Capt.William Abbot erected Boscawen Academy in 1827 on land donated by Joseph Chadwick. The large bell was a gift from the Honorable Daniel Webster.
In 1856 the Trustee’s of the school voted to lease the building to Mr. Jonathan Tenney and was known as Elmwood Literary Institute until 1868.
In 1874 the Boscawen School District #1 purchased the school for grades one through eight. It was known as the Plains School until it was closed in 1961. In 1967, the building and land was sold to the newly established Boscawen Historical Society.