FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Jim Coe NA Archivist and Humanities Faculty

With Newark Academy’s 250th anniversary rapidly approaching, I dove into the school’s archives for the first time as the school’s newest archivist in September 2022, hoping to find some inspiration. Luckily for me, during my second hour of digging, I came across a folder with several photos and descriptions of Newark Academy’s cornerstone–the one framed and housed in the foyer of our front entrance –and found my curiosity and interest piqued.

I thought more deeply about the upcoming anniversary and wondered how many members of our community have passed that cornerstone without ever questioning its origin. At that moment, I knew I’d found my hook for an AllSchool Morning Meeting Presentation detailing each of Newark Academy’s four locations, from its first in Newark to its present one in Livingston.

Digging deeper into the archives, I also explored NA’s last major milestone celebration –our bicentennial in 1974. Perusing the bicentennial files, I discovered an official congratulatory letter from the White House, signed by thenPresident Richard Nixon on January 16, 1974. As my fellow fans of U.S. history might remember, 1974 proved a fateful year for Nixon: he officially resigned the presidency less than seven months later, on August 9. Unsurprisingly for a school whose founding occurred before that of the United States, Newark Academy has borne witness to incredible history.

Throughout my first year as NA’s archivist, I have barely skimmed the surface of the totality of our school’s artifacts. However, just as I did with our school community during that Morning Meeting, I wanted to share with LUMEN the different Newark locations of Newark Academy. Though NA has a tremendous history, as a teacher in the Humanities Department, I believe that the future of the Academy is even brighter –especially with the students I see in my classroom each and every year.

An artist’s rendering colorfully depicts the first schoolhouse that hosted Newark Academy in Newark. This building also had the shortest tenure, lasting only a handful of years –some of those as a barracks for Washington’s Continental Army –before British soldiers burned it to the ground during the Revolutionary War. This first location, on Harriet Tubman Square –formerly Washington Park –is now marked by a giant boulder and tablet just a few short steps from the Newark Museum of Art.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Newark Academy found new life in this second location at the intersection of Broad and Academy Streets in Newark. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the right portion of the edifice was a later addition to the school, added in the early 1800’s. The school began educating girls alongside boys from 1802 until 1809, at which time the sexes were separated into different departments, necessitating the new wing. Today, the intersection of Broad and Academy Streets is home to a clothing store.

While it is currently located in the vestibule of the main entrance in Livingston, the cornerstone was the first stone laid at NA’s second location on Broad and Academy Streets in Newark. It was used as a step at the side door of the building, trampled upon by hundreds of students over a period of years, leaving it caked with so much dirt that it was forgotten. It was eventually re-discovered in 1887, 30 years after NA had moved on, at which time it was cleaned and placed in the wall of the school’s next building. This cornerstone has followed Newark Academy to every subsequent location.

Newark Academy next moved to the intersections of High, William and Shipman Streets in Newark. (Eventually, High Street would be renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.) As with the previous location, Newark Academy renovated the space to fit its needs. The original building, on the right side of this image, housed the Newark Wesleyan Institute before NA’s tenancy. Today, this location hosts the Arts High School of Newark.

Originally purchased as an extension of the school, to be used for physical education purposes, this location eventually became Newark Academy’s fourth home in the city of Newark. This aerial view shows the school’s beautiful facade, with the athletic track nestled comfortably between the Academy and Newark’s Branch Brook Park. Eventually, this Roseville location –named for the section of the city in which it was located –would serve as the school’s final home in Newark.

This artist’s rendition of Newark Academy’s Roseville location looks not all that dissimilar from the facade of the Livingston building. Unfortunately, as with the other Newark locations, no remnants of this building remain. The site –along the historic Morris Canal on First Street, between Seventh Avenue and Orange Street –was cleared to make room for Interstate 280. The remaining property is now host to a high-rise apartment building and several businesses.

Newark Academy had resided in Livingston for less than a decade when it received this official congratulatory note for its bicentennial celebration in 1974 (at right). Over the subsequent 50 years, NA has expanded its current school building in a number of ways. The additions of the Petrello Upper School Wing, Kaltenbacher Hall, Wilf Middle School and Simon Field House pay testament to a school constantly innovating to provide its faculty, staff, scholars, artists and athletes with the best possible facilities.

Construction is currently taking place in the front corridor, the first phase in a series of renovations that will ultimately provide additional collaborative spaces for students, new Middle School locker rooms, gender-neutral bathrooms, and new administrative offices including an Upper School suite. As NA approaches its 250th anniversary, there can be no doubt that our school remains true to its roots and is driven to provide students with a transformational education.