Montgomery Bell Academy Grammar School examination book, 1883 Mar. 30.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Book of student examinations in arithmetic, grammar, geography, spelling and a "class examination" in grammar from the middle class of the Grammar School at Montgomery Bell Academy under the instruction of P.H. Manning, dated Mar. 30, 1883. Includes individual student examination papers which have been bound into a single volume. The volume was presented to the student with the highest average scholarship, Charles C. Trabue.

Students who have exams included in the book are: Jonathan M. Bass, Jr.; Perkins Baxter; Frank P. Blake; Joe R. Bowman; William F. Campbell; William L. Clark; Henry Cole; Hugh Dallas; Robert Garrett; William B. Garrett; Joe A. Gray; Jonathan M. Gray, Jr.; Martin Hynes; A.G. Merritt, Jr.; William F. Newson; Luther Parr; Fred Phillips; A.J. Porter, Jr.; D.W. Porter; S.P. Smith; Arnold Swann; Charles C. Trabue; and William N. Vaught.

Cite as: Montgomery Bell Academy Grammar School Examination Book, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials.

No photocopies due to fragile nature of materials.

Source of acquisition unknown;,1988.,Acc. RT-100.

Additional materials relating to Montgomery Bell Academy can be found in their archives, located at the school.

Transcripts and notes from interviews conducted in 1980 with Montgomery Bell alumni by Montgomery Bell students are housed in the Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library.

Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) began in 1867 with a two-year college program, a grammar school and a high school. The school traces its origins to Davidson Academy, established by Nashville pioneer and founder, James Robertson. He obtained permission through a legislative act from North Carolina in 1785 to establish educational facilities in the area that would eventually become Nashville, Tenn. The school was located in the vicinity of present-day Spring Hill Cemetery off of Gallatin Road in Madison, Tenn. In 1806, by an act of the Tennessee legislature, Cumberland College became the formal successor to Davidson Academy, and a building was constructed on "College Hill" in South Nashville. Among the trustees were Andrew Jackson and James Robertson. Later, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson would also serve as trustees. Rev. Thomas Craighead served as the first principal and was succeeded by Dr. James Priestly in 1810. In 1816 the school closed due to financial troubles. The college was resurrected in 1824 by Rev. Phillip Lindsley, when it became the University of Nashville. In 1855, Dr. John Berrien Lindsley, son of Phillip, merged the Western Military Institute with the University of Nashville. Confederate hero Sam Davis was among its students. Also in 1855, Tennessee iron magnate Montgomery Bell died, bequeathing $20,000 to the University of Nashville for the tuition of 25 boys who would otherwise not receive an education. In 1867, John Berrien Lindsley used the funds to establish and open Montgomery Bell Academy.

Montgomery Bell Academy opened with just 26 students and two rooms, but quickly grew. In 1875, with the establishment of Peabody Normal School, the trustees of the old University of Nashville maintained control over Montgomery Bell Academy. After several moves and administrative changes around the turn of the century, in 1915 MBA opened at a new, spacious location off of Harding Road in west Nashville on the estate of Garland Tinsley. A fire destroyed the main building in 1925. Major building efforts and expansion took place in the latter half of the twentieth century, when MBA gained nationwide recognition as one of the leading preparatory schools in the country. In the early twenty-first century, it remains recognized for the academic success of its scholars and the leadership of its alumni.

In English

Unknown provenance.

Rehouse;,2007;,Linda Barnickel.

No further accruals are expected.