HISTORY OF WASATCH ACADEMY
written by W. K. Throndson in 1939
and taken from "History of Mt. Pleasant" by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf
"In the spring of 1875, a young minister, Duncan J. McMillan. came to Mt. "Pleasant in search of health and with a longing to be of some service to his fellows. Learning from some of the local citizens that they desired educational advantages for their children, and having had several years experience in the teaching field, he entered into an agreement with them to purchase what was known as the Liberal Dance Hall, a building which still is standing on Main Street and which is now occupied by the Masonic Order. The first session was held on April 19th of that year, and before the term ended that spring, the attendance had reached well over the hundred mark. The Academy went through the usual vicissitudes of the "growing up" process. At one time it appeared that the school was doomed to cease operations because of lack of funds, but through a providential gift from a missionary society in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the work was enabled to go on.
In 1880, the school was taken over by the Board of Home Missions .of the Presbyterian church and has been under the control of that body since that date.
Of course in the beginning years, the scholastic offerings were restricted to the lower grades. The first high school class was graduated in 1887 and consisted of two members. There were no further graduates until 1895, when one student was graduated. Classes have been graduated each succeeding year, with the exception of 1900 and 1919. It was in this latter year that the local influenza epidemic made it impossible to continue after the first few weeks in the fall.
In 1888, the building on Main Street proved to be too small for efficient work, so a group of Mt. Pleasant business men subscribed the sum of $2,000.00 to help complete a new structure which was located on the site of the present Administration Hall. The old Sanpete County Co-op was the largest single subscriber to this fund.
Popular demand soon brought about the establishment of the boarding department and by 1896, we find that there were twenty four boarding pupils enrolled. The boys lived in the school building and the girls resided in a home a block distant, their home occupying the corner where the Conoco service station is now located southeast corner Main and First West.
In 1901, the music department was added to the curriculum and has continued to be one of the most popular departments up to the present time.
Mr. Ernest Patterson, formerly principal of the Henry Kendall CoIlege of Muskogee, Oklahoma, became principal in 1905, and remained in that position until 1908, when he was succeeded by Walter McKirahan, who later became Dean of Westminster CoIlege in Salt Lake City. During the latter's administration, the Academy Administration Hall was enlarged and remodeled.
Charles Lee Johns was appointed to the principal-ship in 1911. During his tenure, much of the present property was secured, a number of new buildings were erected, and the Administration Hall was again enlarged. The brick schoolhouse and grounds, east of Simpson's, the Albert Peterson residence, and. "Lincoln Hall" were purchased during this period, making the school pro¬perty equivalent to almost a city block.
In 1912, a similar school in Springville, Utah, known as "Hungerford Academy" was closed and consolidated with Wasatch. Much of the equipment from that institution was brought to the Mt. Pleasant plant.
The first important dormitory, "Finks Memorial Hall" for girls, was erected in 1913 by volunteer gifts from all parts of the nation. During the same year, the commercial and home economics departments were added. The next year, the manual training courses were offered for the first time.
Mrs. Charles F. Darlington, of New York City, long a friend of the school, gave funds in 1916, for the first boys' dormitory. The building was named "Charles F. Darlington, Jr. Dormitory" in honor of her young grandson. In 1917, the gymnasium corner was purchased, as well as a small cottage from a Mr. Johansen. By these purchases, the holdings now included one and one-half city blocks of valuable property in the heart of the city.
The "Frances Thompson Memorial Infirmary" was built in 1921, by church friends of Passaic, New Jersey. A year later, the "Johns Gymnasium" was erected, being named for the principal who was so active in its construction. The following year, the "Olivia Sage Memorial Hall" was built, funds being provided from the estate of the wife of the internationally famous philanthropist.
Mr. Johns resigned in 1924, and his position was assumed by W. K. Throndson, who is still superintendent at the time of this writing.
In 1929, the "Duncan J. McMillan Memorial Hall" was built to house a number of the teachers and to serve as a home for the superintendent.
On April 4, 1933, the Administration Hall was destroyed by fire. Classes were housed temporarily for the remainder of the year, and as no building funds were available at the time, the enrollment was restricted during the following year, and Darlington Hall was converted into temporary classrooms. During that period of financial depression, it was even thought in some quar¬ters that it might be necessary to close the Academy, but in the spring of 1934, it was learned that building funds had been made available through the estate of Miss Alice Craighead, of Washington, D. C. Miss Craighead's father was a friend of Dr. McMillan and she had listened as a girl to his tales of his work in Utah. Her will therefore listed the Academy as one of the schools where the Board of National Missions might spend the gift which she left to it. During the summer of 1934, the Craighead Industrial Hall was built to house the manual arts and homemaking de¬partments, and late that summer, excavation was begun on the Craighead Administration Hall. The Industrial Hall was occupied at the opening of school in 1934, and the Administration Hall in February of 1935.
In the spring of 1934, the Board decided to close its boarding and day school for girls at Logan, Utah, and consolidated that institution with Wasatch. Technically, the local school is now called Wasatch-Logan. Miss Margery E. Frink, for many years principal of Logan Academy, was brought to Mt. Pleasant as Dean of Girls, a position which she still holds.
Seeing the need of additional space, the school purchased the Clemensen home, north of the Administration Hall, in 1928, and the Barnett home in 1935. During the summer of 1938, both of these buildings were razed to make possible the erection of a fine new dormitory for girls. Funds for this building were also pro¬vided from the Craighead estate.
The last addition to the Academy property was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chesley Seely, which was purchased in 1938 to serve as a residence for the principal. The Academy now owns approximately two city blocks in the heart of Mt. Pleasant.
(1939)
The Administration building of the Wasatch Academy was destroyed by fire in April 1933.
At the present time, the school has a staff of twenty-four members and a student body gathered from ten of the intermountain states. There are accommodations in the boarding department for slightly over 160 pupils equally divided as to boys and girls. The day enrollment exceeds eighty students, making a total enrol¬ment of approximately 250. In line with the policy of the Boar; controlling the Academy, the enrollment will be held at that level unless the Board sees fit to make a special ruling and provide for an increased capacity."
In the Year 2009, Wasatch Academy now owns 43 private residences and has acquired much more property.
