The History of Griggsville Academy
Griggsville (population 1,258) is located in west-central Illinois in the northeast portion of Pike
County. The town is located about 35 miles southeast of Quincy, 30 miles west of Jacksonville.U.S. Route 54/Illinois
Route 107 is the main roadway to and from Griggsville as it intersects with County Highway 2. Interstate Highway 72
travels by about 1 mile to the south of town. The Norfolk Southern Railroad travels by the south side of Griggsville.
The Wikipedia web address of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggsville,_Illinois tells us that Griggsville was a fast growing town which began in the 1830s. It was not a town built
on the frontier ways of the time, rather it was, from the start, a clean town interested in becoming a good place to
live for any family.
One of the first cultural entities to exist in Griggsville was the Griggsville Academy for Boys and Girls.
This Academy began in 1836 and may have served the community through at least the 1880s. An advertisement for Griggsville
Academy from those first few years can be viewed at the web address of http://genealogytrails.com/ill/pike/schoolgriggsvilleacademy.html.
Griggsville Academy offered students advanced learning from what they would have received through public
school at the time, which, in nearly all cases, stopped after the 8th grade. Griggsville Academy, as many others of
its time, was the only opportunity for learning above the 8th grade level in those days. It was a very important
part of Illinois, and United States, history.
Griggsville Academy Quick Facts
Year opened: 1836
Year closed: 1880s?
Sports likely not offered
