About Founders' Day
Agreeable to notice, publicly given, the citizens of Blairstown and vicinity convened in the Presbyterian church, in Blairstown, this day, for the purpose of selecting a site for an Academy, and appointing a committee whose business it shall be to superintend its erection. The meeting was called to order by John I. Blair, Esq., and organized by appointing John Messler, Chairman, and Isaiah W. Condict, Secretary. The hilltop west of the Methodist Church and south of the burying ground in Blairstown was selected for the site of the building, and was offered gratuitously for the purpose by the possessor John I. Blair, Esq.
from Blair Academy, A Sesquicentennial History by Arthur T. Hamlin
On April 6, 1848, Blair Academy was founded thanks to the financial support and guidance of railroad tycoon John I. Blair, carriage maker John Bunnell and the Rev. John A. Reiley, minister of Blairstown’s First Presbyterian Church. Philanthropy built Blair Academy in 1848 and has continued to strengthen and enhance the School ever since. Each year, we celebrate our heritage and future on Founders’ Day, April 6, with our annual Day of Giving.
John I. Blair
John A. Reiley