Staunton Academy Board of Trustees Minute Book, 1793-1812

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Staunton Academy Board of Trustees Minute Book, 1793-1812. Local government records collection, Augusta County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Augusta County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Staunton Academy Board of Trustees Minute Book, 1793-1812. Local government records collection, Augusta County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

The Staunton Academy Board of Trustees Minute Book, 1793-1812, details the minutes of meetings of the academy's board of trustees. Early meetings describe the formation of the board of trustees and the election of officers. Alexander Humphreys was elected president, and Archibald Stuart was selected to fill the secretary position. Also stated in an early meeting is the board's vision of the type of education to be offered at the academy: "that the dead languages and such branches of science as are taught in modern schools and necessary to qualify students for the learned professions ought to be the object of the Institution, that the knowledge of the history of the ancient Republics and the history of man generally far as has been recorded the last three centuries is an important branch of science and ought to be considered indispensable."

Other topics discussed in the minutes include the hiring of teachers, establishing tuition rates, selecting the school's curriculum, and creating plans for reviewing the progress of teachers and students.

Beginning in 1808, meetings provide information on the construction plans of the academy's building on land given by Archibald Stuart. The minutes provide details on construction plans and the attempts to gather funds for the academy's support.

Biographical / historical:

The Staunton Academy, located in Staunton , Va. and one of the first private boy's schools in the Shenandoah Valley, was incorporated by an act of the Virginia Legislature on 4 December 1792; however, the school's building was not completed until after 1810. The school was founded from funds raised through the sale of general subscriptions in the county and by funds donated by the state from proceeds raised through the sale of glebe lands. Charles O'Neal was the elected as the first principle of the academy, and William Sterret, James Clarke, and John McCausland were among the first to teach at the academy.

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Augusta County under the accession number 43658.
Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v.