Over a century ago, Wesleyan Methodist evangelist Willard J. Houghton traveled the Genesee Valley by horse and buggy, tirelessly inviting children to Sunday school. In 1882, his conversations with area church leaders turned his love for young people into a vision for a school—a school that would serve as a "moral lighthouse" for a "dark world." 

​

Soon, ground was broken, and in one year, Houghton Wesleyan Methodist Seminary opened the doors of a handsome brick building in northern Allegany County and began its educational ministry. Committed to a Christ-centered approach to schooling from the beginning, the institution has always remained faithful to its roots.

​

As enrollment grew in the 1890s, the school began offering post-secondary courses, resulting in the founding of Houghton College. The school and College continued to share administration, faculty, students, and campus facilities for years thereafter, even after the College received a separate charter in 1923.

​

In 1955, the school's administration separated from that of the College, and the school was renamed Houghton Academy. Three years later, the Academy began building on its present 25-acre campus and has since erected an administration and classroom building, a gymnasium, and boys' and girls' dormitories. In 1995, additional offices, classrooms, a computer lab, a science lab, an art studio, and a three-hundred-seat auditorium/theater were added.

​

Philip G. Stockin ('63) began working with the school in 1971 and served as Headmaster until 2011. Under his leadership, the institution advanced its boarding and day programs, extending the impact of its distinctive philosophy across the counties of western New York and worldwide. In the following decade, the Academy experienced a season of decline and nearly closed its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, under the leadership of Dr. Toby A. Travis, Head of School, and Mr. Jon Keith, CFO/Boarding Program Director, the Academy is experiencing a level of growth and development not seen in its over 140-year history. The future of the Academy is brighter than ever, with a renewed partnership with Houghton University and a commitment to student-centered research-based best practices of instruction. 

​

Today's Academy students experience...

Small School Care

Large School OpportunitiesTM.

​