The Glory Days of Peekskill Military Academy

Peekskill Military Academy (PMA), a prominent part of the Peekskill community for 135 years, closed its Oak Hill campus rather abruptly in 1968. But determined alumni still hope to revive the venerable institution on a new site.

The Peekskill Academy (the military name and aspect came later) was born in 1833 when several prominent residents of the community, concerned about the education of their children, sold stock to raise funds to build the school. A site atop Oak Hill with a good view of the Hudson River Valley was selected for the academy. On the grounds was a tree used during the Revolutionary War to hang Daniel Strang, a spy for the British, on January 27, 1777.

The first academy building was three stories high, with a dining room, quarters for the principal’s family, schoolrooms and nine small bedrooms for boarding students. The first children were local boys and girls. Success was immediate and soon another building was needed. By 1838 there were 47 students studying English, Latin, Greek, French, math and science. The cost per child was $678. Coeducation was short-lived; in 1841 the trustees decided that the academy should have only male students.

Albert Wells, a forceful believer in military training, became principal in 1843 and several years later organized the Highland Cadet Corps to bring military drill and discipline to the academy. In 1855 more expansion was needed, and an up to date, four-story building was added to the campus. The cadets wore sharp, colorful uniforms, and it was a pleasant part of life in Peekskill to go up Oak Hill and watch the drills and parades.

A great moment in the life of the academy occurred Feb. 19, 1861, when President-elect Abraham Lincoln’s train stopped at the Peekskill station on its way to Washington for his inauguration. Members of the Highland Cadet Corps lined up to greet him and formed a hollow square around the president-elect as he spoke to the crowd. During the Civil War (1861-65), which broke out soon after Lincoln’s inauguration, the cadets staged mock battles and marched enlistees in the Union armed forces to the railroad station in style.

The academy flourished as the decades passed. More students meant more teachers and more buildings. In 1880 a four-story tower was built and an excellent telescope installed. It was the pride of the academy until Nov. 27, 1886, when it was destroyed by fire. The tower was rebuilt but the telescope was not replaced.

Fire again devastated the academy Jan. 12, 1909, during its 75^th year. The fire destroyed the main building, classrooms, dormitories and records, leaving a smoldering mess. But the spirit of the academy overcame the loss; shelter for the boys was found in private homes in Peekskill while temporary classes were taught in the Church of the Assumption’s Guardian Building. Many alumni made substantial donations and their alma mater was reborn, graced with fireproof buildings including classrooms, dormitories, a gymnasium, library, auditorium and swimming pool.

The school grew and prospered until the 1960s, when the Vietnam War triggered an unprecedented anti-military attitude throughout the United States. Almost overnight the public’s perception of all things military turned from pride and encouragement to distaste and disdain. PMA’s enrollment, which had peaked at 350, plunged. The academy had traditionally run financially from year to year, with tuition and generous individuals covering expenses, so there were few assets to fall back on when lower enrollment meant less tuition revenue. Faced with overwhelming financial challenges, school officials closed the academy after the graduation of the Class of 1968.

The academy’s assets were liquidated at what Lorman A. “Augie” Augustowski, Class of 1957 and president of the rejuvenated PMA Alumni Association, described as a poorly run auction, and the artifacts and historical records were scattered, lost or stolen. Most of the buildings were leveled to make way for the new Peekskill High School, which opened in the fall of 1972. The administration building with its Ford Auditorium, at 1031 Elm St., is now the headquarters of the Peekskill City School District.

At one time PMA was one of the largest preparatory schools in America. During its 135 active years it physically and intellectually challenged young men from 42 states and 27 countries. It brought worldwide prominence to Peekskill. The New York Jets football team practiced on PMA fields in the early 1960s. The school, which had an annual budget of $780,000 and employed 133 people in 1965, was a key part of the local economy.

The Alumni Association still nurtures hopes of reopening PMA as a coeducational school that will offer discipline and role models to students and seek to restore traditional social values. A suitable site is the biggest challenge. Camp Smith in northwestern Cortlandt, an initially promising prospect, has been off-limits since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The leading possibility is the underutilized Veterans Affairs hospital in Montrose, which has several buildings that could easily be adapted to PMA’s needs but is also under consideration for controversial private development. The VA site would also offer an opportunity for new cadets to interact with old veterans – the very sort of role models PMA is seeking.

For more information, please visit the association’s Web site, www.pma-alumni.org.

Arlene Goodenough, secretary of the Van Cortlandtville Historical Society, contributed to this article, which is adapted from the September edition of the society’s newsletter. Augustowski presented a program about PMA to the society June 18.