Belton Academy

Front: This site, on a lot donated by Dr. George Brown, was the location of a school for more than a century. Belton Academy, a private school with a classical curriculum, opened ca. 1851 as the town grew up around the new railroad junction. Brown’s nephew, Dr. William Carroll Brown, was the academy’s first professor. The academy stayed open during the Civil War but became a public school after it. A new frame two-story school for grades 1-10 was built here in 1893. Reverse: The enrollment in Belton’s schools grew rapidly after Belton Mill opened in 1899, and trustees approved this two-story brick school, called Central School, for grades 1-10. Built in 1908, it was designed by Anderson architect Joseph H. Casey. In 1922, when a new Belton High School was built, this school became Central Grammar School, for grades 1-6. It closed in 1973, was sold to the town of Belton, and was renovated and rededicated as Belton City Hall in 1976.