History
On March 25, 1816, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly passed a bill to found Pictou Academy.
Thomas McCulloch (1776 - 1843), the first principal (1816 - 1837), was a Presbyterian minister ordained in the Secessionist church in Scotland. He arrived in Pictou in 1803 and by 1806, he had written about the need for a college because King's, the one college in Nova Scotia at that time, was open to only 20% of the population. McCulloch wanted a non sectarian college that would train local ministers and offer to all a liberal scientific curriculum modeled on the University of Glasgow.
In 1806 he opened a school in his own house and the excellence of his teaching drew students from Nova Scotia and beyond, but it was not until 1816 that Pictou Academy was opened. McCulloch began to build up its library and collected insect and bird specimens for a natural history museum. This collection was so extensive that John James Audubon, in a visit in 1833, called it "The finest private collection in North America."
Throughout his years as principal, McCulloch had a constant struggle with government funding, trustees, the status of the Academy, and religious groups, both in Pictou and the province. For many years, the Legislative Assembly approved a grant for the Academy but the Council rejected or reduced the grant. McCulloch fought vigorously for his ideas, but by 1837, he was in a very difficult position and left the Academy to become the first principal of the new Dalhousie College in Halifax.
The Academy went through several phases. To 1831 it was a college but after this, a grammar school was added to the college. By 1842, the school had female students and had its college status taken away making it a grammar school only. The school's enrollment ranged widely over the years but by the 1870s, with the changes in school policies in Nova Scotia, the Academy was flourishing and became a model secondary institution with excellent facilities and higher grants. Students passed exams to enter the Academy which was free to county students. From the beginning, the plan was to keep fees low, and some students did attend for free during the early years.
The emphasis on an academic curriculum with competition and examinations led to Pictou Academy students taking a larger proportion of prizes and bursaries than any other academy in the province. By 1885 it was the largest secondary school in Nova Scotia with students coming from across the province as well as from other countries. As a result, the Academy has a long list of famous graduates in all walks of life.
Many gifts and prizes were left to Pictou Academy by its students and others and in 1916, the centenary committee took on a role of continuing support. In 1919, the committee incorporated itself into the PA Augmentation Fund. Later on, it became The Pictou Academy Educational Foundation
The first building was constructed in 1818 and was used until 1879. A second, larger building opened in 1880 but burned in 1895. The third building also burned and Pictou Academy's current building opened in 1940.
Not only was Pictou Academy an important educational institution, but "Over it was fought the battle of the nineteenth century against unconstitutional government and religious intolerance. It was largely over the rights and wrongs of the Academy more than any other question that the fight was waged and won for responsible government in Nova Scotia." (MacPhie, 1914, p.135)
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