Worcester Academy
About this property
Worcester Academy is a co-ed private boarding school in Worcester, Massachusetts serving grades 6-12. It is the oldest school founded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational preparatory school, it belongs to the National Association of Independent Schools. Worcester Academy was founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School; the name "Worcester Academy" was adopted in 1847. Isaac Davis was a central figure in the school's early years, serving as President of the Worcester Academy Trustees from 1834 to 1873. The school moved several times during its first decades. The first site was a 60 acre farm on what is now Main Street. In 1854 the school moved into the abandoned building of the American Antiquarian society at Belmont and Summer streets. Around this time, principals were paid little, and "were given a free hand to charge whatever tuition they could get, pay the expenses, and pocket the profit." In 1869, Isaac Davis purchased the abandoned Dale General Hospital on Providence Street in the Union Hill neighborhood. Davis donated the building, a former Civil War military hospital, to the school as its new permanent home. The building was renamed Davis Hall in his honor. Davis Hall served as Worcester Academy's only building for many years; at times, it served as a dormitory, reputedly haunted by ghosts of Civil War soldiers. Davis Hall was damaged by the hurricane of 1938, and demolished in 1965. It was replaced by Davol Hall. Daniel Webster Abercrombie served as principal from 1882 to 1918. He established the school's motto "Achieve the Honorable" in 1890. He presided over an aggressive expansion of the school, including Kingsley Laboratories (1897) and The Megaron (1905). As of 2018, 451 out of 600, or 68% of the school's students were white, 66 (11%) were Asian, 32 (5%) were Black, and 15 (2.5%) were Hispanic or Latino. The corresponding numbers for the community were 56% white, 8% Asian, 12% black and 21% Hispanic or Latino. In the springs of 2010 and 2011, the We the People club won the Massachusetts championship and traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national championship. In 2011, Worcester Academy's math team won its seventh (and fourth straight) Worcester County Mathematics League championship, its seventh (and sixth straight) state championship, and its fourth New England championship (the third in six years). Aliyah Boston 2019, first overall pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft Albert H. Bumstead 1894, Chief Cartographer, National Geographic Society, and inventor of sun compasses
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Worcester Academy
This page lists Worcester Academy. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Worcester Academy listed on the National Register?
Worcester Academy was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1980.
What type of historic resource is Worcester Academy?
Worcester Academy is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Worcester Academy?
The period of significance for Worcester Academy is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Worcester Academy?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Worcester Academy will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Worcester County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Worcester County.
Explore WorcesterCounty ›More historic places in Massachusetts
Browse all historic places in Massachusetts.
View Massachusettshistoric sites ›Massachusetts history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Massachusettshistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Worcester Academy will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.