Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

South Reading Academy, circa 1870s

Description

"The South Reading Academy, located on Academy Hill where the Lincoln School was later built, was built around 1828-29 'under the auspices of the Baptist denomination.' The 2-1/2 story wood frame structure was three bays wide with a front-facing gable roof. Its main facade had an entrance centered in a recess that was framed by pilasters and an entablature. The front gable was fully pedimented, with a decorative shingle pattern at its center. According to the Genealogical History of the Town of Reading, Mass., the academy, established in 1829, was intended as an Introductory School to the Theological Seminary at Newton, 'although it was open to others.' The land and buildings were reported to be obtained by private subscriptions of the people of South Reading. While the school flourished for many years, the theological students were 'withheld' and the corporations was without funds, leading to the school being closed and the building returned to its original owners. The building and land were sold to Assistant Principal William Heath and Burrage Yale, who sold them to the Town in 1847 to be used by the newly created high school. The town stopped using it as a school in 1871 when the new high school on Lafayette Street was built. In 1891, it was moved to its present location at 7 Foster Street where it has served as home to a chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Methodist church congregation, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, among others. It was severely damaged by fire in the 1970s, but was restored to be used as a commercial building. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989."

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2017

Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

1870-1879

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

School buildings

South Reading Academy (Wakefield, Mass.)

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture: b & w

Extent

26 x 21 cm.