The Free Academy in New York Digital Collection brings together four separate collections to document the first nineteen years of The Free Academy, the predecessor of the educational institution, The City College of New York.

The digital collection consists of four separate collections: Materials Relating to Governing Board of the Free Academy and the College of the City of New York Collection Prior to Establishment of the Board of Higher Education; City College Miscellaneous Historical Information Collection. 1847 (ongoing); Individual Photographic Portraits Collection; City College Photograph Collection. Materials showcased here are digital surrogates of primary and secondary materials that include: published reports, photographic prints, manuscripts, historical ephemera, as well as copies of published articles, newspaper articles, and New York State Legislature bills.

The bulk of the collection consists of multi-paged reports that comment on the application of resources for the creation of the Institution and the annual reports of the faculty, demonstrating accountability to the Board of Education with regard to the operation of the facility. These reports are supplemented by historical and photographic materials that document the Free Academy campus and student life. Collection items include portraits of several graduates of the 1855, 1863 and 1865 classes, interior views of several classrooms, as well as manuscripts of alumni recollections.

The digital collection would be of interest to researchers of the history of The City College of New York and broader topics such as higher education, higher education administration and the public school system in the context of New York City and New York State.

The Free Academy in New York Digital Collection was produced by The City College Libraries with funding from The Metropolitan New York Library Council.

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For inquiries, contact the Division of Archives and Special Collections at the Morris Raphael Cohen Library at archives@ccny.cuny.edu. Most materials are in the public domain within the United States.