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MARYLAND 'S PRIDE IN SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS, 1837-1891
The Patapsco Female Institute, perched high on Church Road north of Main Street , with a commanding view of Ellicott City , has been in ruins for about thirty years. Presently it is undergoing partial restoration. Its granite outer walls have been partly taken down and rebuilt to give stability and safety. Its grounds are also scheduled for renovation. Its trees have been cared for after a lapse of many years. By mid-1995, barring unforeseen developments, there will be a rededication of the old school and its grounds for tourists and the lower level will have interpretative stations. Many special activities will take place relating to the old school.
The institute was chartered by the State of Maryland in the winter of 1834 and opened its door for students in January 1837. It was financed by selling 200 shares of stock, at $50 a share for $10,000, and by a loan of $12,000 from the new Patapsco State Bank for a total of $22,000. A temporary Board of Trustees was formed, overseeing all matters relating to the school that eventually became Maryland 's outstanding school for girls in the 1840's and 1850's.
Before the school opened, a permanent Board of Trustees was elected by the stockholders. It consisted of a Judge Thomas Beale Dorsey, President, Edward Gray, Nathaniel F. Ellicott, Charles W Dorsey and Charles Carroll of Doughoregan Manor, son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton , one of Maryland 's five signers of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout its history, the Institute had distinguished Trustees. Judge Dorsey served for many years while also Chief Judge of Maryland 's highest court (the Court of Appeals in Annapolis ). He was succeeded as President of the Board by Thomas Watkins Ligon when Ligon was also Governor of Maryland. Both, of course, were residents of the Ellicotts Mills area. Other Board members were outstanding lawyers, doctors, and businessmen of Howard District of Anne Arundel County, which became Howard County in 1851.
Architect for the building was the famous Robert Carey Long, Jr. who designed many outstanding buildings and other structures in the Baltimore area. Land was given for the school principally by the Ellicotts of the founding family. Their gift was seven acres. An additional six or seven acres were acquired from others as gifts or otherwise. The Ellicott family had established schools of six grades earlier for boys and girls, separately.
Patapsco Female Institute was established for girls aged 12-18. Eight needy girls, mostly local residents, would receive state scholarships of $100 each, an adequate amount to cover expenses of "commuters." The costs in the beginning were about $200 for boarding students. The Trustees leased the grounds and building to the Principal (or Headmaster or Headmistress). The latter then collected tuition and other payments, employed and paid the faculty and staff, took care of minor upkeep of the property. The principal made regular reports to the Board, sought its advice, received its suggestions without interfering with the program or discipline. The Board had ultimate authority over the school, representing the stockholders.
Patapsco Female Institute was chartered as a non-sectarian school, but soon had connection with the Episcopal Church. This came after the first two principals, The Rev. James H. Tyng for two years and his successor, Mrs. Mary Norris, for one year, both experienced educators, were unable to get the school fully launched. In retrospect the school opened a little sooner than it should have and before being adequately advertised, thus lacking enough students. The economic depression of the late 1830's didn't help matters. It looked as though it might have to close. At this point, The Maryland Diocese of the Episcopal Church named a new Bishop, William Rollinson Whittingham. Vastly interested in education and church schools, he was asked by Trustee President Thomas Beale Dorsey to help in the search for a new Principal. This decision was unquestionably the key factor in the school's great success. It led to the appointment of Mrs. Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps as Principal. She was a younger sister of Mrs. Emma Hart Willard, women's leader and educator, the head of Troy Academy in Troy , New York . Mrs. Phelps had teaching and administrative experience at Troy Academy , and at West Chester Pennsylvania Academy for Girls. She was largely a self-made professional woman when women's roles were greatly minimized. She wrote textbooks on chemistry, biology, botany, physics, and geology for both secondary schools and for colleges, and amassed a fortune, part of which she turned back into the Institute.
Mrs. Phelps believed, and implemented the belief, that young women should obtain not just an ordinary finishing school "education" with minimal attention only to serious academic activity. Rather, the Institute should prepare the girls also to earn a living. The Curriculum which Tyng and Norris had established was strengthened by Mrs. Phelps. Many graduates went out as teachers. Some took over management of Southern Plantations when their husbands went off to the Civil War. Mrs. Phelps was fully in control, spending endless hours meeting with the girls. During her tenure, 1841-1856, Mrs. Phelps admitted students from three-fourths of the states then in the Union , the largest number coming from the South. Overall, according to their diaries and letters, these young ladies admired and respected Mrs. Phelps, her husband and their teachers. The Episcopal Church furnished chaplains who led in morning and evening prayers, and Sunday services. Mrs. Phelps was careful to see that the Chaplains performed only such religious services as agreed upon, sometimes teaching an academic course. Mrs. Phelps, by 1850, had urged the Trustees to provide a Chapel that could also be used for other special functions. The Chapel was opened about the time Mrs. Phelps relinquished the Principalship.
The Institute continued to flourish after Mrs. Phelps retired and moved to Baltimore . She returned frequently to visit and to offer advice when asked. She lived into her nineties and was a well-known leader of women's groups. Robert H. Archer succeeded Mrs. Phelps at Patapsco and kept the school moving on a high level. He and his wife were experienced in operating schools. Enrollment held up until the Civil Was opened and was closed for a few months when war broke out in 1861, but with limited enrollment continued to turn out small graduating classes in 1863, 1864, and 1865, and a larger class of thirty-three in 1866.
In the late 1860's the first Maryland public schools came into existence, providing serious competition to the many private schools. Still, Patapsco's enrollment held up reasonably well in the 1870's, especially during the period 1878-1881 when the headmistress was Sarah Randolph, granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Archer had died and his wife succeeded him, but she was not up to the position as Mrs. Phelps and Mr. Archer had been. The physical property was not kept in repair and competition became greater from the public schools. Miss Randolph gave up the effort. The school continued until 1890-18991 officially, but with fewer and fewer students, the Board voted to close it.
The legacy of Patapsco Female Institute is a great one. It was remarkable in its impact, its fine academic and related programs.
Charles B. Clark |
