Before the West Liberty Normal School, and before West Liberty State College, West Liberty’s higher education began with an academy. An academy was a school that one would go to in order to achieve a higher secondary education. With the absence of high schools in the area, West Liberty would function as a pivotal force in the higher education of those whom resided in the northern panhandle. The West Liberty Academy was founded by the Reverend Nathan Shotwell and the charter was obtained from the Virginia Legislature on March 30, 1837. It is not known when the West Liberty Academy opened, but it is assumed that it was during the year of 1838. Classes were held in a white to story house which was called the “Doyle House.” 
While classes were being conducted a curtain was pulled through the middle of a room which created two separate rooms. This allowed Mr. Shotwell to instruct the boys while Mrs. Shotwell instructed the girls. The first class consisted of sixty-five students. Some of the courses offered by the Shotwell’s included: Algebra, Latin, Oil Painting, Logic, Arithmetic, and Geometry. Soon after its opening, money was raised by the community to build a brick school house, which was completed, but sadly destroyed by fire in 1841. This proved to be a devastating time for the young academy, but classes were still held at the Doyle house until 1857 when Academy Hall was erected.
The Reverend Nathan Shotwell served as principle of the West Liberty Academy until 1854-55. According to the Wheeling “Times and Advertiser” Shotwell was, “one of the best teachers in the western country.” Shotwell was a student at Princeton College. It was said that after his Princeton days, Shotwell took up a “prosperous” career in Louisiana; but upon being converted to religion he immediately sacrificed the bright prospects there to take up the humbler walk of life in the Christian ministry. Shotwell attended the Western Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh from 1833 to 1836 and then served as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in West Liberty in 1837. It is not known exactly why Shotwell started the West Liberty Academy, but one unidentified writer described Shotwell as an “intellectual force, of earnest piety and deep convictions of truth and duty.” Clearly, the town of West Liberty owes great debt to Shotwell for his determination, founding, and loyalty to the West Liberty Academy. After Shotwell’s departure as principle, A.F. Ross held the position from 1857 to 1861. Ross is noted for his high level of energy and determination to serve the publics interest. Before taking the position, Ross had been professor of Ancient Languages at Bethany College which is located a few miles north of West Liberty. Ross was responsible for many of the early expansions that helped the young academy grow. For example, it was Ross that made several key real estate purchases. This allowed for Ross’s most important accomplishment, the construction of Academy Hall which was completed 1857 with aid from the state of Virginia and donations that were acquired from loyal West Liberty residents. The cost of Academy Hall was $30,000 and would serve as a strong foundation for the school to build on. With an official building, the West Liberty Academy was starting to see its potential. 
One obstacle that stood in the way of its growth was the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Greater attention was given to the war itself than education. Therefore, attendance declined because many of the young men who were students or prospective students went to war. It is not known if the school ever closed during the Civil War, if so, it could not have been for more than one year, mostly likely between 1863-64. During the Civil War a debt of approximately $6,000 accumulated which put the academy and its trustees at great risk. In 1867 the trustees suggested that the academy be sold to the state for the amount in which they were indebted. The school would then be transformed into a state normal school, a school with the purpose of training teachers. This proposition was accepted by the state legislature on February 24, 1867. Although the sale of the academy solved financial troubles, the academy itself was not up to normal school standards. The Annual Report of the Regents of the State Normal School of West Virginia stated:
The Regents are of the opinion that an appropriation of $2,000 for salaries of teachers, and $1,000 for furniture and necessary repairs, would be sufficient to start a Normal School at West Liberty, with a good promise of future success and prosperity.
The Regents noted the geographical location of West Liberty as “being one of the best regions in the State.” On March 1, 1870 the state legislature passed an act approving the establishment of a state normal school at West Liberty. The first semester of the West Liberty Normal School (WLNS) began on May 2, 1870.
