LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL

http://www.lawrenceville.org/

School History

Lawrenceville was founded in 1810 as the Maidenhead Academy and run under such names as the Lawrenceville Classical and Commercial High School for more than 70 years. It was not until its 1883 "refounding" that it became The Lawrenceville School and discovered its true and abiding identity. At that time, Head Master James Cameron Mackenzie devised Lawrenceville's hallmark House System. The campus, now a National Historic Landmark, began to take shape when renowned American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the same man who laid out New York's Central Park, designed the School's famous "Circle" in partnership with Boston architects Peabody & Stearns. Just over 50 years later in 1936, Lawrenceville introduced its second distinctive feature—the Harkness system of teaching. Most classes today at Lawrenceville are still held around small oval tables to facilitate class discussions.

With its House and Harkness systems, Lawrenceville grew to occupy a special place in the American imagination. Owen Johnson, an alumnus of the School, first captured the "new" Lawrenceville in his 1910 novel, The Varmint, which recounts the travails and adventures of one Dink Stover as he made his way through Lawrenceville. Stover became one of the country's most beloved fictional characters, prompting Johnson to write a series of Lawrenceville stories. In 1950, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released The Happy Years, a Hollywood version of The Varmint along with another Lawrenceville story, The Prodigious Hickey. The movie was filmed on the Lawrenceville campus to ensure authenticity. While Lawrenceville has stayed true to its history and traditions, it has also evolved to reflect changing times. In 1985 the Trustees voted to admit girls, and the first girls arrived in 1987. Less than two decades later, Elizabeth Duffy, the School's first female Head Master, came on board to lead the School into its third century.

The Lawrenceville School continues to benefit from the unique experiences and perspectives of its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We're glad you are now a part of School history.

Head Master History

Isaac Van Arsdale Brown, 1810-1834

Alexander Hamilton Phillips, 1834-1837

Samuel McClintock Hamill, 1837-1883

James Cameron Mackenzie, 1883-1899

Simon John McPherson, 1899-1919

Mather Almon Abbott, 1919-1934

Allen Vanderhoef Heely, 1934-1959

Bruce McClellan, 1959-1986

Josiah Bunting III, 1987-1995

Philip Harding Jordan Jr., 1995-1996

Michael Scott Cary, 1996-2003