St. Timothy's Hall
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St. Timothy's Hall was an eight-year
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all-boys theological and military
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. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in
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for boys ages seven to fourteen. The boys' school closed in 1864, and the building was then used as a girls' school and as a boarding house. The building burned down in July 1872.


History

St. Timothy's Hall was originally established as a theological school by Reverend George Worthington and Reverend Adolphus Frost, along with rector Reverend Dr. Libertus Van Bokkelen. It became the first church military school in the
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. The school was chartered and incorporated in 1847 and by 1850, there were 132 students and fourteen teachers. The Hall itself was an imposing three-story stone and wood frame build with an H-shaped footprint that contained both classrooms and dormitory rooms. It is possibly the first religiously affiliated military school in the country. Additionally, there was a gymnasium and an armory to the rear of the Hall. Most of the students boarded at St. Timothy's and the few remaining students arrived daily by carriage. All were required to wear gray uniforms for the winter and brown and white for the summer. In 1853, each ten-month session cost $250, which included board, tuition, fuel, light, washing, and mending. According to the terms laid out by Rev. Van Bokkelen, "Modern Languages, when studied in connexion with the Classics, Music and Drawing, are Extra Charges. For $300 a Pupil receives all the advantages of the School, including Modern Languages, Music and Drawing." St. Timothy's was considered to be one of the best schools in the
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. It was one of the first schools to have a gymnasium and a specialized gym teacher. Students were organized into battalions of infantry and artillery corps. The state furnished muskets, cannons, and other equipment. St. Timothy's Hall prospered, with attendance reaching 218 students by 1860. The success of the school was seriously diminished with the onset of the
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and the loss of the South's support. By 1864, the military school was closed and the building was rented for use as a
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preparatory school for girls. However, by 1871, after Reverend Libertus Van Bokkelen's retirement, the Hall was rented as a boarding house, attracting people from
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who wished to leave the city during the summer months. On July 29, 1872, the Hall and an adjoining storehouse were destroyed by fire. Reduced to a pile of rubble, the stone was purchased by the Odd Fellows Hall building committee for the construction of Newburg Hall at the corner of Frederick Road and Newburg Avenue. Although the school's rector was a Unionist sympathizer and friendly to
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, many of the schools students left to join the Confederacy. Van Bokkelen became the first Maryland State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1864.


Notable alumni

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, assassin of President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
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Michael O'Laughlen Michael O'Laughlen, Jr. (pronounced ''Oh-Lock-Lun''; June 3, 1840 – September 23, 1867) was an American Confederate States Army, Confederate soldier and conspirator in John Wilkes Booth's plot to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and later ...
, conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln * Samuel Arnold, conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln *
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,
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general *
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, Civil War general and
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
's nephew * Bishop John Henry Ducachet Wingfield, missionary bishop of
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, Noted obstetrician and best player in the first college football game * Stephen Elliott Jr., Civil War general for the
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, Civil War general for the Union


References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Timothy's Hall 1844 establishments in Maryland 1864 disestablishments in Maryland Boarding schools in Maryland Boys' schools in Maryland Defunct boarding schools in the United States Defunct private schools in the United States Defunct schools in Maryland Educational institutions established in 1844 Educational institutions disestablished in 1864 Military schools in the United States Private high schools in Maryland Private schools in Baltimore County, Maryland