May 6, 1829, Abbot Academy opened with eighty-five pupils, from the little ones who did not know their letters, to young women of eighteen and twenty. One who was there says, "Henrietta Jackson (afterwards Mrs. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin) sat at my left." Another describes the three gifted daughters of Professor Stuart, one of whom became the first wife of Professor Phelps and the mother of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, who in her turn has likewise been a pupil of the school. As we look over the list of the girls who went in and out under the Ionic porch of the new academy, we see they were by inheritance and nature well worthy the broad and generous course of study marked out for them by Dr Jackson, Samuel Farrar and the others. That course, of more than half a century ago, was as wide as any laid down in the women's colleges to-day; and although it was gradually modified in conformity with popular sentiment, still it speaks well for the sagacity and practical wisdom of the trustees. It is pleasant to note that Dr. Jackson lived to see his theories of women's education carried into practice by the establishment of colleges for them. Mr. Charles Goddard, grandson of Dr. Langdon, president of Harvard University, was the first principal of Abbot Academy. He was tall and fine looking, with refined and polished manners, worshipped by the little girls and greatly admired by the older ones, who, as one of their number writes "woke up wonderfully and enjoyed their studies exceedingly." "It was the universal opinion," says another, "that the advantages offered by Abbot Academy were very superior to anything in the region, and the building was considered commodious and elegant." French and German were taught by Dr. William Gottlieb Schauffler, whose romantic history and extraordinary musical gifts had already attracted much personal interest, and whose after career has made his name a household word from the shores of the German Ocean to the Stairs of the Bosphorus. Who wonders that he was a hero to those girls of fifty years ago? No theological student called upon them who had not some story to tell of his enthusiasm, daring or cleverness, and how eagerly must they have listened as the adventures of his magic flute were dwelt upon.
For twenty-one years Abbot Academy was under the charge of principals who were all college graduates and men of exceptional powers, uncommon cultivation, and thorough interest in their work. There was no fund (then as now it depended upon its fees, systematically as low as possible) to pay running expenses, and although its superior character as a school attracted as many pupils as it could accommodate it had a hard struggle to live. Very early in its existence it was evident that its great lack was a boarding-house for students from a distance, and many attempts were made to remedy the deficiency. If the principal had a family, he accommodated all he could; the trustees provided for several brief periods common tables, but generally they lived in private houses scattered about the village.
In 1853 two great events took place. The first was the offering of the principalship to a woman, and the second the resolve of the trustees "that it is indispensable to the prosperity, and even perpetuity of the Academy, to raise the sum of eight thousand dollars in order to procure suitable accommodations for the boarding pupils." Although the link may not be apparent, the second is really the logical result of the first for it was the enthusiasm of Miss Nancy J. Haseltine, who had accepted the position of principal, that urged them on with an irresistible force. She had come to them from Townsend, Mass., bringing a large following of pupils, and she found it impossible to provide for them satisfactorily, besides she saw clearly, as the Punchard Free School was opened in Andover that year, Abbot Academy must henceforth, as time has proved, depend chiefly upon patronage from out of town. There was no doubt about the situation of the new building, the only land the trustees owned was the acre given them by Deacon Newman in 1829; so they must set it in the rear of the Academy, but where could they get the money? Again, man's extremity was God's opportunity. Deacon Peter Smith, who offered the resolution, promised $1,000, Mr. John Smith $1,500, though in reality the brothers Smith gave before the house was finished enough to amount to $6,611. Justly was it named Smith Hall, for its whole cost was but seven thousand thirty-three dollars and sixty-four cents. But how was the great empty house to be furnished? Mrs. H. B. Stowe, then living in Andover, talked it over with Mrs. Dr. Jackson and Mrs. Professor Park and declared a festival should do it. And the festival did bring in $2,000 which furnished Smith Hall, and prouder, happier women never slept on Andover Hill than those who had so courageously and triumphantly carried the plan through.
Smith Hall has now been far more than a quarter of a century the home of the pupils of the academy, during that portion of the time when they are not attending to modern languages. Poverty has been its constant companion, sternly forbidding any unnecessary expenditures, yet it has always presented a cheerful, even tasteful appearance to strangers, as well as to the scores of girls who cherish its memory tenderly. The highly successful term of Miss Nancy J. Haseltine was all too brief, and after her, Miss Maria J. Brown and Miss Emma L. Taylor, sister of Dr. S. H. Taylor, filled the last three years of the first thirty of Abbot Academy. In September, 1859, the present principal, Miss Philena McKeen, entered upon her duties, bringing with her from Oxford, Ohio, her sister, Miss Phebe F. McKeen, as first assistant. Miss McKeen's management of affairs has been as wise as fortunate, as disinterested as successful, and Abbot Academy now stands among the very first of the girls' schools in the country.
The year 1862 is memorable as being the first of a series pleasant to chronicle. The institution was never in a higher condition of prosperity and usefulness, and when, in 1865, the trustees were perplexed by the good news that Smith Hall was insufficient for the number of pupils from out of town, Hon. George L. Davis of North Andover, who had for some time been one of their number, happily solved the difficulty by buying what was known as the Farwell estate, which joined the academy grounds on the north-east corner, and presenting it to the school. It was gratefully named Davis hall, and for many years has been occupied by all pupils studying French, that language being the one ordinarily spoken in the house. Previously Mr. Davis had added two acres of land in the rear of Smith Hall, and in the autumn of 1865 assisted in the purchase of the house belonging to Rev. J. W. Turner, on the southern boundary line of the grounds. That house, known first as South Hall, is now German Hall, German being spoken there in daily life, as French is at Davis Hall. To the fact that pupils studying these languages are thus kept out of the way of English speech for so large a portion of school hours is ascribed their unusual success in the difficult accomplishment of easy and correct conversation in a foreign tongue. The amount of Mr. Davis' benefactions up to 1879 was more than $7,000.
At the annual meeting in 1870, the trustees expressed special obligations to Mr. Nathaniel Swift, who had filled the office of treasurer since 1852, and congratulated him upon the wonderful transformation which he had wrought in the grounds. Instead of poor stony pasture land were broad smooth lawns, gravelled walks, flower borders, well-trimmed hedges, and rustic seats in charming spots, which told not only of the exquisite taste which ever guided his hand, but of his considerate thoughtfulness wherever the pleasure or comfort of the pupils was concerned. During the autumn of 1877, in order to secure the whole of the beautiful grove adjacent to their property, the trustees bought fourteen acres, thus making their real estate something more than twenty-two acres.
In the quarter of a century since Miss McKeen came to Abbot Academy, besides these imperatively needed houses, and these greatly prized acres, many valuable collections scientific, artistic and literary have been added; but, as ever, the great want is room, that the pupils may have the benefit of their use, which is impossible in their present scattered condition. The school observed its Semi-Centennial in June, 1879, and extended a hearty welcome to nearly three thousand of its alumnæ. The position was favorable for a survey of its present situation, its past history and its future prospects. Thorough examination of the past proved it had done excellent work; its list of pupils from all parts of the country, constantly increasing, showed it had taken deep root, but its future prospects appeared to be imperilled by its environment. On every hand it was crippled by want of buildings, want of endowment, want indeed of everything necessary to the comfort of a school. It was mentioned with amazement that half its collections were packed in boxes, its books were in every room of the building, wherever a shelf could find room, its pianos in the public parlors, and as for its boarding accommodations, so insufficient were they, it is a wonder to those familiar with the arrangements of the more recent girls' schools and colleges, that Abbot Academy has any boarding pupils at all. That it does, and frequently to its fullest extent, proves to the entire satisfaction of thoughtful persons the superior character of its instruction. Numerous highly valued and gratefully remembered gifts flowed in at the Semi-Centennial, but no sums sufficient to warrant the beginning of new buildings; so the teachers went on doing the best they could, spite of their great disadvantages, and their best was so good, that in 1884 the pressure became so strong, that several architects of Boston and vicinity entered into a free competition, submitting plans for the contemplated structures, and those drafted by Messrs Hartwell and Richardson, were accepted by the trustees, who appointed a building committee, consisting of Mr. Warren F. Draper, treasurer of Abbot Academy since 1876, chairman; Prof. J. W. Churchill, Andover, and Mr. James White, Boston. All these gentlemen are trustees, and in the heartiest sympathy with the high aims of the institution. The plans thus approved by the trustees were laid before the Alumnæ Association at a meeting in June, 1885, and enthusiastically approved. It was then found that they had in their treasury an accumulation of small gifts amounting to between seven and eight thousand dollars, which they had been collecting for the purpose, and the announcement that the trustees, at the first meeting held for the purpose, had subscribed $12,500, was deemed very encouraging. Since that time the trustees have increased their subscription two thousand dollars, and, through the efforts of Miss McKeen, Andover people have pledged about $10,000. In short, about $36,000 has been raised up to the present time. But new buildings will cost $100,000; perhaps, even with the most vigilant and judicious economy, $150,000. Where and how can the remainder be obtained? It occurred to many friends that it would be a pleasant and perhaps a profitable thing to have a social meeting in Boston to consider the question and inspect the plans. Mrs. Daniel Chamberlin (before marriage Miss Abbie W. Chapman), the popular and efficient acting-principal of Abbot Academy in 1853, and now president of its Alumnæ Association, kindly offered her pleasant parlors in Chester Square for the purpose. There on the 12th of January, was held a most delightful gathering, where the speakers were as choice as they were felicitous, and the company as rarely homogeneous as heartily interested.
Rev. Edward G. Porter of Lexington, one of the trustees, to whose indefatigable efforts the occasion owed a large portion of its success, called the meeting to order, and in the absence of Hon. Rufus S. Frost, who had been expected to preside, invited Professor Churchill to the chair. Professor Churchill whose gift of graceful speech never fails, introduced with a few delightful words Prof. E. A. Park, who has been president of the board of trustees more than twenty-five years. Professor Park responded: "The roof of the first edifice for Abbot Academy was laid the 28th of October, 1828. One week after that day I became a member of Andover Theological Seminary. I heard at once of the new and beautiful building; I think I was the first college graduate who walked on the floor of the present Academy Hall. It was said to be the best school edifice in Essex County or even the state of Massachusetts. Thus it began its existence with an aspiration in fine architecture. The style of this edifice is not so classical now as it was fifty-six years ago. When the academy received its new telescope it was too poor to provide it a suitable place. Therefore a dome was erected on the roof, which disturbed the symmetry of the Grecian architecture. The telescope does good service under the dome; but it is a sign of the indigence of the academy. When I reflect on the progress made by other institutions, I am astonished at the march of events. Twenty years after the founding of Abbot Academy, the little settlement at Chicago had not been heard of at Andover. When Rev. Dr. Joel Hawes received his first request to provide a missionary for that settlement, he asked a friend of mine, 'Where is Kick-a-go?' That little settlement of 'Kickago' has now received a fund of more than three million dollars for a city library. When our academy was founded, no man in Andover suspected that California would become one of our United States; but California has recently received twelve million dollars for the founding of a University. I was acquainted with the founder of Smith College in Northampton, and also with the founder of Abbot Academy. In some particulars the two ladies had a marked resemblance to each other. The founder of Smith College gave to it four hundred thousand dollars; the founder of Abbot Academy gave to it $10,109.04. Those four cents have played a conspicuous rôle in the history of the academy. They have been a sign of its indigence from its earliest to the present day."