page_title: Western Reserve Academy
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Western Reserve Academy / History
context_page_description: Western Reserve Academy, or simply Reserve, is a private, midsized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio. A boarding school, Western Reserve Academy is largely a residential campus, with 280 of 400 students living on campus and the remainder attending the day program as day students. In that population, students matriculated from 21 states and 15 countries. 87% of the faculty hold advanced degrees. Approximately 90% of the faculty members reside on campus in either faculty homes or dormitory apartments. Reserve also participates in an annual exchange program with the Caterham School in Surrey, England.
context_section_description: Western Reserve Academy was established on February 7, 1826 as the Western Reserve College and Preparatory School in Hudson, Ohio, on a 190-acre (77 ha) plot of land set aside via charter by the Ohio legislature.  The institution's name comes from the area in which it was built, the Connecticut Western Reserve, as it was the first of its kind in Northern Ohio. The settlers from Connecticut wanted to build a school of the same caliber as Yale College and the same design, with brick buildings and the same motto, Lux Et Veritas. People called it “the Yale of the West.”  The first class of the school included eleven students at the college level and eight at the preparatory level.  In 1882, the college section moved north to Cleveland and became Western Reserve University, later merging with the Case Institute of Technology to become Case Western Reserve University.  Reserve is the 27th oldest preparatory boarding school in the United States, and the oldest outside of the Northeast.
  Western Reserve Academy remained open for another twenty-one years, until 1903, when it was forced to close due to financial problems.  In 1916, however, the school reopened due to the graces of benefactor James Ellsworth, a former student and Hudson resident who had returned after making millions of dollars in the coal industry. The "Ellsworth Era" was marked by significant construction, namely Seymour Hall (the newly appointed academic building), the Bicknell Gymnasium, and Ellsworth Hall, a dormitory and dining hall. In 1922, Western Reserve Academy became an all-boys' institution, staying this way for fifty years, until 1972, when girls were introduced into the junior class, once again becoming a co-ed institution.
  In the late 1990s and into the early 21st century, under the direction of Headmaster Dr. Henry "Skip" Flanagan, Western Reserve Academy again underwent a major construction period, eclipsing even the growth of the "Ellsworth Era." During this time the following projects were completed:
  Renovation of Nathan P. Seymour Guest House (1998)
  Expansion/construction of the Metcalf Center (1999)
  Construction of the John D. Ong Library (2000)
  Construction of Long House Dormitory (2000)
  Renovation of Wilson Science Hall (2001)
  Renovation of Wood House (2000–2002)
  Construction and expansion of athletic facilities, including the Murdough Athletic Center (2001–2004)
  Renovation of Bicknell Gymnasium into Bicknell House (2004)
  Renovation of The Athenaeum (2013-2014)
  Renovation of President's House (2016-2017)
  Renovation of Seymour Hall (2017–present)
  In 2001, Western Reserve Academy was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top boarding schools in the country.
caption: The historic "Brick Row"
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