 1785, the Georgia General Assembly granted a
charter by Abraham Baldwin for the University of Georgia as the first
state-supported university. Sixteen years later, in 1801, a committee
from the university's board of trustees selected a site for the
university on a hill above Cedar Shoals, in what was then Jackson
County. On July 25, John Milledge, one of the trustees and later
governor of Georgia, bought 633 acres (256 ha) from Daniel Easley
and donated it to the university.

5. HISTORY OF ATHENS, GA (CONT.)
• The first buildings on the University of Georgia campus were
made from logs. The town grew as lots adjacent to the college
were sold to raise money for the additional construction of the
school. By the time the first class graduated from the university
in 1804, Athens consisted of three homes, three stores, and a
few other buildings facing Front Street, now known as Broad
Street. Completed in 1806 and named in honor of Benjamin
Franklin, Franklin College was the first permanent structure of
the University of Georgia and of the city of Athens. This brick
building is now known as Old College.

6. HISTORY OF ATHENS, GA (CONT.)
• During the American Civil War, Athens became a significant
supply center when the New Orleans armory was relocated
there to what is now called the Chicopee building. Fortifications
can still be found along parts of the North Oconee River
between College and Oconee St. In addition, Athens played a
small part in the ill-fated Stoneman's Raid when a skirmish was
fought on a site overlooking the Middle Oconee River near what
is now the old Macon Highway. As in many southern towns,
there is a Confederate memorial. It is located on Broad Street,
near the University of Georgia Arch.