History

In this article we examine five more remarkable private schools which were established with a vision and supported with munificence. The Phillips Family which established the Phillips Academies at Exeter and Andover back in the 18th century had the purest of motives in mind. They understood that a well-educated citizenry would ensure the future of the very young United States of America. "Above all, it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care; well considering that though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character, and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind." Echols, Edward (1970). The Phillips Exeter Academy, A Pictorial History" Exeter Press

What was taught in these early schools? Bear in mind that there were no schools in America when the colonists arrived. As a result, the early settlers did not have to follow traditions or laws governing the education of their children. Since freedom from religious oppression was the reason so many of the colonists had left England, they made sure that their religious teachings were the core of their academic curricula. Also on the list of subjects were useful skills such as simple arithmetic and spelling. Schools ran year round.

Milton Hershey and Stephen Girard founded their schools in a different time in our nation's maturation. The industrial revolution

Any school is a lot of work and takes a great deal of money to open and to continue operating. So, when you look at the examples of these five founders of legendary boarding schools, you can only marvel at the sheer determination which each one had to make his or her dream come true. American boarding schools are some of the best in the world. In an age when everybody seems to be taking shots at America and what we stand for, that's a nice statement to be able to make. Here then are snapshots of the founders of five boarding schools. They are an inspiration forever, as indeed are all the founders of boarding schools throughout the United States.

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss and The Hotchkiss School

Founded in 1891

Number of students: 598

Grades 9-12, PG. Coeducational

Religious Affiliation: Nondenominational

Setting: Rural

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss had inherited a fortune from her husband Benjamin Hotchkiss. He made his money manufacturing guns. After he died, Mrs. Hotchkiss donated 65 acres of land to establish a school for boys. She wanted the school to be a feeder school for Yale University down by the shore in New Haven. Her original gift of 65 acres expanded over time into a magnificent campus of 645 acres of pristine Northwestern Connecticut countryside. Mrs. Hotchkiss' munificence also established a generous financial aid program which gave boys who could not otherwise