The Williams School

The Williams School is a private co-educational secondary school in New London, Connecticut, that offers classes from 6th grade to 12th grade.[2] It was founded as the Williams Memorial Institute (WMI) by Harriet Peck Williams in 1891, following the death of her son Thomas W. Williams II, a well-known whaling merchant.[3]

The Williams School
The former Williams Memorial Institute
building at 110 Broad Street
Address
182 Mohegan Ave

New London
,
Connecticut
06320

United States
Coordinates41°22′35″N 72°06′14″W
Information
Former nameThe Williams Memorial Institute
School typePrivate
Established1891 (1891)
FounderHarriet Peck Williams
Head of schoolMark Fader
Grades6-12
Enrollment236
Color(s)Blue and white
  
MascotThe Blues
Websitewww.williamsschool.org
Williams Memorial Institute
Built1891 (1891)
ArchitectShepley, Rutan & Coolidge
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.78002876[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 30, 1978

The school was originally located at 110 Broad Street in New London, but moved when it merged with Connecticut College in 1954. Despite the merger, it remains a legally separate entity. The original building became a Connecticut state courthouse in 1972, and was purchased by the state in 1997.[4]

History

Location and facilities

The school's first building was located at 110 Broad Street between Hempstead and Williams Streets. It was built in 1889-91 and was designed by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge – the successor firm to H. H. Richardson – in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which is featured in several other buildings in New London. The school was able to accommodate three hundred students and had seven classrooms, a gymnasium, laboratories, and a library. The WMI building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for its architecture, and since 1972 has housed the State of Connecticut Superior Court for Geographical Area 10. The state bought the building in 1997.[4]

First president

Colin Sherman Buell was the first president of The Williams Memorial Institute. He was a key figure in improving higher education for women.[5] Buell tried to expand the Memorial Institute to become a women's college, but the plan fell through due to lack of interest.[5] When Wesleyan College in Middletown decided to stop admitting women to the university, Buell combined efforts with Elizabeth Wright.[6] With $135,000 from the City of New London $1 million from Morton F. Plant. they helped found Connecticut College. He later became a member of the college's board of trustees.

High school for girls

WMI was the high school for girls for New London and several of the towns surrounding it until 1951, when New London High School) opened.

Merger with Connecticut College

Agreement

On February 18, 1954, the Williams Memorial Institute started discussions to relocate the school near the Connecticut College campus on Mohegan Avenue. The relocation cost $200,000 and stipulated that the college approve all the terms of the junction. The terms of the agreement were bonded by a ten-year contract, set to be renewed every five years after the completion of the initial ten years.[7]

Location

The current Williams School building is located in the south portion of the Connecticut College near Palmer Auditorium. The architects responsible for the design are Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, who designed buildings for Connecticut College [7] The building was expanded on November 24, 1964, to be able to accommodate more students.[8] Although the school changed its name to The Williams School, its legal name remains The Williams Memorial Institute.

Structure

Williams added a middle school (grades 7 and 8) in 1955, and became co-educational in 1971.

Connecticut College

Through the relationship between the two schools, Connecticut College education majors are able to student teach at the Williams School, while the college provides funding to the Williams School. This relationship was one of the first ones between a college and a secondary or elementary school.[7] The college and the school are separate entities that mutually benefit each other. The college has no power over educational curriculum and extracurricular activities of the school.

Associations

Presidents
  • 1891–1938: Colin Sherman Buell
  • 1938–1946: Jerome Burett
  • 1946–1956: Gertrude Moon
  • 1950–1960: Evelyn Page
  • 1960–1963: Catherine Oakes
  • 1963–1978: Marion H. Hamilton
  • 1978–1994: Steven J. Dandenberg
  • 1994–1998: Lawrence Roberts
  • 1998–2008: Charlotte L. Rhea
  • 2008–present: Mark Fader[2]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "The Williams School". The Williams School. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  3. Carol, Kimball (December 1, 1988). "The birth of Williams Memorial Institute". The Day.
  4. "Williams Memorial Institute 1891" Historic Buildings of Connecticut
  5. Linda Lear Center for Special Collections & Archives, Connecticut College, 1910-1917. 10/10/2016.
  6. Higdon Jr., Leo I. (Spring 2011). "Remembering our Great Beginnings". Presidents page – via Connecticut College.
  7. "Trustees Agree to Sell Land; WMI Plans Campus Building". Connecticut College News. Vol. 39, no. 13. February 24, 1954. pp. 1, 7–8. Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via Digital Commons.
  8. New London, Day (November 24, 1964). "Williams Addition Begins" – via theday.com.
  9. Trumbull Corwin, Margaret (1920). Alumnae, Graduate School, Yale University. Yale University. pp. 25–26.

Official website

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