In a community known around the world for its marble, one of Tate’s most recognizable landmarks has spent nearly a century shaping something even more lasting: generations of students.
Tate School is preparing to celebrate its 100th year, marking 1927–2027 with a yearlong look back at the people, memories and milestones that have made the school an enduring part of the Tate community.
The centennial celebration, themed “100 Years of Learning, 100 Years of Legacy,” will recognize far more than the age of a building. It will celebrate the students who learned inside its classrooms, the educators who taught them, the families who supported them and a community whose history has long been intertwined with the school.
A School Built into the Story of Tate
Education has deep roots in Tate, stretching back well before the current school was constructed. In the early 1900s, Colonel Sam Tate, president of the Georgia Marble Company, was a strong supporter of education in the community. He helped support local schools and teachers and encouraged educational opportunities for local students.
After an earlier school building was lost to fire, a new school was constructed using locally quarried Georgia marble. The building opened in 1927 as Tate High School and would eventually become what is now Tate Elementary School.
Nearly 100 years later, the marble school remains one of the community’s most recognizable landmarks - and for many families, one of its most personal.
Generations have walked the same halls. Parents and grandparents can point to classrooms, teachers and school traditions they remember from their own childhoods. Former students have returned as parents, employees and community supporters. While the world outside the school has changed dramatically since 1927, Tate School has continued to connect one generation to the next.
Celebrating the Past - and the Next Chapter
Tate School’s history does not belong to the school alone.
It belongs to the thousands of students who have passed through its doors, the teachers and staff members who have served there, and the families and community members who have supported the school for generations.
The 100th anniversary provides an opportunity to look back, but Tate School’s centennial is also about looking forward.
The marble walls that welcomed students in 1927 continue to welcome children today. New generations are creating their own friendships, traditions and stories inside a building filled with the memories of those who came before them.
As Tate School approaches its centennial, the community is invited to help celebrate 100 years of students, 100 years of educators, 100 years of memories - and 100 years of learning and legacy.
Community members can follow the celebration, explore Tate School history and share their own stories through the Tate 100 section of the Tate Elementary School website.