by Shannon Butler
As we have mentioned in previous blog entries, Poughkeepsie was once known as “the City of Schools.” There were lots of schools around the area that are now simply lost to time. We will go into these schools in an upcoming program in August entitled “Local History Presents: Schools and Seminaries of Old Poughkeepsie.” Brooks Seminary for Girls began right around the same time as Vassar College in 1871. It was located where Bartlett Park is today, exactly where a parking lot now sits! The school was originally started by Mary Johnson, and when she married her husband, Edward White, the two built a large building on the corner of Hanscum Avenue and what is now Hooker Avenue. In one of the school’s brochures, it proclaimed “Brooks Seminary is located at Poughkeepsie New York, justly styled the City of Schools.” The brochure went on to proclaim that the grounds and the building were fit for “any gentleman’s mansion.” When one entered the school, you would find not a principal’s office, but a fancy parlor, just like one would find inside a mansion, and art on the walls created by the female professors.
The school claimed that they did not believe in traditional dormitories and instead valued the privacy of their students; however, each room generally housed 3 or 4 girls each. The rooms were said to be quite large and “you may make the grand tour of Europe, and find in no hotel so comfortable accommodations.” There was one large lecture hall where the girls sat to listen to professors as well as work at their desks. They also had smaller music rooms for practicing and an art studio with a skylight. There was a large common dining room where the girls took their meals, and it was expected that they also attend church services on Sundays (they had the option to walk to several local churches or attend a service by a Reverend in the school hall).
The school seemed to do well, and attendance was high. The tuition was $400 a year and it was a full 4-year boarding school. They also prepped girls for future learning at Vassar College, right around the corner. By the end of the school year in 1880, Mr. and Mrs. White decided to move the school from Poughkeepsie to Brooklyn. So the building sat for a while before it became a hotel, and then a dormitory for Vassar Students. By 1901, the building was back in use as a school, with teachers Ellen C. Bartlett and Frances A. Welbasky in charge. Ellen was no stranger to education; her father, Charles Bartlett, was a respected teacher and the head of the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School. The school taught elementary children up through high school until 1920, when it decided to limit its focus to high school and college prep. Bartlett would run this school for 30 years, making it the leading college preparatory school for girls who then went on to attend Vassar.
In 1921, the school purchased land to expand their campus from the neighboring DeGarmo estate. By 1923, the Putnam Hall Alumni hired local architect Edward C. Smith to design a bungalow on the campus. The school continued to flourish until the 1930s, when it became clear that there were far more local students attending than boarding students. Town students only had to pay a tuition of $200 since they were not living on campus, while boarding students paid $1500 for room and board, which was how the school continued to succeed. By 1934, there were only 4 boarding students, forcing the school to close in 1935. The school was torn down by the summer of 1940, with the exception of the bungalow, which appears to have survived. PPLD local historian Shannon Butler thinks that it’s located on Circular Road and encourages its owner to write to confirm at localhistory@poklib.org. Eventually, Miss Bartlett gave the land to the City of Poughkeepsie: it is now known as Bartlett Park.
Register here for Local History Presents: Schools and Seminaries of Old Poughkeepsie on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM.
References:
Putnam Hall School Catalogs and Pamphlets – 1902-1934 – LH Collections
Poughkeepsie Eagle News – Aug 12, 1901, Mar 19, 1923, Sep 5, 1934
The History of Education in Dutchess County by Charles Donald King Jr. – LH 370.9747 Kin
Images:
01 – Early sketch of the original Brooks Seminary, LH Collections LH 373 F.
02 – Photograph of Putnam Hall, LH Collections
03 – Early sketch of the full building at Brooks Seminary, LH Collections LH 373 F.
04 – Photograph of the 1922 Basketball team for Putnam Hall, LH Collections LH 373 F.
05 – Photograph of Ellen Bartlett, the leader of Putnam Hall for 30 years, LH Collections
06 – Photograph of students inside the Bungalow, circa 1930, LH Collections
