The Move to Newtown Square: A Timeline
Over the course of our 220-year history, Episcopal has called numerous places home. The timeline below conveys this long history of tradition and evolution as a school. Our move to Newtown Square is our next step in this timeline.
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1785
The Academy of the Protestant Episcopal Church, located in Philadelphia on Fourth Street between Market and Chestnut, was founded in 1785. |
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1787
The Academy relocated in 1787, occupying a brick building at Sixth and Chestnut, which was situated only two doors away from where the Constitutional Convention was meeting. |
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1790
The Academy moved again in 1790, repositioning itself on Third and Pear Streets. The institution's trustees operated the school under a mixed philosophy that incorporated the ideas of a Classical Academy and the Free School movement. |
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1816
1816 commenced a period of reinvention for the Academy. The school re-adopted the beliefs of the Classical Academy and relocated to its first proper school building, located at Ninth and Locust streets. The most enduring initiative that year was the shortening of the school's name to The Episcopal Academy. |
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1850
To accommodate a prospering enrollment of over 200 students, a lot on Juniper and Locust was purchased in 1850. The four-story Academy building housed three floors of classrooms, a chapel with oak benches, and even a gymnasium inside the building. |
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1877
In 1877 John Andrew Harris founded the Alumni Society. The members began the tradition of rewarding students' academic achievements with prizes at commencement each year. This tradition began in 1878 and continues today. |
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1877
Even in the 19th century The Episcopal Academy was known for having consistently superb football, baseball, tennis, cricket, and track teams. In 1887 the school helped to form the first "school-boy" sports league in the United States. Over 100 years later, Episcopal is still a member of the Inter-Academic League. |
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1888
1888 marked the birth of academic extracurricular activities with the establishment of the Debating Society and the Literary Society. In its first year, the Literary Society commenced publication of the student-run school newspaper, The Academy Scholium. |
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1899
After residing in the Academy building for almost 50 years, renovations were needed to accommodate an evolving curriculum and growing student body. In 1899 the main gable was raised, three stories of classrooms were added, and the gymnasium was expanded to three times its original size. |
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1921
Greville Haslam became headmaster of The Episcopal Academy in 1921. He spent
36 years in the position, retiring in 1957.
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1921
By 1921 the school's facilities were limiting. After much consideration, the school turned down several offers to merge with prospering area schools. Episcopal's solution was the bold move to leave Center City and reopen their doors on the 14-acre Gilmore estate, located on City Avenue in Merion. |
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1923
With the enrollment swelling from 238 to 344 between 1921 and 1923, the move to Merion proved to be advantageous to the school. To accommodate such an increase of students, the adjoining Allen Property was acquired and the Middle School opened in 1923. |
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1929
The Merion Campus was further enlarged in 1929 when the school obtained the Robinson property, another neighboring plot. While the enrollment soared to a school high of 567 students, this purchase made it possible for Episcopal to divide the grades into a Lower, Middle, and Upper School. |
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1949
In 1949 the school was again at full capacity and expansion was in order. Generous gifts from Robert Whetherill and Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. made it possible for the school to buy the Johnson Ward property on Latches Lane. |
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1956
To keep the physical facilities on par with its academic prestige, the school raised funds for the construction of the new Greville Haslam Science building in 1956. An addition was added in 1993 and was named for Robert Neathery, who headed the Science Department for over a decade. |
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1957
Appointed in 1957, James H. McK.Quinn was The Episcopal Academy's headmaster until 1975. |
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1959
A committee of trustees, faculty, students, and parents consulted on plans for the building of a Chapel on the Merion Campus. Vincent G. Kling, a renowned architect was hired to design Christ Chapel. The altar stone was laid in 1959 and the first service was held on Christmas of that year. |
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1962
The Dixon Gymnasium was constructed in 1962 and included a basketball court, swimming pool, wrestling room, and locker rooms. The new facility also allowed the old gym to be used for additional theatrical productions, aiding the development of the drama program. |
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1973
In 1973 a new school building was constructed at Merion, comprising the Roger Annenberg Library/ Learning Center, the George Widener wing and the Thomas Horrocks wing. This same year, the main entrance to the school was changed to Latches Lane, due to traffic congestion on City Avenue. |
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1974
1974 revealed Episcopal's inventive nature with the opening of a second campus and an initiative to make the school coeducational. The Devon Campus opened its doors with 37 students, nine of whom were girls. Merion gradually integrated the school, initially enrolling girls in the first three grades. |
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1975
James L. Crawford Jr. served as the school's headmaster for more than a quarter century, holding the position from 1975 until 2002. |
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1983
To physically accommodate the female student body entering the Upper School, an addition to the Dixon Gym was built in 1982. The girl's teams joined the Inter-Academic League in 1983. |
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1984
In 1984 the first coed class in The Episcopal Academy history graduated. |
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2001
In 2001 The Episcopal Academy's initiative to build a new campus from the ground up became tangible with the acquisition of the 123-acre Lisiter Hall Farm property in Newtown Square. |
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2002
L. Hamilton Clark was appointed headmaster in 2002. |
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