Adams Academy Sesquincentennial
Adams Academy, the architectural gem at the corner of Adams and Hancock Streets, turns 150 years old in 2022. With recent renovations completed, Quincy boasts one of the finest 19th century buildings in the country. In addition to the sesquicentennial of the Academy, we are celebrating the 200th anniversary of John Adams’ donation of the land “for a Greek and Latin School or Academy.” To round out the triple play of anniversaries, the Adams Academy became the home of Quincy Historical Society in 1972, making this our 50th anniversary of occupancy.
Adams established the Adams Temple and School Fund so that a stone schoolhouse should be built on the site of the house of the Rev. John Hancock. That house, which burned to the ground in 1759, was the birthplace of the patriot John Hancock and later the home of both Josiah Quincy Sr., and Josiah Quincy Jr.1Quincy Historical Society website: http://quincyhistory.org/index.php/about-qhs/
Adams’ grandson, Charles Francis Adams I (1807-1886), oversaw construction of the Academy. On January 1, 1871, a contract was signed with architects Ware and Van Brunt for $28,867.99. The firm designed many buildings in Massachusetts, including Harvard University’s Memorial and Weld Halls. Adams probably would have been surprised that it took so many years after his munificence to break ground, but financial difficulties persisted with the fund. In fact, the original estimate by the architects came in at $36,000. The board asked Ware and Van Brunt to make changes to bring the price below $30,000.
The Adams Academy is a gothic revival, brick and stone building. The architects fulfilled Adams’ wishes for stone by using granite quarried from Adams’ land in Quincy. Proud of the construction and furnishings, the 1873 Adams Academy brochure stated:
The Academy building has been erected with great care and is believed to be one of the most elegant and perfect school edifices in the country. It has been thoroughly furnished to correspond with the beauty of the building, and with the wish that it should not only have everything necessary for the comfort of both teachers and pupils, but that it should be attractive and pleasant – a proper schoolhouse for well-bred boys. Deposited in the building is the valuable classical library of President Adams, and this, together with the excellent collection of books belonging to the Public Library of the Town of Quincy, will be free to all who are connected with the school.
The Academy opened in 1872 with 23 pupils, six of whom hailed from Quincy. The high-water mark of 140 pupils was reached in 1876-1877. A steady decline ensued until its closing in 1907. The school’s goal was to prepare boys thoroughly for the best American colleges, although most went on to Harvard. The Hancock House, close to Town Hall, offered accommodations for many out-of-towners, and a large boardinghouse next door to the Academy was opened for students in 1874.
There were three esteemed headmasters. Dr. William Reynolds Dimmock (1835-1878) opened the school and served until his death in 1878. Dimmock Street, the southern boundary of the Academy, is named after him. Dr. William Everett (1839-1910) took the reins from 1878 until 1893, when he resigned to represent the 7th district of Massachusetts in Congress. William Royall Tyler (1852-1897), a teacher at the Academy, was promoted to headmaster in 1893, but he died in 1897 after a short bout of pneumonia. Dr. Everett returned to lead the school in 1897 until its closure in 1907.
Students at the Academy held all the headmasters in high regard. Thorpe Babcock, a graduate of Adams Academy in 1902, wrote an unsolicited letter to Quincy Historical Society in 1974 referencing headmaster Everett:
The headmaster in the English tradition was William Everett, son of Edward Everett, who appeared with President Lincoln at the time of his famous speech at Gettysburg. Dr. Everett was a brilliant scholar in the old tradition of Latin and Greek. To him, Latin in particular was the foundation of all learning, and his boys were going to have it pounded into them willy-nilly. I must add he was a great believer in ability of public speaking.
The headmasters were adept at motivating young men to learn at a high level. Medals were awarded each year for excellence in elocution, reading, and declamation. Prizes of books were given to boys in each class for excellence in translation of Latin, general studies, and mathematics. One recipient became an acclaimed writer and naturalist: Henry Beston Sheahan, author of The Outermost House, received the gold medal in declamation at a ceremony at the First Parish Church in 1905.
Mindful that a classical education should include physical activity, the 1873 Adams Academy brochure mentions “a good play ground attached to the Academy, and in the basement a play room with gymnastic apparatus.” Early on, sporting events were held at the Academy field on Greenleaf Street. The Academy had competitive baseball and football teams, playing against Milton Academy, Phillips Academy, and high school teams from Quincy, Dorchester, Milton, Weymouth, Rockland, etc. Games were also scheduled with college freshmen from Harvard, Boston College, M.I.T., and more. Beginning in the early 1890s home games were played at Merrymount Park.
The pinnacle of sports at the Academy was reached on April 27, 1901, when a baseball game was played against arch-rival Quincy High School. The usually buttoned-down Dr. Everett expressed his glee at the result of the game by awarding a scarfpin to the captain of the team. The Quincy Patriot recounted some of the aftermath on May 4, 1901:
The Adams Academy blue and white banner and a banner bearing the score of 53 to 3 were flying from the gables of the Adams Academy building Monday, to celebrate the result of the game between the nines from the Academy and the Quincy High School on Saturday, which was a victory for the Academy boys, so overwhelming that the score was almost beyond belief.
Every year on October 30, John Adams’ birthday, the Adams Academy celebrated Founders Day. The Adams Academy Athletic Association conducted their version of the Olympic Games, called the Annual Fall Games. Over a dozen track and field events were contested for the enjoyment of faculty, family, and friends. It was a large spectacle, with a pre-printed program listing events, contestants, and judges. A sterling silver cup from the first decade of the 20th century was recently donated to Quincy Historical Society. Engraved on the cup are names of winners of the “one mile” race from 1900 to 1904. They were H. J. Hawkins 1900, C. B. Hoxie 1901 and 1904, and A. M. Hoxie 1902 and 1903.
As the years went by, enrollment at the Academy decreased so much that tuition increases could not raise enough revenue and annual deficits depleted the Fund. By 1907 there were only 35 students encompassing all four classes. A classical education emphasizing Latin and Greek languages had gone out of style. In late 1907 the Fund offered to merge the Academy with Quincy High School, but the Quincy City Council turned down the proposal and the school closed.
Since closing the Academy, Dr. Everett had been in ill health, and amidst his efforts to revive the school, he died in February 1910. Boston newspapers speculated that the failure to rescue his beloved Academy contributed to his death at the age of 70. After losing such a strong advocate, the Fund turned to other uses for the building.
In 1915 the Academy building became a recreation center for the Young Women’s Club of Quincy. The club used one room as a gymnasium, another for dramatics and dancing, and a third for sewing classes. The Red Cross came to the building shortly after the US entered WWI in 1917. A public market for produce vendors was popular for several summers. In July 1917 the Pathe Motion Picture Producing Corporation photographed crowds of shoppers at the grand opening. Somewhere in their archives rests some fascinating pictures of Quincy. The Boy Scouts began a long tenure in 1918 and the Girl Scouts arrived in 1920.
The Paul Revere Post of the G.A.R. moved their relics of the Civil War into the Academy in 1928 when the veterans were well into their eighties. There were only ten members of the Post still alive at the time. In 1912 the G.A.R. wanted to turn the Academy into a Memorial Hall but that never came to pass. Continuing with the military theme, in the 1950s and 1960s young men entered the Academy to register with the draft board.
Trustees of the Fund were conflicted about allowing non-educational organizations to rent space at the Academy. On the one hand they wanted the income, but there was a duty to remain true to Adams’ original intent. Since 1972 Quincy Historical Society has been the sole tenant of the building. People come from around the world to visit the museum, donate mementoes related to Quincy, attend a lecture, or do some research at the well-stocked library. According to the 1993 National Historic Landmark Nomination, “The Society’s use of Academy as a museum and library is compatible with John Adams’ original intent.” The Adams Academy was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1994.
“As steward of the Adams Academy, Quincy Historical Society has undertaken an ongoing process of preservation and restoration. In the 1970s, the Society restored the original cathedral ceilings in the Academy’s two main galleries. In 2000 the Society introduced adaptations that retained the integrity of the building while making it accessible to persons with disabilities. In 2002 preservation and replacement work was done on the roof to guarantee the integrity of the building. In 2005 in conjunction with the opening of the Society’s new Quincy History Museum, the Society restored the Academy lobby to a state closer to its original 19th century appearance.”2Quincy Historical Society website: http://quincyhistory.org/index.php/about-qhs/ The Academy’s façade was repointed in 2008-2009. A Community Preservation Act grant in 2018 paid for replacement of windows, components repairs, and asbestos abatement in window caulking.3Community Preservation Coalition website: https://www.communitypreservation.org/adams-academy-windows-preservation
As the Society celebrates 50 years at the Academy, we extend our thanks to the City of Quincy, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, businesses, members, and friends for your generous support.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of our newsletter, Quincy History.
Please join us on Friday, November 18th, from 4-7 p.m. at the Adams Academy for a celebration of the three anniversaries outlined in this article. The event is open to all, and free to attend.
this looks like it will be wonderful! november 18 – all hail america’s second founding first lady of america – and mother of the sixth president – and her glorious presence gracing with womanly strength all quincy!
i just know what she was mumbling as she took exquisite care of their home, growing her husband’s family businesses, and the capitol, “without the mothers, there’d be none of us at all.”
welcome, home, dear lady (for whom my own daughter was named :))