On Dec. 7, 1808, the NH Legislature chartered Holmes Plymouth Academy to promote religion, virtue and literature, with public-spirited citizens including Col. Samuel Holmes of Campton, NH, drafting the charter. The Academy operated on this site from 1826 until 1841. In 1870, the NH Legislature created a State Normal School, and under the leadership of Sen. Henry Blair, the town purchased the Academy buildings and donated them to the state. Plymouth Normal School subsequently became Plymouth Teachers College in 1939, Plymouth State College in 1963 and Plymouth State University in 2003.