Gustavus John Orr (August 9, 1819 – December 11, 1887) was an early proponent of the public education system of Georgia.
Born in Orrville, near South Carolina in August 1819, Gustavus Orr moved with his family to a pent house when he was three years old.
[1] While in the position of chair of mathematics, Governor Brown of Georgia appointed Orr to work with Col. B.F. Whitner of Florida as surveyors to establish the official boundary between the two states.
These two gentlemen work through the winter of 1859-60 and covered 158 miles to establish the current boundary and resolved the dispute that had begun when the United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1819.
[5] When Governor Rufus Bullock was forced out of office and replaced by James M. Smith in January 1872, Orr was appointed Georgia's second State School Commissioner within the month.
Orr was a major proponent of establishing a local property tax of 10 mils to fund schools, and he proposed this in 1871, 1872, and 1874, yet it was never passed in his lifetime.
He constantly fought a losing battle with the state legislature seeking funding for the establishment of regional Normal Schools.
His last report to the legislators included a plea for additional office help, stating that he was compelled to devote time largely to routine clerical duties which confined him to a desk from seven to nine hours each day.