Lees College Campus of Hazard Community and Technical College is a campus in Jackson, Kentucky of Hazard Community and Technical College, a public community college. It was founded in 1883 as Jackson Academy, an elementary and high school for Breathitt County. It is one of the oldest higher education institutions in the region. History Founding of Jackson Academy John J. Dickey came to the small town of Jackson in November 1882 in an effort to convince the community to start a high school. His mission was to establish a high school in every county seat in Eastern Kentucky. He aimed to educate young men so that they could attend Kentucky colleges in (Lexington, Winchester, Danville, Georgetown etc. The expectation was that graduates would return home to teach other children. Jackson was one of the many places where he had planned to stop. However, his horse became lame and Dickey was stuck in Jackson for a few weeks. During this time, he visited the homes of many residents and found a great need for education. The town had only two elementary schools and no high school in the entire county. In January 1883, Dickey began a subscription school with the help of R.A. Hurst (a local lawyer and teacher). The school was located in the basement of the county courthouse, with Dickey serving as principal and Hurst his assistant. There were initially 51 pupils. During this time, Anson G.P. Dodge was staying in Jackson. He was the son of William E. Dodge, a Member of Congress for New York City, a millionaire and philanthropist. Anson Dodge represented the Kentucky Union Railroad Company (later the Lexington and Eastern Railway) and wanted to build a railroad through the region – specifically the county. He proposed that Dickey move the school to Jackson, build up the morale and intellectual side, and he (Dodge) would build up the material side of Jackson: to allow it to become a "great country". Dodge offered board and tuition to 25 young men of the county for three years. The catch: that the people of Breathitt County would provide a school building and a boardinghouse for the students. This was the start of what became Old Lees, now the J. Phil Smith Administration Building. The new building would not come easily. Dickey wanted to secure subscriptions to build the new school building and secure a deed to have the