Images(2)

The Olde Academy, Middletown Point

Artist Unknown Artist

Periodca. 1850 - 1860

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensions8.25 × 12 in. (21 × 30.5 cm)

InscribedInscribed on the reverse, "The Olde Academy / Mattawan / Middletown Point."

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineGift of C. M. Williar, 1935

Object number2017.547

DescriptionA pencil drawing of a two story academic structure on a stone foundation with a three bay gable end to the street. A columned porch protects the centered entrance on the street elevation, while a square tower with an ornamental railing sits atop the gable. The side elevation is of four bays. An access hatch and chimney can be seen on the roof. All of the windows are equipped with louvered shutters, eight of which are closed. The building is situated on a narrow street bordered on both sides by picket fencing. A second street is shown to the right of the school. Picket fencing along the street to the left of the structure, and a board fence at the rear of its lot, define a yard area. Trees have been planted in front of and beside the structure, and a female figure attired in a voluminous dress and a cape or shawl is shown walking from right to left in front of the academy. Two gates in the foreground fence open inward onto a path and a driveway.
Curatorial RemarksJudging by the voluminous skirt worn by the female figure walking past the Academy, the pencil sketch dates from ca. 1850 to 1860. A later photograph of the building confirms the extreme accuracy of the architectural detailing and many of the fence lines in the drawing. Dating the photograph is assisted by the appearance of the Presbyterian Church to the right of the Academy that was erected in 1841. It shows a lecture room that had been added at the rear of the sanctuary in 1876, and also a tower at the front entrance constructed in 1891. The former Academy building finally ceased being used for educational purposes in 1895. So the image seems to date from about the time it was closed as a public school. A number of similar long and narrow private academies featuring a small tower were built in Monmouth County during the 1830s. Two such examples include the Freehold Academy of 1831, and the Franklin Academy in Middletown of 1836. The latter still survives, having been converted into a private residence.NotesThe Middletown Point Academy, located at the corner of Church and Jackson Streets in what is now Matawan, Monmouth County, began in 1834. Its sponsor was William Little, who engaged William Cooley as the first schoolmaster. Classes were initially conducted in one room. When the school first opened, it had two students, both children of Little. Then later that year eleven persons agreed to take twenty-two shares at $50 each to fund construction of a 44 foot by 26 foot two story building, which was erected and ready for occupancy by April 1835. Board could be obtained with good families in the community for $2.25 per week. Tuition for the basic curriculum was $4. However, the school was co-educational. Boys could receive instruction in languages and higher mathematics for $6, while girls could take drawing, painting, fancy work, and embroidery for $6, or music for $10. From 1836 to 1844, Philetus Phillips headed the school under the name of Phillips Academy. He was also an inventor, holding a number of patents of invention. Slightly more than twenty years after its founding, Middletown Point Academy stockholders subscribed $2,000 for a large new building which was erected in 1857 on the opposite side of Church Street. The name of the institution also changed, becoming the Collegiate Institute of Middletown Point, then Glenwood Collegiate Institute, and finally the Matawan Military Academy. After eighty-one years of offering private education in Matawan, the school finally closed its doors in 1915. The 1835 building saw several uses after 1857. It served until 1895 as the Middle District Public School, and then as a barn for James Conover. Later, the structure was moved to the end of Church Street and converted into a double house with the street numbers 1 and 3. It has now been demolished, replaced in 2009 by a new residence.

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