The Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical (A & M) School was established to educate rural youth in 1906 by the Georgia General Assembly. It operated from 1908-1933 in Carroll County. In 1933 the A & M School was disbanded and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents established West Georgia College, now known as the University of West Georgia, at the site.
In January 1929, Aggies, the student magazine, reported that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then governor of New York, was to deliver the final commencement speech of the decade. Roosevelt had a home in Warm Springs and was invited by his neighbor and A & M Trustee Judge H. H. Revill.
In April 1929, Delano rescinded his acceptance, citing his health and the orders of his doctor in a letter to Dr Ingram, principal of the school. Despite this, Roosevelt was able to make the journey across Georgia to make the commencement.
On May 8, 1929, "Governor Roosevelt came, saw, and conquered Carrollton," according to the Carroll County Times. Though the speech was schedule for a field on campus, rain forced the proceedings to move to the Tabernacle Baptist Church. This building, at the corner of Bradley and West Center Streets near the modern Carrollton City Hall, had a capacity of 1400 people. That capacity proved too small as chairs lined the aisles and people stood around the walls. After the speech, Roosevelt shook hands with the 57 boy and girl graduates and then attended a barbecue hosted by the Carrollton Civilians organization.
This event is commemorated on the Georgia Historical Marker on Front Campus Drive.