Loudoun Valley Academy Collection 1872-1874, 1914

Access and use

Location of collection:
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Alexandra S. Gressitt
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195

Summary

Creator:
Loudoun County Historical Society
Abstract:
The Loudoun Valley Academy Collection is comprised of a school ledger and a reunion program booklet, as well as two photocopies of reunion photographs.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The Loudoun Valley Academy Collection is comprised of a school ledger and a reunion program booklet, as well as two photocopies of reunion photographs. They are in overall good condition but should be handled carefully.

First, the ledger, labeled as a White's Common School Register for the J.K. Taylor School, accounts for students' presence and performance in a variety of subjects from September 2, 1872 to April 20, 1874. The inner covers and final pages include advertisements for textbooks and instructions for keeping records. The register alternately provides information regarding students' ages, number of absences, and courses of study such as Latin, intellectual and written Arithmetic, Etymology, Spelling, Philosophy, Grammar, Geometry, and Elocution. Its binding is fragile and should be treated with care. Second, the reunion program booklet consists of a brief biographical sketch of Jonathan K. Taylor, photographs of the attendees and the program committee, a listing of surviving and deceased students and instructors, and brief addresses by Taylor and other members of the Loudoun Valley Academy Association. The booklet also contains remarks from various students and brief newspaper articles about the reunion from The Baltimore American, Loudoun Enterprise of Hamilton, Blue Ridge News of Purcellville, The Virginia Call of Lincoln, and The Baltimore Sun.

The school ledger, reunion program booklet, and photograph copies are the only items in this collection.

Biographical / historical:

The Loudoun Valley Academy was a co-educational institution which operated in Hamilton, VA, from 1869 to 1874. The school's founder, Jonathan K. Taylor (1838-1916), was born in Purcellville, VA, and by 1855 had moved to attend Taylor and Jackson Academy in Wilmington, DE, managed by his brother T. Clarkson Taylor (ca. 1825-1874). Jonathon Taylor graduated from Allen's Normal School, an institution in West Chester, PA, in 1861 and established the Chester Valley Academy in Coatesville, PA. Despite the school's success, health concerns forced him to sell the facility and return to Loudoun County in 1867.

After a brief period as owner of Janney & Slaymaker's store in Hamilton, Taylor was encouraged by local parents to open the Loudoun Valley Academy in 1869. During its five year duration, the institution educated over 150 students. Loudoun Valley Academy closed in 1874 when he returned to Delaware to act as principal of the Taylor Academy in Wilmington. Two years later, Taylor ceased his educational career to pursue business and finance in Baltimore, MD where he died in 1916. His estate currently provides for the Jonathan K. Taylor Scholarship Funds at Swarthmore College, which are administered by the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, a Quaker organization.

Acquisition information:
Loudoun County Historical Society, Loudoun County, VA
Physical description:
4 items: 1 ledger, 1 reunion program, 2 photocopied photographs