The older I get, the more I appreciate everything. Aging has made me respect the power of time, and I have an affinity for history that I didn’t when I was young. In my position at CFMC, I am fortunate to attend so many meaningful events in the county, and one such event that really resonated with me earlier this month was the first meeting of Pioneer Partners, organized and hosted by Dr. Jake Allen. Anyone who knows Jake (Dr. Allen feels too stuffy for this cool guy) knows his enthusiasm for Mooresville Schools is unmatched. I cannot imagine a better leader for any school district, and Mooresville has been lucky to call this Illinois native their own his entire career, starting as a student observer at Paul Hadley Middle School in 2003. This column isn’t about Jake though, but rather his beloved Mooresville Schools, and specifically the Academy Building which was Central Indiana’s first high school and likely the only school in the United States paid for by private donations that operated as a public school for more than hundred years!
Thirteen original donors funded the project after growing concern that there was no high school in the area. Donations ranged from 50 cents to $150 per donor, and others donated stone, labor, and hauled lime. The school was built in 1860 and opened in 1861 during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Total building cost was $4,500.
Many donors were members of the Quaker church, Society of Friends, with construction overseen by the MHS Association of Board of Managers, also members of Friends Church. The separate staircases in the front of the building – one for males and one for females – are a reminder of the Quaker influence. Remarkably, records show 30 out of 78 students the first year were girls, and they received equal training with boys. Of those first students, 43 were local and others came from Springtown, Plainfield, Monrovia, Danville, Bridgeport, and even the state of Iowa. Then called a boarding academy, students unable to commute daily boarded with a local family.
In 1867, 87 donors raised funds for a 2-room addition to accommodate their growing attendance, then 150 students. After this addition, an elementary school was started as preparatory education for the high school.
From 1879-1907, 147 graduates came through the Academy Building. In 1869, students were commissioned to join the military due to the Civil War, and they were commissioned again in 1889. With declining enrollment limiting the budget and the rise in free public schools, the Board of Managers sold the school to the Town of Mooresville in 1870 for $5,000 which they later refunded.
From 1883 to 1907, the building simply known as Mooresville School housed all grades. In 1907, the building was full, so a new high school was built next door in 1908. The Academy Building then housed grades 1-8. In 1936, a new elementary school was built after Arthur Newby donated a 140-acre farm and other property to build William and Milton Newby Memorial Elementary School in dedication to his uncles. Fortunately, the original plan to tear down the Academy Building was thwarted by Superintendent Forrest Caldwell who wanted it preserved, and the school board agreed. After 1936, the building was used for junior high classes until the current Mooresville High School was built in 1960. The old high school then became the junior high, and Academy Building was filled with elementary students until Neil A. Armstrong Elementary was built in 1971 which incidentally was built on land originally owned by one of the thirteen donors for The Academy, John D. Carter.
The Academy Building has stood the test of time, surviving two tornados, one in 1917 and one in April of 2020, with a community grateful to the late Sonny Perry who restored all but one of the original 19 desks himself following the latter storm. Mooresville is proud of this historic site as is Community Foundation who in 1997 received a grant to help with restoration efforts.
Of everything I learned, I was most impressed with their arduous curriculum – English, three kinds of geography, meteorology, geology, chemistry, botany, philosophy, physiology, composition, elocution, grammar, history, rhetoric, logic, economy, spelling, six different mathematics courses, surveying, astronomy, and eight classes in Latin and Greek. At the time of the sale from the church, school trustees intended to “never let it fall below its former standard.”
In my opinion, Dr. Jake Allen is continuing that standard today with the 22 college and career options for students (almost three times the options available at most Indiana high schools), the new Agriscience and Construction Trades Building, and a 98% graduation rate. Keep up the good work, Jake!
To learn more about Dr. Jake Allen, watch my podcast interview with him on our website at www.cfmconline.org.
