Elgin Academy was an independent,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or p ...

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, United States. Elgin Academy was notable for many accomplishments, such as its Scholastic Bowl and

ACES An ace is a playing card. Ace(s), ACE(S) and variants may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Awards * ACE Awards (Award for Cable Excellence) Comics * ''Ace Comics'', a 1937-1959 comic book series * Ace Magazines (comics), a 1940- ...

teams.

History

The academy was established by charter of the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

in 1839 to provide students with a

classical education Classical education refers to a long-standing tradition of pedagogy that traces its roots back to ancient Greece and Rome, where the foundations of Western intellectual and cultural life were laid. At its core, classical education is centered on t ...

. The academy's original building, Old Main, was constructed in 1855-6, and is on the United States'

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It now serves as a museum of the Elgin Area Historical Society. The original charter was granted by the Illinois legislature and signed in 1839, only four years after the founding of Elgin. The academy opened, and has continued, with a non-denominational and coeducational policy. In 1856 the first building, Old Main, was completed at a cost of $19,000 and opened for classes, but the first diploma was not awarded until 1872 when Laura Davidson, the granddaughter of James Gifford, Elgin's founder, earned the honor. Davidson later married Nathaniel Sears and their family became major donors to the academy. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

seven commissioned officers, six non-commissioned officers, and 21 privates served from the academy. All together, 153 Civil War veterans, whose names are inscribed on the base of two authentic Union cannons, were associated with the academy. In 1874, 274 students were enrolled and high school degrees were offered in the areas of College Preparatory, Normal, English, Classical, Latin-Scientific, and Business. By 1900 the football team, basketball team, and a school newspaper were established. About this time the academy became briefly associated with the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and then with

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

from 1903 to 1927 and from 1932 to 1943. The Sears family helped build the academy's first gymnasium in 1918. A boarding program ran from 1920 to 1987, with girls allowed to board starting in 1941. History of Elgin Academy
accessed 2010-05-17 The Sears family helped build the Sears Art Gallery in 1924 and Sears Hall in 1940. The new gymnasium was built in 1958, North Hall was built as a girls' dormitory in 1962, and Edwards Hall was built in 1969. Old Main was closed in 1972. Enrollment fell to 85 students in 1973, but rose to 425 in 2012. In 1984 the program was expanded to K-12, and preschool was added in 1997. The Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science, and Fine Arts Center opened in 2008. Enrollment fell back down to 200 in 2023, and on November 7, 2023, the school officially announced its planned closing. The school closed at the end of the 2023-2024 school year after graduating its final class of 19 seniors. On August 30, 2024, the campus was acquired by Burhan Academy, a new K-12 Islamic school.

Facilities

The school occupied a campus northwest of Chicago in the Historic District of the city of Elgin. The school's classrooms were largely housed in four buildings: * The Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science and Fine Arts Center housed the Kimball Street Theatre and part of the Liautaud-Lyons Upper School program, partially donated by the philanthropic James "Jimmy John" Liautaud. * Edwards Hall housed the Liautaud-Lyons Upper School program. * Sears Hall housed the Middle School program. * North Hall housed the Early Childhood and Lower School programs. Other buildings on campus included: * Sears Gallery * The Gymnasium * Raymond House (business office) * Penney House (admissions, marketing, development and alumni relations offices) * Old Main (the Elgin Area Historical Society and one classroom used daily by the academy) A sports field complex, approximately one half-mile away from the main campus, included tennis courts, grass fields, and 1/5-mile all-weather track.

Old Main

Old Main was the academy's original building. Rather than restore it in the early 1970s, the academy sold it to the city of Elgin for $1. Today, it is used as the museum for the Elgin Area Historical Society. One room served as a regular school classroom for the school.

The Academy

The academy offered an academic, college-preparatory curriculum. It was 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, board ...

and was accredited by both the

Independent Schools Association of the Central States Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and the

AdvancEd The Advanced Party (), otherwise known as the Advanced Association () was a liberal and centrist Zionist political association in Mandatory Palestine founded by several urban liberal Zionists. The party was founded in order to represent the voice ...

commission. The school was a member of the Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools, the Illinois Coalition of Nonpublic Schools, the Cum Laude Society, the National Honor Society, and many other academic organizations. It was recognized by the Illinois Non-Public Schools Recognition Program.

Athletics

Elgin Academy's sports teams were nicknamed the Hilltoppers (the school being built on a hill), and their mascot was Foxman, after the nearby Fox River. Basketball, soccer, track, cross country, golf, tennis, volleyball, and baseball were offered. The school's sports affiliations included the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...

, the Illinois Council of Private Schools, and the

Independent School League Independent School League or ISL may refer to: * Independent School League (Illinois), a group of nine Chicago-area preparatory schools * Independent School League (New England), a group of 16 New England preparatory schools * Independent School ...

Notable Achievements

Academic: * Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) State Champions * Scholastic Bowl State Champions (2022 Masonic State 1A) * Scholastic Bowl Nationals 11th Place (2022

NAQT National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC is a question-writing and quiz bowl tournament-organizing company founded by former players in 1996. It is unique among U.S. quiz organizations for supplying questions and hosting championships at the middl ...

SSNCT) * Nationally Recognized Model UN Team Athletic: * IHSA Regional Basketball Champions, 1983 * 1983 Chicago Tribune basketball state power rankings as # 10 best in Illinois. * Soccer Regional Champions, 2016 * Cross Country Sectional Qualifiers, 2017 * Baseball 3x ISL Champions (2017-2019) and 4x Regional Champions (2016-2019) * 2022 Tennis Doubles State Champions * 2023 Tennis Singles State Champion

References

External links

Official website

Quiz Bowl Wikipedia Page
{{authority control School buildings completed in 1856 School buildings completed in 1969 Educational institutions established in 1839 Private elementary schools in Illinois Private high schools in Illinois Independent School League Private middle schools in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois Schools in Elgin, Illinois Preparatory schools in Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 2024 disestablishments in Illinois Educational institutions disestablished in 2024 Defunct schools in Illinois Defunct high schools in Illinois