Monument School of the People : a Sesquicentennial History of St. Mary's College of Maryland, 1840-1990
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MONUMENT SCHOOL OF THE PEOPLE A Sesqukentennial History of St. Mary's College of Maryland, 1840-1990 by J. Frederick Faiisz Associate Professor of History St. Mary's College of Maryland This book is dedicated to the students, staff, and supporters of St. Mary's College, past and present, who have made this school so special. Rich joy and love we got and gave, Our hearts were merry as our desires. Pile laurel wreaths upon our grave Who did not gain, but were success. -Joyce Kilmer, as quoted in The Castellan. 1949 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Mary's of Copyright © 1990 by J. Frederick Fausz and St. College Maryland All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work in any form whatsoever, except for brief passages in connection with a review. For information write: The Office of Advancement/Publishers, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, MD 20686 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-60400 ISBN 0-9625867-0-6 Printed in The United States of America -M Ktsrx- TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 6 Introduction: Where the Past is Present for the Future 8 Chapter I. St. Mary's City, Haven of Hope: The Seventeenth Century As Prologue 10 Chapter II. Ever Rising from the Ashes: St. Marys Female Semmary, 1840-1923 24 Chapter III. Trials and Triumphs: Miss Frances Junior College, 1923-1948 60 Chapter IV. Forever Young: The Old School and the New College, 1948-1990 98 A Note on Sources 150 Photo Credits 151 Appendices 152 Index 157 Whatever one person's path to the past, once there it is an intriguing place to spend time. And the only self- respecting way back to the present leaves each of us with the responsibility offashioning our own route out. —James Davidson and Mark Lytle, After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection PREFACE 'n writing this first book-length history of St. book as a basic source that would explain institutional i;.Mary's College,! have belatedly fulfilled a century- development and as an introduction to the social history old directive of the Board of Trustees. Meeting on Thurs- of the school, representing the individual dreams and day, 8 September 1887, the school's trustees unanimously dramas that bestow vitality and meaning to institu- passed a resolution that instructed Board Secretary John tions. Although the many rare photographs and eyewit- A. Camalier to "prepare an authentic history of this In- ness accounts that appear in this volume help the reader stitution from its inception, [to include] ... all mat- empathize with former generations, I am well aware of ters of interest connected with its progress from the the limitations of time and of traditional documentary origin thereof to the present time. " There is no evi- research for imparting what literary critic Lionel Trill- dence that Camalier's history, like so many others that ing described as the "huge, unrecorded hum of implica- " were proposed over the past 150 years, was ever written. tion [which] was once there and left no trace. I beg the In December 1911, Trustee Daniel C. Hammett did indulgence of alumni and friends of St. Mary's whose write the first known account "of the origin and con- memories, insights, and contributions are omitted from duct of the School," but it was brief enough to be read this book, for my interpretations are designed as an ini- in its entirety at the June 1912 commencement. Presi- tial contribution to a long, ongoing process of historical dents M. Adele France and A. May Russell mined a recovery and recollection. If this first history stimulates wealth of historical information in producing the school's the formation of richer and more diverse archives be- notable pageants from the early 1920s to the late 1950s, cause of its errors of omission or commission, then the but their main contribution was to leave behind the ar- project will have been a most fitting memorial for the chival raw material without which this book could not sesquicentennial anniversary of St. Mary's College. have been written. While it might seem odd that the state's Monument A cknou 'ledgments School, founded to memorialize the rich legacy of his- Monument School of the People was written over the course toric St. Mary's City, has never had a comprehensive his- of two hectic academic years, sandwiched into an al- tory of itself, this institution has successfully imparted ready tight schedule of teaching, research, and admin- an abiding appreciation of its heritage even without a istrative responsibilities, and it could not have been written text. Five generations of students have lived completed without the patient support of my students, among the landmarks and artifacts of Maryland's colo- colleagues, and family. 1 am particularly grateful to Ted nial past on the St. Mary's campus, and after one has felt Lewis for giving me the opportunity to write this first the presence of dead ancestors and their living ideals, history (every historian's dream), and I hope his confi- no book can do justice to the experience. "While all col- dence is rewarded by the result. The alumni and com- leges have a history, St. Mary's is unique as a living me- munity supporters of St. Mary's College came through morial to history. This special site of notable firsts in like they always have, providing important documents American history is truly a place where the past is present and rare photographs that immensely improved the fi- for the future, and no single volume can possibly encom- nal product. Sharing my sense of excitement as those pass or evoke all of its significance. contributions arrived were the members of the Sesqui- Aware of that daunting challenge, I conceived this centennial Book Advisory Committee: Christine C. Cihlar, Director of Public Affairs, a constant supporter Publications, Ann E. Cruse, Coordinator of Publica- with a keen appreciation of the school's history; Dr. M. tions, and Marybeth Burke, the indexer, provided tal- Starr Costello '80, Director of College Advancement, ent and support in equal measure. Finally, I must thank who oversaw the administrative details of the project; my wife, Jeanette Fox Fausz '81, and my three-year-old- Dr. Dana K. Greene, Professor of History, who vastly son, John, for their patience in tolerating my obsession improved the manuscript with her perceptive readings; with this project. After enduring the night-long clat- and Daniel Laskin, forrrierly Director of Grants and tering of my printer for months on end, they consis- Publications, who copyedited the book with great skill. tently gave the kind of warm, familial support that Librarian Joe Storey, Head of Technical Services, was made me feel less alone amid the distant centuries. most helpful in placing archival materials at my dis- Fred Fausz posal and in working with Melissa Worthington '88 and Calvert Hall 17 Betsy Keisman, my indispensable student research as- November 1989 sistants. Dr. Beth L. Truebell, Director of Grants and ST. MARTS COLLEGE OF MARYLAND ^ 150 YEARS P The past remains integral to us all, individually and collectively. We must concede the ancients their place . (hut) their place is not simply hack there, in a separate and foreign country: it is assimilated in ourselves, and resurrected into an ever-changing present. — David Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country INTRODUCTION Where the Past is Present for the Future Anniversaries are always occasions for retrospec- 150 years ot service to the citizens of Maryland still tive glimpses into the forgotten, often forbid- committed to innovation inspired by tradition. ding, "foreign country" that is the Past, and this sesqui- Since its founding in 1840, St. Mary's College has centennial observance gives us a unique opportunity to had but one campus-a beautiful riverside landscape of consider the special character, charm, and significance quiet charm on the sacred site ot Maryland's first settle- of St. Mary's College of Maryland, an institution so dear ment and seventeenth-century capital. This region of to so many. The sesquicentennial is all the more mean- Southern Maryland, nurtured by warming winds and ingful because St. Mary's has survived— indeed thrived— the rich resources of the Chesapeake Bay, has supported despite much adversity and against incredible odds. human habitation tor more than ten thousand years, This 20-year-old college with 150-year-old roots as a from a Stone Age of flint chips to a Space Age ot com- female seminary is regarded today as the premier under- puter chips. Since the arrival ot the first Maryland colo- graduate institution in the Maryland state system ot nists in 1634, the St. Mary's River has attracted people higher education-a fitting testament to five generations of diverse backgrounds and beliets and educated them of human inspiration, dedication, and perseverance. in the lifeways and world views ot one another. Native For most of its century-and-a-half, St. Mary's has peoples from every continent have found the area alive been the best kept secret in Maryland, a school too with potential for abundant living, spiritual renewal, poor, too small, and too isolated to take seriously. Re- and an enriching knowledge evolved trom adaptation to cently, however, it has received national attention as an new challenges and opportunities. affordable alternative in liberal arts education to elite It is significant that the campus ot St. Mary's Col- private colleges. St. Mary's was ranked first among "re- lege was the setting for so much human inspiration and gional liberal-arts colleges" m the northeast by the {7.5. creative adaptation two hundred years before the school Neivs and World Report " 1990 College Guide" issue of 16 existed.