Middlebury Academy
Why it's listed
Middlebury Academy sits on a rise above the main street of Wyoming, New York, where it commands a view over the village. Local residents built it in 1817 from locally made red brick, and they felt so strongly about education that some mortgaged their farms to pay for it. Silas Newell, who founded the community in 1809, supervised construction and helped finance it. The building began with three stories, but about 1840 it was reduced to two and given a Greek Revival front featuring a full-width portico with a pediment and four Doric columns. Sponsored early on by the Baptist Church, the co-educational academy stayed private until 1880, then operated as a union free school until 1912. It peaked in the 1860s with over 200 students and trained many for teaching, law and medicine. Seven of its graduates became college presidents. Today it houses the Middlebury Historical Society.
Significance in brief: It was one of the foremost educational institutions of western New York in the late nineteenth century and was important to the early development of Wyoming village. It is also noted for its Greek Revival front facade with a four-column Doric portico. It is considered the first school west of the Genesee River offering training for teaching, law and medical careers.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 73001293, listed January 17, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 22 S. Academy St., Wyoming |
|---|---|
| County | Wyoming County |
| Listed | January 17, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001293 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century (specific dates 1817-18) |
| Architect / builder | Construction supervised and partially financed by Silas Newell, who founded the community in 1809 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good, altered, on its original site; used as a museum and home of the Middlebury Historical Society. Repaired in the 1950s and 1960s. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Within district | Wyoming Village Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.82753, -78.08932 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 73001293.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6841754
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.