Curious Curator: The Bennett School of Liberal and Applied Arts

Not Adelaide's scrapbook

While working on cataloguing Adelaide McLaughlin's scrapbooks, which my readers will know has been an ongoing project, because they do not follow typical scrapbooking methods (right), but rather a mishmash of articles and clippings, envelopes and letters, mementos, etc. stuck in between the pages of a series of hardcover large scrapbooks. This means I must go through the collection and put the pieces together to tell the story of why, what, where and when, and while compiling some items, I found among a bunch of WWII and abdication of Edward VII  newspaper articles, a 1927 program from the Bennett School of Liberal and Applied Arts, Millbrook, New York.

It is the commencement day program, June 6 1927, for youngest daughter Eleanor (Billie) McLaughlin. Complete with the list of graduating young women (see end of this entry), the program for the flow of day is presented, along with the jottings of Adelaide regarding the address, "better to know much, rather than many things" and includes a formula to happiness, "happiness equals what you've got divided by what you want"

Bennett School

According to Wikipedia, in 1907 the college moved to its final home on 22 acres in Millbrook, New York. In 1907 the school had an enrollment of 120 students and a faculty of 29. Originally a girls school, Bennett became a junior college in the nineteen teens operating a two year program until its closure in 1978.  Majors of study included art, fashion design, interior design, music, modern languages, literature, history, dance, drama, child development, equine studies, and domestic science. Activities at Bennett included gymnastics, golf, tennis, horseback riding and skiing. The school was home to a full-time teaching Nursery School for 3 and 4 year olds as well as a riding stable.

The main building of Bennett College, Halcyon Hall, was built in 1893 by HJ Davison Jr., a publisher from New York. The 200-room Queen Anne structure, was originally built as a hotel, and was comprised of 5 stories, a basement and sub-basement.

         

Your historic images brochure as compiled by Parkwood NHS

Welcome to the Bennett School of Liberal and Applied Arts

Generations of young women from prominent American (and Canadian) families attended Bennett over its 90-year history

Dorm Room

Common Room

Staircase

Library

Student Life at Bennett

Study Hall

Art Studio

Auditorium

Fencing

Field Hockey

The Graduating Class of 1927

Back of Program, America the Beautiful lyrics

& the Parkwood NHS accession number

Closed in 1978, as the trend towards co-education increased saw the demise of facilities offering single sex education, Bennett has remained empty.  The following images are from an urban explorer blog in 2015. Bennett was slated for demolishing in 2015, I do not know of the outcome.