Charles Guy Cordle

Charles Guy Cordle was born in Littleton, North Carolina in 1894.  He graduated from Littleton High School and attended Duke University (then known as Trinity College), where he graduated as Valedictorian, the only Summa Cum Laude graduate, in 1914. At Trinity, he was a member of the Columbian Literary Society, the Physics Club, and the Classical Club. He was also chosen as a member of the college’s first Honors Society, a membership reserved for only the very top percentage of students. He also participated in track and was a member of the Varsity Team in his junior and senior years. He continued at Trinity, earning a master’s degree in Language.  In 1915, he became a Latin Teaching Assistant. Afterwards, he taught German for a year at Baird’s School for Boys, in Charlotte, NC.

 

In 1916, the Academy of Richmond County announced the hiring of Charles Cordle for the upcoming school year to teach German and History. With the exception of  a year of military service in France during World War I, he spent the next forty-five years at the Academy and its offspring, the Junior College of Augusta. He married Augustan Minnie Letitia Clarke of Windsor Springs and they had three children. His son Clarke and younger daughter Margaret were ARC graduates, while daughter Esther graduated from Tubman High School for Girls.

 

Cordle was an active teacher at Richmond, teaching German and History. For thirteen of his early years, he served as a track coach. When the Junior College of Augusta was founded in 1925, he began teaching courses at that level as well as for the Academy. He taught both while they were housed together, and his favor and prestige flourished.

 

In 1955, he appeared on the national television show “On Your Account” after the nomination of former student Leslie Youngblood, who credited Cordle with helping him get a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University and being a special teacher who had changed his life.

 

When the Junior College moved to the old arsenal property, he was one of the teachers chosen for the college level. He became the chair of the Social Science Department. In 1961, the college yearbook was dedicated to him, and the institution had a “Charles Cordle Day” upon his retirement that June.

 

Cordle was a genuine scholar.  In 1935, he received a second M.A. degree, this one in history, from the University of Georgia.  His thesis was entitled, “An Antebellum Academy: The Academy of Richmond County 1783-1863.” Over the years, he published numerous articles in scholarly journals, including the Richmond County History Journal, the Georgia Historical Quarterly, and the Southern Association Journal. His chronicle, Augusta: 1540 to 1895,  was published in 1935 for the city’s bicentennial. An article in the Augusta Chronicle in 1938 said he was “well known not only as an impressive teacher but as a scholar of broad training and ability.” He was a long-time proofreader for the Augusta Chronicle and wrote occasional columns analyzing current events. He was an officer of the Georgia Society for Historical Research.

 

Despite all his work as a scholar and teacher, Cordle saved valuable time by remaining active in the Augusta Community. Over the years, he made dozens of speeches to civic, charitable, educational, and historical organizations. He was involved with the Young Men’s Library Association, the Battey Post of the American Legion, and the City of Augusta Bicentennial Commission. He was a Cub Scout Master at Monte Sano School. He was a founding director of the Richmond County Historical Society in 1946, serving as the historical researcher and an officer.  He was also a member of the Beech Island Agricultural Club and did research on the organization’s history. His devotion to learning and commitment to the community sealed his fame as an important, devoted Augustan.