In 1805, the Maryland General Assembly appointed a commission to raise money for a school lot and a fire engine for Rockville. Rockville Academy was chartered and authorized to hire teachers in 1809. In 1812 and 1813, lots were purchased on Jefferson Street, and construction of the original rectangular brick Federal style building was completed in 1813. Tuition was $10 a year, and students obtained room and board elsewhere. The academy faced Jefferson Street, was five bays long with interior chimneys at either end, and contained only classrooms. Thirty to 60 young men enrolled annually, some attending seasonally when farm work was light, and received a secondary school education. The academy was one of two secondary schools in the county. Rockville Academy continued in the original building until 1890, when it was replaced by the present Queen Anne style school designed and built by Rockville builder Edwin West. Female students were first admitted in 1912. From 1917 to 1935, the building housed the Rockville public elementary school for grades 1-3 and later the Library Association. After standing vacant, deteriorated, and threatened with demolition, it was purchased and renovated for office use in 1980, and the City of Rockville bought the surrounding land with Project Open Space funds for a public park.