Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-08-13
The .lnnncock Academy.
To the Public, and especially the
former Patrons of the Onancock
Academy:

hchUeuy'
In recent issues of the newspapers
of the Eastern Shore of Virginia
there appeared an article addressed
to the friends and patrons Of the
above named school. over the sigma
lures of Messrs Frank P. Brent and
C. N. Wyant, stating that 1.-THE PRES
ent stockholders of the Onancock
Academy property having declined
to lease the same to us any longer,
except on such terms as would make
the cost of rent paid for buildings and
musical instruments double that of
former years, thus necessitating re-
duction in the salaries paid the teach
ers or an increase of tuition charges,
we have felt constrained to secure
ether buildings on more favorable
terms, &c.n
For your information, in justice 10
ou,s elves, and in order to prevent the
adverse criticism to which we may be
subjected by the article referred to,
we deem it proper to present the fol-
lowing facts and figures:
After purchasing the property, at
the judicial sale made short time
since, one of the undersigned present
owners was spoken to by Mr.. Wyant,in
regard to renting it to Mr.. Brent and
himself for next session. We then
had meeting of the owners, in or
der to determine as to the amount of
rent to be asked and the repairs to
b. mode. No OF e of us desired to
run the school ourselves, but were all
willing to rent the property to Messrs.
Brent and Wy.lnt. We, however, in
view of the largely increased PATTON
age of the school during the last two
or three years, and in view of the
character of the property, the amount
of insurance and the repairs necessary
annually, desired and expected fair
rent for II c coming session, some
what proportional to the increase of
revenues of the school. The general
ide expressed by TIE ownnrs, at that
meeting, was to ask fair compensa-
ton for the use and wear and tear of
the property, with all the circum-
st,nres in vitw, and not 10 ask as
much as we might possibly force
Messrs. Brent and Wyant to pay.
We had no desire tn extortion. We,
therefore, authorized Mr.. Thomas G.
Pitts, one of the owners, to rent the
Troper-v to Mcssrs Brentand Wyant
for $4,000, and also to agree To do
certain repairs. Mr.. Pitts here states
for himself-as he alone, of the own
ers. met Messrs. Brent and Wyant-
that he agreed to rent them the
property for $4,000, and tolepair
the enclosures. the broken places in
the walls and small place in the
floor. n leak in the roof, the blinds.
windows and cords, and the stoves,
to put new locks on he doors who're
needed, and to whitewash the en-
closures and the walls Of the entire
building; ard that these terms were
declined by Messrs Brent and Wyant.
This $500. co rent, leaving out of view
the repairs we agreed 10 do, was not
an increase of rent in proportion to
the increased patronage and reve-
nues of the school, as will be 'seen
from the facts and figures stated be-
low. AS to the increased patronage,
/ the catalogues of the Academy for
the sessions 1856, 1867 and 1878
show respectively an attendance n,
II end 60 pupils, while the catalogue
for 1901 shows 113, and for 1912
there were, as we are informed, over
100.
TIL, owners Of the property en-
ployad the teachers and themselves
ran the school for the first eight
years, taking which time as a whole,
besides paying in tuition fees for
their own children as others did, and
suffering the wear and tear of the
buildings, enclosures, pianos, desks
AMI other school furniture, they lost
money, time ard services, and
received no interest or income
from the investment of over
s5oOO,Oo, the cost of the prop
eIty. Tle loss on pianos. desks
and school furniture is not less than
$s9OCO. During the seventh and
eighth sessions the patronage and es-
pecially the revenues by reason of
the advanced grade of the pupils,
had increased so as to induce Mr..
Brent a I'D his then associate, Mr..
WIN. G. Marshall, to re 1T the proper
iy, at an annual rent of $3.50 90 which
they peid for three years, 1855,
1867 and 1878. For the session of
1878 the revenues from the music
class largely fell off, by reason of the
successful establishment Of COM
peting class by an accomplished
teacher in the same town. Mr.. Mar
shall was succeeded by Mr.. Wyant,
for the session 1889; Mr.. Brent then,
by reason of the falling off in the rev.
enues from music applied to the then
owners of the property, through Mr..
Thomas C. Pitts, for reduction of
the annual rent, which was agreed to,
and the rent reduced to $3.50 per,
year, which has been paid ever since.
The rent, therefore, has been S35O.00