 1882 engraving | |
| Type | Private co-educational Business college |
|---|---|
| Active | 1846 – ? |
| Founder | Albert G. Scholfield |
Academic staff | 12 |
| Students | 650 |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Urban |
Scholfield's Commercial College was a business college in Providence, Rhode Island, during the second half of the 19th century. It is no longer in operation.
In 1846, Albert Gallatin Scholfield (1807–1901) [1] moved from Connecticut to Providence. He was a proponent of the double-entry bookkeeping system, but found that most merchants in town used the single-entry system. [2] Sensing an opportunity, in June 1846 he opened Scholfield's Commercial College in downtown Providence. [2] It was the first business school in the city. [2] Eventually the double-entry method became the dominant accounting system in town. [2]
By 1867, the school boasted twelve faculty and an average daily attendance of 650 students. [3] The school taught both men and women, as well as students "young and old." [4]
In the years leading up to World War I, Scholfield's faced increasing competition from the four other commercial colleges in downtown Providence, including Johnson & Wales, Bryant and Stratton (now Bryant University) and Rhode Island Commercial School. [5]
Bookkeeping was the main course of study at Scholfield's. The school promoted itself as teaching a superior and original method, which they called "Scholfield's Manuscript System of Book-Keeping." [3] This method dispensed with textbooks, and was simultaneously more thorough and faster to learn than other accounting methods. [3] The school offered "special attention" to bookkeeping for the Jewellery industry, [3] which was an important industry in Providence at the time. Further, the school boasted that Scholfield's System would "render the perpetration of fraud or embezzlement by workmen and employees nearly impossible." [3]
A catalog from 1867 lists courses including surveying; civil engineering; navigation; and penmanship. [3] Also offered was a course on "Common English Studies", which included arithmetic, grammar, geography and other studies. [3] Students could study a basic level of Latin, Greek, French, and German. [3] In 1892 the school offered courses in "shorthand, oil and watercolor painting, and mechanical drawing." [4]
Women studying bookkeeping were allowed to study with the men in the Bookkeeping Department, while other women could enroll in the Ladies Department, which offered instruction in penmanship, Belles-lettres, drawing, and French. [3]
The school was located in the Howard Building, at the corner of Dorrance St. and Westminster St. in downtown Providence. [7] In 1883, the address was given as Paris Hall, 193 Westminster Street. [8] An 1892 listing gives the address as 174 Westminster Street. [4]
Although Bryant College occupied the Howard building in 1863, [9] the two schools are not to be confused. [7] Scholfield's was a competitor of Bryant, and by 1882 Bryant was located in the Hoppin Homestead Building down Westminster Street. [7]
There have been four Howard Buildings on the site. Twice it burned down. The third building, home of Scholfield's, was built 1857 and demolished in 1957 after Hurricane Carol flooded downtown. [9]
The main hall of the Howard building was a huge space, with a capacity to hold 1200 students. [3] It measured 108 feet (33 m) long by 62 feet (19 m) wide, and 25 feet (7.6 m) high from floor to ceiling; it was illuminated by the light of fourteen windows by day, and fourteen chandeliers by night. [3] The school claimed in 1867 advertisements to be the "largest commercial college in the world." [10]
In 1892, Scholfield's claimed an alumni body which included "thousands of successful graduates, scattered all over the United States," including governors, mayors, and "men in all responsible positions of life." [4] Some notable people who studied at Scholfield's include:
Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the local diocese, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs. The college requires all of its undergraduate students to complete 16 credits in the Development of Western Civilization, a major part of the college's core curriculum. In the spring of 2021, it enrolled 4,128 undergraduate students and 688 graduate students for a total enrollment of 4,816 students.
Westerly is a town on the southwestern coastline of Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a population of 23,359 as of the 2020 census.
Bryant & Stratton College is a private college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online education division. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree and bachelor's degree programs. The college is approved by the New York State Board of Regents and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It has two colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
The Industrial Trust Building, located at 111 Westminster Street or 55 Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, was built in 1928 as the Industrial Trust Co. Building, and was designed by the New York firm of Walker & Gillette. At 428 feet (130 m) with 26 floors, it is the tallest building in Providence and the state of Rhode Island, and the 28th tallest in New England; when it was completed it stood several stories higher than the recently finished Biltmore Hotel nearby.
The Rhode Island city of Providence has a nearly 400-year history integral to that of the United States, including significance in the American Revolutionary War by providing leadership and fighting strength, quartering troops, and supplying goods to residents by circumventing the blockade of Newport. The city is also noted for the first bloodshed of the American Revolution in the Gaspée Affair. Additionally, Providence is notable for economic shifts, moving from trading to manufacturing. The decline of manufacturing devastated the city during the Great Depression, but the city eventually attained economic recovery through investment of public funds.
College Hill is a historic neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, and one of six neighborhoods comprising the city's East Side. It is roughly bounded by South and North Main Street to the west, Power Street to the south, Governor Street and Arlington Avenue to the east and Olney Street to the north. The neighborhood's primary commercial area extends along Thayer Street, a strip frequented by students in the Providence area.
Kennedy Plaza, formerly Exchange Place, Exchange Terrace, or City Hall Park, is a rectangular public square that occupies a central portion of Downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Since the mid 19th century, the plaza has served as a civic and transportation hub.
Stone, Carpenter & Willson was a Providence, Rhode Island based architectural firm in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It was named for the partners Alfred Stone (1834–1908), Charles E. Carpenter (1845–1923). and Edmund R. Willson (1856–1906). The firm was one of the state's most prominent.
Downtown is the central economic, political, and cultural district of the city of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is bounded on the east by Canal Street and the Providence River, to the north by Smith Street, to the west by Interstate 95, and to the south by Henderson Street. The highway serves as a physical barrier between the city's commercial core and neighborhoods of Federal Hill, West End, and Upper South Providence. Most of the downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Downtown Providence Historic District.
The Telephone Building is a historic commercial building at 112 Union Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built as the headquarters and exchange of the Providence Telephone Company, which occupied it from 1893 to 1917.
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, it is one of the oldest cities in New England, founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port, as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.
William R. Walker & Son was an American architectural firm in Providence, Rhode Island, active during the years 1881 to 1936. It included partners William Russell Walker (1830–1905), William Howard Walker (1856–1922) and later William Russell Walker II (1884–1936).
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
Albert Hadfield Humes (1867–1947) was an American architect working in Central Falls and Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He was known locally as a designer of private residences and schools.
Jackson, Robertson & Adams was an architectural firm out of Providence, Rhode Island. Established in 1912, it was originally made up of architects F. Ellis Jackson (1879–1950), Wayland T. Robertson (1873–1935), and J. Howard Adams (1876–1924).
James C. Bucklin (1801-1890) was an American architect working in Providence, Rhode Island.
William R. Walker was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island, who was later the senior partner of William R. Walker & Son.
Walter H. "Barney" Reynolds, served seven consecutive terms as 30th Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, totaling fourteen years of service. He served from 1951 until 1965.
Albert Gallatin Scholfield (1807–1901) was the founder of Scholfield's Commercial College in Providence, Rhode Island, the first business school in the state.
Scholfield College.
Instead of taking a classical course, he entered the Scholfield Commercial College, where he remained until the latter part of 1853.
