History of Hopkins Academy, Hadley, Massachusetts
By Margaret Dwyer (Honorary Member of Class of 1964)
Foreword
The history of
Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Massachusetts, is the history of
education in the United States. From a private school for boys
preparing for the university, where they trained for the ministry
and for teaching, Hopkins Academy has evolved into the
twentieth-century free, coeducational public high school preparing
students for college and for life.
The story of Hopkins
Academy vibrates with intrigue, attempted murder, benevolence,
frustration, religious controversy, legal entanglements, near
failure and great success. It is a story that involves the
Puritans and the Congregationalists, a story that embraces
Connecticut and Massachusetts; a story that spans the Atlantic
Ocean and has roots in both Old England and New England. Hopkins
Academy is related, educationally, to Harvard University, Yale
university, Amherst College, Smith College, and the University of
Massachusetts. Hopkins Academy's history is closely related to the
history of the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut,
and to a lesser degree it is associated with the history of the
Cambridge Latin School in Massachusetts and the Public High School
in Hartford, Connecticut.
Hopkins Academy
exists today because of the wisdom, foresight, and benevolence of
a seventeenth century London merchant who never saw Hadley, never
knew of its existence, and who died in 1657, two years before the
town of Hadley, Massachusetts, was founded.
Though childless himself, Edward Hopkins expressed great concern
for the education of the youth of the new world, and in his will
he provided the financial assistance necessary "to give some
encouragement in those foreign plantations for the breeding of
hopeful youths both at the grammar school, and college, for the
public service of the country in future times." He was the
benefactor of four secondary schools and a college in New England.
Although Edward Hopkins frequently traded with the Indians and
negotiated with them on other matters there are reports that they
attempted to murder him.
A complete copy of
his will can be found in Chapter I of HOPKINS ACADEMY & THE
HOPKINS FUND 1664-1964. He named five trustees, one was William
Goodwin, and made financial arrangements that were important to
the present Hopkins Academy some three hundred and forty five
years later. One item of interest was a bequest of 250 pounds that
never came to Hopkins Academy! Mr. Goodwin presented a document to
the Court in Hampshire County March 30, 1669, regarding an
agreement with the Town of Hadley concerning the Hopkins will.
(Hampshire County Registry of Probate, Book I, p. 106.)
At one time the
students at the school came from the entire eastern seaboard. The
question arises, was it a boarding school? No. These boys and
girls lived with families in the center of Hadley sometimes as
many as twelve with one family. Originally a school for boys
studying for the ministry and for teaching it gradually increased
its course of study and welcomed girls.
For many years there was only one teacher at the Hopkins School
and he served as the principal, teacher, guidance counselor,
tutor, and, in some cases, as the minister of the community. In
the twenty-first century there are 28 teachers as well as a
principal; 256 students including few "school of choice" students
from other communities, and there is a diversified and enlarged
curriculum.
Chapter XI, Breeding
of Hopeful Youths for Public Service of the Country contains a
long and impressive list of Hopkins Academy Alumni who have spread
across the country and many who have gone beyond its shores. In
addition to missionaries there are many Hopkins graduates who had
successful careers in medicine, law, higher education,
agriculture, in the media and in service to our country, just to
mention a few professions that Hopkins graduates have chosen for
their life's work.
Epilogue
All who have been
associated with Hopkins Academy can be justly proud of its
accomplishments during its three hundred and forty-five year
history. Chronologically, Hopkins Academy is the fifth oldest
school in continuous existence in Massachusetts, the seventh
oldest in New England, and it may well rank among the first ten in
the entire United States. Here is a list of the early schools:
1635 Boston Latin
School
1636 Harvard College
1638 Hartford Public High School
1642 Cambridge Latin School
1645 Roxbury Latin School
1660 Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, Connecticut
1664 Hopkins Academy
Of the seven schools
listed, five were beneficiaries of the Hopkins legacy. The only
ones that did not benefit from the Hopkins will were the Boston
and Roxbury Latin Schools.
The Alumni
Association of Hopkins Academy welcomes the graduates of the
future and all will be mindful of the great legacy of Edward
Hopkins to a town he never knew, and of the determination of
William Goodwin to give to Hadley the beginnings of a rich and
valuable heritage that has increased in value and in scope since
its inception in the latter half of the seventeenth century.
Almost forty years
have passed since the publication of HOPKINS ACADEMY & THE HOPKINS
FUND 1664 - 1964. Many changes have taken place. Research material
is much more readily available via the computer in the comfort of
your home. Are there some Hopkins Academy alumni who like
challenges? Maybe they can bring up some interesting and valuable
information.
- Can you find a
portrait or likeness of Edward Hopkins in Old England or New
England?
- Can you find a
portrait or likeness of William Goodwin in Old England or New
England?
- Can you determine
the current value of the inheritance intended for Hadley that
was diverted? (|250 at 5% simple interest from June 1700 to the
present time? This is a real treasure hunt!)
FOREWORD, EPILOGUE
and mention of Chapter 1 and Chapter XI in the main text all refer
to the history of the school that was published under the
direction of the Trustees of Hopkins Academy - HOPKINS ACADEMY &
THE HOPKINS FUND 1664-1964.
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purchase a copy of this book,
click here .
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