history
Originally constructed in the 1890s as a resort, the School for Girls came to be as a finishing school for young women in 1900. The curriculum mainly consisted of fine arts and language for the young women. The structure is built in a Victorian fashion through beautiful usage of wood and stone, and in some instances the school is up to 5 floors tall. The complex also incorporates use of shingle and Tudor building styles. There are traditional wood-sash windows and ornate woodwork found throughout the campus.
In the 1950s the school expanded its curriculum from a two-year to four-year college and performed many upgrades to its campus. Dorms, a large science wing, an expanded library and a refectory were created on the property. Unfortunately these changes did not appear to help the school compete with other institutions, and it eventually shuttered its doors in 1977.
Obviously 30 years of the elements has proven to be a very bad thing for the structure's beautiful woodwork, and the building is filled with collapsing ceilings, peeling and rotting walls, and floors that sway with every step. It's truly a shame, because judging by the building's ominous structure as seen from the exterior, it's obvious this building was absolutely beautiful in its heyday.
in the news
12-29-1991
Hope dims for saving mansion
05-22-1977
Financial problems hit Bennett College