Saint Mary's School is a private independent Episcopal college-preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 9–12. Located in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Saint Mary's School operates as an independent school with a historic association with the Episcopal Church including an Episcopal chapel, St. Mary's Chapel, on the school's grounds. The school formerly operated as Saint Mary's College and for many decades educated young women in grades 11–12 and their freshman and sophomore years in college. The school changed to a four year high school in 1998, at which point the name reverted to Saint Mary's School, the original name of the institution when it was founded in 1842.

School information

The school has 40 faculty members, with 80% holding advanced degrees. Enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year is 297 full-time students, representing 11 states and seven countries. The average class size is 13 students. Saint Mary's has a 8:1 student to faculty ratio. Additionally, 36 faculty and staff members reside on the campus. Among the superlatives assigned to the school include the oldest continuously operated school in Raleigh, North Carolina, the third oldest girls' school in the state, and the fifth oldest girls' boarding/day school in the United States. Saint Mary's celebrated its 175th anniversary, May 12, 2017.

History

Founded in 1842 by the Rev. Aldert Smedes, an Episcopal priest, Saint Mary's School has operated continuously on the same site ever since. With the support of the

Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina is a diocese of the Episcopal Church within Province IV that encompasses central North Carolina. Founded in 1817, the modern boundaries of the diocese roughly corresponds to the portion of North Carolina ...

, Smedes founded Saint Mary's as a school for young ladies "designed to furnish a thorough and excellent education equal to the best that can be obtained in the city of New York, or in any Northern school." The school was founded on the site of the Episcopal School of North Carolina, a short-lived school for boys in the 1830s. Three of the present school buildings—East Rock, West Rock and Smedes Hall—formed the original campus. East Rock and West Rock, the first two buildings, were constructed with remnant stones from the construction of the

North Carolina State Capitol The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Saint Mary's became a safe haven for relatives of both

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

generals, including General Robert E. Lee's daughter,

Mildred Childe Lee Mildred Childe Lee (February 10, 1846 – March 27, 1905) was an American society hostess and the youngest child of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. She was the last member of the Lee family to be born at Arlington Plantation and had a p ...

. Smedes kept the school operating throughout the war. In 1865, General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

's Union troops camped in The Grove on front campus, and Sherman visited Smedes in the main building. From 1906-1908 President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

's daughter Eleanor Wilson attended Saint Mary's. In 1932, an alumna of the school,

Margaret Mordecai Jones Cruikshank Margaret Mordecai Cruikshank (''née'' Jones; October 13, 1878 – December 26, 1955) was an American schoolteacher and college president. She served as the president of the Columbia Institute in Tennessee from 1922 to 1932 and as the president of ...

, was appointed as the seventh president of the school, making her the first woman president at Saint Mary's. The school was racially integrated in the 1970s, when the first international students were admitted. The first African student graduated in the early 1970s, and the first African-American student graduated in 1981. Today, Saint Mary's School is functions as an independent, Episcopal, college-preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 9–12. The historic core of the school's 23-acre campus is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and is a stop on the North Carolina Civil War Trails. The Saint Mary's Chapel, designed by

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...

, is a National Historic Site, and five of the school's 25 buildings are Raleigh Historic Properties.

Campus

Saint Mary's buildings date from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and also include antebellum structures individually recognized as Local Historic Landmarks. Three buildings from the 1830s are visible from

Hillsborough Street Hillsborough Street is a business and cultural thoroughfare through Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The street serves as a center for social life among North Carolina State University and Meredith College students. ...

from behind a wooded glade of large oaks, hollies, and magnolias. The school's oldest structures, East and West Rock, are matching buildings constructed with discarded stone from the building of the second

in the 1830s. The brick

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

building between them was erected soon after; it was remodeled in 1909 to include a Neoclassical Revival front portico and dormitory wings. This main building was named Smedes Hall for the school's founder, the Rev. Aldert Smedes. Two buildings erected in the later nineteenth century are

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in style: the 1855

Gothic

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 ...

and the 1887 Gothic Revival arts building, a brick structure with pointed-arch windows. The early twentieth century saw much construction; nearly all the permanent brick buildings, which were rendered in the Colonial Revival style, survive. Later construction continued to complement earlier buildings, and the view of the campus from Hillsborough Street remains notable for its historic integrity. Saint Mary's School was listed on the

in 1978 as a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

. The district encompasses nine contributing buildings, including St. Mary's Chapel. Currently, the campus is considered to be part of

downtown Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

Athletics

Saint Mary's School offers a full interscholastic athletic program consisting of 18 sports teams. Saint Mary's School competes as a member of the Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference (TISAC) and the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA, 3A Classification). The following sports offered at Saint Mary's are: * Soccer * Cross Country * Field Hockey * Golf * Tennis * Volleyball * Basketball * Lacrosse * Swimming * Track and Field * Softball

Notable people

Alumni

* Madelon Battle Hancock (1881–1930), socialite and decorated volunteer nurse during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

* Sara Beaumont Cannon Kennedy (1859–1920), writer and newspaper editor * Marie Watters Colton (1922–2018), first female

Speaker Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

(1878–1955), first female president of Saint Mary's School & Junior College * Matilda Bradford Haughton Ehringhaus (1890–1980), First Lady of North Carolina * Mary Dana Hinton, first African-American president of

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

Mary Hilliard Hinton Mary Hilliard Hinton (June 7, 1869 – January 6, 1961) was an American painter, historian, clubwoman, and anti-suffragist. She was a leader in North Carolina's Anti-suffragism, anti-suffragist movement and an outspoken white supremacist, co-fou ...

(1869–1961), historian, painter, and anti-suffragist *

Laurel Holloman Laurel Lisa Holloman is an American Painting, painter and actress. She is best known for playing Tina Kennard in ''The L Word''. Early life Holloman is the youngest child in her family. She has two older brothers. She graduated from Saint Mary ...

, actress and visual artist * Betty Debnam Hunt, founder of

The Mini Page The Mini Page is a syndicated newspaper supplement for children, created by Betty Debnam in 1969 and authored by her and two other writers. History The Mini Page began in August 1969 and appears weekly in hundreds of newspapers in the United Sta ...

Jeanne Jolly Jeanne Jolly is a singer-songwriter from Raleigh, North Carolina, who first gained fame as a featured vocalist for Grammy Award winning jazz trumpeter Chris Botti. Jolly has performed with several symphonies, at Carnegie Hall in New York City ...

, singer and songwriter *

Sarah Graham Kenan Sarah Graham Kenan (February 17, 1876 – March 16, 1968) was an American heiress and philanthropist. She inherited a third of her sister's share of the Standard Oil fortune in 1917 and established the Sarah Graham Kenan Foundation. Through her f ...

(1876–1968), heiress and philanthropist *

Helen Whitaker Fowle Knight Helen Whitaker Fowle Knight (June 14, 1869 – May 4, 1948) was an American political hostess. When her widowed father, Daniel Gould Fowle, became Governor of North Carolina in 1889, she served as the state's First Lady. She was the first North ...

(1869–1948), First Lady of North Carolina and daughter of Governor Daniel Gould Fowle *

(1846–1905), society hostess and daughter of

General Robert E. Lee *

Nell Battle Lewis Nell Battle Lewis (May 28, 1893 – November 26, 1956) was an American journalist and lawyer in North Carolina. She was an advocate for worker's and women's rights, and at the end of her career the threat of communism, and perhaps the best known ...

(1893–1956), journalist, lawyer, and women's rights activist * Eleanor Randolph Wilson McAdoo (1889–1967), author and daughter of U.S. President

Betty Ray McCain Betty Landon Ray McCain (born Betty Landon Ray; February 23, 1931 – November 23, 2022) was an American politician and political strategist. She was the North Carolina Secretary of Cultural Resources during Governor Jim Hunt's administration a ...

(born 1931), North Carolina Secretary of Culture and Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party * Emilie Watts McVea (1867–1928), academic administrator and president of Sweet Briar College *

Eliza Hall Nutt Parsley Eliza Hall "Hallie" Nutt Parsley (August 13, 1842 – June 11, 1920) was an American civic leader and educator. She worked as a school teacher after the American Civil War and established her own school for children in Wilmington, North Carolina i ...

(1842–1920), founder and president of the NC Division of the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

Bevin Prince Bevin Anne Prince (born 1982) is an American actress and fitness instructor best known for her role as Bevin Mirskey on The CW's hit series '' One Tree Hill''. Early life Prince was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and her family moved to Cary ...

(b. 1982), actress *

Florence Wells Slater Mary Florence Wells Slater (October 16, 1864 – January 22, 1941) was an American entomologist and educator. After graduating from Saint Mary's School (Raleigh, North Carolina), St. Mary's School in 1882, she served on the faculty there as a scie ...

(1864–1941), entomologist and science teacher

Faculty

(1878–1955), first female president of Saint Mary's School & Junior College (also an alumna) *

(1864–1941), science teacher (also an alumna)

References

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
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External links

Saint Mary's School websiteSt. Mary's School Guidesheet
RHDC
National Register Historic Districts in Raleigh, North Carolina
RHDC
The Association of Boarding School profile
{{authority control University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Educational institutions established in 1842 Girls boarding schools Girls' schools in North Carolina Private schools in Raleigh, North Carolina Private high schools in North Carolina Boarding schools in North Carolina Episcopal schools in the United States Defunct private universities and colleges in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Raleigh, North Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina