The Beginnings of HGA

The Hazel Green Academy (HGA) was founded in 1880 as a private school in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Located in Hazel Green, Kentucky, the school provided room and board, as well as tuition, through outside donations and work scholarships. With an emphasis on science and mathematics, HGA also offered electives to allow students to obtain a well-rounded education. While educating students was the major component of HGA, the school further stressed the importance of hard work. It was their mission to provide higher education without the monetary burden, allowing these students to pursue opportunities and dreams they otherwise could not. The school provided the students with valuable opportunities: college preparatory classes, religious activities, academic contests, athletic events, and other extracurricular activities extending into the outside community. As HGA grew in land and leadership, they ultimately acquired a 212-acre farm that allowed for a clothing store, small hospital, and kindergarten center to open. The campus revolutionized the town by building the first silo, deep water well, administration building, and gymnasium in the county. 

However, as the state advanced its required curriculum and opened free public schools, it lessened the educational need for HGA. The owners kept the school running as long as they could, but ultimately the large decrease in enrollment forced it to close in June 1983. HGA is currently owned by the Hazel Green Christian Church and has been left untouched since its closure over 40 years ago. In collaboration with the Hazel Green Christian Church, students at the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Craft Academy have taken on the role of restoring HGA.