Glenelg Country School

Glenelg Country School
Location
12793 Folly Quarter Road,
Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
Information
Type Private school
Religious affiliation(s) Nonsectarian
Established 1954
Faculty 165
Color(s) Green and White
Mascot Dragons
Website

http://www.glenelg.org

Glenelg Manor
Glenelg Manor, January 2011
Nearest city Glenelg, Maryland
Coordinates 39°15′07″N 76°57′42″W / 39.2519°N 76.9617°WCoordinates: 39°15′07″N 76°57′42″W / 39.2519°N 76.9617°W
Area 88 acres (36 ha)
Built 1750s
Architectural style Gothic Revival
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 83002952[1]

Glenelg Country School is a nonsectarian, co-educational independent day school in Howard County, Maryland, adjacent to Columbia, Maryland and between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The School offers a continuous, college preparatory program from Pre-Kindergarten 3 through grade 12 to students from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds who are highly motivated and have a strong desire to learn. GCS was founded in 1954, enrolling 35 students in grades one through seven. In the fall of 1985, the new Upper School division opened with 10 students. The first class graduated in June 1989. Today, Glenelg Country School enrolls over 800 students between the four divisions. Despite its growth in size, the School has maintained a commitment to personal attention and small class sizes, which still averages 15.

History

The Glenelg Manor was built on a part of land patented as "Dorsey's Grove" in 1721.[2] What is today known as "Glenelg Manor" forms the nucleus of a sprawling structure, which houses the Glenelg Country School elementary division. The "Manor House" portion was itself built in two sections: the old "L" wing dating from the middle or late 18th century, and the newer front section built in 1845. The original house is believed by many historians to have been erected by Ephraim Howard, son of Sarah Dorsey Howard who received the land from her father, John Dorsey, in 1735 as part of her dowry. Sarah's husband, Henry Howard, patented the property as "Howard's Resolution."[3]

General Joseph Tyson, Assistant Postmaster General under President John Tyler, added the newer part of the mansion, which is of Norman Tudor style, in 1845. The massive granite blocks used as decoration in the addition were quarried near Ellicott City, while the marble at the entrance and in the fireplaces was imported from England. The spacious rooms were of such dimension that each had one or more fireplaces. General and Mrs. Tyson called their home "Glenelg" after an old estate in Scotland and "because it spelled the same from either end.".[4][5]

The estate passed to Tyson's son Henry H. Tyson, followed by the Knox family in 1900. William Bladen Lowndes, son of Maryland governor Lloyd Lowndes, Jr., purchased the estate in 1915 and added amenities such as outdoor projectors, golf course, and diesel generators. After the death of Lowndes in 1941, the property was sold to Rowland D. and George R Zaiser of Wilton Farm Dairy for farming. In 1956, the estate was subdivided into a smaller parcel to be leased out as a school.[6]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1]

Glenelg Country School

The original building was rented in 1954 when the Glenelg Country School was founded by Kingdon Gould, Jr. and his wife Mary Thorne Gould, along with Mr. and Mrs. John T. Mason, Jr., Judge James Macgill and Mr. and Mrs. William Shippen. Miss Marjorie Dunn was the first Headmistress for Glenelg Country School and served from 1954-1956. Following Ms. Dunn were: Beatrice Pfefferkorn (1956–1959); Edward L. Jones (1959–1964); Peter T. Terry (1964–1966); Thomas J. Barlow (interim head in 1966 for Peter Terry); Frederic W. Rhinelander (1966–1977); Charles H. Miller, Jr. (1977–1990); Ryland O. Chapman III (1990–2007); and Gregory J. Ventre (2007–present day).

In 2014, County Executive Ken Ulman proposed CR-121-2014 in his last weeks of pre-election activities. The bill would finance eight million dollars of an expansion and revitalization of the athletic facilities, a new two story press box, grandstands and restoration of existing tennis courts and athletic center floors. It also included the renovation and restoration of buildings and the Historic Manor House.[7]

Overview

Athletics

Glenelg Country School offers physical education classes from pre-kindergarten on, with interscholastic sports available starting in sixth grade. GCS has garnered 10 Championships in the last five years, and 77% of Upper School students participate in sports. The 35,000-square-foot athletic center includes two basketball courts, a wrestling room, fitness and training centers, locker rooms and offices. Additionally, there is a Lower School gymnasium, four playing fields, a baseball field, five tennis courts, an outdoor pool and three playgrounds. Athletic Highlights:

The Arts

Music and art classes begin in pre-kindergarten and continue through twelfth grade. Music classes include: choruses; recorder ensembles; bell choirs; bands; a jazz ensemble; a woodwind trio; a string quartet; Lower, Middle and Upper School plays; and an Upper School musical, with 50% of Upper School students participating in the performing arts. There are music rooms in each division and a 350-seat Mulitz Theater that includes a scene shop and spacious dressing rooms.

Art classes include: painting, drawing, film and digital photography, ceramics, wood-working, metals, and an array of other specialized classes. Each division has its own fully equipped studio space, and the Upper School has separate 2-D and 3-D facilities, along with a fully equipped black and white photography lab.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
  2. ↑ Howard County Historic Society. Images of America Howard County. p. 33.
  3. ↑ "Glenelg County School at Howard's Resolution". The Times (Ellicott City). 31 March 1965.
  4. ↑ "Glenelg Country School History".
  5. ↑ "Maryland Historical Trust". Glenelg Manor, Howard County. Maryland Historical Trust. 2008-11-21.
  6. ↑ Howard's Roads to the Past. Howard County Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee, 2001. 2001. p. 12.
  7. ↑ "CR-121-2014". Retrieved 22 October 2014.

External links