Originally published in the Cecil Whig
A few weeks ago, this column featured an article about the life of the Rev. William Duke. That article noted how, in 1807, he was appointed as a teacher at the Elkton Academy. Eleven years later, he was made its principal. We thought it would be appropriate to review some history of the Academy to give perspective to the work Rev. Duke did there.
According to his diary, on May 12, 1787, General George Washington broke bread at a tavern in Elkton on his way to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. But General Washington’s visit to Elkton was not the only historic occasion that day in Elkton. Col. Henry Hollingsworth, Washington’s war time quarter master, was involved in another historic event, the deeding of one acre of land for the purpose “of promoting and encouraging a good School and place of Devine Worship… to all…inhabitants in the said Village (of Elk) and within one mile from the said School House….” That “good School” would become the Elkton Academy.
The Historical Society possesses the original copy of the “Minutes of the Elkton Academy Cecil County 1853 – 1883.” In it is detailed 30 years of Academy history, including a description of how the Academy recovered from a devastating fire in 1854.
The ever frugal board resolved to tear down the fire gutted Academy walls and see to it that “the bricks cleaned and piled in such a place as the Building Committee shall direct.” Many of those old bricks were used in the new Academy building which was 32 feet by 40 feet. A contract was let with “Rambo and Smith according to terms offered by them January 23, 1855 for $3400 to include fixtures, a furnace for heating, and fencing.”
In August the board advertised for a new Principal. Dr. Edward Arnold of Harford County was hired in November and two weeks later he presided over the opening of the new Academy with 35 male and 28 female students enrolled. Tuition per quarter was “Juvenile dept. $4.50; Junior dept. $6.50; and Senior dept. $8.00.” Open to male and female students was the study of Latin, Greek, French, Algebra, Chemistry, Philosophy, and English.
According to documents in the Historical Society Vertical File, the Cecil County School board leased some of the space in the Academy in the 1860s, and even a merger was proposed; but the relationship ended when it was discovered “that the deed was illegal and a breach of trust etc.” Evidence of financial troubles arose through the rest of the 1800s as there are references to seeking legislative assistance and the principal conducting “school without an assistant.” The Academy’s treasurer resigned in April of 1904 with only $24.73 in the treasury.
A last ditch effort to keep the Academy open was made in 1912 by a committee that included Isaac Davis of Civil War fame. Their efforts were unsuccessful and the Academy closed in 1921.
The land eventually passed to the Singerly Fire Company in 1949. According to the “Singerly Fire Company History” it was done “through the cooperation of the Town Commissioners, who had purchased the Old Academy lot on North Street….”
The Elkton Academy’s old bell rang one last time in April of 1938, marking the institution’s official end. According to an article in the Cecil Democrat titled “The Last Call” by Catherine Eckels Wilson, the bell sounded “for its years we hear one hundred and fifty one strokes – and then its dates – one-seven-eight-nine – 1789 the year of its birth, and, finally, one-nine-three-eight – the year of its death.”
That old Elkton Academy bell resides with the Historical Society of Cecil County.
Our thanks to Darlene McCall for her research on the various Elkton Academy deeds and maps used in composing this article. For more information about the Academy, visit the Historical Society at 135 East Main Street in Elkton, or its web site at www.cecilhistory.org