[2][3] The March 19, 1810 incorporation by the commonwealth appropriated $2,000,[4][5] and the academy opened in 1814 for the school year with Samuel Ramsay as the first teacher.
[6] By 1822 the boarding school had three dormitories, libraries, and a gymnasium and beginning in 1826, the academy trustees allowed the Lutheran seminary to use the facility — D. Jacobs established a preparatory school in June 1827 (his brother was a mathematics professor).
[7][8] The facility was purchased at Sheriff's sale in 1829 by Samuel Simon Schmucker and designated the "Gettysburg Gymnasium".
[5][9] The 1829 headmaster was Dr. Charles H. Huber, and 2 sons of Mexico's president-elect attended.
Eyster's "School Halls" were advertised for rent in 1877,[12] the house was used as World War I officers' quarters, and Reuning House is now a private residence protected by a 1972 borough ordinance extending the historical district to include the building.