Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy

Last updated

Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy was one of the oldest educational institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was established by Methodist clergy of New England in 1818. Originally located in New Market, New Hampshire, [lower-alpha 1] before moving to Wilbraham, Massachusetts, it was intended both for general educational purposes and for young men intending to enter the ordained ministry. [1]

Contents

Move to Massachusetts

In 1824 an act of incorporation was obtained from the legislature of Massachusetts, [2] and the academy was moved to Wilbraham, where it opened in September 1825.

Eight students were present on opening day, and thirty-five attended during that first term. It had a history of coeducation and had classes of 200-300 students. Its first principal after it moved to Massachusetts was Dr. Wilbur Fisk, who served until 1831. That year he became president of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

In 1971 the academy merged with Monson Academy, established in 1804. It became known as Wilbraham & Monson Academy. It continues to operate as a college preparatory school for grades 9-12 on the Wilbraham campus.

Other principals

Academic facilities

In the 1870s, Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy was in a "healthful and beautiful" location, with extensive grounds, including farmland of 196 acres (0.79 km2). There were six buildings devoted to academic purposes, the chief of which were "large and most conveniently arranged". Its library at the time contained 5,300 volumes, with "good philosophical, chemical and mathematical apparatus, a cabinet, museum, and apparatus valued at $14,000" (at that time).

Faculty and student body

The academy employed "a corps of able professors" in the various departments. Its students, which included both young men and young women (indeed, one-third of the total students were women, somewhat unusual at that time), averaged between 200 and 300 per year. Many engaged in teaching and professional studies. Some prepared for college.

Notable alumni

Notes

  1. Where the academy was originally located is now part of Newfields, New Hampshire.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Lee (missionary)</span> Canadian missionary

Jason Lee was a Canadian Methodist Episcopalian missionary and pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. He was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (bishop)</span> English bishop

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I was a provisional Episcopal bishop in Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willbur Fisk</span>

Willbur Fisk was a prominent American Methodist minister, educator and theologian. He was the first President of Wesleyan University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William North Rice</span> American geologist, educator, and theologian (1845–1928)

William North Rice (1845–1928) was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Whitford Bashford</span>

James Whitford Bashford was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and the first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilbraham & Monson Academy</span> Private, boarding, day school in Wilbraham, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States

Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA) is a college-preparatory school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is a four-year boarding and day high school for students in grades 9-12 and postgraduate. A middle school, with grades 6–8, offers boarding for grade 8 students. The academy is located in the center of the town of Wilbraham, 75 miles (121 km) from Boston and 150 miles (240 km) from New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry White Warren</span>

Henry White Warren (1831–1912) was an American Methodist Episcopal bishop and author. William Fairfield Warren was his brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Leslie (Oregon politician)</span>

David Leslie was an American missionary and pioneer in what became the state of Oregon. A native of New Hampshire, he joined Jason Lee as a missionary at the Methodist Mission in the Oregon Country in 1836. In that region he participated in the early movement to start a government and his home was used for some of these meetings. With the closing of the mission he became a founder of the city of Salem, Oregon, and board member of the Oregon Institute, which later became Willamette University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erastus Wentworth</span>

Erastus Wentworth was an educator, a Methodist Episcopal minister, and a missionary to Fuzhou, China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Whitaker (Oregon educator)</span>

George Whitaker was an American minister and university president in Texas and Oregon. A native of Massachusetts, he served as the president of Wiley College in Texas, along with Willamette University and Portland University in Oregon. A Methodist trained preacher and graduate of Wesleyan University, he also worked as a pastor across the country in the late 19th century, primarily in New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Rice (librarian)</span>

William Rice (1821–1897) was a Methodist Episcopal minister, author, and from 1861 to his death in 1897, the President and Executive Director of the Springfield City Library Association. He was an important public figure in nineteenth-century Springfield, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Rice (1788)</span> American politician

William Rice was a Massachusetts businessman and public servant, a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and a Registrar of deeds and Treasurer for Hampden County, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Francis Rice</span>

Charles Francis Rice was a prominent minister and author. He was a member of the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church for 50 years, serving as a District Superintendent for five years and as President of the Massachusetts Federation of Churches for 10 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard S. Rust</span>

Richard Sutton Rust was an American Methodist preacher, abolitionist, educator, writer, lecturer, secretary of the Freedmen's Bureau, and founder of the Freedmen's Aid Society. He also helped found multiple educational institutions including his namesake Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, the oldest historically black United Methodist-related college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan J. Swift Steele</span>

Susan J. Swift Steele was an American social reformer. She was affiliated with the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), and the Newton, Massachusetts Wesleyan Home, among other organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Maynard Pickard</span> American novelist

Hannah Maynard Pickard was a 19th-century American school teacher, preceptress, and author. She wrote extensively for the Sabbath School Messenger, and some for the Guide to Holiness, and other periodicals. She was the author of two novels, several editions of which were published, Procrastination and The Widow's Jewels.

Caroline Laura Rice was an American teacher, writer, composer, and social reformer.

References

  1. Massachusetts Board of Education; George A. Walton (1877), "Report on Academies: Wesleyan Academy", Annual Report...1875-76, Boston via Internet Archive
  2. George Adams (1853). "Education in Massachusetts: Incorporated Academies". Massachusetts Register. Boston: Printed by Damrell and Moore.