EDITOR'S NOTE: This year, The Augusta Chronicle marks its 225th birthday by remembering some of the off-the-course history from the first full week of April.
The April 8, 1851, issue of The Chronicle reported an act of lasting civic charity that would have a positive influence on generations to come.
It also set up a unique civic relationship.
First the charity.
John Houghton, a Richmond County man of financial accomplishment who died almost 16 decades ago, was determined to share his fortune as best he could.
Here's how it was reported: "The late John W. Houghton, who by his frugality and economy, had accumulated a handsome competency, has not been unmindful of the duties which he owed society; and with a liberality, which will lend his name down to posterity, as one of the benefactors of his race, has bequeathed to the cause of education an amount sufficient to educate for all time, every child of the First Ward, if it be prudently managed."
For the record, the First Ward was the political district down around what we now call Olde Town.
Also for the record, the amount Houghton donated that was expected to last "for all time" was $4,000.
"His name," the newspaper continued to report, "is therefore destined to be embalmed in the memories of thousands yet unborn."
That phrasing would be prophetic.
Here's why.
The school Mr. Houghton's money built -- Houghton Institute, which became Houghton Elementary -- burned in the great Augusta fire of 1916. It was quickly rebuilt in the 300 block of Greene Street by Augusta's most prolific architect, Lloyd Preacher.
And then school officials took things one step stranger -- they moved Mr. Houghton's body from a cemetery in Gracewood and buried it under the tiles of the new school's lobby.
It's not certain when the first ghost stories began to float about, but there were plenty 84 years later when the proud old school closed over the Christmas holidays in 2000.
Changing neighborhood patterns forced the county to send the Houghton pupils to Craig Elementary, on Fourth Street.
Mr. Houghton stayed behind. As a school spokesman said at the time, relatives would have to be found before they moved his body, and nobody was sure where they lived.
The school stayed empty for a few years. There was talk of turning the old building with its Alamo-esque appearance into condos, but nothing materialized.
Then something else happened.
A new inner city private school -- Heritage Academy -- moved in.
It describes itself on its Web site as a "unique urban Christian school committed to making a quality Christian education available to children from racially, ethnically, socially and economically diverse families."
Tuition is based on income, and families from across the economic spectrum send their children to Heritage, school officials say.
"It was very clear from his will that he was an evangelical Christian," said Linda Tucciarone, the executive director. "He particularly cared about children in families without the means of having access to quality education.
"With all that in mind, we believe we're continuing his legacy here. Because he was Christian, we provide a Christian education, which is in line with the education of that time. Our primary target is to provide educational freedom to low- and moderate-income families."
Apparently, the spirit of John Houghton still lives.
The school started in 2001 at a small church on Sibley Street with 10 kindergarten students.
Heritage Academy moved to the Houghton School building, 333 Greene St., in 2006 and serves 118 students in grades K through eight.
Parents pay tuition for the private school based on their income. The tuition pays for 18 percent of the operational costs, and the remainder is covered by donors.
The school has the capacity to serve 150 students.
By 2011, a $300,000 renovation to the second floor of the building on Greene Street will allow Heritage Academy to reach 200 potential students.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
Back 
