Fairfield Academy

Last updated
Fairfield Academy
Active1802 (1802)–1901 (1901)
Location
Fairfield
,
New York
,
US

Fairfield Academy was an academy that existed for nearly one hundred years in the Town of Fairfield, Herkimer County, New York. [1]

Contents

Founding

It was organized as an academy for men in 1802, when the community was an active local manufacturing center. The New York State Board of Regents granted the academy a charter in 1803. In 1804 Eunice Dennie Burr bought nine shares of the academy for $5 on the condition that young women would be allowed to attend classes. [2]

In 1812, the trustees of Fairfield Academy, acting on the suggestion of the Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, petitioned Trinity Episcopal Church in Fairfield for a grant of funds to establish a college of liberal culture under Episcopal auspices. This petition was not granted, but in the following year, acting upon another petition suggested by the Rev. Baldwin, the corporation of Trinity church founded a theological school in connection with Fairfield Academy. By 1818, Bishop John Henry Hobart of the Episcopal Diocese of New York saw a need to establish a school of liberal culture, as well as a theological school, in the western portion of the diocese. Hobart formed a plan to transfer the Theological School from Fairfield to Geneva, New York in connection with a “college and printing press” to be established there. In 1821 the transfer was made, and the Rev. Daniel McDonald, D.D., the principal of the Theological School in Fairfield, relocated to Geneva. The relocated theological school formed the nucleus of what later became Hobart and William Smith Colleges. [3]

The academy was reorganized as the co-educational Fairfield Seminary in 1839, incorporating a "Classical Academy and Female Collegiate Institute," with a teacher training and college preparation curriculum. Its enrollment in 1861 was 551. As new major transportation routes developed in the 19th Century, bypassing the Town of Fairfield, the academy lost its prominence. It operated as a military academy beginning in 1891. Fairfield Academy closed in 1901, largely due to competition from the growing number of high schools in the area. Its records are now archived at Syracuse University.

Fairfield Medical College

From early in its existence, the academy had several instructors in medical subjects, including anatomy, pharmacy, medicine, surgery, and obstetrics.

In 1812, 43 students were studying medical subjects, so the Academy applied for a charter as a medical college in order to be able to grant M.D. degrees to its students. The charter was granted in 1812 under the name of "The College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of New York," but the institution was commonly known as the Fairfield Medical College. This was the second medical college to be chartered in the state of New York, and the 11th in the United States. The faculty was composed of eminent physicians and physician-instructors; the College acquired an excellent reputation. By 1833, the school had over 200 students, and over its life it granted more than 600 M.D. degrees; 18 of these students went on to become professors in other medical colleges. The first medical instructors at Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York were connected with the medical school at Fairfield. Of the five members of the faculty of the Geneva Medical College, who transferred to the Syracuse University Medical College upon its establishment in 1871, at least three had received their medical training at Fairfield. Fairfield Medical College closed in 1840, due to competition from other medical colleges opening in New York and surrounding states.

Notable Alumni, Faculty and Founders

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Story Musgrave</span> American physician and astronaut (born 1935)

Franklin Story Musgrave is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He is a public speaker and consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds in California. In 1996, he became only the second astronaut to fly on six spaceflights, and he is the most formally educated astronaut with six academic degrees. Musgrave is the only astronaut to have flown aboard all five Space Shuttles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Torrey</span> U.S. botanist (1796–1873)

John Torrey was an American botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focusing on the flora of North America. His most renowned works include studies of the New York flora, the Mexican Boundary, the Pacific railroad surveys, and the uncompleted Flora of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asa Gray</span> American botanist (1810–1888)

Asa Gray is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His Darwiniana was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Gray was adamant that a genetic connection must exist between all members of a species. He was also strongly opposed to the ideas of hybridization within one generation and special creation in the sense of its not allowing for evolution. He was a strong supporter of Darwin, although Gray's theistic evolution was guided by a Creator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobart and William Smith Colleges</span> Private liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York, U.S.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges are private liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 majors and 68 minors with degrees in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Science in Management, and Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership. The colleges have graduated 35 Fulbright Scholars, three Rhodes Scholars, and numerous Marshall Scholars, Rangel Fellows, Truman Scholars, Emmy, and Pulitzer awardees as well as United States senators, House representatives, and a United States Supreme Court justice. Hobart and William Smith Colleges is a member of the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium, an association of highly selective liberal arts colleges. It is frequently ranked among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Henry Hobart</span> American bishop

John Henry Hobart was the third Episcopal bishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate New York, as well as founded both the General Theological Seminary in New York City and Geneva College in Geneva in the Finger Lakes area. He was the beloved pastor of Elizabeth Seton before her conversion to Catholicism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons</span> Private medical school in Manhattan, New York, US

The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alonzo C. Mather</span>

Alonzo Clark Mather was founder and president of the Mather Stock Car Company, a U.S. firm that built and leased railroad freight cars, especially stock cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Blackwell</span> British-American physician (1821–1910)

Elizabeth Blackwell was a British and American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Kingdom. Blackwell played an important role in both the United States and the United Kingdom as a social reformer, and was a pioneer in promoting education for women in medicine. Her contributions remain celebrated with the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal, awarded annually to a woman who has made a significant contribution to the promotion of women in medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Albany Academy</span> Private, college-prep, day school in Albany, New York, United States

The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York. It enrolls students from Preschool to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer and the city council of Albany. In July 2007, the once separate Albany Academy and Albany Academy for Girls merged into The Albany Academies. Both schools retain much of their pre-merger tradition and character, and each continues to give diplomas under its own name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chi Phi</span> American collegiate social fraternity

Chi Phi (ΧΦ) is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was formed at Princeton University in 1824. Today, Chi Phi has over 47,000 living alumni members from over 100 active and inactive chapters and un-chartered associate chapters. Currently Chi Phi has about 48 active chapters.

A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditation. Professional degrees may be either graduate or undergraduate entry, depending on the profession concerned and the country, and may be classified as bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees. For a variety of reasons, professional degrees may bear the name of a different level of qualification from their classification in qualifications, e.g., some UK professional degrees are named bachelor's but are at master's level, while some Australian and Canadian professional degrees have the name "doctor" but are classified as master's or bachelor's degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State University of New York Upstate Medical University</span> Medical school of SUNY Upstate

The State University of New York Upstate Medical University is a public medical school in Syracuse, New York. Founded in 1834, Upstate is the 15th oldest medical school in the United States and is the only medical school in Central New York. The university is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geneva Medical College</span> Defunct American medical school

Geneva Medical College was founded on September 15, 1834, in Geneva, New York, as a separate department (college) of Geneva College, currently known as Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In 1871, the medical school was transferred to Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Stone (scientist)</span>

Robert S. Stone was an American physician. He served as the Director of The National Institutes of Health from May 29, 1973, to January 31, 1975. Stone also served as the vice president for health services and dean of the school of medicine at the University of New Mexico, dean of the School of Medicine of the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center and vice president of the Health Sciences Center, and dean of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sweetland</span> American physician

George James Sweetland was an American physician as well as a coach of many sports including basketball, track and field and football at several universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clemence S. Lozier</span> American physician

Clemence Sophia Lozier was an American physician who founded the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women. Dr. Lozier was also a noted feminist and activist, and served as president of the New York City Suffrage League and the National Women's Suffrage Association.

Henry Harper Green was an American physician and politician from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Sharpe Mason</span>

Richard Sharpe Mason was an American Episcopal clergyman. He served as the president of Geneva College from 1828 to 1835 and of Delaware College from 1835 to 1840.

References

  1. ↑ O’Donnell, Thomas C(lay), (1881-1962). Tip of the Hill; an informal history of the Fairfield Academy and the Fairfield Medical College. Boonville, N.Y.: Black River Books, 1953.
  2. ↑ "A living lesson in Fairfield history: Old Academy rededicated". Fairfield Citizen.
  3. ↑ George S. Conover, Ed. History of Hobart College, Geneva, New York, in History of Ontario County, New York. Syracuse: D. Mason and Company, 1893. Accessed at: http://history.rays-place.com/ny/geneva-5.htm
  4. ↑ Jane Loring Gray, Ed. The Letters of Asa Gray. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1894.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.