A Brief Lesson in History

A brief history lesson about the Franklin Academy (1881 - 1922) will help explain one of the key factors contributing to the long term success of the City of Franklin (founded in 1870).  As important as the arrival of the railroad or being the county seat of Franklin County, the Franklin Academy helped put the City of Franklin in a position of dominance over rival towns in the south central part of the State of Nebraska.

Recognizing the opportunities that higher education can provide to aspiring individuals as well as the positive influence of a Christian-based education, Rev. C. S. Harrison (related to William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison) made plans to create a Christian academy to service western Nebraska.  In August of 1879, Rev. Harrison chose the City of Franklin because there were no saloons or other secondary schools in the area. The first building was erected in 1880 and the Franklin Academy was officially opened on February 9, 1881, one of six Congregationalist Church academies in the Midwest.  The Academy served as a college preparatory school with graduates eventually attending institutions such as Creighton University in Omaha or Doane College in Crete whose mission was to offer a liberal arts education in the tradition of Harvard and Yale on the Nebraska frontier.

Eventually, there were a total of four buildings on the campus:  The main Academy building, Stewart Hall (a boys' dormitory), Harrison Hall (a girls' dormitory) and the Dupee Music Hall.  Constructed in 1901, the Dupee Music Hall is the only building that still remains and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Most of the instructors at Franklin Academy were fresh out of college and many on their first teaching assignments. Franklin Academy offered programs in piano, voice expression, and business, along with a regular high school curriculum.  Athletics were also a very important part of life at Franklin Academy with team sports in football and basketball, along with track and field.  During the Academy’s 41 years of service, over 2,500 students attended and the Academy grew to a student body of 158 in 1921.  Distinguished alumni include author Adah Patterson, Federal Judge Robert Van Pelt and Dr. Frank Cyr of Columbia University under whose leadership the standard yellow school bus was developed.

Financial problems and declining enrollment due to the increasing number of public high schools caused the Academy's closing in 1922.  The old campus of the Academy is today’s City Park where many of the original trees that were planted and the Dupee Music Hall still exist.  From the founding of Franklin in 1870 and during the time that the Academy was in operation, the population of Franklin County had swelled from a few hundred to over 10,000 in the 1920s.  Dear old Franklin Academy has certainly made its mark on the past and future of the City of Franklin.