Rivermont Collegiate

Rivermont Collegiate
Rivermont Collegiate
Address
	1821 Sunset Drive; Bettendorf, Iowa 52722; United States
Coordinates	41°31′45″N90°30′29″W / 41.529294°N 90.508066°W
Information
Former name	St. Katherine's/St. Mark's
Type	Private College Preparatory
Established	24 September 1884
Founder	Bishop William Stevens Perry
Headmaster	C. Max Roach
Faculty	30
Grades	PreK - 12th
Gender	Coed
Age range	2-18
Enrollment	177 (2022-23)
Student to teacher ratio	7.9
Color(s)	Red, black, and white
Accreditation	National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
Yearbook	The Wheel
Website	rivermontcollegiate.org

Last updated August 29, 2024

Rivermont Collegiate, formerly St. Katharine's/St. Mark's School, is a nonsectarian, independent, multicultural, college preparatory school for students two years old through twelfth grade, located in the Quad Cities in Bettendorf, Iowa, in the United States. Rivermont Collegiate is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS),^[2] specifically the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS),^[3] the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB),^[4] Council for Advance and Support of Education (CASE),^[5] and the National Honor Society (NHS).^[6] The school currently resides on the former property of Joseph Bettendorf, namesake of the city.

History

The Joseph Bettendorf Mansion which now houses the upper school. Under the mansion is a tunnel which serves as a tornado and fallout shelter. Rvmt mansion.jpg — The Joseph Bettendorf Mansion which now houses the upper school. Under the mansion is a tunnel which serves as a tornado and fallout shelter.

In 1846, a group of transplanted New England Congregationalists with a strong social-reformer orientation formed the Trustees of Iowa College. Although founded in Davenport, Iowa, Iowa College moved from its Davenport location to the town of Grinnell after being invited by Josiah Bushnell Grinnell to move to his newly founded town, located at the intersection of two major railroads. The Davenport location was later renamed to Griswold College, after Bishop Alexander Viets Griswold of the Eastern Diocese of the Episcopal Church. Griswold College began growing slowly, adding a theological department, and Kemper Hall (which served as a boys' school).

In 1883, the trustees of Griswold College received a legacy from the estate of Miss Sarah Burr (an eastern churchwoman), for the establishment of a Church School for Christian girls in the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. These funds were invested in Cambria Place, a magnificent residence designed by a famous architect (who designed the Illinois State Capitol and the Chicago Board of Trade Building), with five acres of land, high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa. On September 24, 1884, Bishop William Stevens Perry founded St. Katharine's School, which was placed high among college preparatory schools in the country.^{[ citation needed ]} Meanwhile, Griswold college, theological department and boys' school were forced to close in the 1890s.

The school was originally organized as St. Katharine's School, an Episcopal boarding and day school for girls. Located at 10th and Tremont Streets in Davenport, for over eighty years the school educated local girls as well as those from afar. However, St. Katharine's later dropped its boarding program, became co-educational, in 1968 adding St. Mark's to its name to reflect the change.

In 1973, St. Katharine's St. Mark's moved to its current location, the former home of Joseph Bettendorf, and by 1980, the school amicably broke ties with the Episcopal Church. In 2001, the board of trustees voted to change the name of the school to Rivermont Collegiate, in order to reduce confusion about its religious affiliation.

The early days

St. Katharine's in the very beginning Sk beginnings.jpg — St. Katharine's in the very beginning

The girls who attended St. Katharine's were subject to strict rules. Students were not allowed to have books, magazines, or newspapers delivered without the principal's permission. Students could not keep any food except for fruit.^{[ citation needed ]} Students couldn't go to town without a parent or teacher, and no student could spend the night out of the building. The only time students could go home was on Thursdays, but only till 8:00 p.m. They couldn't even spend Sundays at home. The girls were not allowed to wear jewelry, big dresses or silk dresses. Also, one hour of exercise was required every day.

In 1910, the taxpayers of Davenport gave an observatory and telescope to the school but it burned to the ground in a fire.

Meanwhile, local industrialist Joseph Bettendorf was building his dream house, which later became the signature building of Rivermont Collegiate. Mr. Bettendorf, whose Bettendorf Company manufactured truck frames for railroad cars, helped draw the plans for an English Manor style mansion on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. In 1915, he supervised construction of the mansion, complete with a sweeping terraced lawn overlooking the Mississippi.

Designed for entertaining railroad executives and community members, the house included a stained glass domed conservatory, formal dining room, parlor, music room, and billiard room. The second floor contained several bedrooms, a large sitting room and servant quarters. A ballroom was located on the third floor, and at one time two bowling alleys were located in the basement. Craftsmen added Italian marble, carved stone, molded plaster and hand-carved woodwork, doors, paneling and staircases throughout the home.

The campus

Rivermont Collegiate campus consists of five buildings on the former Joseph Bettendorf property:

The Mansion, which is the former home of Joseph Bettendorf, now houses upper school and middle school classes, as well as administrative offices.

The Carriage House, formerly Joseph Bettendorf's garage, is now rebuilt as a boarding house for boarding students. The ribbon cutting for the opening of the rebuilt Carriage House was on July 31, 2017.

Becherer Hall was completed in 1999 and houses the lower school and early childhood program, as well as the auditorium and cafeteria.

The Gym serves as a basketball and volleyball court. It was added to the mansion in 1974.

The STEAM Center was completed in 2019 on the old site of the Wallace House, which was demolished on December 19, 2017. This building includes science, technology, engineering, art, and math classrooms on the first 2 levels, as well as 2 floors capable of holding 32 dorm students, in a 22,000 square foot space. It was estimated to cost $6 million.

Notable people

Alejandra Lillo, designer
Louise Meiszner, pianist

Related Research Articles

Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a combined statistical area population of 474,019, ranking as the 147th-largest MSA and 91st-largest CSA in the nation. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 101,724, making it Iowa's third-most populous city after Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836, by Antoine Le Claire and named for his friend George Davenport.

Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established Iowa College. It has an open curriculum, which means students need not follow a prescribed list of classes. The college's 120-acre campus includes several listings on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Quad Cities is a region of cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are the center of the Quad Cities metropolitan area, a region within the Mississippi River Valley, which as of 2023 had a population estimate of 467,817 and a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population of 474,019, making it the 90th-largest CSA in the nation.

Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 39,102 at the 2020 census.

Central High School, or Davenport Central High School is a public four-year comprehensive high school located in Davenport, Iowa. The school building opened in 1907 as "Davenport High School," and is now one of three public high schools part of the Davenport Community School District. The school, whose western side is located along U.S. Highway 61, draws students primarily from the southern, eastern, and central portions of the city.

Bettendorf High School (BHS) is a public four-year comprehensive high school located in Bettendorf, Iowa and is part of the Bettendorf Community School District.

Assumption High School (AHS) is a Roman Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport in the U.S. state of Iowa. Bridget Murphy is the current principal of Assumption High.

The Village of East Davenport, also known simply as The Village, is located along the Mississippi River on the southeast side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as the Davenport Village. At the time of its nomination it included 145 contributing properties, most of which were working-class housing.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, formerly known as Grace Cathedral, is the historic cathedral in the Diocese of Iowa. The cathedral is located on the bluff overlooking Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1873, Trinity is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1983 the cathedral was included as a contributing property in the College Square Historic District, which is also listed on the National Register.

Regina Coeli Monastery is a historic building located in Bettendorf, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. The building currently houses an addictions rehabilitation facility called The Abbey Center. The Discalced Carmelite nuns who built the building relocated to a new monastery in Eldridge, Iowa in 1975. The monastery was originally established in Davenport, Iowa by James Davis of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport.

The Antoine LeClaire House is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is a community center that was built as a private home by one of the founders of the city of Davenport. It also housed two of Davenport's Catholic bishops. The home was constructed in 1855. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1992.

The Joseph W. Bettendorf House is a historic building located in Bettendorf, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Built as a private home, the building now houses a private school named Rivermont Collegiate.

St. Katherine's Historic District is located on the east side Davenport, Iowa, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the location of two mansions built by two lumber barons until it became the campus of an Episcopal girls' school named St. Katharine's Hall and later as St. Katharine's School. The name was altered to St. Katharine-St. Mark's School when it became coeducational. It is currently the location of a senior living facility called St. Katherine's Living Center.

St. Luke's Hospital was a hospital building on a bluff overlooking downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and the National Register of Historic Places. It has subsequently been torn down.

College Square Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located on a bluff north of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The district derives it name from two different colleges that were located here in the 19th century.

The Arthur Ebeling House is a historic building located on the west side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The Colonial Revival house was designed by its original owner, Arthur Ebeling. It was built from 1912 to 1913 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Oakdale Memorial Gardens, formerly Oakdale Cemetery, is located in east-central Davenport, Iowa. It contains a section for the burial of pets called the Love of Animals Petland. In 2015, the cemetery was listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, and as a local landmark on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties. It is also listed on the Network to Freedom, a National Park Service registry for sites associated with the Underground Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William P. Bettendorf</span> Inventor, industrialist

William P. Bettendorf was an American inventor. He is credited with the invention of the power lift sulky plow, the Bettendorf metal wheel and the one-piece railroad truck frame. By the age of 53 he held 94 patents. With his younger brother, Joseph W. Bettendorf, he founded the Bettendorf Axle Company. His first wife and children preceded him in death. He died as the company was rapidly expanding and before he moved into a palatial home he was building. The city of Bettendorf, Iowa is named after the two brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph W. Bettendorf</span>

Joseph W. Bettendorf was an American businessman with his brother William P. Bettendorf in Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa. The city of Bettendorf is named after the two brothers.

Immaculate Conception Academy, known locally as ICA, was a Catholic girls' high school located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was begun by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) in 1859 and it remained in operation until it merged with St. Ambrose Academy in 1958 to form Assumption High School. The academy building remains in use as an academic building on the campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic.

References

↑ "Rivermont Collegiate". National Center for Education Statistics . Retrieved August 28, 2024.
↑ "NAIS Bookstore". NAIS Directories. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
↑ "ISACS::Search for a school" . Retrieved 10 December 2019.
↑ "College Board Membership Directory" . Retrieved 10 December 2019.
↑ "Homepage | CASE". www.case.org. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
↑ "Chapter finder". National Honor Society. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2019.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[NCES-1] "Rivermont Collegiate". National Center for Education Statistics . Retrieved August 28, 2024.

[2] "NAIS Bookstore". NAIS Directories. Retrieved 10 December 2019.

[3] "ISACS::Search for a school" . Retrieved 10 December 2019.

[4] "College Board Membership Directory" . Retrieved 10 December 2019.

[5] "Homepage | CASE". www.case.org. Retrieved 2023-11-03.

[6] "Chapter finder". National Honor Society. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]