Claverack College, also known as Washington Seminary and Hudson River Institute, was a

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

in Claverack, New York, United States. It was in operation from 1779 until 1902.

History

The school was founded as the Washington Seminary during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

in 1779 by Rev. John Gabriel Gebhard, the pastor of the

Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack The Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack is located on New York State Route 9H at the north end of the hamlet of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a brick church built in the mid-18th century and renovated and expanded twice in the 19th, ...

. In 1830 the school was renamed Claverack Academy and in 1854 it became Claverack College (a quasi-military academy for boys) and Hudson River Institute (a school for girls). In 1890, one of its students named

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

, who later became a prominent author, published his first article in the February 1890 Claverack College ''Vidette'' about the explorer

Henry M. Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa and his sear ...

's quest to find the English missionary

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In the 1870s it was not uncommon for the Claverack men to marry the women of Hudson River Institute. One such marriage was Edward George Johnson, son of a Manhattan businessman, and Eugenia Ramacciotti, daughter of

Francis Ramacciotti Francis Ramacciotti (''c.'' 1826 Leghorn, Italy – 13 June 1891 Manhattan) was an Italian-born inventor who founded a major piano string manufacturer in the United States. Career Ramacciotti was reportedly associated with Garibaldi and held a ...

. Tuition in 1875 was $400 per year, which was equivalent of a year's pay for most people. Its

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-li ...

was on the east side of what is today NY 9H just south of the Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack. Claverack College closed in 1902. After its closure the land was divided and sold and the buildings razed. The

George Felpel House The George Felpel House is located on NY 9H in Claverack-Red Mills, New York, United States. It is a stone Colonial Revival and Dutch Colonial Revival house built in the 1920s. Its stones are the remnants of Claverack College, which existed on ...

, currently on the western half of the property, uses some of the school buildings' stones.
Gazetteer and business directory of Columbia County, N.Y. for 1871–2
' (Printed at the Journal office, 1871) pp. 106–108

Notable alumni and faculty

Richard M. Blatchford Richard Milford Blatchford (August 17, 1859 – August 31, 1934) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Expedition, and World War I, he attained the rank ...

, U.S. Army general in World War I * John Clum, Apache Indian Agent, publisher of '' The Tombstone Epitaph'', mayor of Tombstone, Arizona, and friend of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

and

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which la ...

. *

, author (said his time at Claverack was among the happiest in his life) * Wm. Knight, Wisconsin businessman and elected official *

Killian Miller Killian Miller (July 30, 1785 – January 9, 1859) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Early life Born in Claverack, New York on July 30, 1785, Miller attended Washington Seminary. He then studied law with Jacob R. Van Rensselaer, was adm ...

, U.S. Representative * Robert H. Morris (mayor), mayor of New York City *

Margaret Sanger Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth contro ...

, women's rights advocate *

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

, 8th U.S. President * General John P. Van Ness, U.S. Representative *

William P. Van Ness William Peter Van Ness (February 13, 1778 – September 6, 1826) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New York and the United States District Court for the Souther ...

, U.S. District Judge *

Cornelius P. Van Ness Cornelius Peter Van Ness (January 26, 1782 – December 15, 1852) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the tenth governor of Vermont from 1823 to 1826 and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Spain f ...

, Governor of Vermont * General

Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer (September 27, 1767 – September 22, 1835) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1812 to 1813, and Secretary of State of New York, from 1813 to ...

, New York Secretary of State *

Ada Josephine Todd Ada Josephine Todd (also known as Adah J. Todd; June 16, 1858 – October 27, 1904) was an American author and educator. Early life and education Ada (or, "Adah") Josephine Todd was born in Redding, Connecticut, June 16, 1858. Her parents were S ...

(1858-1904), author and educator *

Alexander Russell Webb Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb (born Alexander Russell Webb; November 9, 1846 – October 1, 1916) was an American writer, publisher, and the United States Consul to the Philippines. He converted to Islam in 1889, and is considered by histor ...

, U.S. Ambassador to Philippines, early American Muslim

References

External links

Gazetteer and business directory of Columbia County, N.Y. for 1871-2
(Printed at the Journal office, 1871), pg. 106-108 {{Coord, 42, 13, 36, N, 73, 44, 1, W, display=title Defunct schools in New York (state) Boarding schools in New York (state) Organizations established in 1779 1902 disestablishments in New York (state) Claverack, New York 1779 establishments in New York (state)