Built in 1836, the two-story red brick Chattooga Academy, now the John B. Gordon Hall, is believed to be the oldest brick schoolhouse still standing in Georgia. Confederate General Braxton Bragg used the school as his headquarters on September 10-17, 1863. Under a large oak tree in front, Bragg and his officers formulated the plans that resulted in the Battle of Chickamauga. The tree later became known as the Bragg Oak, which was destroyed in 1920 after being struck by lightning.
The school was also the scene of fierce fighting on June 24, 1864, during the Battle of LaFayette. A Confederate force under Captain William V. Harrell attacked the Union troops occupying the building, which housed commissary stores.
On November 15, 1936, the old school building was renamed for one of its early pupils, John B. Gordon, a Confederate major general and governor of Georgia. The building is owned by the City of LaFayette, which received a preservation grant in 2005 to restore the building. A Confederate monument and a stack of cannonballs can also be found on the grounds.
The site is on the National Register of Historic Places.