Bridgton Academy is an all-male
college preparatory
A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...
in
Bridgton, Maine
Bridgton is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,418 at the 2020 census. A resort area in Maine's Lakes Region, Bridgton is home to Bridgton Academy, a private preparatory school, and the Four on the Fourth Roa ...
. Founded in 1808, the school sits at the northern tip of Long Lake in North Bridgton, Maine. The school has been
NEASC
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institutions ...
accredited since 1934, making it one of the oldest accredited schools in the country. The school is also a member of the
National Association of Independent Schools
The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...
.
The campus hosts twenty four different buildings. The majority of classes are held in the new Humanities Center. There are seven dormitories on campus ranging in capacity from 18-40 students. In recent history, the school has expanded its number of two-year students, allowing for students to complete their high school diploma at Bridgton, as well as spending their second, prep, year at the Academy.
History
Originally chartered when
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
was part of Massachusetts, Bridgton Academy submitted the articles of its incorporation by taking a horse and buggy all the way to Boston in 1806, and welcomed its first class in 1808. What was originally a 4-year, co-ed institution morphed into a boys-only school, and then finally a one-year preparatory school in the 1960s.
From "A Brief History of Bridgton Academy" by Ernest N. Stevens (Class of 1899): "Bridgton was incorporated in 1794. It was still a small settlement. In 1800 it had only 646 inhabitants....The settlers in this whole region were chiefly from Massachusetts towns to the north of Boston, such as Andover, Boxford, Rowley and Newbury. They were largely of Puritan stock, of fair education themselves, and genuinely concerned about the education of their children. Within forty years from the original survey of the town and within twelve years of its incorporation they were talking of opening a secondary school. But the way was not easy. Massachusetts, within whose jurisdiction they then lived, would authorize no fly-by-night academies."
In 1806, three Bridgton citizens - Samuel Adams, Dr. Samuel Farnsworth and Enoch Perley - set about to raise the funds necessary to incorporate an Academy. The only question after their successful fundraising was where the school was to be located. At a stormy session held by the townsfolk and presided over by three trustees from neighboring academies, it was determined that the school would be located in North Bridgton because "...the natural beauty of the scenery was so great that it seemed that nature itself had designed that there should be a school in North Bridgton."
Beginning in 2013 the Bridgton Academy campus has undergone an extensive refurbishing, with major gardening and planting projects appearing throughout the campus, as well as new stonework, wrought iron gates, and paint and siding upgrades to every campus building. In 2018 major renovations were performed on Cleaves Hall, the school's largest residence hall. The entire interior was gutted, the floor plan was redesigned, and the building was completely updated. It was re-opened for the Class of 2019.
Alumni
*
Clarence Black
'' Survivor'' is an American reality television show, based on the Swedish program, ''Expedition Robinson
''Robinson'', formerly ''Expedition Robinson'', is a Swedish reality game show and the original version of the international '' Surviv ...
– media personality
*
Steven Brooks – Syracuse Lacrosse two-time national championship player. Two time All American. Division I midfielder of the year. Alumnus of the NLL. Two-time MLL Cup winner. Member of the US Men’s National Team.
*
Victor Cruz – American football wide receiver
*
Amir Garrett
Amir Jamal Garrett (born May 3, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds. Garrett played college basketball for the St. John' ...
- professional baseball player for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
*
Courtney Greene
Courtney Greene (born November 23, 1986 in New Rochelle, New York) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2009 NFL Draft and played three seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college footb ...
– American football defensive back
*
Andrew Haldane
Andrew Allison Haldane (August 22, 1917 – October 12, 1944) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific theatre during World War II. He was killed in action during the Battle of Peleliu.
Haldane is portrayed by actor Scot ...
– military personnel
*
Simon M. Hamlin – politician
*
Dr. Edward H. Hill – surgeon, founder of
Central Maine Medical Center
The Central Maine Medical Center is a hospital located at 300 Main Street in the city of Lewiston, Maine. It serves most of Androscoggin County, including Lewiston and Auburn, Maine and various small and medium-sized communities. It is designat ...
*
Thomas Treadwell Stone
Thomas Treadwell Stone (February 9, 1801 – November, 1895) was an American Unitarian pastor, abolitionist, and Transcendentalist.
Life and work
Thomas Treadwell Stone was born on February 9, 1801, in Waterford, Maine to Solomon Stone and He ...
– Unitarian pastor and abolitionist
*
Robert Vaden – professional basketball player
*
Jermaine Wiggins
Jermaine Wiggins (born January 18, 1975) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Georgia, and signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 1999.
Wiggins was also a member of the New England Patrio ...
– NFL tight end. Super Bowl champion with the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
(
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
). Graduate of the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
.
*
Paris Horne
Paris L. Horne (born August 6, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Kouvot of the Finnish Korisliiga. Horne played college basketball at St. John's University. He has played for BG Gottingen in Germany and com ...
- Professional Basketball player, Overseas Elite, 4x winner of The Basketball Tournament
Campus
![Center-of-New-Field](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Center-of-New-Field.jpg)
The campus is set up on a hillside at the northern tip of
Long Lake, and contains two academic buildings, seven dormitories, a dining hall, ice rink, gymnasium and locker rooms, and a multi-field turf athletic complex. There are also several Administrative buildings (including the Academy Building, built in 1830 and still standing today), the Twitchell Memorial Chapel and the Wolverine Den (student center; actually the renovated North Bridgton Church). The residence halls are: Cleaves Hall, Massachusetts Hall, Jillson Hall, Walker Hall, Sylvester Hall, Holt Hall and Potter House. Each dormitory houses between 11 and 38 students and vary in age from Massachusetts Hall (built ca. 1850) and sister dormitories Walker and Jillson (completed in 1987). For the 2017-18 school year, Cleaves Hall has been taken offline for a full renovation.
The campus recently underwent a major renovation at the top of Chadbourne Hill, replacing the existing Ellis-Fisher multi-use athletic field and baseball field with a completely new synthetic turf surface in the summer of 2015. The baseball field was also relocated to better account for sunlight and prevailing winds. In 2016 the baseball complex was officially named "Koop Field" and received a new, state-of-the-art scoreboard in right field. The Ham practice field was also extended to a full 100 yards.
External links
Bridgton Academy official siteprofile of Bridgton Academy
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Boarding schools in Maine
Private high schools in Maine
Preparatory schools in Maine
Schools in Cumberland County, Maine
Bridgton, Maine
Buildings and structures in Bridgton, Maine