Music Vale Seminary

The couple moved to Buffalo, New York, where Whittlesey and his two brothers ran a successful piano manufacturing business.

Students received instruction in harmony, notation, voice, and performance on instruments such as the piano, organ, harp, and guitar.

[1] The conservatory was authorized to confer normal degrees, or technically teacher's certificates, by the Connecticut State Board of Higher Education.

[4] After Whittlesey's death in September 1876, his daughter, Sarah Pratt, closed the school and sold the property.

[6] In the early 1900s, the site of Music Vale Seminary was purchased by Bela Pratt, a sculptor and grandson of Oramel Whittlesey.

[7] Today, all that remains of the Music Vale Academy is a privately owned red barn, built in 1849, and a state historical marker off Route 85.