Our goal is excellence--and striving to reach that goal must be a cooperative effort on the part of students, teachers, and parents. Our faculty, highly competent and professional, is looking forward to working with each of you and assisting you in every educational adventure.

Palmer-Stone is an excellent school and will be whatever we make it. Be proud of it and take good care of it.

Oxford had a college, Emory, before it even became a town; but it had no elementary school until 1839, three years after Emory was chartered. In that year under the influence and recommendation of Dr. Few, Mr. Patrick H. Mell of South Georgia opened a school in the kitchen of Mr. William Mell. The school continued for three years until the Chapel-Academy could be finished and was located a few steps from the present site of the Old Church.

There were other village schools, one of which was taught by Mrs. George G. Smith in the basement of the former Dr. Frank Williams' residence; a later community school was taught by Ms. Hayes. There was also an Oxford Female Academy (1840), which boys attending Emory's Preparatory School were allowed to attend until it closed during the War Between the States. In "Oxford Echoes" we find the following evidence of Palmer Institute's establishment prior to the War Between the States: "coming now to the story of 'Old Palmer Institute,' the first name I find is that of Miss Johnson, a well-schooled lady from the North, who was teaching at Palmer, when Sherman's army marched through Georgia."