Delaware County NY Genealogy and History Site

the following information from "GRIP'S" VALLEY GAZETTE. Vol. V. No. 6. Albany, N. Y., June, 1897. 12 Nos. $1.00 (Entered at the Albany, N. Y., Post-office as second class mail matter.) Historical Souvenir, Series No. 4 DELHI AND VICINITY ILLUSTRATED. CENTENNIAL SOUVENIR.

THE DELAWARE ACADEMY

The Delaware Academy, one of the oldest educational institutions in the state, is delightfully situated on an eminence in the western end of the village overlooking the town and valley, with the river winding around two sides of the base of the terrace upon which the buildings stand. The campus is one of the prettiest stretches of level, velvety greensward that can be found anywhere. It is shaded by over 150 gigantic trees. The grounds, comprising ball, tennis and croquet fields, include twenty acres purchased in 1856. The school was originally located on the public square but had outgrown its accommodations. The business was constantly expanding; the reputation was reaching out and large numbers of scholars were coming in every year.

The Academy building is a high, square structure in plain white with a broad veranda across the front, relieved by a row of towering columns supporting a gable. The rooms and halls are large and airy and all the comforts of a modern school building together with the features of a colonial structure are obtained. Near the academy building stands the boarding hall with the best accommodations and all the comforts of home.

The academy building contains the chapel, study and recitation rooms, drawing room, library, chemical and physical laboratory, society hall and gymnasium. It is heated by the Gurney hot water system, has solid slate blackboards and modern furniture. The boarding hall accommodates fifty students and the faculty. It is heated throughout with the hot water system and has a radiator in every room. The ladies' and gentlemen's quarters are in separate parts of the building. It contains music rooms, parlors, office, reception rooms, bathrooms and every convenience. It has a complete provision for flooding any room at a moment's notice in case of fire. The water used comes from a private sprint situated on the mountain.

The number of students at the hall is not large enough to destroy the quiet of home life. The faculty and students constitute one family, all interested in one another. Every evening during study hours teachers are accessible to students and seldom does an evening pass when the office of the principal and the rooms of the teachers are not frequented by students desiring to be assisted in their studies. The health of the students is carefully watched.

The library contains 2,300 volumes consisting of the latest works of reference, historical and scientific works and standard literature.

The laboratory contains the latest and most improved physical and chemical apparatus, Ward's collection of rocks and minerals and much valuable apparatus for teaching Astronomy, Natural History, Physiology, Geography and Mathematics. A representative of the Regents of the University of the State of New York who inspected the laboratory valued it at $1,200.

The school also possesses maps, charts, globes, a sciopticon and a thoroughly equipped gymnasium.

Conducted by private enterprise it offers the best facilities of a high class private school. The faculty comprises the best instructors that can be obtained. The graduates of this school include many who have taken the highest honors in the leading colleges in the country.

One of the students fully prepared at this academy recently took the Learned Scholarship at Yale College valued at $600, graduating the youngest man in his class. The academy prepares many students for teaching and has had over sixty graduates teaching in Delaware county. The number of diplomas granted by the Regents of the University to this academy exceed the average number granted to similar schools with the same attendance.

During the single year ending June 1, 1896, the academy sent graduates to Yale, Vassar, Columbia, Princeton, Union, Hamilton, St. Stephen's, LaFayette, Westminster, Oberlin and Geneva colleges; the University of Chicago and Cornell and Colgate universities. This is a record to be proud of. The year the students to the academy came from four different states, eight counties of the state and twenty-six places of residence.

The Faculty.

WILLIS D. GRAVES, Prin., Natural Science, Mathematics.
ELIZABETH M. GRAVES, A. B., Latin, German, Literature.
GEORGE J. DANN, A. B., Greek, French, History.
AGNES ARBUCKLE, A. B., German English, Mathematics.
HENRY A. GATES, M. D., Physiology and Hygiene.
MARY R. CHAMPION, Preparatory and Primary.
ANNA M. PRESTON, Vocal and Instrumental Music.
JENNIE FULLER, Drawing and Oil Painting.
AUGUSTA A. HUGHSTON, Elocution.