History of Emerald Hill and PACE Alumni Center:

High on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Red and Cumberland rivers stands Emerald Hill — the home of Austin Peay State University's National Alumni Association. Listed in the National Register of Historic Sites, the history of the mansion is as rich as the traditions of the University.

For generations, Emerald Hill was the home of the Henry family. During his lifetime, Gustavus Henry (1804-1880), an attorney and civic leader, served as a member of the Kentucky legislature and later as a member of the Tennessee Assembly. He became known as the "Eagle Orator of Tennessee" because of his power of oratory and persuasiveness in hours of crisis.

Successive generations held title to the home until Patrick Henry Cross became the last member of the Henry family to inherit it. Childless, he and his wife, the former Mary Frances Pennebaker, deeded the property to Austin Peay in 1966 with the understanding that it would continue to be known as Emerald Hill.

Over the years, the house has undergone three phases of construction: the original simple farmhouse of the 1820s, the improved Gothic structure of the late 1800s, and the addition of the neo-classical section in 1909.

Through the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Pace, the Candlelight Ball Committee, the Montgomery County Alumni Chapter, Mr. and Mrs. John Wallace, the Trane Support Group, and many other alumni and friends, a year-long restoration and renovation of the historic building was completed in April 2002. Extensive interior and exterior repairs included foundation work, re-roofing, replacement windows, bathroom renovations, new plumbing and electrical wiring, complete heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, masonry restoration, drywall work, and painting. The project also included the removal and replacement of the original portion of the house because of major structural damage and masonry deterioration that precluded its continued use.

The stately new entrance gates, completed in January 2000, honor the classes of 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, and 1979. These classes designated their reunion gifts to the gate construction. The winding drive leading up to the mansion has been named Hollis Lane in memory of Ricky Hollis. The work on the drive was donated by Hollis and Hollis Trucking and McIntosh Paving.

The refurbished Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill continues to provide a safe, comfortable gathering place. Emerald Hill has always been a family home, and it still will be--your home. The name given to the property by Gustavus A. Henry was appropriate: it was and still is an emerald hill.

History of Austin Peay State University:

It's taken almost 200 years to get here.

The charter for what we know as the Austin Peay State University may have been signed in 1927, but this campus has been a home for education far predating APSU. The university's urban campus has stood in downtown Clarksville for more than 180 years and has housed five educational colleges:

• Rural Academy, 1806-1810
• Mt. Pleasant Academy, 1811-1824
• Clarksville Academy, 1825-1848
• Masonic College, 1849-1850
• Montgomery County Masonic College, 1851-1854
• Stewart College, 1855-1874
• Southwestern Presbyterian University, 1875-1925
• Austin Peay Normal School/State College/State University, 1927-present
• The Castle Building, an architectural wonder pictured in the gallery below, stood on campus from 1850-1948.

Beginning a Legacy of Leadership

The University began as Austin Peay Normal School when it was created as a two-year junior college and teacher-training institution by the Act of the General Assembly of 1927 and named in honor of Governor Austin Peay, who was serving his third term of office when the school was established. Limited in purposes and resources initially, the school gradually grew in stature over the years to take its place among the colleges and universities under the control of the State Board of Education.

In 1939, the State Board of Education authorized the school to inaugurate a curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The degree was first conferred on the graduating class at the 1942 Spring Convocation. By Act of the Tennessee Legislature of February 4, 1943, the name of the school was changed to Austin Peay State College. In 1951, the State Board authorized the College to confer the Bachelor of Arts degree and, in 1952, to offer graduate study leading to the degree of Master of Arts in Education. At the November 1966 meeting, the State Board of Education conferred university status on the College, effective September 1, 1967. In February 1967, the State Board of Education authorized the University to confer the Master of Arts and the Master of Science degrees. In 1968, associate degrees were approved. The State Board of Education relinquished its governance of higher education institutions to the Tennessee State Board of Regents in 1972.

In 1974, the Tennessee State Board of Regents authorized the Bachelor of Fine Arts and the Education Specialist Degrees. In 1979, the Bachelor of Business Administration degree was approved as a replacement for traditional B.A. and B.S. degrees in various fields of business. In 1979, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree was approved. In 1983, the Tennessee State Board of Regents approved the Master of Music degree and Master of Arts in Education. In 2001, the Tennessee State Board of Regents authorized the Bachelor of Professional Studies.

F-3 Tornado rattles APSU, Clarksville communities

In the early morning hours of January 22, 1999, an F-3 tornado struck downtown Clarksville and the APSU campus. The Clement, Harned, Harvill, and Archwood Buildings were severely damaged, while many others suffered broken windows and roof damage. Fortunately, no one was killed. Some 130 shattered trees littered the campus and added to the gloomy sight of shattered buildings. The University quickly initiated "Operation Restoration," with a commitment to have classes reopen within one week. Many heavily damaged buildings were reopened within one year.

Modern-day APSU educates the next generation of leaders

Today, Austin Peay offers exceptional graduate and undergraduate programs to more than 10,000 students, and the 2016 acquisition of more than 10 acres has expanded the campus deeper into downtown Clarksville. In 2016, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the FOCUS Act, changing the governance structure of higher education in Tennessee and calling for the establishment of an institutional Board of Trustees for Austin Peay and the other five universities previously governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents. On March 30, 2017, the University’s inaugural Board of Trustees held its first meeting on the APSU campus.

During its history, eleven presidents and four interim presidents have served the institution:

• John S. Ziegler, 1929-1930
• Philander P. Claxton, 1930-1946
• Halbert Harvill, 1946-1962
• Earl E. Sexton (Interim), Sept.-Dec. 1962
• Joe Morgan, 1963-1976
• Robert O. Riggs, 1976-1987
• Oscar C. Page, 1988-1994
• Richard G. Rhoda (Interim), July-Oct. 1994
• Sal D. Rinella, 1994-2000
• Sherry L. Hoppe (Interim), 2000-2001
• Sherry L. Hoppe, 2001-2007
• Timothy L. Hall, 2007-2014
• Tristan Denley (Interim), May-June 2014
• Alisa R. White, 2014-2020
• Dannelle Whiteside (Interim), 2020-2021
• Michael Licari, 2021-present

Who was Austin Peay?

Based on Austin Peay - A Brief Biography by T. H. Alexander

Austin Peay (June 1, 1876-Oct. 2, 1927) served as governor of Tennessee from 1923 until his death. Austin Peay State University was named in his honor in 1929, and the University continues to honor Tennessee governors through the naming of buildings on campus, as well as the governor mascot and APSU’s “Governors” athletic teams.

Early Life

Austin Peay was born June 1, 1876, to former Confederate cavalryman Austin Peay Sr. and his wife, Cornelia Leavell Peay, near Hopkinsville Ky.

Although he started college life at Washington and Lee in Virginia, he went to Centre College in Danville, Ky., the next year to be closer to home. He became a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity and kept the old key to his room at Centre until he died. At 19, after his graduation from Centre and his admission to the bar at Hopkinsville, Peay married Sally Hurst of Clarksville. They had two children, Austin and Amaryllis.

For six years, Austin Peay worked at his law practice. Then in 1901, he was elected to the Tennessee’s House of Representatives to represent Montgomery County. His battle against Gen. Lawrence D. Tyson, of Knoxville, over who would be the speaker of the House was one of the most spectacular deadlocks in state history. They battled for 100 ballots before Peay lost. Peay served two terms in the Tennessee legislature and became chairman of the Democratic state executive committee.

Becoming Governor

At 30, Peay returned to his law practice in Clarksville. The practice grew so large that financially, he thought he might have to make the sacrifice of holding the governorship sooner than he’d expected. He lost the race for governor in 1918 and refused to run in 1920.

However, when the state’s financial situation became desperate, Peay decided to run for governor in 1922. Peay stressed tax reform, the completion of the long-delayed state highway system, the lengthening of the public school term, and the building of more schools. He called by name the state officials with whose services his administration would dispense. He promised a return to ordered and responsible government, the elimination of deficits through the economy and budgeting.

People rallied to him. Here, at last, was a candidate for high office who not only told exactly what he intended to do but how he would do it. It meant nothing short of a revolution in state government. In November 1922, Austin Peay won by a majority of almost 40,000, breaking all records in a gubernatorial race.

Fixing the State Government

The day after his election, Austin Peay went to work, studying state finances and mapping out his program for the legislature. He devised a plan of consolidating the state bureaus and agencies under a few heads, thus eliminating a number of officeholders and at the same time bringing the state employees in groups under a responsible commissioner. The resulting administrative reorganization bill gathered 64 governmental bureaus and re-grouped them under eight heads, after eliminating some of them entirely. It made it possible for the state to live within its income and avoid deficits by reducing expenditures and creating a state budget system.

The legislature then proceeded to redeem the remainder of the pre-election pledges. The back tax machine, which had long preyed on people of the state, was abolished. The sliding scale law was repealed. The state tax on land was reduced.

Soon, a large surplus began to pile up in the treasury, and the state was able to pay off $1 million on the state debt. In cities and towns from the mountains to the river, there was amazed talk among citizens that here was a public official who did exactly what he said he would do. There was a new feeling among state employees. The dead wood had been chopped out, and the state enjoyed prosperity.

Dreaming of a Greater Tennessee

After he was re-elected in 1924, Peay convinced the new legislature to pass the tobacco tax. Turning to the huge lobby that had assembled to defeat the proposed tax, at the public hearing that night, Governor Peay asked: "Who will speak tonight for the children in our rural country, hungering for an education? Who will speak for those sad and mindless waifs scattered throughout our state and destitute of hope and home?… Who will voice the humanity and aspirations of Tennessee tonight?"

Support for the tobacco tax made the general education bill possible. Within three years after its passage, every county in Tennessee had a minimum eight-month school term. The Legislature of 1925 also enacted into law Peay’s dreams of a great park in the Smoky Mountains and a game preserve at Reelfoot Lake.

His Legacy

Peay had suffered for years with high blood pressure and an overworked heart. After an outpouring of public support, Peay decided to run for a third term in 1926 and won. But on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 2, 1927, as he rested at the executive mansion, the years of overwork and worry took their toll. The governor was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage and died.

What is the legacy of Austin Peay? He reorganized state government, which included establishing what is now the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). His education bill brought eight-month school terms to every Tennessee county. And we enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Reelfoot Lake State Park largely due to his foresight.