Hopewell Academy was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Latin grammar preparatory school in

Hopewell, New Jersey Hopewell is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Centrally located within the Raritan Valley region, this historical settlement (and its neighboring township of the same name) is an exurban commuter suburb of New York ...

that operated between 1756 and 1767. The academy is noted as the first Baptist educational establishment in the American Colonies. The school was the forerunner of

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, with Hopewell alumni James Manning and Hezekiah Smith both playing major roles in the establishment and early administration of the college.

History

In 1756, Reverend Isaac Eaton founded Hopewell Academy in Hopewell,

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherla ...

"for the education of youth for the ministry." The academy was one of a number established on the model pioneered by the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Log College The Log College, founded in 1727, was the first theological seminary serving Presbyterians in North America, and was located in what is now Warminster, Pennsylvania. It was founded by William Tennent and operated from 1727 until Tennent's death i ...

in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

. The academy was financed by the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Baptist Association and the Charleston Baptist Association, who appointed trustees to oversee its affairs The school operated out of a

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

house at 19 W. Broad Street. The structure was remodeled in the late 19th century and further modernized in the 20th century. It was documented by the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) in 1937. The school closed in 1767.

Relationship with Brown University

Two alumni of the school played major role in the establishment early administration of

. Minister Hezekiah Smith was an early supporter of the university while James Manning served as the college's first president. Hopewell Academy's relationship with Brown is analogous to that of the

with

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Gallery

File:Hopewell Academy.jpg, Engraving of the academy building File:Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer April 5, 1937 EXTERIOR - SOUTHEAST ELEVATION - Brown's College, 19 Broad Street, Hopewell, Mercer County, NJ HABS NJ,11-HOP,2-1.tif, HABS photo from 1937 File:HOPEWELL ACADEMY SIGN IN HOPEWELL BOROUGH, MERCER NJ.jpg, Historical marker at the site

Alumni

*Hezekiah Smith, early supporter of

* James Manning (1738–1791), first president of

, minister of the

First Baptist Church in America The First Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the First Baptist Church in America is the oldest Baptist church in the United States. The Church was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was ere ...

References

External links

* * * {{cite web, title=Hopewell Academy, url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31797 , publisher=

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...