Call Number:

03

Repository:

Springfield Township Historical Society (Montgomery County, Pa.)

Extent:

2.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1992-1995 (inclusive)

Creator:

Contosta, David R.

Abstract:

The Carson Valley School opened in 1918 as the Carson College for Orphan Girls with funding from Philadelphia streetcar tycoon Robert N. Carson. Around the time of the school's 75th anniversary, Chestnut Hill College professor David R. Contosta was commissioned to research the history of the school and write the book Philadelphia's Progressive Orphanage: The Carson Valley School. The David R. Contosta research files on Carson Valley School, 1992-1995, are comprised of research notes, copies of scholarly and newspaper articles, copies of school records, and other materials compiled by Contosta while writing his book.

David R. Contosta is a professor of history at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in 1945 in Lancaster, Ohio, he received his PhD in History from Miami University of Ohio. He has written over 15 books on local history and other topics, including Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 1850-1990 (Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1992), A Philadelphia Family: The Houstons and Woodwards of Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), and A Venture in Faith: The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 1889-1989 (Philadelphia: The Church, 1988).

In 1997, Penn State University Press published David R. Contosta's book Philadelphia's Progressive Orphanage: The Carson Valley School. The Carson Valley School opened in Flourtown, Pennsylvania in 1918 as the Carson College for Orphan Girls with funding from Philadelphia streetcar tycoon Robert N. Carson. Carson originally stipulated that only white, parentless girls could be admitted, but by the 1970s the school was accepting children of all races and genders. As of 2012, the school is still in operation serving emotionally disturbed and behaviorally disordered students.

Bibliography:

"David Contosta, Ph.D." Chestnut Hill College, 2010. Accessed December 28, 2011. http://www.chc.edu/directories/faculty/David_Contosta/

This collection is comprised of research notes and materials compiled by David Contosta while writing his book A Progressive Legacy: The Carson Valley School. This book on the history of Carson College for Orphan Girls--later The Carson Valley School--was commissioned by the school on its 75th anniversary in 1992.

The materials in this collection are arranged into several broad categories: biographical files, subject files, copies of Board minutes (1974-1990), and audiocassettes (seven cassettes; appear to be interviews). The files include copies of scholarly articles on Carson School and the history of education, copies of newspaper clippings and obituaries, copies of Carson Valley School records, handwritten research notes, and a small amount of correspondence regarding the research, writing, and publication of the book.

Photographs of Carson Valley School donated by Contosta can be found in the Springfield Township Historical Society photograph collection.