Nichols College

The institution was established in 1815 as Nichols Academy. Its founder was Amasa Nichols, a wealthy industrialist from Dudley, Massachusetts. Early benefactors of the academy included textile manufacturers such as Samuel Slater. Nichols Academy closed its doors in 1909. The campus buildings, designed by such architects as Elbridge Boyden and Charles F. Wilcox, were then used by the town and leased to other educational institutions over time.[4]