Litchfield Law School

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Tapping Reeve House and Law School
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Litchfield Law School (Connecticut)
Litchfield Law School
Location: South Street, Litchfield, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°44′37.86″N 73°11′19.52″W / 41.74385, -73.1887556Coordinates: 41°44′37.86″N 73°11′19.52″W / 41.74385, -73.1887556
Built/Founded: 1774
Architect: Unknown
Architectural style(s): No Style Listed
Designated as NHL: December 21, 1965[1]
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966[2]
NRHP Reference#: 66000879
Governing body: Private

The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut was the first law school in the United States, having been established in 1773 by Tapping Reeve, who would later became the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. By the time the school closed in 1833, over 1,100 students had attended the institution including Aaron Burr, Jr. and John C. Calhoun. The law school, including Reeve's house, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965 as the Tapping Reeve House and Law School.[1][3]

Contents

[edit] Tapping Reeve

Reeve was born on Long Island, New York in 1744. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1763, serving for seven years as a tutor at the Grammar School that was connected with the college. There he met the children of the Princeton College's president, Aaron Burr, Sr.: Aaron Burr, Jr. (later United States Vice President) and Sally Burr, who were both his students.

Tapping Reeve moved to Connecticut and studied law under Judge Root of Hartford, and was admitted to the bar in 1772. In the same year he married his former student, Sally Burr. They then moved to Litchfield and Reeve started his own law practice. Tapping Reeve built his six-room Litchfield house in 1773 and settled in with his frail wife. In 1780 he added a downstairs wing for Sally, who found it difficult to climb stairs.

[edit] Law School

Reeve decided to start a law school, and his first student was none other than his brother-in-law, Aaron Burr. The law school students lived in the homes of town residents and traveled to Reeve's house on South Street to receive their morning lectures in Reeve's downstairs parlor. As the number of students increased, they outgrew the space in the parlor and so in 1784 Reeve built a one-room school building adjacent to his house.[4] James Gould became Reeve's associate when Reeve was elected to the Supreme Court in 1798. Reeve withdrew in 1820 and Gould continued until 1833. The school's lectures covered the entire body of the law including real estate, rights of persons, rights of things, contracts, torts, evidence, pleading, crimes, and equity.[5]

[edit] Notable students

The list of students who attended Tapping Reeve's law school includes two United States Vice Presidents (Aaron Burr and John C. Calhoun), 101 United States congressmen, 28 United States senators, six United States cabinet secretaries, three justices of the United States Supreme Court, 14 State governors and 13 State supreme court chief justices. Litchfield Law School students also held state and local political office and became business leaders. Students went on to found university law schools and become university presidents.[6] Framed pictures of students are still hung up in the school, including George Catlin, Horace Mann (the educator), Aaron Burr, Jr., Oliver Wolcott, Jr., and US Senator & Connecticut Governor Roger Sherman Baldwin. Each name in this list is followed by the year that the student finished, when known.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Tapping Reeve House and Law School. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
  2. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  3. ^ Blanche Higgins Schroer and S. Sydney Bradford (January 16, 1975), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Tapping Reeve House and Law SchoolPDF (447 KiB), National Park Service  and Accompanying 5 photos, exterior, from 1965 and 1974.PDF (1.00 MiB)
  4. ^ Litchfield Law School, Litchfield Historical Society
  5. ^ Litchfield Law School
  6. ^ Litchfield Law School Students, Litchfield Historical Society
  7. ^ James Gore King, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed September 23, 2007.

[edit] Sources

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Law schools in Connecticut
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U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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