- Manlius Pebble Hill School
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Manlius Pebble Hill School Motto Manners Maketh Man Established 1869 Type Independent Primary and Secondary Head of School Tracy Frank (interim) Faculty 105 Students 600 Grades Prekindergarten-12 Location 5300 Jamesville Road,
DeWitt, NY, USACampus Suburban Colors Red and White Mascot Trojan Website www.mph.net The Manlius Pebble Hill School (also known as MPH) is a non-sectarian, coeducational, independent Pre-K through 12 school in DeWitt, New York. The school is a result of a merger in 1970 between the Manlius School (founded 1869) and the Pebble Hill School (founded 1926).
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The Manlius School
The Manlius School was founded in 1869 in Manlius, New York as the St. John's School by Bishop Frederic D. Huntington, of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. However, by 1880 attendance had fallen to the point where the school became insolvent. As a result, in 1881 it was reorganized as the St. John's Military School.
By 1887 the reorganized St. John's again found itself with enrollment and financial problems, and the trustees looked for someone who could not only turn the school around, but also assume all financial risks. This person was General William Verbeck, who at the time was the co-principal of a military academy in Aurora, NY. Starting off with approximately 18 returning students, he had raised enrollment to 120 within five years. By the time of his death in 1930, what was now known as The Manlius School had become one of the top military schools in the United States.
Pebble Hill School
The Pebble Hill School was founded in 1927 as a non-sectarian country day school for boys. In early 1927 a piece of property in the Pebble Hill section of Orrville (now part of the town of DeWitt) was purchased, and the school opened on September 20 with an enrollment of 49 boys.
Prior to 1929 all classes at Pebble Hill were held in what was known as "the Farmhouse." This building is the basis for the current MPH logo and currently houses the administrative offices of Manlius Pebble Hill. It is also the oldest building in the Town of DeWitt.
The Merger
By the late 1960s enrollment at military schools was falling off as more and more people became disenchanted with the Vietnam War. The Manlius School did not escape this trend, and once again financial difficulties were on the horizon. At the same time, Pebble Hill was running out of room for the many students who were enrolled there. In 1970 the two schools merged to become Manlius Pebble Hill School.
At first the newly merged school used both campuses, with the DeWitt campus being used for the Lower School and Middle School and the Manlius campus used for the Upper School. However, by 1973 it became impractical to run two campuses. The Manlius campus was shut down beginning with the 1973-74 school year and all classes were moved to the DeWitt campus; the MPH Class of 1974 was the last class whose commencement was in Knox Hall on the Manlius campus. The Manlius campus was sold in 1979 to a private developer.
Today
Today Manlius Pebble Hill has an enrollment of approximately 600 students and counts among its alumni members of both predecessor schools as well as those who attended MPH.
Notable people
Faculty and staff
- Frederic Dan Huntington, founder and president (1869–1904)
- Gen. William Verbeck, head of school (1877–1930)
- Maj. Gen. Ray Barker, head of school (1946–1960)
- Baxter F. Ball Jr., head of school (1990–2011)
Alumni
- Thomas J. McIntyre (1929), Democratic U.S senator from New Hampshire
- Steve Wynn (1959), casino resort developer
- Howell M. Estes III (General, USAF, Ret.), former Commander in Chief, NORAD and US Space Command, and commander, Air Force Space Command
External links
Categories:- Private schools in New York
- Educational institutions established in 1869
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