History of Hitchcock

​From 1855-1954, Hitchcock Free Academy was a high school, one of the first to offer a high school education at no cost to students. Mr. Samuel Austin Hitchcock had been too poor to afford to go to high school as a youth but set off in 1812 with one borrowed dollar to make his fortune. Indeed, he succeeded, becoming one of the wealthiest men in Massachusetts by the 1850s. 

​Hitchcock closed as a high school in 1954 when Tantasqua Regional High School opened to meet the growing needs of the community. It reopened in 1956 as a community center, and today it welcomes over 12,000 visits annually. While much has changed since 1855, Hitchcock’s core mission remains: to serve its community by enriching the lives of local residents in the arenas of education, recreation and culture.