The Main Building of the Academy, which had been constructed in 1848, contained a dining room, two recitation rooms, a reception room and the Principal's office on the first floor. On the second floor were suites of rooms for the Principal and his family and the Matron. Rooms for students were on the third floor.

In 1876,"seven hot air flues and two chimneys were built from the cellar" to provide heat for the boy's rooms, which had until then been unheated. By 1887, water was supplied through the pipes of the Lewisburg Water Works. In 1895, hot air furnaces still supplied heat and gas supplied the lighting.

The Annex to the Academy Building

In 1889, the Annex to the Academy Building was erected with money given by William Bucknell. Wilson And Brothers of Philadelphia was the architect and W.H. Waltz was the contractor. This three-story brick building, 40 feet x 60 feet, was located adjacent to the Academy Building and was connected to it by a covered passageway. It is slightly visible to t he left in the photograph. Although it was considered a part of the Academy Building, the Annex was named Bucknell Recitation Hall. It was also known as the Bucknell Cottage for Men and as East Hall. It contained a recitation hall, dormitory space, and an apartment for a teacher.

Accommodations and Charges in 1895

In the Main Building in 1895, students lived in furnished rooms for “two students each”, which were “….twenty feet by twelve feet and fourteen feet high “ and were “…sub-divided into a study room twelve feet by ten feet, and a dormitory nine feet square.”. Each dormitory contained “….a double bed with woven wire mattress.” East Hall contained furnished “combined study and sleeping rooms” for two students, which were “fifteen feet by twelve feet, with high ceilings” and which contained “….two single wire-mattress beds.” In the Academy, there were also “….a number of unfurnished rooms for the accommodation of students of mature years and of limited means.” Two students occupied a “ten feet by twelve feet” common study room and a nine foot square dormitory that contained a “double-spring bedstead.” No lights were supplied. The Principal and his family and the Instructors and Matron lived in the Academy buildings. Instructors lived in rooms next to the students. The furnished rooms were cleaned daily and bedding was provided and washed. Lights were provided also.

The charge for tuition, board, a furnished room, heat, light, care of the room, washing and incidentals was $230.00 per year. The same charge for an unfurnished room, without light or care of the room, was $185.00. The charge to “Day Pupils” for tuition and incidentals was $55.00 per year. If a student occupied a room by himself, the charge for “room-rent” was doubled.

Programs of Study in 1895

The four-year Classical Preparatory Course, which required the study of Latin and Greek throughout the course, prepared students for admission to the College. The four-year Scientific Preparatory Course prepared students for the Latin or Greek Divisions of the Philosophical Course in the College. Students could also prepare for admission to the English Scientific Course in the College. Students who did not intend to enter the College but who desired to prepare for teaching or business were directed to the “Scientific Preparatory Course, with Latin.”

The Academy, and Annex, continued to function the same as before: preparing prospective collegiate students for admission to the freshman year of either the Classical Program or the Scientific Program in the College, and preparing other students for either teaching or business. The preparation of teachers remained an integral function of the Academy until the introduction of education courses in the College by President Harris in 1902.In 1895, the seven teachers in the Academy taught eighty-five students.

"seven hot air flues..." BT '46-'82 (6/27/1876)

"two students each..." and all other quotations in this paragraph, CAT '94-'95, p.83

The major sources for the information on this page are the Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, 1846-1882 (BT '46-'82) and the Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, 1882-1920 (BT '82-'20). Additional sources are Oliphant, Rise of Bucknell; Theiss, Centennial History; and the Forty-fifth Annual Catalogue of Bucknell University, 1894-95 (CAT '94-95) and the Forty-sixth Annual Catalogue of Bucknell University, 1895-96 (CAT '95-'96)