Cardigan Mountain School, also called Cardigan or CMS, for short, is an all-boys independent

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for grades six through nine, located on 62 Alumni Drive,

Canaan, New Hampshire Canaan is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,794 at the 2020 census. It is the location of Mascoma State Forest. Canaan is home to the Cardigan Mountain School, the town's largest employer. The main v ...

, United States. It was founded in 1945 on land provided by

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

. It is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

(NAIS), the Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), the Junior Boarding Schools Association (JBSA), and the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England (ISANNE). It is accredited by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...

(NEASC).

History

Cardigan Mountain School was founded in 1945 by a group of men with a vision for an educational program tailored to the needs of boys in the pre- preparatory school years. The founders were prominent

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

educators, businessmen, and civic leaders, including

Ernest Martin Hopkins Ernest Martin Hopkins (November 6, 1877 – August 13, 1964) served as the 11th President of Dartmouth College from 1916 to 1945. Dartmouth Presidency At the dedication of the Hopkins Center for the Arts in 1962, the speaker, then- Governor ...

(president of Dartmouth College), William R. Brewster (

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

), and

Ralph Flanders Ralph Edward Flanders (September 28, 1880 – February 19, 1970) was an American mechanical engineer, industrialist and politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Vermont. He grew up on subsistence farms in Vermont and R ...

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

). Land for the school's campus had originally been donated to Dartmouth College by the Haffenreffer family. The founders believed the location to be ideal for a boys' school: the land and Haffenreffer mansion, which initially housed classrooms and a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

and is now called Clark-Morgan Hall, are situated on a peninsula in Canaan Street Lake with views of

Mount Cardigan Mount Cardigan is a prominent bare-rock summit in the towns of Orange and Alexandria in western New Hampshire, USA. While its peak is only above sea level, it has extensive areas of bare granite ledges and alpine scrub, giving it the feel to hi ...

and the White Mountains to the east and the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is in ...

to the west. The school opened in 1946 with an enrollment of 24 boys, and its growth was fueled by the merger of the Clark School of

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

into Cardigan in 1953.

Summer Session

Cardigan Mountain School runs its Summer Session usually beginning in June and ending in August. Summer Session, unlike the academic year program, is coeducational and serves younger students (grades three through nine) for three- and six-week experiences that include academic enrichment classes in the morning, and summer-camp style activities for the rest of the day. A highlight of the summer's activities is a competition known as "Green and White" that runs throughout the Summer Session in which students are assigned to either the Green Team or the White Team to compete in an activity selected by the faculty on a Wednesday evening. The students will wear special (green or white) T-shirts on Green and White nights. In 2011, the Cardigan Outdoor Recreation Expeditions (C.O.R.E.) program was added to its Summer Session offerings. C.O.R.E. participants experience week-long trips that may include hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, and outdoor education programming.

Facilities

The school has numerous dormitories and houses for boarding students and faculty.

Dormitories

*Hayward 1 and 2 *Clark Morgan *Brewster 1 and 2 *Hinman 1 and 2 *French 1 and 2 *McCusker 1 and 2

Houses

*Franklin *Greenwood *Banks *Funnell *Dewar

Other buildings and facilities

The school's principal academic buildings are Hopkins, Bronfman (where science labs are located) and Stoddard (which houses the school's library and the Humann Theatre as well as classrooms). Other facilities include the Cardigan Commons (which opened in May 2013), the school's

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, the Hamilton Family Student Health Center, the Kenerson Athletic Center, the Wakely Center (includes the Turner Arena hockey rink and Johnson-Wakely Fitness Center and wrestling facility), the Charles C. Gates I.D.E.A. Shop (which includes a

woodshop Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...

), athletic fields, tennis courts,

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

course, woods and trails, a sledding slope on Clancy Hill, and a boat house with a fleet of boats on Canaan Street Lake. The school once maintained and ran a ski slope on property known as the Pinnacle, but it is no longer in use. The school has an indoor hockey rink known as Turner Arena, located in the Wakely Center, which converts to four tennis courts in the spring.

Notable alumni

* Samuel S. Adams, president of the

American Geological Institute The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit federation of about 50 geoscientific and professional organizations that represents geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. The organization was founded in 1948. The name of ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

professor at the

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

, and president of

Loon Mountain Loon Mountain is a mountain in Lincoln and Livermore, New Hampshire, in Grafton County. It is in the White Mountain National Forest. The mountain is known for Loon Mountain Ski Resort, which, like most New England mountain resorts, has expand ...

F. Lee Bailey Francis Lee Bailey Jr. (June 10, 1933 – June 3, 2021) was an American criminal defense attorney. Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, a surgeon accused of murdering ...

defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

Mo Bamba Mohamed Karlakwan Damala Bamba (born May 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. He was highly regarded by ...

, professional basketball player for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

* Gavin Bayreuther, professional ice hockey player * Ken Bentsen, Jr., former

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

* Franklin S. Billings, Jr., American politician and judge from

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Chart ...

Matthew Bronfman Matthew Bronfman (born July 16, 1959) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. A member of the Bronfman family, he is the son of prominent businessman and philanthropist Edgar Bronfman, Sr. Biography Bronfman is one of seven ...

, businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist * Taylor Chace,

sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitat ...

player who won

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s in the

2010 Winter Paralympics ) , nations = 44 , athletes = 506 , events = 64 in 5 sports , opening = 12 March , closing = 21 March , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Zach Beaumont , stadium = BC Place , winter_pr ...

and the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an ...

* P. J. Chesson, professional

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

* Philippe Cousteau Jr.,

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

and

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

Eric Douglas Eric Anthony Douglas (June 21, 1958 – July 6, 2004) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. Douglas was the youngest son of actor Kirk Douglas and his second wife Anne Buydens. His half brother was actor and producer Michael Douglas. Dougl ...

, comedian and actor * James Georgopoulos, visual artist * Ben Lovejoy, professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and first New Hampshire native to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Freddy Meyer Frederick A. Meyer, IV (born January 4, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played parts of seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, and ...

, professional ice hockey player *

Rob Morrow Robert Alan Morrow (born September 21, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Dr. Joel Fleischman on '' Northern Exposure'', a role that garnered him three Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for Best Acto ...

, actor (known for his role as

Joel Fleischman #redirect Fleischmann#Fleischman {{redirect category shell, {{R alternative spelling{{R from ambiguous page{{R section German-language surnames Jewish surnames ...

in ''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American Northern comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska that ran on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received 57 ...

''), writer, and director * Deron Quint, professional ice hockey player * Jimmy Sharrow, professional ice hockey player

References

External links

*
Profile
at Privateschoolreview.com
Profile
at Boardingschoolreview.com {{New England Preparatory School Athletic Council, state=collapsed Boarding schools in New Hampshire Boys' schools in the United States Private middle schools in New Hampshire Schools in Grafton County, New Hampshire School buildings completed in 1946