Mystery Unveiled: Ancient Doodles Inside Maine's Old School Hint at Centuries-Old Secrets
Imagine if your high school doodles and secret notes to classmates could speak. What tales would they tell about teenage crannies of your life? At the University of Southern Maine’s historic Academy Building, those whispers from the past are echoing through time, thanks to some renovations that went beyond a simple facelift.
If you’ve ever wondered what high school students got up to in Maine almost 200 years ago (besides learning their ABCs and 123s), ponder no more! Construction workers inadvertently unearthed a trove of youthful expressions—math equations sitting next to love letters, sketches of big-nosed teachers, and even plans for rendezvous playground swings—a peek into a time capsule of adolescent antics and affections.
The Academy Building, now a canvas for budding artists at the university, has its walls filled with the spirited graffiti of yesteryear students. Who knew that alongside algebra woes, they harbored passions for apple blossoms and secret after-class meetups? Let’s not forget, these were the original influencers before the concept of ‘Snapchat’ even snuck into the vocabulary.
Here’s the thought-provoking question: If walls could talk, what stories would they reveal about your own high school days?
Learn more about how these whisperings from the past are bringing history to life today here. LEARN MORE
During restorations at the historic Academy Building at the University of Southern Maine, construction workers recovered dozens of letters and drawings from students who attended high school in the building nearly 200 years ago.
University of Southern MaineThe full collection of notes and doodles discovered in the walls of the former high school.
Nearly 200 years ago, students at a private high school in Gorham, Maine, recorded small moments of their lives in handwritten notes and sketches, offering a peek into the teens’ budding romances, personal passions, and frustrations with teachers. Now, their messages have been rediscovered by construction workers carrying out restorations on the building where the teens once attended class.
The high school became part of the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus in 1878, and today, the structure serves as a studio for art students at the college. Recent renovations to restore the Academy Building to its former glory revealed the trove of papers stashed behind its walls, and now the university is working to carefully preserve these glimpses into its past.
A Restoration Project Reveals Forgotten Pieces Of Maine’s History
The University of Southern Maine’s Academy Building first opened as a private high school in 1806. Students flocked to the institution from far and wide due to its reputation as a competitive and enriching educational facility.
In 1878, the building was acquired by the University of Southern Maine. Today, it is referred to as the Academy Building and serves as an art studio for students on the college’s Gorham campus.
University of Southern MaineThe Academy Building, originally constructed in 1806, on the grounds of the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus.
Because of its age, the structure has recently undergone a series of renovations that began in 2022. While removing rotted wooden walls and floorboards, construction crews discovered a large collection of notes, doodles, and other messages dating back to the Academy Building’s early history as a private high school. According to a press release from the university, the papers were hidden in a gap in the wooden panels next to a stairway.
So far, workers have recovered dozens of notes and sent them over to the university’s special collections experts for analysis.
What Did Teenagers Write About 200 Years Ago?
University of Southern MaineA student’s note discussing their admiration of apple blossoms.
The collection of papers recovered from the school’s walls has revealed fascinating details about students’ daily lives and romances. Among class notes littered with math equations, grammar lessons, and to-do lists, there are unflattering doodles of teachers, confessions of love, and details about secret rendezvous.
“Some of them are sums, calculations, and lists. Things that you would expect. But, there’s also really funny caricatures of teachers, sort of focusing on prominent features like big noses,” Dr. Libby Bischof, a historian at the university, told local news outlet WMTW. “This is sort of like the text message or the Snapchat that they’re sending in the middle of class, that they shouldn’t be.”
University of Southern MaineA caricature of a school teacher with exaggerated features.
Among some of the letters are requests such as “Ada, would’nt you like to swing after school” or “Should we take a walk?” Others document students’ love for everyday things, like apple blossoms.
Many of the notes are illegible due to their age, but the university’s special collections employees hope that digitizing them may better reveal their contents. For now, the papers have been carefully preserved, and students should soon be able to access this captivating part of the school’s early history.
