Gorham Academy Building

 

     At the end of a work day at the University of Southern Maine, I paid a visit to the Academy Building, which is located on the USM Gorham campus. Although it was finals week, the building was empty except for a lone painting instructor, whose name unfortunately escapes me - especially unfortunate, since he was so kind to me and my husband. 

     The outside of the Academy Building is grand, with pillars and porches, topped with a bell, the first bell in Gorham, hung in 1807. The front steps could use some work, but the building was in pretty good repair, judging from the outside. USM students usually see the more prosaic side, pictured below at left, where they enter to take art classes. The more imposing view is from the front, especially if one is looking up the hill from Route 114, Fort Hill Road.

     The wooden Georgian building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was built in 1805 by Samuel Elder, a house joiner, who was later one of the first Trustees of Gorham Academy, which opened in 1806. Gorham Academy was originally meant for the instruction of boys in English, Greek, Latin, geography, astronomy, and other subjects, including moral instruction, so as to prepare them for college. There were grammar schools in existence, but Massachusetts felt there was a need for further instruction in these subjects, so students would not fall to the temptation of Satan (they would be saved by being able to read the old languages and Scripture), and to continue learning so that learning did not go to the grave with their forbears. Thirty three boys made up the first class, though girls were admitted the next session. Graduates often went on to attend Bowdoin or Exeter or other colleges, for which they were amply prepared by their attendance at Gorham Academy.

     The Academy Building was built on an acre of land granted by Thomas McLellan, who owned land adjacent (and whose house is the subject of the next post). Over the years as its usage changed, Gorham Academy was also known as Gorham Male Academy, Gorham Seminary, Gorham Female Seminary and Maine Female Seminary. It closed in 1877, but was later leased to the new state Normal School. The Normal School after a number of permutations would eventually become USM.  

     Now back to that kind art professor. He opened up the attic so we could explore the bones of the structure, which are gorgeous hand-hewn beams. Generations of art students have doodled and sketched and made their mark up there, as evidenced by one example below from 1937. The attic was even an integral part of an art installation in 2004 by visiting artist Jamie Snyder.

      The building has a long, fine history of educating young people. Currently it houses art classes, and the building is light and airy, with the smell of paint wafting through. Very few of the original features can be seen through all of the canvases, paints and detritus of artists at work, though I did see some bits of tin ceiling under the stairs. The building is not owned by USM, but is leased from the Gorham Academy Association.

Sources consulted include:  

http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/15702

http://books.google.com/books?id=jr8-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=Samuel+Elder+Gorham&source=bl&ots=RQZl0W631H&sig=xg6YrZjLcEYJChwyDvwYu-jilBc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ffiKUYG1H83w0QGL-oDgCw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Samuel%20Elder%20Gorham&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=W5zRCynDPk8C&pg=PA11&dq=Gorham+Academy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8AaLUajRK8fX0gHpm4DACQ&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Gorham%20Academy&f=false

https://www.usm.maine.edu/gallery/2004-gorham-attic-drawing-installation-jamie-snyder