The Maine Art Gallery was once an Academy. The art gallery was founded by Mildred Burrage. She and a group of artists started the art gallery to show their work. The school became an art gallery in the late 1950s. The Academy, founded by the Academical Association, was built in 1807 during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. It took twenty-five men to build it. There were 87 students attending by 1848. They learned cyphering (math), music, drawing, common English, Italian, Greek, Latin, Spanish and French. The average class cost was five dollars for the term of eleven weeks. The last Principal of the Academy was Frederick Adolphus Sawyer, who later became United States senator from Tennessee.
As quoted from a paragraph about Wiscasset, Maine: "It is
interesting to note the emphasis on language, but not surprising for
a port doing a great deal of business with other countries." This
proves that Wiscasset was a very busy seaport during the 1800s. The
residents had to learn several languages so they could communicate
with all the sailors from around the world.
The building was an Academy until 1923. It switched from an Academy
to a school offering kindergarten and first grade after that. We have
a teacher from our school who went to kindergarten there. Her name is
Mrs. Judy Flanagan.
Now, it is an Art Gallery which is open year round. If you come to Wiscasset stop by the Maine Art Gallery and see the beautiful art work on display. It is open from 10:00 A.M.- 4:00 P.M. on Saturday and from 1:00-4:00 on Sunday. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.