The petition for incorporation of the Free Kindergarten Association, addressed to the Superior Court of Muscogee County, Georgia, states that “the object of such corporation is to establish and maintain free kindergarten schools in the city of Columbus and vicinity for the education and moral training of the children of the poor, and for the material maintenance of these for whom their parents are unable to make adequate provision.” The first free kindergarten south of Louisville, Kentucky was opened in Columbus on May 18th of 1895 and subsequently named the Emma Moffatt Tyng Kindergarten, in honor of her work in this field. The Columbus Good Will Community Center assumed charge of the administration of the affairs of the Association in 1924. The Good Will Community Center ceased operations in 1966 due to lack of funding. The Free Kindergarten Association petitioned for its formal dissolution in 1967.