HUGHES ACADEMY (SITE)

Hughes Academy was founded by Samuel Wellwood Hughes after he left the Cedar Grove Academy, which he founded in 1845. Hughes had the academy/school building(s) built on his property in eastern Cedar Grove in 1858. The first classes were held in January 1859.

 

The Academy was primarily a preparatory school for boys (some girls did attend classes, however), with approximately 35 to 40 students being taught during each session by two teachers. Its graduates are said to have been accepted at The University of North Carolina (and other universities) without examination. Several prominent North Carolinians attended the academy. The school building was also used as a community gathering place, along with the nearby Eno Presbyterian Church.

 

The school ceased operation in late 1884, after Hughes' death from a stroke. Its students transferred to other academies, such as the nearby Cedar Grove Academy.

 

On May 7, 1967, the Hillsborough Historical Society was deeded the school and property by James and Mattie Woods Tolar (descendants of Samuel Hughes). In its newsletter for that month, the academy site was described as "...a charming, quiet sylvan area. Nearby are the remains of a building which housed the Academy’s kitchen. It has deteriorated beyond repair. Not far away may be seen the crumbling ruins of the Hughes residence. In front of the old school building is the handsome Memorial Plaque atop a native stone marker which was unveiled and dedicated at the ceremony of May 7th."

 

In the 1990s, the Hillsborough Historical Society moved the building into Hillsborough (behind the Orange County Board of Education building on Cameron Street in Hillsborough and on the edge of Cameron Park, next to the roadbed of the old Road to Halifax/Oxford) and had it restored. The property the school was originally on was returned to the Tolar family in 2007. They in turn sold it in 2018 as one tract along with other tracts as a larger property.

 

The site today is on the edge of an agricultural field, there are several larger/older trees and patches of periwinkle at the site, and the 1967 marker is still in place.

 

 

Ad from the Weekly Standard, December 29, 1858

 

The academy site, view north (photo by S. Rankin, 9.20.2021)

 

The 1967 memorial plaque, atop field stone base (photo by S. Rankin, 9.20.2021)

 

The 1967 memorial plaque [note: Incorrect date stated] (photo by S. Rankin, 9.20.2021)

 

 

(NOTE: The NC highway marker, near the academy's original location, states some incorrect/outdated information.)

 

The academy at its current/new site, view north east, 9.21.2021 (photo by S. Rankin)

 

The academy at its current/new site, view north east, 9.21.2021 (photo by S. Rankin)

 

A plaque for the academy at its current/new site, 9.21.2021 [note: Incorrect dates stated] (photo by S. Rankin)