Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Education

Location

5733 Telephone Rd, Cincinnatus, NY 13040, USA

Lat/Long

42.542157000519, -75.897834053914

Grant Recipient

Cincinnatus Area Heritage Society

Cincinnatus Academy in the Town of Cincinnatus, Cortland County, New York was granted a charter in 1857 from the Regents of the University of the State of New York. The Cincinnatus Academy building, constructed the previous year in 1856, was equipped with a laboratory on the basement level, two classrooms and a library holding 117 volumes on the first floor, and a chapel and music room on the second floor.

By 1895, the academy had become part of the Union Free School District No. 1. An advertisement for the school ran in an October 21, 1909 edition of the Cincinnatus Times, providing a glimpse of the institution and its offerings at that time:

Healthful surroundings, low expense; laboratory equipment for the teaching of physics and biology; large reference library; four year courses; preparing for college or normal school entrance; teachers’ training class.

Classes were held until circa 1946, when the Knickerbocker Post No. 596 of the American Legion purchased the former school from the Town of Cincinnatus, who had obtained the property in 1939. Post No. 596 sold the property in 1988, and as of 2022, the former school was in use as a private apartment building.