Schools and Colleges

A school picture is of my Great Uncle Frank Taylor Thompson of Georgetown (1878-1948). I am not sure which one he is or what school, but it is in DC. --Jeanne, Feb 2012

Primary and Secondary Schools

• 1868 List of Schools (with Teachers)
• 1889 DC Grade School Graduates
• 1914 DC Grade School Graduates
• Armstrong High School
• Business High School
• Central Junior/Senior High School
• Colonial School for Girls, 1919
  1539 Eighteenth St, NW. A private school offering classes at the high school and college preparatory levels. It was also a finishing school.
• Costin School. Established in the 1800's by Louisa Parke Costin in her father's home (William Costin) on Capitol Hill. Located on a street south, under the shadow of the Capitol.
• Custis School. A school for white boys located in the Harlow Building at the nortwest corner of Cameron and Royal Streets in Alexandria.
• Dunbar Preparatory High School
• Eastern High School
• Emerson Institute The Emerson Institute was a private school established in 1853 and is known today as Emerson College Preparatory School. It is currently located at 18th Street, NW, at Dupont Circle. In an April 5, 1853, edition of The National Intelligencer, Charles B. Young placed an advertisement announcing he would be opening the Emerson Institute in May 1853. Young described his school as "a select, classical, and mathematical school for boys." At that time, it was located at the corner of H and 12th streets and was formerly known as Woodbury's Academy. Henry E. Woodbury, founder of Woodbury's Academy, having disposed of his interests in his Academy, turned the building over to Young to be reopened as the Emerson Institute. Tuition at Emerson was $15 per quarter for the full course with an additional $10 per quarter for the English branches. Emerson remained at the H street address until 1863. In September of that year, Emerson opened the school year in their new building located at 14th Street, between I and K.
• Episcopal High. Founded in 1839 on Seminary (Holy) Hill.
• First Division. No information located.
• Fourth Division. No information located.
• Franklin School. Finished in 1869, the school was located at 13th and K Streets NW, it was a part of the white school system and considered one of the finest school buildings in the city. The design by Adolph Cluss won prizes in design from around the world. It still stands on Franklin Square and is a District landmark. See 1889 Grade School Graduates.
• Gales School. The school was erected in 1881, designed by noted Architect of the Capitol, Edward Clark, and named in honor of the eighth mayor of Washington City, Joseph Gales, Jr. It is a three-story, red brick, restrained Romanesque Revival-style school, resembling another Clark-designed school, the Webster School at 10th and H Streets, NW. The Gales School closed in 1944. See 1889 Grade School Graduates and 1914 Grade School Graduates
• Georgetown Seminary. A very popular school during that period, with students coming from every state and Canada.
• Hallowell. Built in Alexandria between 1793-95 and run by Quaker Benjamin Hallowell. A school for negro girls.
• Jefferson Stables. At the corner of 14th and G Sts, NW. It had been the stable of Thomas Jefferson while he was President. In 1854, a proposal was made to the Corporation of Washington that the land be taken or acquired for purposes of erecting a public school. The following is taken from notes taken at the Corporation of Washington's Board of Common Council meeting of December 11, 1854: The Chair laid before the Board a communication from George J. Abbott, Secretary pro tem, of the Board of Trustees of Public Schools, in relation to the "title to the let on the corner of 14th and G streets and the building there, which was formerly known as 'Jefferson's Stable,'" and suggesting "that a renewed application be made to Congress and urgently pressed upon its consideration for the obtaining of a grant of public lands for the purpose of erecting public school buildings in this city, extending our system of public instruction, and placing it upon a firm foundation." [Source: Daily National Intelligencer, Wash, DC, Dec 14, 1854]. Also, from the March 27, 1865, edition of the Daily National Intelligencer: "Reminiscences. The old school house on the corner of G and Fourteenth streets, opposite the new Methodist Church, was Mr. Jefferson's stable during his Presidency, so we are informed by an old citizen, whose reminiscences of Washington, if published, would form a highly instructive and agreeable volume." The "new Methodist Church" was no doubt Foundry Meeting House at the corner of 14th and G.
• Lancaster School. Located in Georgetown. Used a unique approach (Lancastrian) developed by an English Quaker, with emphasis on having the pupils instruct each other. The school operated for 32 years at 3126 O Street and the building still stands.
• Lafayette Elementary School. No information located.
• Lee School. Located in the Stuart Building on King Street, Alexandria; this was a school for white girls.
• MacArthur Blvd. A oneroom wooden schoolhouse built in 1874; it was used until 1928.
• Maret School. On the lands of "Woodley", built circa 1800 by Philip Barton Key, Maret School began in 1950. It still stands at 3000 Cathedral Avenue near the National Cathedral.
• McKinley School. From 1940 Handbook - Property is located at Second and T Streets, NE. There are 3 buildings, the main building, the gymnasium and the armory. All are connected. The actual front of the buildings overlook Tech's plaza and stadium. The main building has 3 stories and approximately 3 hundred and fifty rooms. The gym and armory are located at Second and R Streets. They may be reached by following the first floor corridor through the passage, or by entering the plaza. McKinley begin in 1885 with a Congressional appropriation of $195,000 during 1897-99 for construction. Formal dedication was in 1903 as McKinley Technical Manual School.
• Miss Lydia English's Female Seminary. Housed at 3017 N Street and then later at 30th Street, the building still stands on N Street is a private house.
• Negro High School. Originally, DC had a single "colored" high school. Later, as the population grew, separate schools were established throughout town.
  

  1888 Commencement Program:

  Invocation: Rev. Dr. T. G. Steward, Former Pastor, Metropolitan A.M.E. Church
  Address to the Graduates: Rev. Dr. T. G. Steward, Former Pastor, Metropolitan A.M.E. Church.
  Presentation of Diplomas: Commissioner Webb, assisted by Secretary Fairchild.
  Music: U. S. Marine Band, led by Professor John Philip Sousa.
  Location: Metropolitan A. M. E. Church
  

  The Negro High School Graduating Class of 1888 (List of Gentlemen):

  Carroll A. Brooks Frank F. Davis Clinton C. Fowler James E. Goodloe William H. Lewis

  Francis D. Smith James H. Stewart John E. Syphax William S. Wormley James E. Young

  The Negro High School Graduating Class of 1888 (List of Ladies):

  Laura G. Arnold Nancy M. Atwood Anna D. Bell Bertie S. Brooks Annie T. Brown Maria E. Buckner Maria A. Chase Carrie M. N. Crouch Mary V. Dickerson Sarah J. Dickerson Ellen H. Dockett Susie E. Dyson Mary F. Geary Ella Green

  Sarah Hall Sarah E. Jackson Anna E. Johnson Jennie A. Jones Mary A. Jones Maria A. D. Madry Mary V. Morton Lucy J. Moten Rebecca L. Moten Mary M. Orme Florence O. Patterson Carrie Pierre Louise E. Pierre Rebecca Pierson

  Lucinda G. Shorter Jane M. Taylor Martha J. Thomas Mary R. Toy Sarah E. Tucker Alice J. Tyler Emma L. Vaughan Jennie Walker Mary B. Washington Katie L. Wayman Mary A. West Lydia C. Wilder Mary M. Wright

  Information was taken from the June 20, 1888, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, page 3.

• Parkview School an historic structure located in the Park View neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The school continues to serve the community as an elementary school. On the back of the photo is written "Eva D. Smith." Photo submitted by John Davis.
• Peabody School. Located in the Orphan Asylum on Wolfe Street in Alexandria, this school was for white girls.
• Powell Junior High School became a part of Central High School in 1948.

1932 February Class
Contributed by Jim Crutchfield

1933 February Class
Contributed 2022 Sep 01 by Elizabeth Lauderdale
My Mom, Virginia Caroline Preston, is 7th from the left in bottom row. She was born 27 Nov 1916.

There are a few signatures (Mary Anderson, M_nnie Banfoor, George Eads, Estelle Jones, Dorothy Moffett, Zolma Nathanson, Mary Pesce) on the back of the 1933 photo.

• Seventh Division School. No information location.
• Sidwell Friends School was known as "Friends Meeting House School" aka "Friend's Select School." It bought "The Highlands" on Wisconsin Avenue, which originally was purchased in 1817 by Joseph Nourse and remained in Nourse family until 1920 when it was sold to Admiral Cary Grayson, chairman of the American Red Cross. The Admiral's widow sold it to the School in 1956. Most of the extensive gardens are now gone.
  

  1894 Commencement Program:

  Presiding Official Thomas W. Sidwell, Principal.
  Presentations by the Graduates:
     Welcome: Miss Altemus.
     Life and Education of Helen Kellar: Miss Owen.
     On The English Statesman Gladstone: Miss Burns.
     The Ideality of Childhood: Miss Clark.
  Music: U. S. Marine Band.
  Location: Friends Meeting House School, 1811 Eye Street, NW.
  Graduating Class of 1894:
     Sarah Amelia Altemus
     Christine Queen Owen
     Una Atherton Clark
     Belle Elizabeth Burns
  Information was taken from the June 2, 1894, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, page 2.

  1899 Commencement Program:

  Address to the Graduates: Dr. Melvil Dewey, Secretary of the University of New York. [Melvil Dewey was the famous inventor of the Dewey decimal classification system for library books used widely today.]
  Presentation of Diplomas: Professor Thomas W. Sidwell, School President.
  Musical Numbers:
     Piano: Mr. Harvey Murray, solos from Mendelssohn and Ruff
     Soloist: Mrs. Thomas C. Noyes, Meyerbeer's "Vesper Sicilian" and selections from Bartlett and Schlesinger.
  Graduating Class of 1899:
     Syria Florence Brown
     Charles Whitney Dall
     Thomas Hovendon
     Archibald King
     Constance Leupp
     Constance Lydia Mills
     William Edmonston Pearson
     Harriet Rodman Southerland
  The names of the graduates and details about the commencement program were taken from the May 20, 1899, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, page 2.

• Snowden School. A school for Negro boys, erected by the Freedmen's Bureau was located on Pitt Street in Alexandria.
  

  1909 Commencement Program:

  Presiding Official: J. F. Parker, Principal
  Address: F. E. Parks, Jr., Instructor
  Honors: Presentation of gold sleeve buttons to F. E. Parks, Jr., for working without compensation.
  The 1909 Graduates Receiving Certificates:

  Alphonse Barbour Louis L. Bentley James W. Berry Raymond C. Boisseau Lawrence M. Dawkins

  Page W. Durham Perry R. Felton Charles Fortune Courtland Howard James Howard

  Walter Jackson William C. Kyer Ralph Lane Frank P. Lee Charles B. Nickens

  John A Simms Walter Smith Isaac R. Terrell James T. White Roscoe S. Whiting

  Information was taken from the June 17, 1909, edition of the Washington Post (Washington, DC, page 11.

• Stevens School. Built in 1878 at 21st and K Streets NW and continues to be in use. See 1889 Grade School Graduates.
• Sumner School. Located at 17th and M Streets NW, Sumner was designed by Adolph Cluss and built in 1871. It was the headquarters of the black school system and is now a District landmark. See 1889 Grade School Graduates.
• Washington School, Alexandria. The only schoolhouse owned by Alexandria City, which was endowed by George Washington in 1785. It was a school for white boys.
• Washington High School, DC. Prior to 1876, Washington had no public high schools despite that the City Council had, on November 1, 1858, ordered the establishment of a high school system. The system was to be put into place by 1861 or as soon as possible thereafter. However, the Civil War and reconstruction eras interfered with the execution or the Council's order. Thus, parents who wished to provide their children with an education beyond grammar school were forced to enroll them in one of the many private schools that dotted the DC area. But the movement to provide a free public education beyond the lower grades had gained considerable momentum, and high school studies were slowly added to the primary school curriculum. The primary schools were soon overburdened; and in September 1876, the first public high school opened. The school was known as the Advanced Grammar School for Girls. The following year, a similar school for boys was launched. The schools were casually referred to as the Girls High School and the Boys High School. Both advanced schools grew rapidly, soon reaching full capacity. While Congress had made appropriations for buildings for lower schools, there was no equivalent funding for high school accommodations. That was remedied in 1880 when Congress allocated funds to erect a suitable building for a high school. By September 1882, the building was complete and ready for occupancy. The two advanced grammar schools were joined and became known as the Washington High School. Edward A. Paul served as principal. The new school was located on O Street between 6th and 7th, northwest. The building had 16 class rooms, 3 study rooms, a library, drawing room, drill hall, gymnasium, office, teachers rooms, an assembly hall, and laboratories. Washington High was one of the first public high schools in DC. It was in operation until about 1892 when Eastern, Central, Business, and Western were formally established from Washington High. [Sources: R. S. Bassler, Washington, Past and Present: A History, New York: Lewis Publishing Co, 1932, pp 418-437; The Washington Critic, Washington, DC, Mar 26, 1887, p1.]
• Washington Normal School, DC. School to train teachers
  

  1886 Commencement Program:

  Presiding Official: Hon. W. B. Webb, President, Board of District Commissioners.
  Invocation: Rev. S. M. Newman, Pastor, Congregational Church.
  Address to the Graduates: D. C. Gilman, President, Johns Hopkins University.
  Presentation of Diplomas: Grover Cleveland, U. S. President.
  Music: U. S. Marine Band & Prof. John Philip Sousa.
  Location: Albaugh's Opera House, 15th Pennsylvania Ave, NW.
  

  1886 Washington Normal School Graduates:

  Catherine V. Allen Bertha J. Armstrong Clara Barron Mary A. Berry Elizabeth C. Boude Theodora Bradley Elizabeth V. Brown Josephine Burke

  Frances J. Campbell Caroline Cawood Jeanette Cohen Adaline G. Davidson Annie M. Foley Alexandria L. Galeski Sarah Gibson Nina Gunion

  Myrtle G. Hughes Maria N. Lovejoy Mary E. Mallon Hilda North Cora A. Ossire Mary V. Potter Vesta Richards Annie E. Scammell

  Carrie Stewart Annie E. Walker Grace A. Walker Hattie R. White Blanche D. Williams Florida V. Wylie

  Information was taken from the June 17, 1886, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, at page 2.

  1888 Commencement Program:

  Invocation: Rev. Dr. Bartlett.
  Address to the Graduates: Hon. Benton J. Hall, Commissioner of Patents.
  Presentation of Diplomas: Commissioner Webb.
  Location: Albaugh's Opera House
  

  The Washington Normal School Graduating Class of 1888 (List of Gentlemen):

  Henry H. Burroughs
  John M. Fisher
  Charles W. Stetson
  

  The Washington Normal School Graduating Class of 1888 (List of Ladies):

  Helen T. Bailey Jesse E. Baker Margaret Bayly Elizabeth J. Bock Mary Britt Mary W. Brooks Bertha H. Caron Sarah M. DeVan

  Bessie Q. Dillon Margaret A. Downing Isabella Durfee Ottilie A. Ebert Mary I. Furmage Nettie M. Gardner Juliet B. Graham Annie L. Hogue

  Annie G. Horton Helen B. Janney Helena L. Johnson Kate E. Kaiser Ida V. Kemp Margaret Keogh Elizabeth F. King Helen W. Knighton

  Helen M. Lamb Lillian L. Lockhart Cornelia I. Mathis Annie A. McKnew Margaretta C. McNeely Fanny M. Merrilat Leonora Merritt Annie C. Price

  Lilly J. Reinburg Mary G. Saxton Henrietta J. Schlerf Mary J. Watts Maggie Z. Weaver

  Information was taken from the June 22, 1888, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, page 3.

• Webster School. Located at 940 H St., NW, was built in 1881-82 as a freestanding, three-story, 12-room public school. Although it was used as a public school only until the first decade of the 20th century, it served as an "Americanization School" offering citizenship classes to immigrants from 1925 to 1949. See 1889 Grade School Graduates and 1914 Grade School Graduates.
  
• Western High School.

Colleges and Universities

• American University. Formerly opened in 1914, the university is located at Loughborough Road and Massachusetts Avenue, a site chosen by Methodist bishop John Fletcher Hurst in 1890.
• Catholic University was established on land that had been the estate of Margaret Bayard and Samuel Harrison Smith in years following the founding of the Federal City. The university was intended to provide education for both clergy and laity. The cornerstone was laid in 1888 by His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons.
• Columbian College. Now part of George Washington University. It was the home of the city's first medical and law schools. The college was founded by a group of Baptists ministers and laymen inspired by Rev. Luther Rice. Among patrons contributing funds for land and buildings were James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and John C. Calhoun. Congress was petitioned for a charter and a nondenominational was granted Feb. 9,1821 and the college opened eleven months later. The Rev. Dr. William Staughton was elected the College's first President in May 1821. For many years the campus was located on the heights above the city (known as "College Hill") on approximately 47 acres north of Boundary Street (now Florida Ave.) near 14th Street and Columbia Road.
• Columbus University. 1323 Eighteenth St, NW. Law, Accountancy; Evening courses for men and women
• Fairmont School and Junior College
• Federal City University. Merged with Miner Teachers College and Washington Technical Institute in 1976 to form University of the District of Columbia.
• George Washington University. See Columbian College. Located in what is called "Foggy Bottom", situated between Rock Creek and Tiber Creek.
• Georgetown University was founded in 1789 by John Carroll of Maryland, the first American archbishop. It was formed for students of every religious profession. Contributions came from both Catholic and Protestant families. It was the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the United States. Georgetown Univ. president from 1874 to 1882 was Father Patrick J. Healy , the first black to lead a major white university.
  
• Howard University was called the "Capstone of Negro Education." Originally formed for training of black preachers. Located on Florida Avenue at Seventh Street NW, it was established in 1867 by a special act of Congress with funds provided through the Freedmen's Bureau headed by General Oliver O. Howard, the main founder. Soon after opening it had 400 students, with a hospital being started in 1862. The women in the Howard University 1893 Miner Hall Dormitory photo are presumably students housed in the dormitory.
• Kendall College. Now Gallaudet, National Deaf Mute College. The college was begun circa 1880. The school for the deaf was the first of its kind in the world. It was founded by Amos Kendall, Postmaster General during President Jackson's tenure. It was located on his estate called Kendall Green (Florida Ave. and 7th Streets NE). Kendall persuated Congress to incorporate the school in 1857. Edward Gallaudet ran the school for 53 years.
• Miners Teachers College. The college was started by Howard University in 1873 in memory of Myrtilla Miner, a young white woman who had opened a school for black girls in Washington before the Civil War. The Miner Normal School, sometimes referred to as the Colored Normal School, was headed by Dr. Lucy E. Moten for 37 years. She retired in 1920, and while traveling in New York, she was killed in an automobile crash on August 24, 1933. In 1976 Miner College, Washinton Technical Institute and Federal City College merged to form the University of the District of Columbia.

  1888 Commencement Program:

  Presiding Official: Lucy E. Moten.
  Invocation: Rev. Dr. T. G. Steward, former Pastor of Metropolitan A.M.E.
  Address to the Graduates: Rev. Dr. T. G. Steward, former Pastor of Metropolitan A.M.E. Church.
  Presentation of Diplomas: Commissioner Webb, assisted by Secretary Fairchild.
  Music: Marine Corps Band, Directed by Prof. John Philip Sousa.
  Location: Metropolitan A. M. E. Church
  

  The Miner Normal School Graduating Class of 1888 (List of Gentlemen):

  Henry N. Bowles
  Daniel B. Thompson

  The Miner Normal School Graduating Class of 1888 (List of Ladies):

  Amaletta Alexander Anne L. B. Alexander Medora Allen Julia M. Alston Nettie G. Arnold Mary E. Barney Narcissa E. C. F. Beale Marie E. Bowie Annie D. Brooks

  Mary E. G. Brown Mary E. Clarke Marie A. Deitz Sarah L. G. Dickson Sarah E. Dorsey Mary M. Dowling Emily E. Francis Emma V. George Celestine Glascoe

  Isabel Kinner Josephine D. Lewis Marguerita L. Lucas Fannie Martin William Anna Nichols Emma L. Pindle Maggie B. Saunders Alice V. Shorter Frances A. Smith

  Sarah E. Smith Charlotte V. Stewart Mary A. Stewart Katie F. Wall Mary L. Watson Eulalia Wheeler Marie I. Williams Mary E. Wilson Ida C. Winslow

  Details about the commencement exercises and graduate names were taken from the June 20, 1888, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, page 3.

  1897 Graduates of the Negro Woman's League Kindergarten Training Normal School

  ["Normal" schools were those established to prepare students training to be teachers. These African-American graduates specialized in teaching kindergarten children.]

  Blanche Bradford Oceana E. Brooks Dollie T. Bruce Grace P. Campbell Bessie Fletcher

  Cora W. Green M. R. Goines Eliza C. Johnson Gertrude May Lightfoot Bessie Brown Moss

  Susie R. Quander F. Erma Richardson Serena Spencer Amanda F. Taylor Hattie L. Thomas

  Winifred Whipper Susie L. Winkler Julia Young

  The list of graduates was taken from the June 8, 1897, edition of the Washington Post, Washington, DC, page 7.

• National University was incorporated on May 5, 1870, with a longterm plan to organize six colleges under one board of regents and to make the President of the United States exofficio Chancellor of the University. The Law Department of the University was organized and went into operation in October 1870. Originally located at 428 7th Street, NW, it later relocated to 925 F Street, NW.
  

  

  National University Law School
  1929 Entrance

  At the time of the photo the school was located at 818-820 13th Street, NW. They moved to that address around 1893. The Law School operated as an independent school until August 31, 1954, when it was combined with the George Washington University law school.

  Contributed Jun 2012 by Susan Salus

  

  Geta Scott
  Janitor at the Law School

  While he was only identified as "Scotty" in the photo caption, I searched old census records and DC directories (under the presumption that his last name was "Scott") and found a "Geter" Scott working as a janitor at the law school's address (818 13th St, NW). I was also able to determine that "Geter" was a misprint for "Geta" Scott. Geta appears in the DC censuses for years 1910 thru 1940. Since his occupation is shown as janitor for a law school, I am fairly confident that the photo is of Geta. I could not find him in the 1900 census. The photo contains a statement made by the law students about "Scotty." It's transcribed here:

  "Scotty"
  He is as much a cog in the wheel as the Board of Trustees, and space is here reserved to pay tribute to a faithful, industrial servant, who for the past 37 years has been known to the students of this University as just plain "Scotty". He is a man who put the dusty volumes of the law back on the shelf for you to pull down; he is the man who kept the lights burning into the wee small hours of the morning while several organizations "had it out" upstairs.

  
• Spencerian Business College was established in 1864, originally named the "Washington Business College." By 1879, the name had changed to "Spencerian." For several years, it was located at the corner of 7th & L Sts, NW. On June 27, 1881, the school was severely damaged during a hurricane storm, the roof having been completely blown off. By February 1882, the school had relocated to 9th & D Streets, NW.
• Steward School for Secretaries and Accountants, 1927, 1333 F St, NW. The Steward School rented space Adams Building. Prior to 1886, the building was the property of C. C. Willard but was renamed around 1886 as the "Adams Building" since it was the residence of ex-President John Quincy Adams at the time of his death (1848). It appears that the Steward school was in operation for only a few years in the 1920s. But many, many other businesses occupied space there.
• Strayer's Business College, 1922, 721 Thirteenth St. NW (between G & H Sts)
• University of the District of Columbia. Formed in 1976 from Miner Teachers College, the Washington Technical Institute and Federal City College.
• Washington Technical Institute. Merged with Miner Teachers College and Federal City College in 1976 to form University of the District of Columbia.

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