A little Ricker history

By Kay Bell
Special to the Pioneer Times
    Ricker Classical Institute, organized in 1848, was originally named Houlton Academy. It was the first high school in Aroostook County and was a boarding school for out-of-town students. Academy graduates were qualified to enter college or to be teachers in the county’s grammar schools.
    When town high schools came into being about 1900, Houlton Academy became a “feeder” for Colby College at Waterville and was re-named Ricker Classical Institute in honor of Rev. Joseph Ricker, an official at Colby.
    In 1926, a one-year junior college was added. And, in 1966, Ricker became a four-year accredited college.
    The last Ricker Classical Institute class graduated in 1966, and, sadly, in 1978, Ricker College became bankrupt. However, Ricker College scholarship funds remained intact and are awarded yearly to county students. The Aroostook Historical and Art Museum at Houlton maintains a Ricker College Room which houses all yearbooks for Ricker Classical Institute as well as for Ricker College and many other items of historical interest.