Michigan Military Academy
The Michigan Military Academy, also known as the M.M.A., was an all-boys military prep school in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It was founded in 1877 by Captain J. Sumner Rogers, and closed in 1908 due to bankruptcy. During its peak years, it was known as the "West Point of the West."
Early history and establishment
In 1858, Joseph Tarr Copeland, a retired Civil War general, purchased several acres of land built his retirement home on the shores of Orchard Lake. The area was popular with tourists, so in 1871 Gen. Copeland converted his residence into the Orchard Lake Hotel. Business was good for a few years but development in the area forced many vacationers to seek seclusion farther north and Gen. Copeland sought to sell his home and the 90 acres of land around it. Captain J. Sumner Rogers, who was a professor of Military Science and Tactics at Detroit High School, had wanted to establish a creditable military prep school in the Detroit area for some time. Seeing the opportunity at hand, Rogers bought the land with the help of some wealthy Detroiters, and in 1877 he established the Michigan Military Academy. He modeled the academy after West Point and its success was immediate.
Peak Years
The Michigan Military Academy immediately started attracting students from all over Michigan. By the early 1890s, students were traveling from as far as the New England and west of the Mississippi River. A diploma from the Academy was seen as a very high honor. Many colleges and universities across the United States admitted an applicant automatically upon his graduation from the Academy. Discipline was high but there were many extracurricular activities and sports and the students were encouraged to participate. There were three levels of training: Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry. The cadets had a busy schedule, even on weekends, but Rogers and his staff allowed for holiday parties and arranged dances with nearby all-girls schools. Many cadets could not take the stress and there were several hundred dropouts throughout the Academy's history. Many of the graduates went on to successful careers in the military and business. Over the course of its 30-year history, the Michigan Military Academy had 2,558 enrollments and 458 graduates.
Bankruptcy
During the Academy's later years, a massive building project was assimilated by Rogers. Unable to pay off the huge sums of money owed for the new buildings, the Academy quickly sunk into debt. Added to this, during two days in December of 1900, the students and teachers rebelled against Rogers for mistreatment and unsatisfactory meals. Rogers quickly fired several teachers who blamed for starting the rebellion, and from there things only got worse. Rogers died of ill health in September of 1901. Enrollment declined sharply and the Academy was closed in 1908.
Notable attendees
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan novels, attended Michigan Military Academy. Burroughs entered the academy in 1892 and was noted for his rebelliousness. After attending the Academy for only a short time, he left without notice on a train bound for Chicago. As punishment, he was sent back to the Academy but dropped out in 1896 shortly before graduating.
The Seminary and other schools
Two years after the Academy closed, Fr. Joseph Dabrowski, the director of the Polish Seminary of Detroit, purchased the campus and moved his school there. The seminary has stayed there to this day. It is now called SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary. The campus is also home to St. Mary's Preparatory and Madonna University of Livonia holds some classes on the campus.
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