Georgia was first state to do this in 1785

Believing in the need to educate its young people after the American Revolution, Georgia was the first state to charter a state university. In 1784, the General Assembly set aside 40,000 acres and on Jan. 27, 1785, the Georgia Legislature granted a charter, written by Abraham Baldwin, for what would become the University of Georgia.

That revolutionary charter set up an educational system that was under control of the state rather than the church.

Classes didn’t start until 1801. They were initially held in a log cabin until the first permanent building, Franklin College, named for Benjamin Franklin, was completed in 1806.

– Jan Schroder, The Georgia 100