building erected. He proposed erecting a $10,000 brick building, and Dodge pledged to provide $3,500 for a building if the people of Breathitt County could raise $3,500 themselves. Trustees of the public school were formed by the summer of 1883: John Jay Dickey (president), S.H. Patrick (secretary), William M. Combs (treasurer), S.H. Hurst, E.C. Strong, Willie Spencer, and Sam Jett. This ensured a committee to secure a site for the building and article of incorporation for the continuity of the school. By October 1883, more than $3,657 had been raised for the building, but there was no property owned on which to erect the building. The first students graduated in May 1885, but land was not acquired until 1886. At that point the school acquired more than 3 acres of land. A contract was agreed to build the building for $4,680 – a far cry from the original plan of $10,000. It was to be made of brick, with two stories, have a chapel, a bell tower, a basement, and multiple classrooms. This building would not be completed until the summer of 1888 due to many financial complications with the contractor. In addition, Dodge failed to pay his balance and Dickey assumed responsibility for Dodge's pledge. By July 1890, Dickey had resigned his responsibilities as principal of Jackson Academy to take over as editor of the Jackson Hustler, a newspaper in Jackson. D. Floyd Hagins was elected to succeed Dickey as principal. Dickey remained in Jackson until 1895 when he moved to London, Kentucky to help with the building of the Bennett Memorial School, later the Sue Bennett College. Acquisition by Central University When Dickey resigned, the board of trustees still owed the building contractor $4,000. To address this debt but keep the school open, in 1891 the trustees sold the property to L.H. Blanton, acting representative for Central University in Richmond, Kentucky. The school's name was changed to Jackson Collegiate Institution, and it encompassed all grades from primary to higher education. Donations In 1897 Susanna Preston Walker Lees (otherwise known as Susan P. Lees), of New York, made large donations to the institute. This money was used to remodel the school building. In honor of the renovation, Central University decided to rename the school as S.P. Lees Collegiate Institute. The main building was known as Old Lees. When Susanna Lees died in 1902, she left $20,000 to the institute.