The New Ipswich Academy was chartered in 1789 and was later renamed Appleton Academy after benefactor Samuel Appleton, the largest early donor to the school. It was the second oldest academy chartered in New Hampshire after Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter. New Ipswich Academy had a close relationship with Dartmouth College in Hanover. It would also serve as high school for the nearby communities of Mason and Greenville. The academy closed in 1968. In 1969, construction of Mascenic Regional High School was completed in New Ipswich.
Wikipedia Entry
The Early Years
Appleton Academy was destroyed by a fire on January 23, 1941. The Gymnasium (on right of ruins) which was added in 1936 survived the flames.
Destroyed in 1941
Rebuilt
The school was rebuilt with a similar design and operated as a public school for many years. However it was determined that the building did not meet fire safety codes and the students were relocated into temporary portable classrooms from 2009 – 2011. Finally in November of 2011 they were relocated to the newly constructed Highbridge Elementary School near Mascenic High School.
Sold to CITS
The former Academy building lay dormant as the town attempted to find buyers. Eventually in 2012 it reopened as The Center for Information, Technology & Society and The Program for Knowledge, Learning & Social Progress .
Sold to Bay State Militaria
Scott & Debra Kraska have purchased the former school as their home and location of a mail order business Bay State Militaria & Antiques.
They are in the process of repairing the flooring of the gym which sustained water damage from a leaky roof.
Gym Interior – July 2012
Gym Repair Work – June 2019
Making a School into a Home 7/28/2020
A 2020 Update:
On July 28, 2020 the Monadnock Ledger newspaper published an article about the renovation work at Appleton. Scott and Debra Kraska have done a lot of work since my visit. Click here to access the article.
