Essex was beginning to come into its own in 1832 when Hills Academy was built. Twelve years earlier, the new Borough of Essex, previously known as Potapoug Quarter, had been set apart from the town of Saybrook. A letter dated September 24, 1831, from Captain Gideon Parker to his son said that an academy was being built on Pound Hill and was expected to be in operation the following April. Seventeen prominent citizens of Essex, including Captain Parker, purchased shares at $25 each to establish the school, and a charter was granted by the General Assembly in 1833. The site, on what is now Prospect Street, was carved from the lands of John Pratt. The school accepted both male and female students from the start, as shown by an 1834 tuition bill for Sarah Post. By 1846, enrollment included 34 male students and 47 female students, but that ratio shifted in 1848 when the Essex Seminary, a boarding school building for males only, was erected next door. There is no indication of an entrance exam or any strong religious affiliation; instead, there seems to have been a desire for a heterogeneous student body drawn from the local area, other parts of the country, and the world. Fall term fees were $50 for room and board, including washing, fuel, lights, supervision, and tuition in English, Latin, and Greek, while music, painting, French, Spanish, German, and Italian required extra fees. Hills Academy continued as a private school until the 1870s, and afterward served as a public school and as a meeting place for the Improved Order of Red Men. The adjoining boarding house later became a hotel and remained in operation until 1926. In 1955, the building was deeded by the town to the Essex Historical Society; the downstairs schoolroom was restored with a grant from the Connecticut Historical Commission, and the upper story houses the society's archives. The academy is believed to have been named for Joseph Hill, who helped secure financial backing for the venture and later bequeathed the use of a 16-acre meadow on the Lyme side of the Connecticut River, together with an adjoining shad fishery and its equipment, directing that half the profit be used for the schooling of children from Pettipaug unable to pay and the rest for teacher salaries and fuel. Captain William Williams, another original incorporator and early benefactor, also left part of his estate to Hills Academy, including a one-sixteenth share in the ship Hector, valued at $2,250. Built in 1833 at 133 feet long, Hector was the largest ship built in Essex and became one of the most successful.