The buildings and grounds that composed the physical plant of the Staunton Military Academy started out modestly with the purchase by William and Willie Kable of four acres containing a residence, a smokehouse, and a stables. When the school closed in 1976, the Academy encompassed over 60 acres with a total of 17 majestic buildings.
Located on these 60 acres were seven tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a quarter-mile cinder track, two football fields, a parade ground, a cadet assembly area, a golf driving range and a flagpole area with a memorial to cadets that died in World War One. Inside the buildings were rooms for over 650 cadets, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, a rifle range, a library, a post office, an armory, four family residences, 15 faculty apartments, 32 classrooms, and a mess hall capable of feeding over 400 people at a sitting.
The 60 acres that eventually comprised the grounds of SMA came together in the form of 30 parcels purchased over a period of 62 years. William H. Kable, the founder, purchased the first two parcels in 1884. In 1905, Staunton Military Academy, Inc. (SMA) purchased the next parcel. Between then and 1920, SMA purchased 10 additional parcels. William G. Kable, William H. Kable’s son, personally purchased 10 parcels for the use of the school between 1909 and 1919. With the exception of the land that the Commandant’s house had been built on, these parcels were transferred to SMA upon his death in 1920. Between 1920 and 1946, SMA purchased an additional 7 parcels including the land under the Commandant’s house.
The 17 buildings in 1976 were the last of a total of 38 buildings that graced the Academy over the years. Some of the earlier buildings burned to the ground, others were removed to make way for newer buildings or were razed at the end of their useful life, and a few just disappeared without any evidence as to why.
This chapter documents the growth of the academy grounds and the acquisition/construction of the buildings in an approximate chronological order. Buildings are presented by their original names with any other names given afterward provided in the write-ups. If no name was assigned to the building originally, a name is assigned in the write-up based on the first known use of the building or structure. Each write-up follows that building from construction/acquisition (as documentation allows) to either its demise or present day. (Note: Present day in this case is what existed on the old academy grounds in March of 2014.) In addition, the history associated with three fields and two structures is provided. Lastly, information on one structure and one building that were announced but never built is presented at the end.