St. Timothy's Hall
{{Short description|Former theological all-boys school in Catonsville, Maryland, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox school
| name = St. Timothy's Hall
| image =
| streetaddress = 200 Ingleside Avenue
| city = Catonsville
| state = Maryland
| zipcode = 21228
| country = U.S.
| coordinates =
| head of school =
| faculty =
| type = Private boarding school
| religious_affiliation = Christian
| gender = Single (Male)
| campus size =
| colors =
| established = 1847
| founders = {{Hlist|George Worthington|Adolphus Frost}}
| closed = 1864
| enrollment = 218 students (1860)
| homepage =
| rival =
}}
St. Timothy's Hall was an eight-year private all-boys theological and military boarding school in Catonsville, Maryland for boys ages seven to fourteen.{{cite book|title=The Light of Truth: A History of Saint Timothy's Episcopal Church 1844-1994|year=1994|first=Yvette|last=Ridenour|place=Catonsville, Maryland|publisher=Privately published}} The boys' school closed in 1864, and the building was subsequently 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 Reverends George Worthington and Adolphus Frost, along with rector Reverend Dr. Libertus Van Bokkelen.{{Cite book |last=Arnett |first=Earl |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Maryland/lncOLHYhcrsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22St.+Timothy's+Hall%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA385&printsec=frontcover |title=Maryland: A New Guide to the Old Line State |last2=Brugger |first2=Robert J. |last3=Papenfuse |first3=Edward C. |date=1999-05-03 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-5980-9 |language=en}} It was developed into the first church military school in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://apps.mht.maryland.gov/medusa/PDF/BaltimoreCounty/BA-1.pdf|pages=5-6|publisher=Maryland Historical Trust|title=Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form|date=May 17, 2012}} The school was chartered and incorporated in 1847 and by 1850, there were 132 students and fourteen teachers.{{cite book |title="Saint Timothy's Hall," History Trails |volume=11 |page=13 |year=Spring 1977 |place=Cockeysville, Maryland |publisher=Baltimore County Historical Society |first=Erick F. |last=Davis}} 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 {sic} 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 one of the best schools in the South.{{Cite book |last=Education |first=Maryland State Board of |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report/CeM9AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22St.+Timothy's+Hall%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA152&printsec=frontcover |title=Report |date=1909 |language=en}} 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 weaponry such as 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 Civil War and the loss of the South's support. By 1864, the military school was closed and the building was rented for use as a Christian 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 Baltimore 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.{{cite news|first=Jean|last=Walsh|title=Pages from The Past|date=February 15, 1995|publisher=Catonsville Times}}
Although the school's rector was a Unionist sympathizer, friendly to African-Americans, many of the schools students left to join the Confederacy. Van Bokkelen became the first Maryland State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1864.
Notable alumnae
- John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln{{Cite book |last=Booth |first=John Wilkes |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Right_Or_Wrong_God_Judge_Me/x-5t8Zd94w4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22St.+Timothy's+Hall%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA37&printsec=frontcover |title=Right Or Wrong, God Judge Me: The Writings of John Wilkes Booth |date=1997 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06967-3 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Samples |first=Gordon |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lust_for_Fame/-8KZAj65ngQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22St.+Timothy's+Hall%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover |title=Lust for Fame: The Stage Career of John Wilkes Booth |date=1998-09-15 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-0586-2 |language=en}}
- Michael O'Laughlen, conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
- Samuel Arnold, conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
- Wade Hampton III, Civil War general
- Fitzhugh Lee, Civil War general and Robert E. Lee's nephew{{Cite book |last=Kauffman |first=Michael W. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Brutus/86RH6NNCl0QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22St.+Timothy's+Hall%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA418&printsec=frontcover |title=American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies |date=2007-12-18 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-43061-8 |language=en}}
- Bishop John Henry Ducachet Wingfield, missionary bishop of Northern California
- Jacob Edwin Michael, Noted obstetrician and best player in the first college football game{{cite book |last=Rohe |first=George Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fag2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA387-IA1&lpg=PA387-IA1&dq=%22Dr.+Jacob+Edwin+Michael%22&source=bl&ots=FjdIx3TN40&sig=ACfU3U02nVJIZEgMFQ9-WQxbxW3cX67Ayg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjahd6p9uXoAhV-lXIEHVckCMAQ6AEwBHoECAoQOg#v=onepage&q=%22Dr.%20Jacob%20Edwin%20Michael%22&f=false |title=Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists |year=1895 |volume=8 |page=388-389}}
- Stephen Elliott Jr., Civil War general for the Confederate States of America
- Charles E. Phelps, Civil War general for the Union
References and notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Timothy's Hall}}
Category:1844 establishments in Maryland
Category:1864 disestablishments in Maryland
Category:Boarding schools in Maryland
Category:Boys' schools in Maryland
Category:Defunct boarding schools in the United States
Category:Defunct private schools in the United States
Category:Defunct schools in Maryland
Category:Educational institutions established in 1844
Category:Educational institutions disestablished in 1864
Category:Military schools in the United States