Oak Ridge Military Academy - History

History

Oak Ridge was established in 1852 by the Society of Friends (Quakers) as a "finishing school" for boys. From 1875 to 1914 Oak Ridge was led by two brothers, Professors J. Allen Holt and Martin Holt. Under their leadership the "Oak Ridge Male Institute" became one of the best prep schools in North Carolina, boasting business and humanities departments, literary and debating societies, and sports teams which regularly played Wake Forest College (University), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Trinity College (later Duke University) in football and baseball. Several of the academy's baseball players went on to play in the major leagues. Despite the school's public name, women were admitted as students during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During the First World War the Junior Reserve Officer Training Program (JROTC) was admitted to the campus. In 1929 Oak Ridge officially became an all-male military secondary school. From 1929-1967 Oak Ridge was a junior college as well as a military school. During the Second World War 127 of the academy's alumni were awarded a Purple Heart during the conflict, while another 27 alumni earned the Silver Star. In 1972 Oak Ridge became the first military high school in the United States to admit female cadets. The Academy is the third-oldest military school in the United States still in operation.