Postcard of the Newburgh Academy - 1908

This structure is the original Newburgh Academy first occupied in 1853.  The original building was gutted by fire in 1872 and only the stone walls were left standing.   Originally it was built as a "finishing" school for higher education. The upper half served this purpose while the lower half served as a "common" school.  Later, it became the local high school above and lower grades on the first story.  The high school section closed in 1952  allowing the public school to occupy the whole building.

The postcard above is from 1908.  The date was determined by what was left of the stamp, (I took the liberty of digitally fixing it), and the mention of the huge fire that did take place in 1908 destroying many factories along the river. An earlier fire in 1887 burned 84 buildings down and most of the downtown core north of the old Grand Trunk Railway.

The postcard is to Radia Rowse, 4 yrs old, from Grace Bristol, 16 yrs old, (using the census records). Grace was attending the Academy to become a teacher. She is listed in the 1911 census as a teacher in Ernestown Township.