Wilson Military Academy Fire, 1912

On the night of May 6, 1912, after lights out and just before evening inspection, a young cadet attending the Wilson Military Academy at Finderne, NJ secretly extinguished a contraband cigarette and hid the remains near his dormitory bunk. Just hours later the smoldering stub ignited the blaze that burned the school to the ground.

New York Evening Telegram, 7 May 1912

Captain Joel Wilson, the owner and principal at the academy, was born in Maine around 1840, and was pursuing a career in education at the outset of the Civil War. He had just accepted a position as principal of an academy in Portland, Maine when the call went out for volunteers. He served in the cavalry for four years with never a request for furlough. At the end of the war, he continued his career in education - first at an academy in Newton, NJ, and then as proprietor of the Hudson River Military Academy in Nyack, NY.

Hudson River Military Academy, circa 1899

Some time around 1907, Captain Wilson moved the academy to the top of a hill in Finderne, eventually changing the name to Wilson Military Academy.

Ad from McClure's Magazine, October 1907

Along with the name change came a tuition increase from $360 to $400 for the term. This included tuition, board, laundry, mending, and use of horses for riding and recreation. Amenities included a wireless telegraphy station, electric light, steam heat, and plentiful athletic fields.

Postcard circa 1909

One of the 50 cadets - aged 8 to 18 - saw the smoke, sounded the alarm, and went to wake Captain Wilson. Newspapers noted that the military discipline employed by the boys likely saved lives in what could have been a terrible tragedy. Not a single life was lost, and many of the cadets were able to save their personal effects by throwing their trunks from the windows as the rapidly spreading fire consumed the entire frame structure.

Ad from Literary Digest, 23 July 1910

Older boys valiantly manned the fire hose while the younger cadets formed a bucket brigade in an effort to save their beloved school. Some of the older boys attempted to reenter the building to retrieve the school colors, but were held back by Captain Wilson as the blaze was too great.

Ad from McClure's Magazine September 1913

Captain Wilson did not rebuild at Finderne, but instead bought 50 acres at Madison,NJ. reestablishing the academy there.