Deerfield Academy

History

Deerfield Academy was founded in 1797 when Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams granted a charter to start a school in the historic town of Deerfield. The academy quickly established itself as one of the finest schools in the newly formed United States and drew students, both male and female, from prominent families across New England. In the second half of the 19th century, however, its prosperity declined, culminating in a merger with the local public school.

Related Topics:
1797 - Massachusetts - Samuel Adams

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While unlike many other American prep schools Deerfield Academy was not formally religiously affiliated, it was founded as a state institution at a time when the state of Massachusetts required all citizens to belong to a church. Attendance at Congregationalist Church services was required by boarding students until the 1970's and school meetings included the singing of Christian hymns.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts - Congregationalist Church - 1970's

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In the early twentieth century, Deerfield's fortune sharply rebounded with the appointment of Frank Boyden as Headmaster. The prestige enjoyed by the school today is a direct result of the foundations he laid, including having trained scores of men as teachers and headmasters in their own right, one of the most notable among them being John A. Pidgeon, who had served as headmaster of The Kiski School from 1957 to 2002. Boyden's long career and legacy at Deerfield has been immortalized in the 1966 book The Headmaster, by Deerfield alumnus and writer John McPhee. His success would not have been possible without the support and assistance of his wife, Helen Childs Boyden. After 66 years of serving Deerfield, Frank Boyden retired in 1968.

Related Topics:
Frank Boyden - Headmaster - John A. Pidgeon - The Kiski School - 1957 - 2002 - 1966 - The Headmaster - John McPhee - Helen Childs Boyden - 1968

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The current headmaster Eric Widmer (1957) was appointed in 1994 and has announced his retirement, effective following the hiring of a replacement. In 1989, the Academy reestablished co-education, which Boyden had discontinued during the 1940's. Today, Deerfield Academy is considered one of the leading prep schools in the country.

Related Topics:
Eric Widmer - 1957 - 1994 - 1989

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