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This small academy nestled near the banks of the Missouri River in Lexington, MO has produced countless military leaders such as General Hoge, General Welsh, and two Medal of Honor Recipients; business leaders such as James “Bud” Walton, and Eddie Chiles; arts and media greats such as Robert Altman and Marlin Perkins; sports pioneers such ...
- History
- College Academic Program and Senior ROTC Program
- High School Academic Program
- Academic Accreditation
- Student Life
- Notable Alumni
- Presidents
- References
Background
Lexington's Civil War Battle of the Hemp Bales was still a recent memory when Stephen G. Wentworth founded Wentworth Military Academy in 1880. By the 1870s, the town had already attained the reputation as the “Athens of the West” for its many academic institutions. Lexington was home to three notable schools for girls. Lexington Baptist Female College was started in 1850 in the old county courthouse that had been abandoned upon the construction of the new Lafayette County Courthouse, built in...
Wentworth Male Academy
On May 12, 1879, Wentworth's 27-year-old son William died. As a memorial, Wentworth focused his attention on finally making a school for boys a reality in Lexington. In the spring of 1880, Mr. Wentworth announced that a new school named Wentworth Male Academy would begin operation in the fall. Mr. Wentworth had a long record of public service to Lexington. A local editorial writer proclaimed that Wentworth was “One of our oldest, most generous and most worthy citizens” and ”no nobler name can...
Wentworth Military Academy
Sandford Sellers became the force who forged Wentworth's national reputation, and his hand would guide the school for the next 58 years. In the early days, he handled all the institution's administrative affairs, academic planning, and student recruitment on his own, canvassing surrounding areas on horseback. In 1882, Wentworth became a military school, and Sellers hired Captain David W. Fleet, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, as the first Commandant. Fleet brought VMI terms such as...
Wentworth college students attend either the military college as cadets, or the civilian college as commuter students. Wentworth Military College provides the opportunity to receive a commission in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard. Wentworth's Senior Army ROTCoffers two and four-year programs for becoming an Army Officer. Wentwort...
Wentworth takes advantage of the fact that it is one of few schools in the United States that has a college and high school sharing the same campus by encouraging all its high school students to gain college credit before they graduate from high school. In 2007, Wentworth announced that they would offer a three-tiered program designed to allow all ...
Wentworth's college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and the high school is accredited by AdvancED, formerly the (North Central Association of Colleges and Schools). In addition, Wentworth is a member of the National Association of Community Colleges, The Association of Boarding Schools, the National Association of Independent Schoo...
Corps of Cadets
The Wentworth Corps of Cadets consists of approximately 250 students, ranging from 9th grade through junior college sophomores. The corps is divided up into three companies, and junior college cadets provide most of the corps' leadership, supervised by Wentworth staff and faculty. For the first semester cadets are introduced to an introductory phase known as new cadet training. The new cadet training program is based on a Virginia Military Institutetradition that was put into place by Wentwor...
Athletics
Wentworth's campus features several athletic fields and eight tennis courts. The 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) Wikoff Athletic Center includes three basketball courts, a Laykold-type indoor track, a racquetball court, a weight room, a wrestling room, and a pool. The college is affiliated with the Missouri Community College Conference, National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association(USCAA). For men, Wentworth competes in soccer, basket...
Extracurricular activities
Cadets participate in a range of extracurricular activities normally two days a week. The remaining days are dedicated to ROTC lab exercises or athletics. Different programs and activities are available for the College and the Academy, and vary through each point in the year. Army JROTC holds the annual Raider program while SROTC holds the Ranger Challenge, each being a series of highly competitive tests, and upon completion cadets are entitled to wear the Raider and Ranger Challenge tabs res...
Politics
1. Ike Skelton - United States Congressman, 4th District of Missouri (1977–2011), Ranking Democrat and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee(2007-2011). 2. Charles H. Price II - former United States Ambassador to Belgium (1981–1983) and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1983–1989); appointed by President Ronald Reagan 3. Newell A. George- United States Congressman, 1959–1961
The Arts
1. Robert Altman - Academy Award-winning Director of classic films such as M*A*S*H (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1974), Nashville (1975), The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Kansas City (1996), Dr. T & the Women (2000), Gosford Park (2001), The Company (2003), and A Prairie Home Companion(2006) 2. Marlin Perkins - host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom 3. Arthur Schneider- four-time Emmy Award-winning television editor
Business
1. James "Bud" Walton- Co-founder of Wal-Mart 2. Eddie Chiles - Founder of the Western Company of North Americaand owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team 3. John D. Groendyke - (1964) CEO of Groendyke TransportInc. the 5th largest tank truck company in the nation. 4. William C. Schwartz- Physicist, Laser pioneer, and founder of International Laser Systems
Colonel Sandford Sellers, 1880–1906, 1907–1923.Colonel William McGuffey Hoge, 1906–1907.Colonel Sandford Sellers, Jr., 1923–1933Colonel James M. Sellers, 1933–1960.The Story of Wentworth, by Raymond W. Settle, 1950, Spencer Printing Co., Kansas City.History of Wentworth Military Academy, by James M. Sellers, Jr., 1984.Wentworth Trumpeter, 1893–2011.Wentworth Military Academy, 125th Anniversary. Lil Touch Publishing. 2005.- 1 min
The Wentworth Military Academy Museum is dedicated to preserving our history for alumni and faculty. Be a part of the effort to preserve Wentworth Military Academy’s History through the wma museum and by joining the 1880 Sustaining Member’s Society today.
Wentworth Military Academy and College was a private two-year military college and high school in Lexington, Missouri, one of six military junior colleges in the United States. The institution was founded in 1880 and closed in 2017.
The Wentworth Military Academy Museum is dedicated to preserving our history for alumni and faculty. Be a part of the effort to preserve Wentworth Military Academy’s History through the wma museum and by joining the 1880 Sustaining Member’s Society today.
This museum shares the history of Wentworth Military Academy which was the oldest military academy west of the Mississippi River. The academy was established in 1880 and despite a fire that destroyed some of the campus in 1975, continued to operate until 2017.
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Lexington, Missouri, was once the home of the Wentworth Military Academy, a U.S. military junior college that operated from 1880 to 2017. The grounds of the academy were sold at auction after its closure. However, downtown Lexington now has a museum dedicated to the academy’s history.
