Perched atop Oak Hill, East Maine Conference Seminary took advantage of Bucksport's busy port to attract students from across the region. Founded by a group of Methodists from eastern Maine and beyond, the school welcomed its first co-educational class of 13 boys and 14 girls in 1851 and grew to more than 300 students by the early 1900s. It offered a broad range of courses preparing students for college and careers. Its first building, Wilson Hall, was built in 1850-51, and Chase Hall, a four-story dormitory, was added three years later. Oak Hall followed in 1912 with a chapel, gymnasium, and classrooms, but a fire in 1923 destroyed it and Morris Hall replaced it. The seminary closed in 1933, and in 1941 the buildings were purchased by the Franco-American Oblate Fathers to train priests for missionary work until 1971. Today Morris Hall is gone, Chase Hall has been converted to apartments, and the Greek Revival-style Wilson Hall, with its two-stage belfry, has been restored and converted to housing.