Mercersburg Academy is a carefully constructed environment that allows young people to navigate their teenage years unfettered but appropriately supervised. Mercersburg has more than 125 years of perfecting what it means to be a proving ground for college and life—a place for students to grow, develop, and define themselves. With students from 29 states and 36 countries, Mercersburg is a microcosm of our global community, with diversity of ethnicity, culture, and thought. We
offer a beautiful 300-acre campus with impressive facilities, 153 academic courses, 27 varsity sports, seven music, dance, and theatre ensembles, 43 clubs and organizations, an outdoor education program, and a global travel program. Our faculty have dedicated their professional careers to working with adolescents, and our students discover who they are and graduate inspired to change the world.
Mercersburg’s proud history and rich traditions date back to 1836, when the Academy’s predecessor, Marshall College, was founded at Mercersburg. Marshall College moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1853, but the preparatory department of the college remained on its original site. It was chartered as Mercersburg College in 1865. In 1893, Mercersburg’s Board of Regents elected William Mann Irvine to lead the institution. Within months, Dr. Irvine renamed the school Mercersburg Academy and reorganized it as a college-preparatory school based on the Exeter model.