| Schools of the Town of ANGELICA
Photos & Comments by Bob Dorsey
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 WIDOW SMITH'S SCHOOL:
Most likely the oldest school in Allegany County, the Widow Smith started teaching in Angelica in 1804. The school was located very near the present day American Hotel. It had been speculated the building had
been moved and until only recently during some remodeling of his home on East Main Street, Jim Fleming unearth the original chalkboards along with school books that had long been buried inside the walls. The western portion of the home was the original Widow Smith's schoolhouse. The eastern,
two story addition was added later.
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 UNION FREE SCHOOL:
This Greek Revival School house was located on West Main Street in the empty lot across from the firehall. It burned on February 7th, 1889.
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 ANGELICA ACADEMY:
Once a Presbyterian Church this building was the site of the wedding of Narcissa Prentiss to Marcus Whitman. At some point wings were added to both the east and west sides of the original building. For a few years
it served as both a Church and school. In 1856 the new Presbyterian Church was built and at that time it was used solely as a school. Angelica Academy burned November 1870.
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 ANGELICA PRIMARY SCHOOL:
Built at the same location to replace the Union Free School. Built in 1889, the architect was Harvey Ellis who was also the architect for the Frank Sullivan Smith home. It was used as a school until 1909.
After that it became a movie theatre and silent films were shown there. Later years the building took on many changes and additions and was an apartment building. It was finally torn down in the 1970's.
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WILSON ACADEMY:
Wilson Academy was founded by Colonel William Wilson and chartered June 12, 1881. The building was used from 1885 to 1897 as a private school. June 28, 1897 it became a public High School.
the building was used until 1909. It is currently a private residence, much the way it started out. Colonel Wilson's portrait hangs in the Angelica Free Library.
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WILSONIAN HIGH SCHOOL:
In 1906, the Charles Hotel, which had been located on the north side of Park Circle burned. Plans to locate a new high school on that property soon developed and in 1909 Wilsonian High School opened
replacing Wilson Academy and Angelica Primary School. A gymnasium was added to the school along with six classes rooms in 1929. In 1944 sixteen school districts were combined and the Angelica Central School was organized. A temporary addition was built in 1952. It included a cafeteria,
home economics room and a shop. The temporary addition and the gymnasium remain today and have been used for various purposes.
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ANGELICA CENTRAL SCHOOL:
In 1955, the people of Angelica voted to build a new school and the first classes began in this building in 1956. The last class to graduate from Angelica Central was the class of 1996. With the opening of a
merged school between Angelica and Belmont this building was used as an elementary school until the new Genesee Valley School was built. Today the school is known as Centerpoint Academy. It is a Christian school operated by
Houghton Academy.
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ACS CAFETERIA
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ACS GYMNASIUM
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BAKER CREEK RURAL SCHOOL:
One of the sixteen schools that was combined to make Angelica Central was Baker Creek District 4 school. It was located in the northern part of Angelica near the Town of
Allen line. This was also sometimes called the Aristotle Rural School. It became a private property after it was no longer used as a school and years later it burned.
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| Many thanks to Bob Dorsey for sharing his photos and commentary. |
