43-581: The Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut , founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce , was one of the most important institutions of female education in the United States . During the 30 years after its opening the school enrolled more than 2,000 students from 17 states and territories of the new republic, as well as Canada and the West Indies. Some 1,848 students known to have attended
86-484: A Pre-K program available. Students then move on to Litchfield Intermediate School, where they will remain through sixth grade. Students then finish their Litchfield Public School career at Litchfield High School . Litchfield is also home to Forman School , a private boarding school for students in grades 9–12/PG with learning differences such as ADD / ADHD and dyslexia . Frank Livingston Underwood Frank Livingston Underwood (July 26, 1844 – March 17, 1918)
129-493: A cupola on the roof encasing a large brass bell. The building is no longer standing today but a marker on North Street in Litchfield denotes where the school was located ( 41°45′14″N 73°11′30″W / 41.7539°N 73.1918°W / 41.7539; -73.1918 ). Sarah Pierce's house is also gone. It was torn down in 1896 to make way for another home. Frank Livingston Underwood built his summer residence on
172-421: A female academy, which paid far more than teaching in a common school, required academy training in the ornamental subjects. More than 20 students became assistant teachers and 58 students have been identified as having opened their own schools or teaching in other academies. Pierce created an educational philosophy in which all learning – academic, moral, religious and social – was part of the total development of
215-417: A few students with her from New York and established her school. It was a family undertaking as her sister Mary handled the boarders and the school accounts, while her sister Susan's husband, James Brace, also taught in the school. In 1828, Pierce became too elderly to run the school and her nephew John Pierce Brace took over the operations. He ran the school until 1832, when he resigned to become principal at
258-457: A large room with a swinging partition in the center so that the room could be expanded or divided as needed. There was a fireplace at each end and a piano along one wall. The students sat at benches with no backs during lessons. In 1827, the school had outgrown this building and the newly incorporated Litchfield Female Academy board of trustees "desirious of extending the benefits of the female academy in this place which they believe can be done by
301-515: Is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County , Connecticut , United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census . The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region . The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporated villages: East Litchfield , Milton , and Northfield . Northfield, located in the southeastern corner of Litchfield,
344-555: Is home to a high percentage of the Litchfield population. Originally called Bantam township, Litchfield incorporated in 1719. The town derives its name from Lichfield , in England. In 1751 it became the county seat of Litchfield County, and at the same time the borough of Litchfield (incorporated in 1879) was laid out. From 1776 to 1780, two depots for military stores and a workshop for the Continental army were maintained, and
387-568: Is in Litchfield. While controlled by the Connecticut state government, the facility historically held inmates convicted of minor offenses. Governor of Connecticut Lowell P. Weicker Jr. ordered the facility closed for financial reasons in 1993. It was converted into the McAuliffe Manor, a substance abuse treatment center for women operated by Naugatuck Valley HELP Inc., but in 2009 the contract between Naugatuck Valley HELP Inc. and
430-681: The Hartford Female Seminary . He was replaced as principal by Henrietta Jones, who in 1833 was replaced by Mary Amelia Swift . Swift served as principal until at least 1835, and may have served with one of her sisters. Following the "Misses Swift" were Miss Jones, Miss Heyden, and others. The charter of the Litchfield Female Academy was revised several times by the Connecticut General Assembly , up until at least 1863. In 1798, due to
473-700: The Northwestern Connecticut Transit District connecting to the city of Torrington . The Shepaug Valley Railroad opened a Litchfield terminal in 1872, but passenger service ended in 1930 and freight service in 1948. Litchfield Public Schools operates public schools. Litchfield High School is the area high school. Students may also attend Wamogo Regional Six to study agriculture, located in Litchfield, or Oliver Wolcott Technical School , located in Torrington . Litchfield Center School hosts children in grades K–3, with
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#1732781056635516-615: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 56.8 square miles (147.1 km ), of which 56.1 square miles (145.2 km ) is land and 0.7 square mile (1.9 km ) (1.3%) is water. Litchfield is about 95 mi (153 km) from Central Park in New York, approximately 50 mi (80 km) from the Hudson River Valley, and about 40 mi (64 km) from
559-830: The Arizona Copper Company, and was its first president. He built the Arizona & New Mexico Railroad, 1882, and was its first president. He built in 1886 the Saline, Lincoln & Western Railroad (later part of Union Pacific System, in Kansas ). He was one of organizers of the Kansas City Smelting & Refining Company in 1880. He organized in 1882, and was the first president of the Arkansas Valley Smelting Company. He built
602-763: The Lake Street Elevated Railroad in Chicago in 1893-94, and sold same to Charles T. Yerkes. Underwood built the Arizona-Utah Railroad, 1898, and was its first president. He procured options for and was the promoter of American Smelting & Refining Company, 1898. He was elected president of the British Columbia Copper Company, Ltd, 1902. While living in Iowa , he was agent for the investment of money in
645-439: The Litchfield Female Academy students came from a wide socio-economic range of families, each with its own rational or agenda for the academy education of their daughters. The wealthiest and the most ambitious sought a “finishing” for their daughters, while many college-educated fathers wanted the highest level of intellectual education then available for their daughters. For women from the “middling” classes, teaching in or opening
688-892: The Revolution, Pierce had a distinguished record, rising to become the Assistant Paymaster of the Continental Army, and personal friend of General Washington. Following the close of the war, he was named Commissioner of the Army, responsible for settling the army's debts. John Pierce became engaged to Ann Bard, the daughter of Dr. John Bard, Washington's personal doctor in New York. In order to marry, Pierce sent his younger sisters Mary and Sarah to New York City schools specifically to train to become teachers so that they could help support their step-mother and younger half-siblings. Returning to Litchfield, Sarah Pierce brought
731-602: The Use of Schools 4 vols. being dissatisfied with the texts available to use at this time. The growth of the academic curriculum of the school provided an important transition to the latter, better-known schools for women such as Catharine Beecher's and Emma Willard 's , both of which had their roots in the Litchfield Female Academy. Under Brace the school offered courses in Latin, Moral Philosophy, Logic, Rhetoric and Natural Philosophy, and other subjects whose suitability for women
774-827: The West of capitalists in New England, New York, England and Scotland, and much of the activity was in the promotion of their interests. Underwood was a Democrat . He was a member of the Congregationalism Mem Missouri Society, Iowa Society, New England Society, Chamber of Commerce. He was Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service Reform and chairman of the Library Commission; he belonged to the Reform Club. His summer residence
817-403: The average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the town
860-605: The education of their daughters. At the same time however, she was unopposed to developing a more demanding academic curriculum far in advance of most female academies of the period. She sent her nephew, John Pierce Brace , to Williams College to receive training in teaching the “higher branches” of mathematics and science. He joined the school as her assistant in 1814, teaching till 1832 when he left to take over his former student Catharine Beecher 's Hartford Female Academy . Pierce also created her own history text Sketches of Universal History Compiled from Several Authors. For
903-402: The erection of a new building." ( Litchfield Historical Society Litchfield Female Academy Collection ) The new school was built on the site of the previous building but was considered a larger and more modern building. The new academy building measured 42 feet long by 30 feet wide. It was two stories high and covered in clapboard siding painted white. Two story pilasters decorated the front with
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#1732781056635946-498: The first law school in the United States, the so-named Litchfield Law School , was established by judge and legal scholar Tapping Reeve . Prior to its establishment, Reeve had accepted several legal apprentices since he had settled there in 1773, but saw such demand for his expertise that he formally opened the one-room school within a decade. During the school's fifty-year history it would accept more than 1,100 students, including Aaron Burr, Jr. , Horace Mann , and Levi Woodbury ,
989-637: The first justice of the US Supreme Court to attend law school. Litchfield was also home to a pioneering institution of young women's education, the Litchfield Female Academy , founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce . Litchfield has a very rich history. The Litchfield Historical Society, located in the center of town, contains a wide variety of items with historical importance to the town. Located southwest of Torrington , Litchfield also includes part of Bantam Lake . According to
1032-478: The increased popularity of the school, a subscription was held by the town leaders in Litchfield to raise funds to construct a building for the Female Academy. Prior to this, Sarah Pierce had been holding classes in her house on North Street in Litchfield. $ 385 was raised and a school house was built on the north side of Sarah Pierce's house. The building was described by student Lucy Sheldon Beach as being
1075-746: The leaden statue of George III., erected in Bowling Green (New York City) , in 1770, and torn down by citizens on July 9, 1776, was cut up and taken to Litchfield, where, in the house of Oliver Wolcott, it was melted into bullets for the American army by Wolcott's daughter and sister. During the American Revolution , several prominent Loyalists were held prisoner in the town, including William Franklin , son of Benjamin Franklin , and David Mathews , Mayor of New York City . In 1784,
1118-569: The nearest sea coast, on Long Island Sound . As of the census of 2000, there were 8,316 people, 3,310 households, and 2,303 families residing in the town. The population density was 148.4 inhabitants per square mile (57.3/km ). There were 3,629 housing units at an average density of 64.7 per square mile (25.0/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 96.99% White, 0.75% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of
1161-408: The population. There were 3,310 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and
1204-682: The same families - sons attending the Litchfield Law School and daughters attending the Litchfield Female Academy. The close proximity of the two schools also resulted in numerous marriages between Law School and Female Academy students. Sarah Pierce, born in 1767, was the fifth child and fourth daughter of Litchfield farmer and potter, John Pierce, and his wife Mary Paterson. Sarah's mother died in 1770 and two years later her father remarried and had three more children. Her father died in 1783, leaving her brother John Pierce, responsible for his step-mother and seven younger siblings. During
1247-456: The school and community. The student writings reveal the young women's thoughts and attitudes toward a multitude of issues, including education for women, religious conversion, social life, courtship and marriage. The school also encouraged participation in benevolent and charitable work, inspiring many of the women to later develop positions of leadership in nineteenth century women's reform efforts. Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield
1290-455: The school differed little from the large number of small female academies opening throughout the country, especially in the northeastern states. Pierce first offered a limited curriculum of a smattering of English, ancient and European history, geography, arithmetic and composition. Many educational historians have dismissed the importance of the Litchfield Female Academy because of the supposed emphasis on art and needlework, rather than examining
1333-406: The school have been identified through school lists, diaries and journals, correspondence, as well as art and needlework done at the school. Many more, unidentified to date, attended, especially before 1814, when formal attendance lists were first kept. The longevity of the school, the size of the enrollments, the wide geographic distribution of the student body, the development of the curriculum and
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1376-419: The site. Sarah Pierce seized upon the post-revolutionary rhetoric of Republican Motherhood , which stressed the responsibility of women to provide the early intellectual and moral training of their children, and was believed to be crucial for the survival of the country. She deeply believed in the intellectual equality of the sexes, while holding increased educational opportunities for women would not jeopardize
1419-646: The social, religious and cultural life of the town, known for its staunch Federalist politics and Congregational religious practice. Prominent residents, including the Reverend Lyman Beecher, Senator Uriah Tracy, Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, Julius Deming, and the Oliver Wolcott family, had family, social, political and business networks which helped attract students to Litchfield. These well-known men also gave occasional lectures and talks to
1462-424: The state expired, leading to the closure of McAuliffe Manor. U.S. Route 202 is the main east-west road connecting Bantam and Litchfield center to the city of Torrington and New Milford, Connecticut . Route 63 runs north-south through the town center. The Route 8 expressway runs along the town line with Harwinton . It can be accessed from the town center via Route 118 . The town is also served by buses from
1505-428: The status quo of separate spheres of activity for men and women. Pierce did not believe women should enter the all-male colleges or professions, but believed their work as mothers and in benevolent, charitable and reform organizations was equally, if not more, important, than the work of men. The Litchfield Female Academy had an academic curriculum which developed and grew throughout its thirty-one year history. In 1792
1548-541: The students. The Reverend Beecher taught religion in exchange for free tuition for his children. The leading men of the town and their wives judged the compositions, maps, art and needlework shown at the school's annual exhibitions, adding to the school's fame. The school rose to prominence at the same time at the Litchfield Law School , operating simultaneously in Litchfield, CT and founded by Tapping Reeve in 1784. Students often attended each school from
1591-541: The training of teachers, all distinguish it from the numerous other female academies of the Early Republic. The young women were exposed to ideas and customs from all the relatively isolated parts of the new nation, developing a more national perspective than most Americans of the period. More than 80 percent of the students were from out of town and boarded with families throughout Litchfield, under Sarah Pierce's supervision. The young women were well integrated into
1634-407: The ways in which Pierce integrated the academic subjects and the ornamental arts, using painting and embroidery to enforce intellectual topics. Unlike most women heading female academies, Pierce was lacking in any talent for art, needlework, music and French, hiring assistant teachers for those subjects. She continued instruction in these traditional disciplines, which were demanded by most parents in
1677-459: The young women in her school. Proper behavior and emotions were stressed continually through readings from the bible, history, biographies and British periodicals. The subject matter for the students’ art and embroidery were taken from the same sources, always illustrating desired female behavior. Pierce gave frequent lectures on proper conduct in all aspects of life. Girls were given complex credit and debit marks for every aspect of their lives in
1720-399: Was $ 58,418, and the median income for a family was $ 70,594. Males had a median income of $ 50,284 versus $ 31,787 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 30,096. About 2.8% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. The 1812 Litchfield County Jail , the town's oldest public building,
1763-596: Was a US banker and copper magnate who built several Western United States railroads which afterward became parts of larger systems. Underwood was born in Walden, Vermont , July 26, 1844, the son of John and Susan (Livingston) Underwood. He was educated in public schools of Lowell, Massachusetts . He married in Muscatine, Iowa on June 30, 1866, Theodosia I. Hawley. Their children were Grace, Pearl, and Blanche. From Lowell, Underwood moved to Muscatine, Iowa , in 1861. He
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1806-1012: Was a teller in the Muscatine Branch of State Bank of Iowa in 1863, and when this was reorganized under the National Bank Act and became the Muscatine National Bank, he was made cashier. Underwood organized and was president of the Merchants' National Bank of Kansas City, Missouri , from 1879 until he left the West. He built in 1872 the Muscatine Western Railroad (later, part of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad); organized 1882, Cuhaba Coal & Mining Company (later, part of tho Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company), and built its railway in 1884. He organized 1882,
1849-437: Was debated well into the nineteenth century. Diplomas were awarded to girls completing a full course of study. These young women were aware that they were receiving the highest level of education then available to women in the United States. There has been an assumption that students at the female academies of the Early Republic were drawn from a narrow stratum of elite families. Genealogical and biographical records reveal that
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