Since the early 18th century, Bridgewater's citizens have demonstrated a commitment to quality education. From 1731 to 1791, the Greek and Latin School of Bridgewater's Reverend John Shaw prepared students for Harvard College. The establishment of Bridgewater Academy in 1799 confirmed Bridgewater's status as a respected educational center. The academy's excellent academic reputation was a decisive factor in the decision to locate Plymouth County's first Normal school, Teacher's Training School, in the town in 1840. This later became Bridgewater State College. From 1875 to 1952, the Bridgewater Academy building housed the town's only high school.

Bridgewater Academy was created by an Act of Incorporation of the legislature on February 26, 1799. The academy was originally located on the site of the old Bridgewater Hotel, now the Arco gas station. Major Isaac Lazell donated the land. Its progressive reputation stemmed in part from its policy of coeducation. Until the 1830s, however, girls followed a separate scholastic program under the direction of Miss Dillaway, "The Preceptress of the Female Department." The school's first director was Reverend Dr. Zedekiah Sanger. The early curriculum was divided into two branches. The first branch, known as the Classics Department, included reading, writing, grammar, and rhetoric, as well as Latin and Greek studies. The English-Scientific Department included arithmetic, geography, drawing, needlepoint, and embroidery. On February 28, 1822, the academy was razed by fire, and a new building was erected on the present site at the southern end of the common. It flourished during the mid 19th century under the leadership of John A. Shaw. As early as 1838, 131 of the alumni had graduated from Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton.