Rogers Academy Class of 1896
By
Emilee Dehmer, museum intern
Rogers Academy opened in 1892 and was one of the
most prestigious schools in the area. Located at an
elevation of 1400 feet on the border of the White
Rivers Hills of the Ozark Mountains it also boasted
of its fantastic location. While it catered to both
elementary and secondary education, the
upperclassmen were allowed to live on campus. For
$8, paid in advance, students were provided a room
containing nothing more than a stove and a lamp –
girls were also provided with a bed frame and a
spring mattress. The tuition with that was $94.
The graduating class of 1896, shown in this photo,
was the 10th graduating class and
included 22 people. They are “Earle Gould, Grace
Adams, Porter Christy, John Crawford, Louisa Hawley,
Board Horsley, Hobbs Horsley, John Lovewell, Horace
Klyce, Frank McGaughey, Della Mitchell, Freddie
Mitchell, Lester Oakley, Frank Owens, Lafayette
Pearson, Louisa Perritt, Charley Robinson, Belle
Smith, Minnie Smith, Wythe Walker, John Wilmot and
Harvey Woods.” In the photo only two people can be
indentified. Professor J. W. Scroggs is pictured in
the upper left and Wythe Walker, who is at the left
side of the top part of the “6.”
While in attendance at the Academy, there were
strict rules students were required to follow. Every
Sunday they were required to attend a church
service, and no tobacco was allowed. There were also
strict dating rules. “No boy will go with any girl
more than three times during a school year. No girl
can have gentleman company without permission from
the proper authority. If requested by parents a girl
was not allowed to have any boy friends while
attending the Academy.”
Sports were also enjoyed at the Academy. Stared in
1900, they began with a slow start but two years
later were undefeated. However, when Elmo Walker was
seriously injured in 1906 sports were banned.
While the Academy graduated 27 classes with “all but
2 or 3 being earnest, capable, and moral men and
women” the Academy ran into money problems and was
closed in 1913. While the Academy and it’s buildings
are no longer standing today, the impact it had
while it was here will always be remembered in the
hearts and minds of all who attended. Today, Frank
Tillery Elementary School stands on the site of the
Rogers Academy.
