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The Governor's Academy

Summary

The Governor's Academy (informally known as Governor's) is a co-educational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Byfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1763 in memory of Massachusetts governor William Dummer, Governor's is the oldest boarding school in New England.

The Governor's Academy
Address
Map
1 Elm Street

Byfield
,
Massachusetts
01922

United States
Coordinates42°45′00″N 70°53′54″W / 42.75000°N 70.89833°W / 42.75000; -70.89833
Information
Former nameGovernor Dummer Academy
TypePrivate, boarding
MottoNon sibi sed aliis
(Not for self, but for others)
Established1763; 261 years ago (1763)
HeadmasterPeter H. Quimby, M.Ed.
Enrollment415
Average class size12[2]
Student to teacher ratio5:1[1]
Campus size456 acres (1.85 km2)
Color(s)Cardinal and white   
Athletics conferenceIndependent School League
MascotThe Governor
RivalBrooks School
Endowment$170 million
TuitionBoarding: $72,900, Day: $58,025 in 2022–2024
Websitethegovernorsacademy.org

Governor's educates approximately 400 students in grades 9–12, 70% of whom live on campus. Its 456 acres (1.85 km2) campus is 33 miles (53 km) north of Boston.

History edit

Foundation edit

In 1763, the Dummer Charity School was founded in memory of William Dummer (d. 1761), who served as the acting governor of Massachusetts from 1723 to 1728.[3] A widower with no children,[3][4] Dummer bequeathed his family farm in Byfield, Massachusetts to Charles Chauncy, Thomas Foxcroft, and Nathaniel Dummer with instructions to establish a "Free Grammar School."[5] The school opened in March 1763 with 28 boys and Samuel Moody as the first preceptor (headmaster).[6] Byfield residents attended the school for free until 1837.[7]

Governor's is the oldest boarding school in New England and the third-oldest boarding school in the United States, after Maryland's West Nottingham Academy and Pennsylvania's Linden Hall.[8] At times, the academy has billed itself as the oldest continuously operating boarding school in the United States.[9][10] However, it temporarily shut down several times, including in 1790 and 1819.[11]

For the first 25 years of Dummer School's existence, it was the only boarding school in Massachusetts.[12] In 1778, Dummer alumnus Samuel Phillips founded Phillips Academy in Andover, 16 miles away.[13]

 
Mansion House, formerly the residence of William Dummer

The early Dummer School was primarily a local institution, but under Moody boarding students accounted for one-third of the student body.[12] It was "the first school of its kind in America" to operate on-campus residential facilities for boarders,[14] who lived in Governor Dummer's old mansion.[12] (Today, "Mansion House" serves as the headmaster's residence and plays a regular role in student life.) The school's organization was nonsectarian, and religion was not "a central part" of student life.[13]

The early American academy edit

Although Governor Dummer was not a college graduate, Dummer School was founded to prepare students for college. William's brother Jeremiah attended Harvard and provided important early support to Yale.[15] Governor Dummer foresaw a need for college-preparatory schools in outlying areas, as the existing secondary schools in Massachusetts were generally concentrated near Boston (Boston Latin School, Cambridge Latin School) or were too far away for students in Essex County to conveniently attend (Roxbury Latin School, Hopkins Academy). His vision was accurate, and from 1768 to 1790 (when Moody retired), the Dummer School educated 128 (25.5%) of Harvard's 501 graduates.[16]

As was the custom for secondary schools of the era, the curriculum focused on instruction in Latin, Greek, and the classics, with supplemental teaching in sacred studies, basic math, and English. Universities considered classical studies integral preparation for college until the turn of the twentieth century.[17]

In October 1782, the school received a corporate charter, which renamed the institution to Dummer Academy.[5] (The academy formally adopted the name Governor Dummer Academy in 1950.[18]) During the early republican era, the term "academy" typically signaled an institution's intention to broaden the academic curriculum beyond Latin and Greek.[14] However, Dummer Academy did not formally establish a non-classical course of study until 1837, and the director of the "English Department" resigned in 1842.[19]

To help raise money, an alumni association was established in 1822.[20] Henry Durant (p. 1849-52) ran the school for two (according to the school historian, unsuccessful) years, after which he moved to California and founded the University of California.[21]

Development edit

By the time of the school's centennial in 1863, the Dummer Academy had grown into a well known 19th-century prep school that catered mostly to children from affluent families who aspired to the Ivy League. By the turn of the 20th century, however, the school had fallen on hard times, with enrollment and income down, as the school struggled under the shadow of Andover and Exeter, and other schools that had grown to become very well known and prestigious.

In 1908, Dr. Charles Ingham became headmaster and launched great efforts to revive the academy. As a result, Dummer Academy became stabilized and began to again thrive as a premier New England prep school that sent over a third of its graduates to Ivy League colleges during that period. Upon Dr. Ingham's retirement in 1930, Edward "Ted" Eames became headmaster, a post he held for 30 years.

With limited exceptions, the school educated only boys until 1972.

In December 2005, the board of trustees voted to change the business name of the academy to The Governor's Academy (its legal name remains Governor Dummer Academy). A marketing company had found that the name "Dummer" was deterring prospective students from applying.[22] According to the Washington Post, the school's name was frequently "fodder for all manner of insulting puns."[23] Some students and alumni resisted the change, questioning why the academy should let "shallow" teenage jokes supersede tradition.[22][24]

From 2017 to 2024, Governor's has been conducting a large-scale fundraising campaign, which seeks to raise $100 million, including $23 million to support financial aid.[25]

Notable alumni edit

References edit

  1. ^ "GOV View Book". Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  2. ^ "The Governor's Academy: At a Glance". Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  3. ^ a b Phillips, James Duncan (1947). "Harvard College and Governor Dummer's School". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 69: 196. ISSN 0076-4981.
  4. ^ Kimball, Hoke P.; Henson, Bruce (2017-03-29). Governor's Houses and State Houses of British Colonial America, 1607-1783: An Historical, Architectural and Archaeological Survey. McFarland (published 2017). p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4766-2593-5.
  5. ^ a b Acts and resolves passed by the General Court. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 1782–83. pp. 49–53.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  6. ^ Phillips, p. 198.
  7. ^ Cleaveland, Nehemiah (1865). The First Century of Dummer Academy. Nichols & Noyes. pp. 51, 53–54.
  8. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (2008-01-26). "At Elite Prep Schools, College-Size Endowments". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  9. ^ "School Profile 2013-2014" (PDF). The Governor's Academy. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  10. ^ "History". The Governor's Academy. Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  11. ^ Cleaveland, pp. 35-36, 43-44.
  12. ^ a b c Cleaveland, p. 21.
  13. ^ a b Allis, Jr., Frederick S. (1979). Youth from Every Quarter: A Bicentennial History of Phillips Academy, Andover. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. p. 42.
  14. ^ a b Frank, Douglas Alan (1992). The History of Lawrence Academy at Groton: 1792 to 1992. Groton, MA: Lawrence Academy. p. 4.
  15. ^ Phillips, pp. 195-96.
  16. ^ Phillips, pp. 199-201.
  17. ^ Hyland, Richard (1986). "A Defense of Legal Writing". University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 134 (3): 622. doi:10.2307/3312113. ISSN 0041-9907.
  18. ^ Acts and resolves passed by the General Court. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 1950. pp. 160–61.
  19. ^ Cleaveland, pp. 51-53.
  20. ^ Cleaveland, pp. 46-47.
  21. ^ Cleaveland, pp. 54-55.
  22. ^ a b Kunzelman, Michael (2005-12-04). "Name change on the way for Governor Dummer Academy". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  23. ^ Finer, Jonathan (2005-02-26). "Mass. Private School To Drop Dummer Name". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  24. ^ "Boarding school name change sparks outcry". Lewiston Sun Journal. 2005-02-19. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  25. ^ "The Governor's Academy Surpasses $100 Million Fundraising Goal". www.thegovernorsacademy.org. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  26. ^ Governor's boasts strong ties to Korea, http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/page.cfm?p=357&newsid=43
  27. ^ "F.T. Crowe Dead, Built 19 U.S. Dams", New York Times, February 28, 1946
  28. ^ "This Quiet Walton Heir Is An Uber Education Policy Wonk - Inside Philanthropy: Fundraising Intelligence - Inside Philanthropy". insidephilanthropy.com. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2015.

Further reading edit

  • Massachusetts Board of Education; George A. Walton (1877), "Report on Academies: Dummer Academy", Annual Report...1875-76, Boston – via Internet Archive{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links edit

  •   Media related to The Governor's Academy at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
  • The Governor's Academy on Twitter
  • The Governor's Academy on Instagram. Archived from the original on ghostarchive.org

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