Education Programs at Portersville Academy
Amos Clift built Portersville Academy in 1839, and for nearly 50 years the building did yeoman service as Groton, Connecticut's Fifth District School. The two-story, Greek Revival structure, was originally located just north of present day Union Baptist Church. The town of Groton moved it to its present location in 1887 where it became the First District Hall.
In the mid 1950s the town stopped using the building and it fell into disrepair. In 1976 the Mystic River Historical Society bought and restored the schoolhouse, and in 1991 furnished the second floor classroom with reproduction period desks built by members of the Society.
Today Portersville Academy once again opens its doors to students. Local schools are invited each year to send their students for our educational programs, specially designed to enrich children's historical understanding of our area and to be fun as well. Many hundreds of young students from local school systems, public, private and parochial, have enjoyed Field Trips to Portersville Academy for the past fourteen years.
