Concord Academy Celebrates its Centennial

BY HEATHER SULLIVAN

On August 31, 1922, Headmistress Elsie Garland Hobson placed an advertisement in the New York Times. It read:

“Concord Academy: A small boarding and day school for girls in the historic town of Concord, Mass., situated on the beautiful Samuel Hoar estate. The school life is planned to develop the qualities of initiative and self-reliance, to stimulate intellectual curiosity, and to give a thorough preparation for college.”

She concluded with an offer to mail a catalog and an invitation to write to her directly for additional information. Among the items that the school asked matriculating girls to pack: a hot water bag, bloomers, and heavy walking shoes for tramping.

Now, Concord Academy (CA) is celebrating its 100th academic year— our Centennial—which will conclude at commencement on May 26. In mid-June, we will welcome alums for reunion and also for our Centennial Celebration. Graduates from many professions will offer the CA community their insight on journalism, environmentalism, and many other subjects that affect and enhance our lives.

For us, it’s a monumental moment to acknowledge our inception as a girls’—now, all-gender—independent school in the town where the Revolutionary War started; where Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne lived and wrote; and where CA has supported students who have become college presidents and professors, National Book Award recipients, NASA scientists, and leaders in virtually every realm.

Courtesy of Concord Academy

A few highlights from the history books:

1. The school’s initial statement of purpose—what we now call a mission statement—included “[the development of] self-reliance and the social qualities of cooperation, sympathetic insight, and helpfulness.” These ideas and proclivities remain central to the character of CA.

2. The late Ruth Brooks Drinker ’31, a Concord native, wrote about CA’s early years in her memoir. She noted that every girl sang in the chorus and that many of her contemporaries credited the music program with their lifelong appreciation of classical music. In spring 2023, CA is breaking ground on its Centennial Arts Center, which will give the arts on campus a new and spectacular home to honor its past, present, and future strengths.

3. A CA through line is its emphasis on common trust, which has been part of the culture and conversations for decades. CA graduate Ben Stumpf ’88 returned as a faculty member in 2002. “I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t believe that the values I took away in the 1980s still hold true…CA remains a culture that encourages respect for each person’s unique passions, beliefs, abilities, and voice.”

While we celebrate our textured, unusual, and storied history—our first 100 years—we are looking toward what’s next. As Concord Academy moves into its second century, led by 11th Head of School Henry D. Fairfax, we amplify the values of a school that upholds creativity, possibility, trust, collaboration, and optimism. These are values that we hold in common with the town and people of Concord, a community that has both contained and expanded upon so much of what CA has become.

Heather Sullivan is the director of communications and marketing for Concord Academy.

Anecdotes and quotes are excerpted from Concord Academy at 100: Voices From the First Century, authored by longtime CA faculty member and administrator Lucille Stott.