Electric Trolleys of the Early 1900s

The first electric railway to service Governor Dummer Academy and its environs opened for business in 1900. The Georgetown, Rowley, and Ipswich electric railway, which switched by the Milestone, offered transportation for the campus community. Cars left the academy every half hour for Ipswich, Georgetown, and Newburyport. According to Governor Dummer History, 1763-1963, written by former academy headmaster John W. Ragle, "One popular feature of the innovation was that it brought to the Academy dances young ladies from as far as Rowley and Haverhill." A photograph of the electric railway switch near the Milestone can be seen below.


The route between Newburyport and Governor Dummer Academy crossed a trestle over Little River, paralleled the Newburyport Turnpike (to/from Boston), and diverged to Middle Street, where the track continued to the junction at the academy. From there, travelers could take the line to Georgetown (via Elm Street) or to Ipswich (via a continuation on Middle Road back to the turnpike road).

By the time the following advertisement for the Byfield Express was published in 1943, rail service had expanded considerably. The advertisement describes the scenery to be taken in while traveling from Newburyport to points south and west via Byfield, the "Cradle of Liberty and the Seat of Learning!" Notice the arrival and departure times at the conclusion of the advertisement: it took only 2.5 hours to get from Market Square in Newburyport to Haverhill, Massachusetts, a distance of approximately 15 miles.

A Famous American Mason (and Dummer Academy Alumnus): Rufus King

Recently, The Governor’s Academy and one of its famous graduates, Rufus King, were featured in the Winter 2008 issue of Trowel, magazine of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts. Accompanying the magazine article is an excerpt describing the academy and some of its notable graduates:

“Situated on a bucolic setting in Newbury’s Byfield parish is a red two-room schoolhouse built to house a free grammar school, the first boarding school in America, as envisioned and endowed by William Dummer who served as the Provincial Governor of Massachusetts from 1722 to 1728. Opening with 28 students in 1763 on the 300-acre farm of the former governor, the school was named 'Governor Dummer Academy' until 2005, when its name was changed to 'The Governor’s Academy.' Four years after the school opened, Rufus King journeyed from Scarborough, District of Maine, to attend the school. Signing the school’s 'document of incorporation' were Governor John Hancock and Senate President Samuel Adams, and some of the school’s early records were maintained by future president John Quincy Adams while he clerked for Theophilus Parsons, later Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, who was also a GDA graduate. The original school seal was designed by American patriot and Massachusetts Grand Master Paul Revere. The school continues as an institution of academic excellence, helping students pursue their personal greatness, just like Freemasonry.”

The Winter 2008 issue of Trowel was kindly donated to The Governor’s Academy Archives by Bruce Rogers, long-time employee of the academy’s Building and Grounds department, so our thanks go out to Bruce!

Arnold's Expeditionary Force

On September 20, 1975, history came to life for Governor Dummer Academy (GDA) students who witnessed the 200th anniversary reenactment of General Benedict Arnold’s 1775 march to Quebec, Canada. Arnold, a general in the American Continental Army, had been dispatched with several hundred soldiers to Canada to counter British plans for staging troops. The march preceded Arnold’s infamous switch from American Continental Army General to British Empire Loyalist. The 1975 reenactment took participants through the GDA campus to Newburyport, where they were then able to sail to Canada. The 1976 Milestone recorded the event with photographs and expository text (seen below).


“On the afternoon of September 20, 1775, a force of about 400 soldiers under the command of General Benedict Arnold marched through land owned by Dummer Academy on their way to Quebec. Their mission was to help wrestle Canada from the British to prevent its use as a staging ground for the Redcoats. They started this venture in Cambridge. On September 20, 1975, the same venture was taken and the troops marched past the academy as they had done 200 years ago.

There were Indians as well as an important courier under capture. Although historically there were no Indians to interrupt the march, a few diehards decided to “ambush” the troops. There were shots exchanged and reloading was hurriedly carried out.

There were a few women as well as men in the march. They all marched past the Old Red School House which was standing 200 years ago and [they] saw the same things. After moving on into Newburyport, they embarked by ship to Kennebec. From there they marched to Quebec thereby completing the entire march as it occurred 200 years ago.”

The Archon, December 1908 Issue (Part 2)

The last blog entry for The Governor’s Academy (TGA) Archives featured comments on the spirit of Christmas from The Archon editorial staff of 1908. This same century-old issue featured a story of romance and spontaneity—“The Unexpected Christmas Present”—offered by former academy student Beryl Howard Childs of Chicago, IL. I hope you enjoy reading it. On the eve of Winter Break here at the academy, I wish you a safe and happy holiday season.
—Laurie DiModica, Manager of the Archives

The Archon, December 1908 Holiday Issue

A century ago, the editorial staff of The Archon, led by Editor-in-Chief Charles L. Robson ('09), published the following words concerning the celebration of Christmas. Although times have changed considerably and the diversity of students and celebrations has expanded in the 100 years since Dummer Academy students published these words, the sentiments of kindness and forgiveness remain timeless.

The First Thirty Years of Dummer Allies Fundraising

The following document from 1945 provides a record of fruits of the Dummer Allies’ fundraising efforts for the first 30 years of the society’s existence: $3,428.76, of which more than half was used to provide scholarship aid for deserving boys chosen by a scholarship committee. Given the society’s annual dues being $0.50 per member, providing an annual $100 scholarship was no small endeavor. Indeed, a document that can be found in The Governor’s Academy Archives—Headmaster’s Notes on the 1945-1946 Budget—reveals that at the time, the average tuition per student was approximately $1,300, making a $100 scholarship quite a significant amount.

To provide context, the 1945-1946 budget includes line items for furnishings and equipment such as an electric stove ($75); total furnishings for a boy’s dorm room ($180), including a bed ($18.75), chest of drawers ($31.50), desk ($28), chair ($8.75), and lamp ($3.75); and a station wagon that the school was considering purchasing for travel ($1,800). A passage corresponding to this latter budget item indicates, “It is desired to make provision to purchase a new station wagon when and if available to replace the ’37 station wagon now in such bad condition that upkeep costs are prohibitive. If a new station wagon does become available, it will be used as a stand-by for the Packard, which is also no longer wholly reliable, and for more dignified school errands. The present ’41 station wagon will then be used for transportation of trunks, express, etc., and will be turned over to Dutchy Holland or his successor each evening for returning the help to Newburyport and for bringing them out on the following morning. Both station wagons will, of course, be used on occasion for athletic trips, etc.”







Today’s Allies have continued fundraising initiatives that started with the society’s 1910 founding. The society’s efforts support numerous enrichment activities such as the Speaker Series, the purchase of library books, and the provision of student necessities—refreshments, exam survival kids, and parties and other events.

The Movies at Dummer Academy

Lantern slide projectors, first lit by oil lamp, and then by limelight, carbon arc lamp, and subsequently, by electric light, allowed for the projection of transparent slides on a wall or other surface. Some historians believe the invention of the first lantern projector occurred as early as the 1600s. The Magic Lantern or Sciopticon was a forerunner to the modern slide projector and an early form of moving picture. (It is said that the earliest shows using lanterns often featured goblins and devils, the rationale for the name “magic lantern.”) Glass plate positives were introduced in the 1850s, but they became widely available as magic lantern slides—many of which were animated—in the 1870s. By the time these “movies” made their way to Dummer Academy in 1914, they had been available for several decades.

A history of the development of lantern movies indicates that while magic lantern shows often featured a live showman and/or musician who provided a soundtrack, the audience would sometimes join in by creating sound effects, playing instruments, clapping, cheering, or booing. The scrapbook entry from a former Dummer Academy graduate, shown below in this blog, notes the accompaniment of a Professor Priest at the earliest one-cent slide shows. By 1919, these presentations had picked up steam with the inauguration of the “Dummer Movie Palace” and its first showing, Charlie Chaplin’s “Shoulder Arms,” a silent comedy released in 1918 and set in France during World War I. Several clips from the movie can be found on YouTube (e.g., at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4jaxohUGIc).

The short but telling scrapbook entries in this blog reveal the fascination and appreciation students had for these diversions nearly a century ago.