Lincoln, Maine

Responses from students in Mr. Koscuiszka's lab can be viewed below:

Cassandra Conroy
"Research your topic and summarize the ‘who, what, when, and where’ in the form of a few paragraphs"

Lincoln High School was built in 1847 for $1,300 on the land that is currently where the Mattanawcook Junior High School is. There was a need for a new school because the population increased to 1,840 students. In 1846, male teachers were paid $4.18 a week compared to female teachers at $1.52 a week. They had two classes in 1849, and they were “General English” and “Higher English”. The first library of the new building was donated by Charles E. Adams. The money for the costs of the building was donated by Dr. Aurill. Mr. Cobb purchased the first athletic field for the new building. In 1850, the name of the school was changed to Mattanawcook Academy. In 1974 on 90 acres of land overlooking the Penobscot River on Hill Crest, the new Mattanawcook Academy was built. In 1977, Mattanawook Academy moved to its new location on Reed Drive. We now know this building as the high school, where students move on to grades 9-12.

Cody Jordan
"Compare and contrast your topic in the past and in the present"

The original Mattanwcook Academy was built in 1847 for $1300. It was built right on this same spot at the Jr. High. In the early years, the male teachers were paid $4.18 a week and females were paid $1.52 a week. It was rebuilt three times and the third time, the high school was moved to where it is now.

Mattanwcook Academy today is located on Reed Drive and the teachers get paid $750 a week before taxes. They have not made many changes to the building since it was built in the 1970s.

Sam Eager
"How does this topic connect to you in your life?"

I can connect Mattanawcook Academy to my life because I currently live in Lincoln which is where the school is located. I can also connect it to my life because next year I will be going there and I think that high school is a memorable four years in everyone’s life. I think that if the high school wasn’t built where it is, we might not be able to hold all the events that we are capable of holding at the current location. Not only does the school affect me, but it affects everyone in the Lincoln area because it has become a landmark for most people; everyone in the area knows where the school is. The high school is also a big source of pride for everyone in the Lincoln area. If the school was never built, no one would have had the chance to get a higher education, or they would have to travel miles to get to school. These are just a few ways I can relate the Mattanawcook Academy to my current life.

Reilly Struck
"What if Mattanawcook Academy never existed? Explain the consequences to the town"

If Mattanawcook Academy never existed, the people that went through junior high wouldn’t have been able to go onto high school and graduate. They would have to go to another town to another school and graduate there. People that lived in Lincoln wouldn’t have been able to get a good education to get a job, because they might not have been motivated to go to another school and actually go through that other school. The legislator that approved the forming of a school district wouldn’t have because the school wouldn’t be here. People also wouldn’t have donated money to help build the school.

The first instructor, Joseph True, wouldn’t have been the first instructor if the school was never built. Many of the people that did graduate at MA wouldn’t have, so it would've made a big difference in this time. I also wouldn’t go to high school at MA if it was never built. I would have to go to a different school and so would the people in my class and the people behind me. The teachers that went there to learn how to teach wouldn’t have gone there because there would be no school to learn in; also many of the stores now probably wouldn’t be here because the people that ran them wouldn’t have been educated enough to manage them.

Works Cited

Aldrich, Elverson L. "Mattanawcook Academy - Cobb Fund." Mattanawcook Academy - Cobb Fund: 263-65. Web. 21 Apr. 1971.

Kimball, Marion R. "The Early History of Mattanawcook Academy." The Early History of Mattanawcook Academy 1-4, 267-69. Print.

"Mattanawcook Academy Dedicated 1933: Largest Freshman Class in History, 80, Ready for Work." 16 Oct. 1933: 257-58. Print.

"Mattanawcook Academy in it's Eighty- Sixth Year." Lincoln News (Lincoln) 1 Sept. 1932.

"Mattanawcook Academy in 1846 at a Cost of $3000.00." Lincoln News (Lincoln) 9 July 1970: 293-94. Print.