tome school for boys

One of the oldest schools in its respective state, the Tome School for Boys opened in 1894, founded by Jacob Tome. The Tome School was a system of schools beginning with kindergarten and extending up through high school. Jacob Tome envisioned his new school as a place of learning where a child could receive an education no matter what he was able to pay. When he died shortly after the school opened in 1898, Tome left a $3 million endowment to the school. The board of directors took this money and built a second school on purchased farmland atop a large granite cliff. This school would compliment the original Tome School by being a boarding school which would collect tuition, unlike the free school. In this way a steady flow of money would provide constant funding to the original free-of-charge institution. A series of beautiful buildings were erected on the campus overlooking a nearby river. Thirteen of these granite buildings still stand today, including dormitories, a dining hall, director’s residences, a gymnasium, a theater, and a few cottages.

The largest structure was named Memorial Hall in honor of Jacob Tome. This grand building housed classrooms, a library, an auditorium, and offices. Classes were held in this building and it was obviously the focus of the entire campus. Tree-lined streets all converged at the front of large steps leading to the front of this building, with four huge pillars at the entrance and a large tall lobby. The auditorium seated 500 people and was referred to as The Chapel, with large chandeliers hanging from its ornate ceiling. The exterior contained a huge clock tower and compass with copper details and embellishments on the slate roof.

The best professors, headmasters and intellectuals were lured to this new institution of learning through the use of the large endowment so it would appear attractive to the high members of society.

In 1942 the Tome School had failed to produce the big money predicted, and the boarding house property was about to be sold. The grounds then became a Naval Training Center named USNTC Bainbridge, and the school converged with the original school down the hill in town. The Naval base operated through many wars beginning with World War II, eventually closing in 1976. The academy managed to pass 500,000 recruits through its doors during this time period. Then in 1980 the Federal Government gave the grounds to be used as a Job Corps training facility. This unfortunately brought with it a somewhat criminal element, and the Tome School suffered from problems of vandalism, destruction, fires, and even riots. The Job Core eventually vacated the property and the grounds have sat vacant since.

The original Tome School still operates today in a nearby town under the same principals as the day it was founded- education to all, free of charge. The original buildings still sit on the hill in a quiet and somewhat overgrown neighborhood, although work has begun to stabilize a few of the buildings, which were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.