‘It is a commodious brick building containing a well equipped high school and grammar school.’
The New Academy – Built in 1856
On February 11, 1832, a Legislative Act was passed to incorporate an Academy known first as St. Albans Academy due to the location at the time of the Hartland-St. Albans Town Line. The Academy’s original Board of Trustees included; Henry Warren, Sewell Prescott, Augustus J. Brown, George Lancey, Jr, Levi Johnson, Ebenezer Hutchinson, Cleophus Boyd, Ambrose Finson, Abraham Bean, Dr. Calvin Blake, Peleg C. Haskell, Thomas Smith, Joseph Roberts & Nathan Douglas. The Academy’s first Principal was William J. Carthell.
From 1832 to 1856, the Academy’s first schoolhouse was located next to the current Academy Street site at the Strafford Mills Homestead, so called, which later became the homestead of Albion Keith Libby. In 1846, the Hartland-St Albans Town line was redefined placing the school within Hartland town limits but interchangeable references to it as St. Albans Academy or Hartland Academy continued for decades.
St. Albans Academy Brochure – 1853
In 1856, a new brick building to house the academy was built on its current site at a reported cost of $3,500. As noted in an article of its history in the 1932 Ripple Yearbook, “It was a commodious brick building containing a well equipped high school and grammar school.”
Hartland Village – 1860
The Academy was its own private entity managed financially and operationally by a Board of Trustees separate from the town. It served as a multi-purpose facility for various levels of private and public education as well as a meeting place for local civic organizations. Beginning in 1858, a dedicated room on the upper floor was used by the newly chartered Hartland Corinthian Lodge No. 95. Another room was used beginning in 1883 by the International Order of Odd Fellows No. 101 until their new meeting room was built at the Opera House-Town Hall in 1892.
Hartland Academy
Hartland Academy’s private, tuition based course of study drew hundreds of students from around the area over the decades, many of whom were boarded by local townspeople for an additional fee. Its impressive list of alumnus who attended school there include future Maine Governors Selden Connor and Llewellyn Powers as well as lawyers, judges, university presidents, ambassadors and other professionals.
Hartland Academy – Fall Term 1872
Hartland Academy from Baptist Church Steeple – c1877
The Academy also shared classroom space with Hartland Common Schools (Primary to Grade 8) as well as its high school grade students. Rooms and services were leased to the town on a yearly basis with the fees and conditions voted on annually at Town Meetings. This arrangement stood for decades with almost every grade using a room at the Academy at one time or another.
1903 Hartland Town Report – Article 24: To see if the town will vote to authorize the Superintending School Committee to make arrangements with the Trustees of Hartland Academy for the instruction of our free High School and Grammar School pupils.
1929 Hartland Town Report – Article 14: To see if the town will vote to instruct the Superintending School Committee to arrange with Hartland Academy to furnish instructions to its High School pupils for the year ensuing, and to act upon anything relating thereto, and to raise such sums of money as will be necessary to furnish its pupils with free High School instruction.
1949 Hartland Town Report – Article 40: To see if the town will vote to authorize its Superintending School Committee to contract with Hartland Academy, to furnish instruction to its high school pupils.
1949 Hartland Town Report – Article 41: To see what sum the town will vote to raise and appropriate to furnish instruction to its high school pupils. (Recommended $7,500.00)
To see more digitized Hartland Town Reports dating back to the early 1900s, click the link below:
Hartland Academy before Gymnasium Renovations & Fire Escape Additions
Hartland Academy – c1900
Several photos from the collection of Mary (Anderson) Butterfield (1888-1985) include Hartland Academy Students, Common School Students and Teachers at Hartland Academy from the late 1890s to the early 1900s shared with us by Hartland Historical Society Member Maggie Smith.
Mary (Anderson) Butterfield with her Common School Class
A noted gathering of Teachers for some type of training (?) with several from Hartland Academy including Mary (Anderson) Butterfield.
Teacher’s Meeting at Hartland Academy – c1907
The original site of the Academy’s first schoolhouse between 1832 & 1856 is seen in the background as the Albion K. Libby Homestead.
Hartland Academy & Albion K. Libby Homestead – 1910
Hartland Common School Pupils at Hartland Academy – c1916 (Photo courtesy of Donna Perkins & Cheryl Simpson)
Names of these pupils above were written on the back of the photo. Many of them are also noted below with the Class of 1926.
Hartland Common School Pupils
In 1914, Hartland Academy Alumnus David Densmore Stewart (brother of Levi Stewart of Corinna) presented his Alma Mata with a gracious financial gift to build a full size athletic field behind the school which included future funding for the field’s maintenance and other projects.
Hazel (Emery) Penny (1892-1977) from Blake Street with new Ballfield before Gymnasium Renovation – c1915
Stewart’s donation included a $3,000 credit toward future athletic facility upgrades some of which were used to remodel the gymnasium in 1917. The change of windows in the center of the building due to the gym remodeling project are seen in the photos below.
Hartland Academy’s New Athletic Field before Grandstand was built – c1917
Hartland Academy’s New Athletic Field after Grandstand was built – c1917
Baseball Game being played on the new Athletic Field – c1917 (Photo donated by Timothy Boulanger)
Included in the Hartland Academy Gymnasium Renovation Project was the addition of at least one known exterior Fire Escape.
Hartland Academy with new Exterior Fire Escape – c1917
Hartland Academy with new Exterior Fire Escape – Taken between 1917 & 1923
Hartland Academy Painting with new Exterior Fire Escape – Taken between 1917 & 1923
In 1914, the 1st Volume of a Hartland Academy Yearbook was published by students and faculty. Publication of “The Ripple” continued annually until the Academy’s final school year in 1968. We have a respectable collection of these yearbooks in our archives but continue to search for several early missing years. An ongoing project to digitize every page of all the yearbooks we currently have and share them here on our website is in the works. Several of the issues which have been digitized thus far are attached to their respective class below.
HHS Ripple Inventory Status as of January 1, 2021
Red = Missing Edition | Blue = On Hand – Not Digitized | Purple = On Hand – Digitized
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968
The Ripple – Published 1914 to 1968
Numerous framed photographs from several Hartland Academy Classes were donated to the Hartland Historical Society by the Town of Hartland for preservation which we are pleased to share below. Many other items have also been donated or their photos shared with us so we may present the storied history of Hartland Academy over the decades of its existence. We are grateful for these contributions and welcome all related items or photos. As more items and photos are gathered we will continue to add classes to our growing online collection below.
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1915 ~
(Photos courtesy of the Family of Wilma Gladys (Wilkins) Bouton)
Peleg William Sprague (1891-1970) was Principal of Hartland Academy as noted in the program above serving in the position from 1913 to 1915. Born in Bath, he attended Bowdoin College before graduating from Wesleyan College in 1913. He was just 22 years old when he began working at the Academy as Principal. He would later serve in World War I with the U. S. Navy.
Peleg William Sprague (Photos & information courtesy of his grandson David Roberts)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1917 ~
(Donated by Gerald & Pat Martin)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1919 ~
(Photos courtesy of the Family of Mary Lois (Wilkins) Worthen – Mother of Mary Ellen (Worthen) Cooper ’39)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1920 ~
1920 Diploma of Beatrice Ellen (Randlett) Pelly (1901-1992)
Beatrice is the daughter of Carl Randlett & Maude Annis
Hartland Academy Boys Basketball Team – 1920
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1921 ~
1921 Diploma of Arthur Ray Spaulding
Ray is the son of Albert S. Spaulding & Agnes McKenney and married Cassie Belle Fisher
The last known photo taken of the original Hartland Academy Building just weeks before it would meet its fiery fate.
Hartland Academy – October 20, 1923
On Friday, December 7, 1923 a huge fire raged through Hartland Academy reducing it to nothing but a brick shell. No source of the fire has been found thus far but the entire interior of the building was a complete loss including photos and school records.
Hartland Academy Fire – December 7, 1923
Hartland Academy Fire – December 7, 1923
Hartland Academy Fire – December 7, 1923
Hartland Academy Fire – December 7, 1923
Hartland Academy Fire – December 9, 1923
For the remainder of the 1923-1924 school year, Academy students attended make shift classrooms at the Opera House-Town Hall while the citizens of Hartland rallied from the devastating loss and moved forth with immediate plans to rebuild Hartland Academy.
Even without a home, the Hartland Academy Class of 1924 still graduated that spring. Ironically perhaps, future Hartland Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Carleton Deering was in this graduating class seated in the front row 2nd from the left.
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1924 ~
Rebecca Pennell, Carleton Deering, Elmer Ward, Jennie Hubbard, Joseph McGee, Frank Wing, Clyde Brooks, Edwin Waterman, Nathalie Lewis, Melvin Waterman, Newton Smith, Edward Brown, Milton Morrison (Unknown Seating Order)
1924 Hartland Town Meeting – Article 17: To see what sum of money the town will vote to raise to rebuild Hartland Academy, so called, to see what method the town will take to raise funds for the same, and to act upon anything relating thereto.
1924 H. B. Clifford – Superintendent of Hartland Schools;“The burning of the Academy building in December was a great loss to us for it was still a fairly satisfactory school house, although crowded. The building was well equipped for a small school. It means a big expense to us for years to come, but there is no way of avoiding the issue. Our schools must be maintained at reasonable efficiency, even at considerable personal sacrifice. I feel confident that our people will erect a sufficiently large and modern building to meet the needs of our boys and girls for the years to come.”
Within a year of its destruction by fire, Hartland Academy was rebuilt and was reopened in the Fall of 1924. The new building was constructed on the same site incorporating the original facade as the centerpiece of the expanded modern facility.
New Hartland Academy – November 21, 1924
New Hartland Academy – November 28, 1924
Homage would eventually be paid to the original Academy engraved over the center of the main entrance.
Hartland Academy – Main Entrance Engraving – 2020
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1925 ~
The first Class to graduate from the new Hartland Academy Building.
Class of 1925 – Panoramic Class Photo
Class of 1925 – Close-Up 1 of 4
Class of 1925 – Close-Up 2 of 4
Class of 1925 – Close-Up 3 of 4
Class of 1925 – Close-Up 4 of 4
Hartland Academy Football County Champs – 1925
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1926 ~
Class of 1926 Commencement Program
1926 Diploma of Edward B. Snow
(Courtesy of Dana Perkins)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1928 ~
1928 Diploma of Lenora Mae (Brooks) Morgan
Lenora would marry Thirnwood Morgan, Sr in 1930 (Courtesy of Gerald Morgan)
Hartland Academy Orchestra
1st Row: Howard Gray, Raymond Waltham, Howie Jamison, Clarence Genther, Francis Coston,
Edson Goodrich, Ted Griffith, Florice Stevens & Music Teacher Doris Harlow.
2nd Row: Earl Hart, _____ (unknown), Fanny Griffith, Mary Hart, Jimmy Fuller, Roger Baker & Don Randlett
3rd Row: Angilee Fuller, Bernice Harding, Eileen Seekins, Geneva Merrill, Frank Mathews, Darrell Currie & Philip Nelson
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1930 ~
1st Row: Raymond Thorne, Robert Stedman, Edna Withee, Thelma Thorne, Floyd Emery, Margaret Buker
2nd Row: Malcolm Carr, Aubrey Burbank, Florice Green, Gwendolyn Webber, George Markham, Geneva Merrill
3rd Row: Clarence Merrow, Ralph Young, Marguerite Whittemore, Pauline Baker, Theodore Griffith, Grace Davis, Dorothy Butters
1930 Diploma of Marguerite Abigail Whittemore
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1932 ~
Allen R. Burton Prize Speaking Contest Program – 1932 (Courtesy of Virginia Salisbury Tucker)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1934 ~
1934 Senior Class Play Program (Courtesy of Virginia Salisbury Tucker)
1934-1935 Girl’s Basketball Team
Hartland Academy 1934-1935
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1935 ~
(Order of Names Pending)
Class of 1935 Graduation Program
1935 Baseball Team
Front Row (L-R): Howard Williamson, James Seekins, Floyd Webber, Howard Baird, Robert Stout, Donlin McCormack, Earle Merrow
Back Row: Coach Howard W. Louder, Kenneth Baird, Alfred Bell, Andrew Peterson, Donald Hollister, Wendell Marr
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1936 ~
1st Row: Stephen Miller, Margaret Ashe, Maurice Hatch
2nd Row: Marion Hollister, Phillip Baird, Althea Tobey, Charlotte Grant
3rd Row: Frank Ford, Charlotte McCrillis, Kathleen Pelkie, Leland Cunningham
4th Row: Lillian Lewis, Lennis Harris, Vivian Greene
5th Row: Barbara Weymouth, Thelma Cookson
Underclassmen at Hartland Academy pose for a group photo in 1936.
Hartland Academy – 1936 (Courtesy of Donald McDougal)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1937 ~
The correct order of names is currently unknown but are noted as:
Bea Mills, Clayton Merrill, Arlene Stedman, Alice Chapman, Myron Davis, Donald Withee, Clara Woodbury, Donald Hollister, Dorothy Leemond, Frances Fellows, Donlin McCormack, Marie Libby, Lyle Martin, Kenneth Wiers, Phyllis Baird, Bertha Smith, Eva Lowell
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1938 ~
1st Row: Russell Dunlop, Kathleen Culley, Joseph Ford, Opal Wiers, Kenneth Baird
2nd Row: Eleanor Libby, Robert Perkins, Ardis Moulton, Wendall Marr, Pauline Young
3rd Row: Norman Strout, Lona Clark, James Moore, Mildred Wentworth, Andrew Peterson
4th Row: Marion Ash, Arthur Littlefield, Grace Parsons, Liston Inman, Erlene Hughes
5th Row: Cherrie Thorne, Mildred Cooley, Miriam Steeves, Marguerite Wheeler
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1939 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1940 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1941 ~
1st Row: Donald McLean, Jacqueline Buker, Glenis Cunningham, C. Jeanette Smith, Edward Hilton
2nd Row: Linwood Perkins, Margaret Lord, Luther Nichols, Meredith Knowles, Clyde Cookson Jr, Marguerite Walker
3rd Row: Mary McDougal, Phillip Libby, Helen Cheney, Margaret Moore, Geraldine Knowles, Ernest Inman, Mabel Nutter
4th Row: Herbert Davis, Rendall Phinney, Virginia Millett, Grace Lord, Omar Wheeler, Leon Patten
5th Row: Allen Jones, Priscilla Mower, Verne McLean, Valti McDougal, Sheldon Ballard, Jean-Marie Lucas, Bertram Thorne
Class of 1941 Commencement Program
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1942 ~
Albert Brooks Deering, Sr – Ripple Dedication – 1942
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1944 ~
Class of 1944 Graduation Photo (Courtesy of Deering Family)
Hartland Academy Girls Basketball Team 1943-1944 (Courtesy of Deering Family)
Gladys Belle Deering; daughter of Albert B. Deering, Jr & Edith Whitten
Gladys Belle Deering Diploma (Courtesy of Deering Family)
Hartland Academy – 1944
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1946 ~
Boys Basketball Team 1945-1946 (confirm dates, noted only as 1945)
1st Row: Fred Towle, Howard Sally, Ashley Parker, Linwood Wheeler, Richard Nichols
2nd Row: David Tibbetts, Edmund Seekins, Maynard Yakemore, Roger Jordan, Brian Hanson, George Baker
3rd Row: Mr. Ivan Bubar, Clyde Leonard, Royce Temple, Kenneth Hughes, Ivan Welch
~ Ripple Tribute to Hartland Academy Students Killed or Missing In Action in World War II ~
A Gold Star Ceremony on behalf of these fallen men was held at Warren Square in 1949.
Donlin Francis McCormack – KIA July 18, 1943
Arthur W. Sherburne – KIA December 30, 1943 | Norman Steeves – KIA January 7, 1943
Clarence E. Walker – KIA June 7, 1944
Rendall Wallace Phinney – KIA June 9, 1944
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1947 ~
Class of 1947 Commencement Program (Courtesy of Margaret Hart Collection)
The Burton Prize Speaking Contest Program – February 6, 1947 (Courtesy of Margaret Hart Collection)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1948 ~
1st Row: Hilda Wade, Ruth Page, Ruth Fox, Patricia Perry, Mary Bragg, Arvene Ham, Helene Withee, Gweneth Neal, Colleen Stromback, Mary Fisher, Janet Seekins
2nd Row: Phil Estes, Raymond Lucas, Harvey Martin, Linwood Wheeler, Marie Smith, Winnafred Mower, Thomas Gee, Raymond Braley, Paul Neal, Kenneth Hughes
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1949 ~
Class of 1949 Commencement Program (Courtesy of Virginia Salisbury Tucker)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1950 ~
Class of 1950 Commencement Program (Courtesy of Virginia Salisbury Tucker)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1951 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1952 ~
(Digital processing of The 1952 Ripple pending)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1953 ~
(Digital processing of The 1953 Ripple pending)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1954 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1955 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1956 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1957 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1958 ~
(Digital processing of The 1958 Ripple pending)
Class of 1958 Commencement Program (Courtesy of Dean Nadeau)
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1959 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1960 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1961 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1962 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1963 ~
(Digital processing of The 1963 Ripple pending)
Class of 1963 Commencement Program
Class of 1963 Senior Class Trip – Washington, D. C.
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1964 ~
“The Hartland Academy Band was elected as the Official State of Maine Band to attend the 1964 National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. After being chosen, the band and the senior class joined and made the trip a week long time of fun, learning, and most of all honor to our school. We visited both New York and Washington D. C. on this trip. The members of the band marched on April 11, 1964 in the Parade of Princesses. We were all very thrilled and rewarded as we marched down Constitution Avenue.” – Linwood Humphrey – The Ripple
Hartland Academy Band – 1964
Hartland Academy Band – 1964
Hartland Academy Band – 1964
Hartland Academy Band – 1964
Hartland Academy Band – 1964
Hartland Academy Band – 1964
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1965 ~
On November 16, 1965 the citizens of Hartland, Corinna, Newport, Palmyra and St. Albans voted to create Maine School Administrative District #48. Students of the new school district continued attending their respective area schools while plans for a new regional high school were formed and brought to fruition. The area high school Classes of 1967 & 1968 from Hartland Academy, Corinna Union Academy and Newport High School received diplomas noting both their respective school name and M.S.A.D. #48.
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1966 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1967 ~
~ Hartland Academy – Class of 1968 ~
“She’s seen the first and now she’s seen the last.”
1st Row: Ethelyn Wentworth, Pauline Lindsay, Shari Tapley, Allen Perry, Gerry Wheeler Jr, Florence Curtis, Kathy Powers, Karen Chambers
2nd Row: Sally Hall, Sylvia Stedman, Rose Reynolds, Peggy Ricker, Brenda Strickland, Peggy Morgan, Carol Hartley
3rd Row: Philip Melanson, Earl Hughes, Ralph Brown, Karen Stedman, Bruce Washburn, Linwood Vanadestine Jr, Roger Kniffen, Charlie Denbow
4th Row: Dana Cooper, Daryl Gordon, Frank Bryant, Ozzie Hardy, Larry Lary, Roland Dubey, John Cook
5th Row: David Whitten, Malcolm Burrell
Class of 1968 Commencement Program
~ The End of an Era ~
The beloved building served the local community as Hartland Academy for 112 years as a home for high school education but time had come for change. In the Fall of 1968, the newly formed Maine School Administrative District #48 opened Nokomis Regional High School located on the Williams Road in Newport for Grade 9 thru Grade 12 students from Hartland, Corinna, Newport, Palmyra and St. Albans centralizing all its high school students at the new facility. They would later be joined by students from Etna, Dixmont & Plymouth.
The students of Hartland in the Class of 1972 would become the only class not to attend Hartland Academy as high school students as they went from Hartland Consolidated School as 8th Graders directly to Nokomis Regional High School as 9th Graders.
The former Academy building continued being used for educational purposes as Hartland Junior High School for Grade 7 and Grade 8 students from Hartland, St Albans & Palmyra until it closed at the end of the 2002 school year to make way for the new Somerset Valley Middle School built behind it which included Grades 5 through Grade 8 and opened that Fall.
Following its closure in 2002, the building housed the Hartland Town Office and the Hartland Historical Society until November of 2008 before it was finally abandoned by the town due to major operating expenses and overwhelming needed repairs. The Town Office returned its former home at the Town Hall and the Academy building was eventually sold to a private owner.
Hartland Academy 1856-1968 (Photo courtesy of Will Bunker Photography)