Phillips Academy Grand Stand Company - Massachusetts 1889

Beautiful certificate from the Phillips Academy Grand Stand Company issued in 1889. This historic document has the signatures of the Company's President, Alfred E. Stearns and Secretary, A. E. Addis and is over 117 years old. The stock indicates that it will be called in on the Saturday following the annual Andover - Exeter Baseball game in June 1890. Alfred E. Stearns was Andover's Headmaster until 1933. The certificate was issued to and endorsed on the back by Shubael Hutchins.

Phillips Academy, better known as Andover, is a coeducational independent high school of 1,084 students, known for its academics and the diversity of its student body. Located on a hilltop in Andover, Mass., 21 miles north of Boston, the academy was founded in 1778, making it one of the nation's oldest boarding schools.

Phillips Academy was founded during the American Revolution as an all-boys school in 1778 by Samuel Phillips, Jr., a member of the important revolutionary war family, the Phillips. The great seal of the school was designed by Paul Revere. George Washington spoke at the school in its first year and was so impressed that he recommended that his nephews go there, which they did; one of Gilbert Stuart's famous portraits of Washington hangs above the front desk. John Hancock, the famous signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, signed the school's articles of incorporation.

Phillips Academy's traditional rival is Phillips Exeter Academy, established three years later in Exeter, New Hampshire by Samuel Phillips' uncle, Dr. John Phillips. The football teams have met nearly every year since 1878, making it one of the oldest high school rivalries in the country.

Portions of Andover's campus were laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park and himself a graduate of the school. It is dominated by neo-Georgian architecture and centered around the several-acre Great Lawn. Campus structures include the Memorial Bell Tower, which recently underwent a $5 million renovation, Samuel Phillips Hall, Bulfinch Hall, and Pearson Hall.

Paul Revere incorporated bees, a beehive, and the sun into his design of the school's seal. The school's primary motto, Finis Origine Pendet, meaning "the end depends upon the beginning," is scrolled across the bottom of the seal. The school's second motto, Non Sibi, located in the sun, means "not for oneself." Phillips Academy was chartered to educate "qualified youth from every quarter."

Phillips Academy offers a broad curriculum and extracurricular activities that include music ensembles, 30 competitive sports, a campus newspaper, a radio station, and a debate club. The academy raised $208 million through "Campaign Andover," which brought its endowment to around $550 million in 2004.

In 1973, Phillips Academy merged with neighboring Abbot Academy, which was founded in 1829 as the first school for girls in New England and named for Sarah Abbot.