Stevens High School is the only public high school in Claremont, New Hampshire, United States. It is in the center of the city on the corner of Broad and Summer streets. It was founded in 1868, the result of a $20,000 donation by Paran Stevens to Claremont with the proviso that the city appropriate a like sum. In the early 1990s, the school gained status as the host to one of the earlier Apple Macintosh user groups, primarily attended by high school faculty. Stevens High School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as the State of New Hampshire Department of Education. History In the 1850s, the city of Claremont approached the state Legislature asking permission to build a public high school. At the time, public high schools did not exist in New Hampshire. The state agreed, and decided to offer permission to every town in the state so that every town could establish public high schools. Paran Stevens then made his offer to fund 50% of the $20,000 cost of development. Stevens was a Claremont native who was the manager of the Tremont House hotel in Opera House Square, the precursor to the Moody Hotel. He eventually became the most well-known hotelier in America, managing the New England, Revere House, and the Tremont House in Boston, as well as the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City, among others. He was the grandfather of British humanitarian Louise Paget. The centrally-located, nearly two-acre lot on which the building sits originally housed the homestead of politician George B. Upham. The original school building contained four classrooms, a basement for heating and facilities, and a function hall on the top floor. In 1868, the citizens of Claremont voted to name the school after Stevens. Its original enrollment was 98 students, taught by 4 faculty and principal Dr. Nathan Barrows. Stevens established a permanent trust of $10,000 to help with the financial administration of the school. Stevens died in 1872, leaving his daughters $10 million in inheritance, which allowed his daughter Mary (also known as Minnie) to become a wealthy socialite in London society and marry General Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget. Stevens added $40,000 to his trust for the high school. He also donated life-size portraits of George Washington and Daniel Webster, which still hang on the walls of the auditorium, and a Chickering concert grand