Andrew Jackson Ritchie was the founder of Rabun Gap Industrial School, which later merged with Nacoochee Institute to become Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School

Rabun Gap — Nacoochee School is a small, private college preparatory school located in Rabun County, Georgia in the Appalachian Mountains. It is both a boarding and a day school...

. He served there as president until 1939.

Ritchie earned his Bachelor of Law from the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

 (UGA) School of Law

University of Georgia School of Law

The University of Georgia School of Law is a graduate school of the University of Georgia. Founded in 1859 and located in Athens, Georgia, USA, Georgia Law was formerly known as the Lumpkin School of Law. The Law School is the second oldest of the University's schools and colleges. The University...

 in 1897. While at UGA, Ritchie was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society

Phi Kappa Literary Society

The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.The Society was founded in 1820 by Joseph Henry Lumpkin, later to become the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and eponym for the , and by William Crabbe, Edwin...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in 1899 from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and was the first college graduate from Rabun County, Georgia

Rabun County, Georgia

Rabun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 15,050. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 16,519...

. In 1901, he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree by Harvard. He was a local historian and in 1948 his Sketches of Rabun County History was published.

Before founding the Rabun Gap Industrial School, Ritchie was a professor of English for three years at Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

 in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

His wife was Addie Corn Ritchie.