Mount Vernon Seminary - Cupola Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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HISTORY GF GU T VERNON SEMINARY By this time, like one who had set out on his way by night, and travelled through a region of smooth or idle dreams, our history now arrives on the confines where daylight and truth meet us with a clear dawn, representing to our view, though at a far distance true colours and shapesf' Milton There are certain memories that each indi- vidual who has come to Mount Vernon will hold dear for the rest of her life. The history of our school is an adventurous tale of the people who have devoted much of their lives to the growth of the school. We owe our thanks to those whose undaunted dedication will remain immortal in the light of our memories and past experiences. In 1837 Elizabeth jane Eddy was born in Rush County, Indiana. She grew up under fairly difficult conditions and received most of her early education from her own mother. As she gradually developed a desire to become a teacher, her family sent her to Cincinnati Wes- leyan Female College to receive her training. On graduating, she was appointed to a position at Northwestern Female College and later at Pittsburgh Female Seminary. Then fate inter- vened in the person of James Somers, a hand- some young lawyer from Washington, D. C. who, after wooing her, won her and carried her off to the capital as his bride. From this time on, Washington was to be her home. Teaching, however, was still very much in her blood, so that even in the early years of marriage she taught in a neighborhood school. In 1868 Judge Dennis Cooley brought to Mrs. Somers his three little daughters Clara, Minnie and Mary and asked her to teach them and prepare them for Vassar. Similar requests followed in succeeding years and in 1875 a small school for girls was officially founded in Mrs. Somers' home at 204 F Street. This marked the birth of Mount Vernon Seminary. NVithin the period of a few years, the student body had grown rapidly. Before long, the increased enrollment of the school necessitated larger quarters and a new home was found in 1880 at 1100 M Street. There the school grew for thirty-seven years until it held 120 girls. In 1914 Mrs. Somers foresaw that the school would one day need to expand again, and pur- chased a beautiful tract of land on Nebraska Avenue, at that time out in the country. In that year the First World War broke out, but, undaunted, Mount Vernon Seminary started building and moved to its new quarters in 1917 under a new Headmistress, Adelia Cates Hensley. x. , 2141 ' vw, 6 l il ull: ill! ll lwli ,ill ,. ll Hull . 7. mi H 1? i-..,l..gaf . lu -3. 111 ll I' H nl , ... 5,11 gg ' 1-ll 'IMI 1? , !1:1'1', N' 9.1.5 -,Q T :,, ffg-1 ' ,111 .12 Iw i- 'j-In 'iii-1 ' M il' J J 5 ' L- 7 ' ' . WL, Y .I 1. 5 . --7 -,mg .f Y H gV,.fA' . . g 47 V' TT ' U '!rKY 1lii, .1 ull- I 'I . '. '- I . Y f - .1 . 5 5 . .Nw wily 1.1.1 4., ,M mi QQ. MNIQMMA nv 5 Vigil - Y Xin I all . all W im I one it Lw:.'y-UI' -fb , iiii , 9 'i--2 ,jf itz- i ww, an as M il ,V ,.,GC.,E,. .. - -. .. I , . L! , -.f.' in I A 1 W1-r' .1 li.. 0 l I I I 'Ili ilwlwlvx W Q4 Im Mill, N M1 N! -.rw W U wil!! Emil' 'I ll I ll 'Q xl U4 I ' il l by -1.li.l i 'lil ff , , ,,r.,, , ,,, . .,.e, . ,, . s. il lligil Lllill .i..i,..i ,V ,gz- Mi., W. .1 ,Q ,. . 3..,1Wf.. Y. , , , WMI n t! ,. .. .'.,' A ill lil al, 4 43 -- , 1,3411 ':.! ' 'Vw-14. W ' 1.3 Pg,-1 1 Q.,-'Z' -12 l1ll,M'.i +43ff?eg-,- il llllll llllwli Ml 1 ,M It , 1w1-.a- ',j '- .'l1?C'.,2 - flirt., , ' :-fi-. by it JH? H i:f',,Y TQ' H if 1 .flill l-ff. 1 llili llli' ll 111' i will 1 J My ' Q fl it 'M s'if?' ,le-'Tm'u1'nnl lyllliih p pg p ,M A ,if H M A A -y ill ga-allllml N111 of... I ' alfa Wll vl' T I 5 Ka Page V if 5-': gtmE ' aa ll lfilfil 1 ' '- is gf! f' Q. --'W' . v.f,E,:i1 Q-IEETU, gg!! 1 I .image Ii - sw- ,.Q.. - - If 1 YL -4 lvl. H? 'V-M .-. 5 5 2 sasig- :Ev -A -S X . , 'Q Ill C, i as , I ef. .- ff . . , X . , V -J . .,-ff' ., --.Q - 1- , .., ',-- ..- ,,w-- . ..:j,g.1 .- - -' K , - -- 'ff-f-1 -m '.'f'.-le'2,1'E. f 1 51.1 1 , Mount Vernon Seminary at 204 F Street Q . Transportation in the 1890,s. If w ill la., fllkllqlxll lla li. .. .,,i,t.i.4 -, .,,,!.,,ilux.l,l-.P 1 ,ry . .V -1.1.1,- .f - . vi F.-fl-Mi ax -- I g ' ' - Q1 111 ' f Il ., li Ur, I if-:is ltr'-lil' in asv: -'--:afar-' 1 i l 1 illllllm l'fa? 'I - an

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13? 1 1 ,- I gs ' f at 11 : - 'VTX , , , ,W i -':i1sef'.ffafsa-ff , ,---H--. ' V ' 'Y - -441 I N ' 1 Q 'ri i i a ,W-, E QE E vi .,1 - .' ' ' I I , ' i N ' ' X DEDICATIO Elizabeth Somers, with all her delightful personality and splendid accomplishments, proudly stands against the background of American pioneer life. It is she who founded Mount Vernon Semi- nary in 1875. Each successive year in the life of the school has been marked by some enlarg- ing and beautifying of its material conditions or broadening of its methods to keep it abreast of the advancing educational ideas of the day. Yet with all this outward progress there has been no change in the fundamental ideal of our school: i'She conquers all who conquers selff, This ideal, as Mrs. Somers realized many years ago, is the force needed to perpetuate a spirit of truth and courage throughout an aca- demic community. To this spirit as exemplified by Elizabeth Somers we proudly dedicate the final edition of the Cupola.

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1100 M Street 119001 In 1925 Mount Vernon was to celebrate its Goldenjubilee. Under the enthusiastic direc- tion of Miss Anne Seymour Ames, alumna ofthe class of 1881 and librarian for forty,years, a chapel in memory of Mrs. Somers was under- taken. The third headmistress, Miss Jean Dean Cole, dedicated this exquisite chapel which to most of us is known as the Navy Chapel. The bell for the chapel was dedicated in honor of Miss Ames and now stands outside Ames Hall with her inscription: 'SF or Trinity-For Liberty -For Truth, and Beauty, Ring ever, O bellf, Miss Cole founded the Alumnae Council, which draws back to campus every year alumnae from all parts of the world. Under her leadership, also, the newly formed Junior Col- lege and the Preparatory School began devel- oping separately. Until then unless a student Finished six years of study at Mount Vernon she did not receive a diploma. New trends in edu- cation dictated the separation into four and two year sections. In the late twenties, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Lloyd arrived to teach at Mount Vernon. In 1937 Mr. Lloyd became president of the school and the following year Mrs. Lloyd became fourth headmistress. The school was flourishing, new buildings had been added. The shadows of war seemed very distant when s Cheney-a Mount Vernon girl of the 1890's. Mollie Bennet-a Mount Vernon girl of the