The Hidden History of Abbott Park

Cassie Libby
Contributing Writer

Abbott Park by Jadyn Jacobs

Abbott Park is a beautiful little park right off of the Roberts Learning Center on the UMF campus. In 1983, Abbott Park was dedicated to the University. Now, the park is used as a recreational hangout spot and an occasional destination for UMF-class outings. The rich history of the park has been somewhat lost, but there are still people at the University and in the community who are fighting for the park and its deep and long history.

Layne Nason is a UMF Alumni and a member of the Farmington Historical Society’s Board of Trustees. Nason has dedicated his life to the history of Abbott Park and educating the campus and the community about it. It wasn’t until I took Luke Kellet’s Introduction to Archaeology course that the truth of the park was uncovered to me, and I have been going to UMF for three years. The class was scheduled to excavate in Abbott Park and Nason had come to talk about the excavation site—which was when the world of the historical Abbott Park was opened up to me. 

I met up with Nason again for an interview for this article, and he shared more about the park and its history:

Abbott Park was originally land that was purchased by the Children’s book author, Jacob Abbott in 1838. Abbott’s wife passed away a few years later, and the family moved to New York. In 1844 Jacob’s brother, Samuel, moved to Farmington to take over the land that Jacob and his family had left. Samuel Abbott opened the Abbott Family Boys School in 1844. Samuel Abbott was the principal of the school until he passed in 1849. Alexander Hamilton (A.H.) Abbott took over as principal of the school after Samuel’s death. Oddly enough, A.H. Abbott wasn’t related to the original Abbott family whatsoever. A.H. Abbott spent around $3,000 beautifying and updating the school—which was about equivalent to $1,000,000 in today’s economy. A.H. Abbott had the schoolhouse built, which stood right in what is now the clearing of Abbott Park, and also had the original dormitory built that stood where Roberts Learning Center now stands. 

The school shut down in 1900 after a fire destroyed a good part of the dorm building. The school remained closed for two years until it reopened under a man by the name of George Dudley Church. Church is what Nason called “the most successful headmaster of the Abbott Boys School.” Church also put a lot of money into the school, building a brand new dormitory in 1903 in the same spot as the old one. Church had a gymnasium built somewhere in the years of 1904-1906 on the hill that stands behind where the amphitheater is now. He also expanded the schoolhouse in 1909. In 1914, the school had an undefeated football team, but tragically, one of the schools’ most successful athletes, Howard Hippach, passed away in an automobile accident. Hippach’s father donated money to the school and the athletic fields were named the Howard Hippach athletic fields, and they still hold that name to this day. The school year of 1917-1918 was one of the worst for the school, with a teacher committing suicide and the dormitory burning again in December of 1917. Church had an architect draw up plans for a new dorm, but they were rejected in 1918 due to the war, causing Church to leave the school for Worcester, Mass. The school promptly shut down once again. 

The school never reopened under the ownership of George Dudley Church, but it did reopen in 1920 under a man by the name of Moses Bradstreet Perkins. Perkins didn’t last long as headmaster, because he never paid the school’s bills and he eventually fled Farmington. The school saw three more principals before it eventually shut down for good somewhere in the years of 1930 and 1932. The property was eventually sold to a man by the last name of Dearborn, and Dearborn eventually gave the dormitory part of the property to the Kappa Delta Phi fraternity in 1937. The fraternity lasted until about the 60’s when it was sold to a real estate company. UMF eventually gained the property in 1983. 

A few parts of the Abbott School for Boys remain to this day, but not much. The original foundations to the schoolhouse are still in the park, as well as the bridges into the park. Hippach field and the fieldhouse was part of the school and is still used today. The last part of the school that is still around today is what we call today Franklin Hall. In the days of the Abbott School for Boys, Franklin Hall was Headmaster Church’s house. 

Abbott School memorial statue by Jadyn Jacobs

Nason is concerned about how little people know about the Abbott School for Boys and the history of Farmington. He suggests that “having more functions in the park” to raise awareness about the history is a good way to start educating the members of Farmington. 

I asked Nason if there were any other stories he wanted me to share about the school, and he told me about a special weekend in February when the all girls school in Portland, The Waynflete School, would come up to Farmington. There would be a dance and they’d share a big meal with the Abbott School boys. It was often the biggest weekend of the year for the boys in the school. 

Another thing Nason brought up was that every Thanksgiving there would be a costume contest. A big thing at the school was cross-dressing and Nason showed me photos of the boys of the school in big dresses with head dresses.

 The history of Abbott Park is rich and super fascinating for anyone who wants to learn about it. It is baffling to think about how many students and community members are unaware of how this campus came to be what it is today and the changes it's been through. To learn more about the Abbott School for Boys, check out the Farmington Historical Society.