Lawrenceville Female Seminary - circa 1837
from their website:
The girls who attended the Female Seminary came from surrounding farms
or were daughters of merchants, attorneys, and doctors from surrounding
towns. It served as an alternative for girls who were typically educated
at home. In the beginning, the girls paid $12 a year for instruction in
spelling, reading, writing, and common arithmetic; $20 a year for English
grammar, geography, history, Moral Philosophy, and rhetoric; $30 a year
for Latin, Greek, algebra, and geometry, or for Natural Philosophy,
chemistry, and Astronomy. In addition to the initial fee, parents were
required to supply one cord of wood for every four pupils, one-fourth of
which had to be light wood, used to heat the school room during the cold
winter months.
The most tragic event known to have happened at this school occurred on
June 9, 1873. During recess time, a sudden thunderstorm rolled into the
area. Seeing the dark clouds, a group of a dozen or so girls ran for
cover towards the outhouse, but by the time they had all reached it, a
deadly bold of lightening hit the play yard. Antoinette Roberts was killed
instantly; Ada Wilson died 19 months later; and Mary Jeanette Hood died of
complications 3 1/2 years later. Ten other girls were also injured.
It seems that the last classes were held around 1888.