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Brigham Young Academy

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1875 - 1903

Administrative History

Brigham Young Academy (1875-1903) was established by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Brigham Young for the instruction of church members in the area of Provo, Utah.

Brigham Young Academy was the predecessor to Brigham Young University and Brigham Young High School. Brigham Young saw the school as a place where all secular learning should be fused with teachings from the scriptures. Despite steady growth during its early years, the Academy was threatened by a series of financial and physical setbacks. With the help and sacrifice of Abraham O. Smoot, the campus moved in 1891 to new facilities on University Avenue in Provo Utah. The Academy's curriculum strengthened and enrollment grew. In 1903, the name was officially changed to Brigham Young University.

Brigham Young Academy principals included Warren N. Dusenberry (1876), Karl G. Maeser (1876-1892), and Benjamin Cluff (1892-1894). Benjamin Cluff also served as Academy president between 1894 and 1903.

Citation:
The Journal of pedagogy, Feb. 1895: t.p. (Brigham Young Academy)

BYU--national champions, 1985: intro. (Brigham Young University)

History of BYU (within Brigham Young University website), via WWW, 4 November 2010 (Brigham Young Academy established October 16, 1875 in Provo, Utah. Name changed to Brigham Young University in 1903. Sponsored by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Provo City Library website, via WWW, Oct. 2, 2012 (Brigham Young Academy; founded in 1876; essentially a high school until 1896, with the founding of the College Dept.)

YFacts History of BYU, via WWW, viewed May 31, 2013 (Brigham Young Academy (1875-1903), Brigham Young saw the school as a place where all secular learning should be fused with teachings from the scriptures, despite steady growth during its early years, the Academy was threatened by a series of financial and physical setbacks, with the help and sacrifice of Abraham O. Smoot, the campus moved in 1891 to new facilities on University Avenue in Provo Utah, the Academy's curriculum strengthened and enrollment grew, 1903 the name was officially changed to Brigham Young University)

Yfacts BYU Presidents, via WWW, viewed Mar. 19, 2013 (Brigham Young Academy principals included Warren N. Dusenberry (1876), Karl G. Maeser (1876-1892), and Benjamin Cluff (1892-1903))

Brigham Young High School History, via WWW, viewed May 31, 2013 (Brigham Young Academy was the predecessor to Brigham Young University and Brigham Young High School)

Found in 39 Collections and/or Records:

Education Building stairway

 Digital Record
Identifier: UAP2_F032_p032topright

Edwin Butterworth Jr. photographs for the Brigham Young University centennial celebration

 Series
Identifier: UA P 2 Series 1
Scope and Contents

Contains the photographs used by Edwin Butterworth Jr. for the publication of Brigham Young University: 1000 Views of 100 Years.

Dates: approximately 1860-1975

Philip E. Houtz papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1135
Scope and Contents

Two notebooks containing the class notes of Philip Houtz and two photographs of Houtz' family.

Dates: 1884-1939

Joseph B. Keeler family papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2016
Scope and Contents

Includes journals, biographical sketches, correspondence, articles, lesson manuals, published and unpublished manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera. The bulk of the material was created by Joseph B. Keeler's descendants, who used his papers as they compiled their published family history, "Build Thee More Stately" (1989). The collection focuses on family history, religion, education, and professional organizations.

Dates: approximately 1840-1990

The Miracle at Academy Square collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2940
Abstract

Contains an extremely detailed compilation (eight volumes) of official documents, correspondence, minutes, photographs, estimates, and records associated with the renovation of the old Brigham Young Academy building in Provo, UT. Also includes a CD with a digitized copy of each volume (excluding Vol. 3, written by L. Lee Bartlett).

Dates: approximately 1984-2003

Joseph C. Nelson photographs of Brigham Young University

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1007
Scope and Contents

Materials include forty-seven photographs that document campus life in the 1920s. Subjects include Cleo and Tarbo (early Brigham Young University cougar cub mascots), the construction of the Heber J. Grant Library, lower campus, and student activities. Also included are photographs of Mount Timpanogos. Dated approximately 1920-1929.

Dates: approximately 1920-1929

Julia Maria Jesperson Okelberry papers

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233637369]
Identifier: MSS 6034
Scope and Contents

Julia Maria Jesperson Okelberry papers include: Journals, 1881-1917; Photographs, ca. 1885-1941; and Family History and Genealogy, 1953-2005. The collection documents Okelberry's life in Goshen, Utah, as well as her student days at the Brigham Young Academy. Additional materials include family histories and genalogies compiled and prepared by Merrill J. Nelson, grandson of Julia Maria Jesperson Okelberry.

Dates: 1881-2005