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Thetford Academy—Where Minds Embark on Endless Growth
Researched and Written by Janine Weins
(Posted 1/31/07)

Thetford Academy is a classically beautiful school...

... which enjoys some of Vermont's most spectacular views.

In the fall of 1778, the Reverend Asa Burton came to Thetford Hill as minister of the church built on the hill. At the time,district schools did not go beyond the elementary grades. Burton, a graduate of Dartmouth College, believed "the mind (was) capable of endless growth" and that the lack of secondary education contributed to "the young people (being) ... very loose, vulgar, and unpolished."

In 1818, after having worked with the Council of New England Churches to establish Kimball Union Academy, Burton led a "group of community-minded individuals to found Thetford Academy." On February 8, 1819, Thetford Academy opened. Some students lived nearby while many traveled a relatively great distance and boarded with families on Thetford Hill so they could attend the Academy. By 1835, Thetford Academy had 135 students.

In 1943, in what is referred to as "a great fire," the Academy building, Burton Hall—which served as a dormitory in the winter and the Hanoum Inn in the summer—and the Latham Library were destroyed.

Although many of the private academies in New England that had been opened in the 19th century had closed and turned secondary education over to public high school, the citizens of Thetford choose to rebuild Thetford Academy after the fire.

The White Building the citizens of Thetford built in the 1940s is one of the most beautiful classic school buildings in the country. The views from the Thetford Academy campus are as spectacular as can be found on any school campus.

Although Thetford Academy remains a private school, over the years it has acquired a public mandate to provide secondary education for Thetford, and to educate students from Lyme and Strafford who wish to attend the Academy. Eight other towns in Vermont pay tuition so their students can attend. Some attend as private pay tuition students.

Thetford Academy has a strong commitment to the arts. This past year the principal, Martha Rich, was given the Art Advocate Award by the Vermont Alliance for the Arts. The students stage several musicals and plays that are well received and of high quality. Some of the productions use the professional stage of the nearby Parish Players.

Every September the nearly 400 Thetford Academy students celebrate Mountain Day by climbing one of the six mountain peaks that are visible from the school.

In October, thousands from around New England come to participate in the annual 5 K Woods Trail Run. The trail starts on the Thetford Academy campus and winds through the adjacent Thetford Hill State Forest.

In the winter, the students and faculty invite the public to join them in paying tribute to those who nearly 200 years ago had a vision for what secondary education should be like on Thetford Hill. This year Founders' Day will be Friday, February 2nd.