Rivermont Collegiate, formerly St. Katharine's/St. Mark's School, is a

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

multicultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

college preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

for students two years old through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

, located in the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

in Bettendorf, Iowa, in the United States. Rivermont Collegiate 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), specifically the

Independent Schools Association of the Central States Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...

(ISACS), the

College Entrance Examination Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

(CEEB), Council for Advance and Support of Education (CASE), and the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

(NHS). The school currently resides on the former property of Joseph Bettendorf, namesake of the city.

History

In 1846, a group of transplanted New England

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

with a strong social-reformer orientation formed the Trustees of

Iowa College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

. Although founded in

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality * Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

moved from its

location to the town of Grinnell after being invited by

Josiah Bushnell Grinnell Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (December 22, 1821 – March 31, 1891) was a U.S. Congressman from Iowa's 4th congressional district, an ordained Congregational minister, founder of Grinnell, Iowa and benefactor of Grinnell College. Grinnell was born i ...

to move to his newly founded town, located at the intersection of two major railroads. The

location was later renamed to Griswold College, after Bishop

Alexander Viets Griswold Alexander Viets Griswold (April 22, 1766 – February 15, 1843) was the 5th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States from 1836 until 1843. He was also the Bishop of the Eastern Diocese, which included all of New Englan ...

of the Eastern

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the Episcopal Church. Griswold College began growing slowly, adding a theological department, and Kemper Hall (which served as a boys' school). In 1883, the trustees of Griswold College received a legacy from the estate of Miss Sarah Burr (an eastern churchwoman), for the establishment of a Church School for

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

girls in the

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

. These funds were invested in Cambria Place, a magnificent residence designed by a famous architect (who designed the

Illinois State Capitol The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the legislative and executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current building is the sixth to serve as the capitol building since Illinois was admi ...

and the

Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading ve ...

), with five acres of land, high on a

bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New So ...

overlooking the Mississippi River in

. On September 24, 1884, Bishop William Stevens Perry founded St. Katharine's School, which was placed high among

s in the country. Meanwhile, Griswold college, theological department and boys' school were forced to close in the 1890s. The school was originally organized as St. Katharine's School, an Episcopal boarding and day school for girls. Located at 10th and Tremont Streets in

, for over eighty years the school educated local girls as well as those from afar. However, St. Katharine's later dropped its boarding program, became

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, in 1968 adding St. Mark's to its name to reflect the change. In 1973, St. Katharine's St. Mark's moved to its current location, the former home of Joseph Bettendorf, and by 1980, the school amicably broke ties with the Episcopal Church. In 2001, the board of trustees voted to change the name of the school to Rivermont Collegiate, in order to reduce confusion about its

religious affiliation Religious identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept. Religious identity is not necessarily the ...

The early days

The girls who attended St. Katharine's were subject to strict rules. Students were not allowed to have books, magazines, or newspapers delivered without the principal's permission. Students could not keep any food except for fruit. Students couldn't go to town without a parent or teacher, and no student could spend the night out of the building. The only time students could go home was on Thursdays, but only till 8:00 p.m. They couldn't even spend Sundays at home. The girls were not allowed to wear jewelry, big dresses or silk dresses. Also, one hour of exercise was required every day. In 1910, the taxpayers of Davenport gave an observatory and telescope to the school but it burned to the ground in a fire. Meanwhile, local industrialist Joseph Bettendorf was building his dream house, which later became the signature building of Rivermont Collegiate. Mr. Bettendorf, whose Bettendorf Company manufactured truck frames for railroad cars, helped draw the plans for a English Manor style mansion on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. In 1915, he supervised construction of the mansion, complete with a sweeping terraced lawn overlooking the Mississippi. Designed for entertaining railroad executives and community members, the house included a stained glass domed conservatory, formal dining room, parlor, music room, and billiard room. The second floor contained several bedrooms, a large sitting room and servant quarters. A ballroom was located on the third floor, and at one time two bowling alleys were located in the basement. Craftsmen added Italian marble, carved stone, molded plaster and hand-carved woodwork, doors, paneling and staircases throughout the home.

The campus

Rivermont Collegiate campus consists of five buildings on the former Joseph Bettendorf property: The Mansion, which is the former home of Joseph Bettendorf, now houses

upper school Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority of ...

and

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

classes, as well as administrative offices. The Carriage House, formerly Joseph Bettendorf's garage, is now rebuilt as a boarding house for boarding students. The ribbon cutting for the opening of the rebuilt Carriage House was on July 31, 2017. Becherer Hall was completed in 1999 and houses the

lower school Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system. Terminology In a three-tier local educ ...

and early childhood program, as well as the auditorium and cafeteria. The Gym serves as a basketball and volleyball court. It was added to the mansion in 1974. The STEAM Center was completed in 2019 on the old site of the Wallace House, which was demolished on December 19, 2017. This building includes science, technology, engineering, art, and math classrooms on the first 2 levels, as well as 2 floors capable of holding 32 dorm students, in a 22,000 square foot space. It was estimated to cost $6 million.

Notable people

* Alejandra Lillo, designer *

Louise Meiszner Louise Meiszner (August 24, 1924 – June 30, 2008) was an American pianist and music educator. Her married name was Louise M. Nathanson. The daughter of Lujza Eberhardt, a concert pianist, and John Meiszner, a flautist, both immigrants from H ...

, pianist

References

External links