Old Academy

Until 1848, children in and around Blairstown attended classes in two locations, a wood frame schoolhouse near the Presbyterian church and, by 1822, a brick schoolhouse built on the south side of the Paulins Kill, at a time when New Jersey made few provisions for the educational needs of its rural villages and free public education would not be established until April 1871. On April 6, 1848, Reverend John A. Reiley of the First Presbyterian Church, carriage maker John Bunnell, wealthy merchant John I. Blair, and other town leaders met to decide the purpose and location of a school. Bunnell and Reiley had long advocated for such a school, while Blair provided funding for the building and donated a half-acre of land on a hill overlooking the village. They chose to build a Presbyterian parochial school with Bible studies as part of the regular curriculum. The building was in use by January 1, 1849, with two rooms separated by a folding door, one used for a public school and the other as the Academy. Its first term lasted twenty-two weeks, and attendance ranged from forty-six to eighty-five students. By 1855, wings were added on both sides to accommodate growing enrollment, though they were removed around 1898. From its beginning, Blairstown Presbyterial Academy was closely tied to public schooling and educated the children of local farmers and merchants until 1896, when a wood frame public school was built for the community at the end of East Avenue on what is now Stillwater Road. The original schoolhouse then served many purposes, including as a music hall. Known as Old Academy, it remains a historic landmark for Blair Academy and the community. From these beginnings as a schoolhouse on the hill, Blair Academy grew into a world-renowned college preparatory school. The institution was known as Blairstown School in 1848-1850s, Blairstown Presbyterial Academy in the 1850s-1867, Blair Presbyterial Academy in 1867-1904, and Blair Academy from 1904 to the present.

Blairstown, New Jersey · United States