Gettysburg Academy (also known as the Classical Preparatory School and the Gettysburg Gymnasium) was an antebellum boys' boarding school for which the

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

schoolhouse (now "Reuning Hall") was the "first home" of the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Gettysburg Seminary) was a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pen ...

and

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

. The March 19, 1810 incorporation by the commonwealth appropriated $2,000, and the academy opened in 1814 for the school year with Samuel Ramsay as the first teacher. By 1822 the boarding school had three dormitories, libraries, and a gymnasium and beginning in 1826, the academy trustees allowed the Lutheran seminary to use the facility — D. Jacobs established a preparatory school in June 1827 (his brother was a mathematics professor). The facility was purchased at Sheriff's sale in 1829 by

Samuel Simon Schmucker Samuel Simon Schmucker (February 28, 1799 – July 26, 1873) was a German-American Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was integral to the founding of the Lutheran church body known as the General Synod, as well as the oldest continuously operati ...

and designated the "Gettysburg Gymnasium". The 1829 headmaster was Dr. Charles H. Huber, and 2 sons of Mexico's president-elect attended. The last graduation was in 1835. When the 1863

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

began, the Reuning House was being used by Rebecca Eyster's Young Ladies Seminary, which acted as an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

hospital for casualties during the battle. Eyster's "School Halls" were advertised for rent in 1877, the house was used as World War I officers' quarters, and Reuning House is now a private residence protected by a 1972 borough ordinance extending the historical district to include the building.

References

{{Reflist, 2 1814 establishments in Pennsylvania 1835 disestablishments in the United States Defunct schools in Pennsylvania American Civil War hospitals Boarding schools in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Adams County, Pennsylvania Former school buildings in the United States Residential buildings in Pennsylvania Schools in Adams County, Pennsylvania World War I sites in the United States Educational institutions established in 1814