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Romney Academy was an educational institution for higher learning in Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia). Romney Academy was first incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly on January 11, 1814, and was active until 1846 when it was reorganized as the Romney Classical Institute. In addition to the Romney Classical Institute, Romney Academy was also a forerunner institution to Potomac Seminary. Romney Academy was one of the earliest institutions for higher learning within the present boundaries of the state of West Virginia. With the growth of settlement in Pearsall's Flats, which was later the location of Romney, the need for educational facilities became apparent and the community began plans for the establishment of schools and churches. A log structure, which served as both a school and a church, was built at Pearsall's Flats around 1752 near Fort Pearsall. To provide for a teacher's payment, a form was circulated around Romney and each parent indicated on the paper how many of their children would attend the school and the type of payment the teacher would expect. By the time Romney was surveyed by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron laid out the town of Romney in 1762, the log school was still in existence. That year, a stone school building was erected on the site to the immediate north of the old Hampshire County Courthouse and became known as Romney Academy. Local education, including Romney Academy, continued to depend exclusively upon subscriptions until 1810 when the Virginia General Assembly passed what was known as the "Literary Fund". The assembly first incorporated Romney Academy on January 11, 1814. In 1817, the assembly passed a bill for the incorporating the trustees of Romney Academy. The Virginia General Assembly reincorporated Romney Academy on February 11, 1818, and on March 25, 1820. In 1820, as a result of a movement and debate for higher education by the Romney Literary Society, Romney Academy incorporated classical studies into its curriculum, thus making it the first institution of higher education in the region. By 1831, Romney Academy had outgrown its facilities, and the Romney Literary Society was given authorization to raise monies from a lottery to build a new school building. The society successfully raised the funds, and in 1845 bids were called for the construction of a new school building. On December 12, 1846, the Virginia General Assembly empowered the Romney Literary Society to establish a seminary for learning at the academy. That same year, a new brick building was constructed for the academy and for the library of the society; the building now serves as the central unit of the administration building of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Romney Academy was administered under the leadership of scholarly Englishman Dr. Henry Johnston, who was succeeded by Presbyterian Reverend and historian Dr. William Henry Foote. Foote introduced courses in theology into the school's curriculum. As the school's popularity grew and knowledge of its curriculum under Dr. Foote spread, Romney Academy began to attract students from beyond the South Branch Potomac River valley region. Other educators at Romney Academy during its early years were E. W. Newton, Silas C. Walker, Thomas Mulledy, and Samuel Mulledy. Thomas and Samuel Mulledy each later served as presidents of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. == Background == The land upon which Romney Academy was established was originally part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a land grant that Charles II of England awarded to seven of his supporters in 1649 and renewed by an official patent in 1688. One of these seven supporters, Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper, acquired the entire area in 1681, and his grandson, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, inherited it in 1719.〔 The South Branch Survey of the Northern Neck Proprietary extended from the north end of The Trough to the confluence of the North and South Branches of the Potomac River. Lord Fairfax originally planned to maintain the South Branch Survey as his personal manor but later commissioned James Genn to survey the South Branch Potomac River lowlands for sale in 1748, with land lots ranging in size from to . Romney and its environs within the South Branch Survey were originally settled in the 1730s by Job Pearsall, and by 1748 approximately 200 people had settled at what was then known as Pearsall's Flats. Prior to 1762, Lord Fairfax sent surveyors into Hampshire County, who were charged with the selection of a site for the what would later become the town of Romney. Pearsall's Flats was selected as the site due to its already having Fort Pearsall, a courthouse, and natural topographical advantages. Lord Fairfax commissioned a survey of Romney, and the town was laid out into 25 2-acre blocks with eight streets in a grid pattern in 1762.〔〔 On December 13, 1762, the Virginia General Assembly recognized the stability of the upper Potomac frontier when it passed a bill establishing the town of Romney, and the bill was signed by Governor Francis Fauquier on December 23, 1762.〔 In the early years in western Virginia, pioneer settlers were primarily concerned with providing defense from Native American attacks, so little emphasis was placed upon education. Education was viewed as a religious duty, to be provided for at home, where its quality was dependent upon the spare time and level of education of parents. With the growth of settlement in Pearsall's Flats, and later Romney, the need for educational facilities became apparent and the community began plans for the establishment of schools and churches. A log structure, which served as both a school and a church, was built at Pearsall's Flats around 1752 near Fort Pearsall. During his travels in western Virginia in 1753, George Washington made mention of this structure. The log building was constructed of roughly hewn logs with clay chinking and contained puncheon log floors, hewn side up, clapboard doors, and one small window covered by a paper greased with lard. Light in the log structure was provided by the small window and a fireplace measuring in height, which contained a tall pile of logs during the winter to provide for warmth in addition to lighting. The school's teachers were paid by subscriptions from the attending students. To provide for a teacher's payment, a form was circulated around Romney and each parent indicated on the paper how many of their children would attend the school and the type of payment the teacher would expect, whether in the form of cash renumeration, produce, or boarding.〔 These early teachers were usually "wandering pedagogues, settling wherever they could obtain enough signers to insure a living". By the time the surveyors on behalf of Lord Fairfax had laid out the town of Romney in 1762, the log school was still in existence along with other public buildings. Later in 1762 following the establishment of Romney, the school was rebuilt in stone on the same site.〔 The stone building was erected on the site to the immediate north of the old Hampshire County Courthouse and became known as Romney Academy.〔 The stone building was a rugged square building that served as Romney's cultural center before the school was formally incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly, but the exact date of its construction is unknown.〔 Romney Academy was first incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly on January 11, 1814. Following the American Revolutionary War, education in Virginia was provided predominantly by private "district schools" whose curriculum was decided by the people who funded them. On February 8, 1817, the first comprehensive bill for public education in the southern United States was introduced to the Virginia House of Delegates by Federalist delegate Charles F. Mercer. Mercer's bill provided for a centralized system for public education that was to be administered by a board of education and financed by the state of Virginia. The bill stated that primary schools were to be established first for "all free white children ... free of any charge whatever" and provided for the establishment of a system of academies, 48 for males and three for females, and four colleges that were to be dispersed throughout Virginia, and a university to be founded in a centralized location. The bill faced substantial partisan opposition and eventually failed.〔 Despite the bill's failure, the Virginia General Assembly continued incorporated academies or "classical schools" throughout the state to provide primary and secondary education. Despite being incorporated by the assembly, the academies were not public and were instead funded through tuition fees, which were generally low but prevented a larger number of students from attending them. By 1860, the Virginia General Assembly had incorporated 250 of these academies, including Romney Academy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Romney Academy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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