Sanborn Seminary was built in Kingston, New Hampshire

Kingston, New Hampshire

Kingston is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 6,025.- History :Kingston was the fifth town to be established in New Hampshire. Originally, it was a part of Hampton, New Hampshire...

, in 1883 by Major Edward S. Sanborn (died 1885) as the main building of a secular secondary boarding school. The school ran continuously until 1966 when it was sold to the Town of Kingston. The campus became known as Sanborn Regional High School

Sanborn Regional High School

Sanborn Regional High School is located in Kingston, New Hampshire and serves the towns of Kingston, Newton, and Fremont. SRHS is a part of the Sanborn Regional School District...

 and served students from the towns of Kingston, Newton

Newton, New Hampshire

Newton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,603 at the 2010 census.- History :The sixth town to be granted from the Masonian land purchase of 1746, Newton was originally part of Salisbury, Massachusetts; later, part of Amesbury, Massachusetts; then...

, and Fremont

Fremont, New Hampshire

Fremont is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,283 at the 2010 census. Fremont is crossed by the Rockingham Recreation Trail and NH Route 107.-History:...

. The last class at this campus graduated in June 2006.

History

The Seminary building was designed in the Victorian Gothic style popular at the time of its construction. The architect is unknown. In preparation for the building's 100th anniversary in 1983, an exterior restoration project was completed, and the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. The Seminary is the centerpiece of a campus complex that originally included five additional wood frame structures and a beach recreation area on nearby Greenwood Pond. The bell tower was removed from the building's roof and located on the East Lawn until 2006, when it was relocated to the new Sanborn Regional High School atrium.

Current use

A new building for Sanborn Regional High School opened on August 28, 2006. The Seminary and other campus buildings are expected to be adapted for School Administrative Unit 17 office uses. One of the buildings on the campus site is now being used by the Seacoast Charter school.

Sources

• Nomination Form, National Register of Historic Places, National Parks Service, United States Department of the Interior, 1984.
• "Old school hosts final graduation", June 23, 2006, The Rockingham News, accessed on August 31, 2006.
• "Sanborn's dual life; The secrets which were revealed after his death", The New York Times, September 22, 1885, page 2.
• "Was Sanborn Sane? Dartmouth College contesting one of his wills", The New York Times, February 19, 1886, page 2.
• "Edward S. Sanborn's life; Efforts to break the will of an eccentric man. The dual life of the testator used as a means to prove insanity --testimony regarding his habits", The New York Times, January 2, 1886.