Local History Project

Brittany Sharpe
Mr. Viles
World Studies
December 18, 2007
Corinna Union Academy
The Corinna Union Academy is an old but well known building in Corinna, Maine. Everyday people may drive by this building and not know the history behind it. This building has a story and you will be learning about what it how it was built and what is has grown to be.

The Corinna Union Academy was built in 1851. This began when a group of 70 people came together to build this high school. Before this Academy was built there were not many schools in the town or the towns surrounding Corinna. If this Academy was built it would be one of the largest in the town. The idea that these people had was to create a school that the town could benefit from down the road and would educate fine students. 1 year later the school was licensed by the State and 7 years after that it opened. When the information on the courses and the school came out it read; the Academy contains 2 school rooms each one 32 feet. These were the drawing room and the recitation room. This means that there were 2 rooms in this old schoolhouse that were used for the education purpose. In 1931 the school was expanded. They built 2 more wings which had 4 classrooms. When this academy was built it was a 2 story white building with 17 windows and one door. It also included a bell tower. This is just what the town wanted. They had saved money for this Academy and now they had it. The style that this building was designed in is the Greek Revival style. These types of buildings were usually covered in clapboard and then were painted either white or gray. In this case the building was painted white. Also heavy trim is sometimes used and the corners of the building is accentuated by molding or carved wood. This type of building style was considered the first well liked and well used style of building.

Education then was much different than that of the world today. The first public school law was passed in 1647. This was started because the people of the towns wanted the children to have an education. This law had 2 purposes. The first was to stop Satans desire to keep men from the knowledge of the scripture. The other was to prevent learning from being “buried” or lost with those who came before their children. From these laws 1 person was appointed to teach these children all of the basic learning skills. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. The wages for these teachers were paid for the parents of the children or the masters of the children. This law was the basis for the higher education standards and ideas. Schools were not plenty in the 1800s. In 1800 Maine there were 161 incorporated towns within Maine. Within these 161 towns were 7 grammar schools. These 7 schools taught about 100 families children every year. This meant that the classrooms would be cramped and the teachers would have a hard time keeping their class under control. In 1820 Maine had 236 incorporated towns and in those towns were 25 academies. During this time public taxation became the primary way of paying for these schools. Education now is much more different. Today there are 177 districts within the state of Maine with too many schools to count. Today we have programs such as no child left behind so that children get the education that they need. In those times they did not have these laws. This law ensures that every child gets a fair education that they understand and that they have a chance to do the best they can. In the 1850s there were no laws like this. Every child had a chance to learn but they did not have the tools or standards that we have today.

The Corinna Union Academy is now known as the Corinna Union Academy Historical Society. It was shut down as a high school in 1968 when Nokomis Regional High School was built in Newport, Maine. After this it became a junior high. It then was condemned as unsafe to for a junior high in 1998 and was shut down. It then caught on fire in 2000 in the upstairs and they had to replace it. Then it caught fire again in the tower. The damage was minimal and was fixed. In 2004 it was re-opened as a historical society. It still holds the meetings occasionally today. This building represents what the town has been through and how it changed. This school was in the town and it grew with the town. It is like a symbol of growth.

I hope that you learned a lot about this Academy and that next time you drive by you think what it has been through. It has been through fire and survived. It shows how the education has changed. It shows how much the times have changed from the architecture to the teaching styles. It also demonstrates how buildings can be used for many purposes. So next time you drive by and think what an old building, instead think what an amazing building.