Call Number:

02

Repository:

Westtown School Archives

Extent:

13.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1769-2008 (inclusive)

Creator:

Westtown Boarding School. Archives

Abstract:

Westtown School in Chester County, Pennsylvania is the oldest continuously operating coeducational boarding school in the United States. It was founded by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1799 with the goal of educating Quaker children in an environment that fostered moral development consistent with their religious ideals. The Westtown School Archives small manuscripts collection, 1769-2008, consists of correspondence to and from various students, teachers, school officials, and other individuals and families affiliated with Westtown School. There is only one or a few documents associated with most of the individuals. These include mostly handwritten letters with some typescript and email print-outs. Also included are other materials, such as ephemera, account books, addresses and writings, school documents such as student lists and report cards, and receipts and other financial papers.

Westtown School is the oldest continuously operating coeducational boarding school in the United States. Located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, it serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade with day and boarding programs.

Founded by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the school opened in 1799 with the goal of educating Quaker children in an environment that fostered moral development consistent with their religious ideals. Initially, only students with both parents in the Religious Society of Friends were admitted to Westtown; in 1920, the school began admitting students with only one Quaker parent; beginning in 1933, non-Quakers were allowed to attend. The first African American boarding student arrived in 1945.

Early curricula at Westtown included reading, penmanship, grammar, and mathematics; geography, science, astronomy, surveying, and bookkeeping were also offered. Boys and girls received similar educations, but were initially taught in separate classes. The first classes became co-educational in the 1870s. In the early 1900s, Westtown added visual and dramatic arts programs.

Bibliography:

Westtown School. "History." Accessed October 4, 2013. http://www.westtown.edu/about-westtown/history/establishing-the-school/index.aspx

This collection primarily consists of correspondence to and from various students, teachers, school officials, and other individuals and families affiliated with Westtown School. There is only one or a few documents associated with most of the individuals. These include mostly handwritten letters with some typescript and email print-outs. Also included are other materials, such as ephemera, account books, addresses and writings, school documents such as student lists and report cards, and receipts and other financial papers. Most documents are original manuscripts, though there are some photocopies of original documents, newspaper clippings, and articles. Items are organized chronologically; some materials are grouped together by creator.

Prominent individuals with items in the collection include: early American painter Benjamin West; poet John Greenleaf Whittier; and children's authors Marguerite deAngeli and Elizabeth Gray Vining. The best-documented families in the collection include: Sharpless, Copes, Evans, and Allen.

An inventory of the manuscripts in this collection is available on-site.