History
In 1857, a group of investors purchased seven acres with a house in Warrenton, Virginia, from William F. Phipps, to establish a girls' school, the tentatively called the Fauquier Female Seminary. [4] Rather than using the existing brick house, they hired John R. Spilman of Warrenton to build a new, large school house. [4]
Fauquier Female Institute opened in October 1860. [5] It claimed to provide a "quiet, retired, and healtful situation" to educate women in "these agitating times". [1] It was a boarding school and a day school for local students. [6] Its original principals were J. S. Bacon, DD and R. P. Latham, A.M. [5] [1] In July 1866, the school property was purchased by Rev. H. H. Wyer of Louisa County, Virginia. [7] [8] [9] He moved to the Institute and oversaw its operation with Bacon. [7] [8]
In August 1868, the school was operated by Wyer and J. B. Budwell, Esq. [6] It was sold to John A. Spilman and Dr. Robert Frazer in 1871. [4] Frazer was in charge of the institute. [4] In 1875, Mr. Averett who had been the institute's principal, left to start a school for boys in Culpepper. [10] Miss A. Taylor of Baltimore, Maryland rented the school in July 1875, with plans to open it in September. [11] In September, a newspaper reported that a Prof. Dowdy from Louden County, Virginia was now in charge of the school. [12]
Frazier became the sole owner of the institute in 1877 and was its principal. [3] [4] He left in 1882 to become the president of the Judson Female Institute in Alabama and was, later, president of Longwood College in Virginia. [13] [14] (Later, he was president of Longwood College). In August 1882, Rev. Dr. J. A. Chambliss, pastor of the Citadel Square Baptist Church of Charleston, South Carolina became the president of the institute. [15] Rev. Alexander Fleet, previously the pastor of the Broad Run Baptist Church, became the institute's principal in 1886. [16] [17] [18] [4]
In February 1887, the institute was purchased for $10,000 by Prof. Ayres of Marion, Alabama. [19] [20] Fleet returned to his prior home in Essex County, Virginia. [18] George A. Bulter, A.M. was the school's principal in 1887; he previously had a private boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. [21] [4] Major Robert P. Barry purchase the Fauquier Female Institute for $8,000 in July 1888. [22] [4] Barry leased the institute to Butler who operated the school with his wife, Adelaide, and their daughters Nellie and Edith. [23] [4] Butler remained principal of the institute until his death on August 7, 1908 at the age of 86 years. [24]
In 1890, the school began opening as a summer resort for private boarding during the summer months. [25] [26] [27] This was an attempt to balance the institute's budget. [4] The Richmond Dispatch reported that the school had applicants for students from Puerto Rico and other distant locations in 1902. [28] That year, the institute had its highest number of students in its history and had to turn away qualified students due to a lack of space. [29]
Miss Nellie V. Butler became the institute's principal after the death of her father, George Butler, operating it along with her sisters Alice and Edith. [30] [31] [32] [33] [4] By 1912, the institute was a member of the Association of Colleges and Schools for Girls. [34] The institute was purchased from Barry by local businessmen Joseph and Herman Ullman in 1915. [35] [4] Nellie and Alice Butler retired in 1923. [33] Three teachers stayed and attempted to keep the school open. [4] In 1923, Miss May Strother and Mrs. Katherine D. Carr took over the institute. [36] [37] [38] In 1926, ads called the school the Fauquier Institute for Girls. [39]
Although sources suggest that the institute closed in either 1923 or 1925, it was advertised for the 65th session in the fall of 1926. [40] [39] [35] [4] [2] In addition, the Virginia Division's Committee for Education of the United Daughters of the Confederacy gave a $100 scholarship for a student in the preparatory school or college for the 1927–28, 1928–29, and 1929–30 school years. [41] [42] [43] Mrs. R. L. Kenner was institute's principal in the spring of 1928 and the director of a summer school at the institute in 1928. [44] [45]
After it closed, the institute building was turned into a boarding house and apartments. [46] The Ullman brother sold the property and nine acres to Vincent O. Jacobs in October 1945. [46] [35] [4]
Academics
The school included primary, preparatory, and collegiate levels. [5] Students learned reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, French, Latin, psychology, and poetry. [4]
When the school first opened, tuition was $25 for the primary school, $30 or $40 for the preparatory school, and $50 for the collegiate school. [5] In addition to the curriculum, students could pay $20 extra for instruction in an ancient or modern language; $50 for, music lessons with harp, guitar, or piano (it was $10 extra for use of the piano); and $20 each for classes in embroidery, drawing or painting. [5] Boarding, including lights and fuel, was $150 per session, with $15 for washing. The school year consisted of one session that started in October and ended in the first week of July. [5] In 1879, tuition and boarding were $200, with classes starting in September. [3] Commencement was held in May. [13]
In 1904, the commencement exercises included a performance of a chorus, a display of calisthenics to music, and a demonstration of the use of dumbbells. [51] In 1907 and 1908, the student demonstrations at graduation included a performance by the violin class, elocution presentations, and demonstrations of tennis, a drill with the Indian clubs by the physical culture class. [52] [53]
In 1925, the institute offered secretarial sources in addition to French, music, and outdoor sports. [54]
