Stuart Hall School is a

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

, co-educational school for students from Grade 6 to Grade 12, and it offers a boarding program from Grades 8 to 12. Stuart Hall School was established in 1827. The head of the school is Jason Coady. In the school review website Niche, Stuart Hall School was the 34th best private high school in Virginia in 2022.

History

In 1827, Stuart Hall started as Mrs. Maria Sheffey's school which held classes in her Staunton home - Kalorama. It was called Kalorama Seminary. In 1844, they renamed the school to "Virginia Female Institute." The School was the oldest preparatory school for women in Virginia. Old Main is a three-story, five-bay, brick

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style building completed in 1844, which was designed and built by Edwin Taylor. It has a two-story, three-bay,

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with a simple heavy

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

supported by four-paneled piers. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974. It is located in the Newtown Historic District. The school first only had 50 students in 1844. By the year of 1856, the school had grown to over 100 girls attending, including Eleanor Agnes Lee and Anne Custis Lee, daughters of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the school's building was used to house the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind while the latter's building was being used as a hospital. Students then attended classes in a nearby home in Staunton. The school reopened in 1865 after the war. Robert E. Lee served as the president of the board of governors at the school. Mrs. Flora Cooke Stuart, widow of Confederate cavalryman, J.E.B. "Jeb" Stuart, became to the head of school in 1880. The curriculum expanded from not only English and Religion, to offering a variety of foreign languages, sciences, and mathematics. Later, the school changed the name to Stuart Hall taken from the headmaster at the time, Flora Cooke Stuart, from 1880-1899 who claimed, "the school’s high character in every department gives it an enviable name among schools." In 1992, the Middle School was opened, serving male and female day students in Grades 6 to 8. In 1999, boys were accepted as day students into the Upper School. In 2007, Stuart Hall School merged with Hunter McGuire School in Verona, VA, and again became a K-12 independent school. A prekindergarten class was added in 2008. In 2020 the school decided to "phase out" the lower grades and by 2023 will serve students in grades 6-12. The Hunter McGuire Lower School was sold in 2021.

Traditions

Traditions at Stuart Hall School can be traced to the school's founding. The traditions include a variety of events, such as athletic competitions, school celebrations, class activities, etc. Leavetaking is a tradition that takes place before each major break, where students and faculty line up and say goodbye to each other individually.

Red and White Competition

The Stuart Hall School community has been divided into two teams since the 19th century - Red and White. Throughout the school year, competitions take place during Red and White Field Day. The team with a higher score previously gained a trophy and special winnings, but now only claim bragging rights. Incoming students will randomly pick their colors from a bag in the Red and White ceremony at the beginning of the school year. Students who have parents or siblings who are "legacy" have the privilege to choose their "legacy" color.

Honor Code Signing

In a chapel ceremony at the beginning of each school year, all students sign the Honor Code, where they pledge not to "lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate the behavior of those who do".

Ring Ceremony

Ring Ceremony occurs in the fall of each school year when seniors are given their school ring, a black onyx engraved with "SH." The ring was designed in the 1920s. Seniors' names and a brief introduction are read aloud by the Sophomore class during the ceremony.

Loving Cup Ceremony/Ushers

Each senior picks an usher and a sub-usher to participate and accompany in these special ceremonies throughout the year. An usher is a Stuart Hall School student, and a sub-usher is an alumnus in good standing. Ushers use garlanded shepherd's crooks to form an arch for seniors to process during the Graduation ceremony. Sub-ushers toast their seniors in the Loving Cup ceremony, the night before Graduation.

Notable alumni

* Eleanor Agnes Lee, diarist and poet * Juliette Gordon Low - founder of the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 1968) an ...

, science fiction author * Shelby Shackelford, artist *

Jane Stuart Smith Jane Stuart Smith, also known on the stage as Gianna Stuart, (September 29, 1925 – January 14, 2016) was an American soprano, hymnologist, and author. A native of Virginia, Smith trained as a singer at Hollins College, the Juilliard School, ...

, operatic soprano, hymnologist, and author * Nell Zink, novelist, author of "The Wallcreeper", and "Mislaid" * Abby Kasonik, artist

References

External links

School Website
{{authority control University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Staunton, Virginia Greek Revival architecture in Virginia Hall School Anne McCaffrey Private middle schools in Virginia Private high schools in Virginia Boarding schools in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1843 Female seminaries in the United States Schools in Staunton, Virginia Private elementary schools in Virginia Preparatory schools in Virginia Episcopal schools in the United States Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia 1843 establishments in Virginia History of women in Virginia