In 1868, the school that would become Fessenden Academy was founded by a group of freedmen led by Thomas B.

[4] The school was initially staffed by young, educated white women from the northeast and Florida.

In 1892 Fessenden deeded the school, under the auspices of the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church.

This funding, plus $1,500 raised in donations, was used for the main building: it included the library, accommodations for female boarders, a dining hall, and more classrooms.

This article about a property in Marion County, Florida on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.