On this day in 1785, the Georgia General Assembly incorporated the first state-funded institution of higher education in the newly independent United States. The prior year, the assembly had set aside 40,000 acres from which they aimed to earn the money to endow the institution. In 1786, Yale University alumnus Abraham Baldwin was chosen as president, and the school's charter was hammered out. In 1801, John Milledge, future governor of Georgia, donated over 600 acres along the Oconee River (in present-day Athens) to serve as the site of the new university. Three years later, the school graduated the first class. The new institution's first name was Franklin College, in homage to Benjamin Franklin, and modeled its architecture and pedagogy after that of Yale University. Now known as The University of Georgia, its shift from religious tolerance to gender equity and racial integration was a gradual one. It wouldn't admit women until 1918, the same year President Wo...

Last week, we kicked off our special series on haunted hotels by spotlighting The Admiral Fell Inn in Baltimore, Maryland. Now we travel south to the Marshall House in Savannah, Georgia. Like The Admiral Fell Inn, it made TripAdvisor's list of the top 10 haunted hotels in the U.S. Set on Broughton Street, in the heart of Savannah's historic district, the property melds period features like 19th century doors and original staircases with modern conveniences like WiFi and flat screen TVs. In addition to its 65 well-appointed guestrooms, it boasts a library at which guests can enjoy complimentary wine and cheese, an Atrium with glass ceiling, and a restaurant that serves fresh local cuisine. On April 1, 2000, The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation named The Marshall House a National Historic Building. The property is named after its original proprietor, Mary Leaver Marshall. She married Colonel James Marshall -- a Second Lieutenant in the Savannah Volunteer Guard (SV...