At the turn of the nineteenth century in 1800, a small public school for higher education in Plymouth, New Hampshire, was started on a preliminary basis, held in the courthouse at the top of the hill in downtown. The school functioned quietly on a local scale until 1808, when former Revolutionary War soldier, known by many as “Colonel” Samuel Holmes, made a $500 donation to the town of Plymouth to officially form a public school for higher education. On December 7th of that year, the New Hampshire Legislature signed the charter for “Holmes Academy,” named after the man who provided the funds to get the establishment up and running.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

​

​

 

An Early Class Photo of the Holmes Academy

 

The Holmes Academy, at its opening, was the first public school offering higher education. The school opened and closed throughout the span of fourteen years due to low enrollment rates. In 1823, Samuel Holmes, who was the president and a board member of the academy, passed away, and the school was shut down until 1829.

Shortly after, in 1829, the former board members of the Holmes Academy and the community of Plymouth supported the idea to reopen the school. Samuel A. Burns of Rumney, New Hampshire, who was a law graduate of Dartmouth with a résumé of public school teaching positions around New Hampshire, was hired as principal with an annual salary of $350, and the school was reopened.

The newly opened school saw little success, with Burns only lasting one year as principal before moving on to another teaching position in New Hampshire. Over the following three years, the Holmes Academy had three different principals, all of whom failed to attract enough students to sustain the school.

From 1833 to 1835, George Punchard, a young reverend, successfully raised thousands of dollars to destroy the old school building that housed the former Holmes Academy. Upon its destruction, Punchard funded the construction of a new academy building plus two boarding houses for students. Punchard also proposed an act that changed the school’s name to “The Plymouth Literary and Theological Seminary.” The act was passed, and in 1836, The Plymouth Literary and Theological Seminary was reopened with a record-breaking 136 students enrolled. The new school saw greater diversity than in prior years, enrolling primarily residents of Plymouth, with 50% of students in 1836 being from other towns.

At the end of his first year as principal, Reverend Punchard was called to missionary duties in Concord, New Hampshire, and appointed Reverend Dr. Samuel Read as principal. Upon taking the reins as principal, Read and his school received a generous $1,600 donation from Rufus G. Lewis that allowed further investment in repairs of school buildings, teacher salaries, and improved tools for students. Under the leadership of Read, The Plymouth Literary and Theological Seminary operated for seven years, training the future teachers of New Hampshire.

In 1844, the school closed due to lack of attendance, funding, and community support. The school remained closed for about thirty years, being sold from one person to another until eventually being sold to the State of New Hampshire and reopened as the Plymouth Normal School in 1870. ​

​

Bibliography

Spinelli Archives, Lamson Library, Plymouth State University.
Speare, E. (1963, January 1). Twenty decades in Plymouth, New Hampsire : 1763-1963 : Speare, Eva A. (Eva Augusta), 1875-1972 : Free download, Borrow, and streaming. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/twentydecadesinp00spea