For nearly 150 years, the University of Southern Maine’s Academy Building held a secret: a trove of forgotten love notes, sketches and personal mementos hidden within its walls.
To ensure the preservation of the historic building in 2022, a skilled preservation contractor Lee Hoagland was brought in to meticulously match renovations to the original design.
While repairing the grand, pillared portico over the course of a year, Hoagland uncovered a long-closed gap between the first and second floors of the building built in 1806.
In that space, beneath the landing at the top of the stairs, Hoagland found a hidden cache of papers and pulled dozens, perhaps hundreds, of notes and drawings from the walls.
It emerged that the building, which originally served as a private college preparatory school for children aged 10 to 17 for upper-class families, was full of long lost notes between friends, train tickets, stamps and pay stubs.
This discovery provided university scholars a unique window into the personal lives of the high school students who once walked its halls.
Among the discoveries are fragments of love letters – which are a rarity today – such as one that begins, ‘My darling, why did…’
Another note reads, ‘Ada, would’nt you like to swing after school? I will stop if you will. Will you? Write and say!’
For nearly 150 years, the University of Southern Maine’s Academy Building held a secret: a trove of forgotten notes and sketches hidden within its walls.
One love note found in the trove reads, ‘Ada, would’nt you like to swing after school? I will stop if you will. Will you? Write and say!’
References to a student named Belle Worcester appear frequently, with one love note declaring, ‘Bell Worcester is a [prissy or pretty] girl.’
‘We had a splendid time to (meeting?) last night, for Belle and I passed notes. We didn’t pass many though, for Mr. Lord was right behind us,’ another wrote.
Beyond romantic pursuits, the notes also reveal insights into the academic life of the time, including math equations, English conjugations and penmanship exercises.
Hoagland saved every last piece of parchment and handed them off to associate professor Hannah Barnes, who chairs the Department of Art currently housed in the Academic Building, until they can find a more permanent space to reside.
USM historian Libby Bischof noted that the discovery of a four-letter expletive and a less-than-flattering caricature of a teacher underscore that teenage behavior, while evolving, remains remarkably consistent across generations.
‘The past is not as distant as we think it is,’ Bischof told the Bangor Daily News.
‘I remember writing personal notes back and forth in my friend’s notebook when the teacher thought we were studying.’
The unfortunate teacher – Ms. Stevens – was drawn with a long, cartoonish nose, something that stuck out to Bischof.
To ensure the preservation of this historic landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, skilled preservation contractor Lee Hoagland was brought in to meticulously match the original design
PIctured: One former student’s unflattering sketch of their teacher, Ms. Stevens
From casual notes to formal assignments, the collection offers a glimpse into the daily lives of the Academy Building’s students
‘What really struck me was the Miss Stevens cartoon because it was so crude. Not in crude in a lewd way, but crude like a really bad sketch,’ Bischof said.
‘And I could tell Miss Stevens had really large eyes because that’s the defining feature.’
She also noted to the Daily News that these notes will serve as an important artifact as correspondence between peers becomes more and more digital.
‘These days it’s all text and Snapchat,’ Bischof said. ‘We’re not going to have this for future generations.’
The restoration of the building constitutes the ‘most ambitious building I’ve ever worked on,’ Hoagland admitted.
‘They really wanted to show, in 1803, that they were just as good as Europe. ‘We’re gonna make a school. And we’re not just gonna make any school, we’re gonna make a grand school on the top of the hill. With all this architecture, it’s gonna prove our sophistication.’
Pictured: A short essay about apple blossoms that was only 70 words
‘We had a splendid time to (meeting?) last night, for Belle and I passed notes. We didn’t pass many though, for Mr. Lord was right behind us,’ this secretive note reads
Pictured;
Pictured: One of the many notes that referenced the ‘pretty’ Belle Worcester
The final phase of renovations were wrapped up in spring 2024, restoring the Academy Building to its former glory.
Today, it houses USM’s Department of Art, where the rescued papers await their next chapter.
Plans are underway to archive them in the University’s Special Collections, ensuring future generations can connect with these snapshots of student life from a century and a half ago.
Before becoming a part of USM’s campus, the Academy Building closed in 1877 due to declining enrollment.
In the decades that followed, the building was absorbed into the growing University of Southern Maine campus.
