Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of “Lasting Legacies,” a series examining historical aspects of the University.

It’s a doorway to history.

From the historic Arch on the edge of North Campus, students left the University to become Confederate soldiers. Some came back wounded, some didn’t come back at all.

The Arch witnessed the dawn of the automobile. The Great Depression. Two world wars. The new millennium. Under it walked 151 years of living history.

The story of the Arch begins as a real estate transaction and ends as the most defining symbol of the University of Georgia.

“[The University] had a little botanical garden on what would now be Milledge [Avenue], and they sold it,” said University historian Nash Boney. “They used the money from that to put up the fence and the Arch – the same fence and Arch that you see today.”

In 1858, the wrought iron structure was cast in Athens and placed on North Campus for $1,000. The Arch is modeled after the seal of Georgia – with the three pillars representing wisdom, justice and moderation.

The structure outlasted the Civil War, despite the University closing in October 1863 and the campus becoming home to Union soldiers during military oversight following the Confederate Army’s defeat. Even as several North Campus buildings – including the Chapel – were used as target practice for soldiers, the Arch was not destroyed.

As time progressed, traditions grew around the old structure – traditions that last to this day.

During the early decades of the 20th century, the Arch was occasionally garnished with signs warning freshmen not to walk underneath.

“In the old days, maybe even after World War II, the freshmen would get paddled for [walking underneath the Arch],” Boney said.

“There was a lot of hazing in the early days of

the University.”

The paddles may have faded with history, but the tradition continues.

“The traditions of who can walk under [the arch] have been varied over the years, but generally it’s accepted that you don’t walk under it unless you have a UGA degree,” said Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs. “Before, [just] freshmen couldn’t walk under it.”

The tradition is thought to have originated with Dan Redfearn, a 1909 University graduate who came to campus with $156 in his pocket, one trunk and one suitcase, according to a 1989 Red & Black article. Redfearn stood in front of the Arch and promised himself he would not walk through the iron doorway until he had earned his degree. With that, he stepped to the right side – forging a path that many students take today.

Freshmen Amber Huskins, Jessica Story and Brooke Hilyer are three of thousands of students who continue the tradition – always making sure to tiptoe around the Arch.

“I’m trying to graduate, I need all the luck I can get,” Story said, adding she has never accidentally walked through the cursed structure.

But with plenty of stories of students who dared to defy dodging the doorway and still graduate, why does the tradition continue?

“Because I’m scared of the tradition,” Huskins said. “No need to break it.”

Hilyer said she’d like to continue the custom, but is unsure about her ability to go four years without a mishap.

“I’ll probably just one day be strolling by – and oopsie,” she said.

But the cast iron challenge Redfearn saw in 1909 looked much different than the Arch spectators see today.

“It used to have gates on it to keep animals from getting in,” Jackson said.

In the 1940s, two lights were added and the structure was moved slightly back from its original position.

The Arch was once again in the spotlight on Jan. 9, 1961 – the day Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, the University’s first African-American students, enrolled.

“It was a very prominent location during the arrival of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter when they racially integrated the University,” Jackson said. “There was a big crowd around when they came through.”

Holmes and Hunter were surrounded by media as they walked to the building adjacent to the Arch which now bears their names – the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building.

But the Arch’s importance to UGA makes it subject to vandalism.

“Over the years it has been the target of vandalism, usually by [Georgia] Tech students,” Jackson said. “Right before the Tech game, someone will usually try to paint it.”

In 1999, vandals painted a bright yellow “T” across the University symbol. The 6-foot by 9-foot reference to Georgia Tech was covered with black paint within the hour, according to an Athens Daily News article.

In the years since, the Arch has also served as an unofficial meeting place during tragedy and drama.

“It’s been sort of a symbolic gathering place for both protests and memorials,” Jackson said. On Sept. 11, 2001 photographs, notes and flags were placed at the Arch, he said.

“It’s sort of a symbolic place that people turn to in times like that when they want to make a statement or go to the heart of the University,” Jackson said. “They go to the Arch.”