Charlotte Hall School Blazer Patch, 1975
date: label: date made
content: 1975
name: label: distributor
content: Charlotte Hall School
label: wearer
content: Robinson, Jr., Franklin A.
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This fabric patch was worn on a school blazer circa 1975, during a period when many public schools were easing restrictions on dress codes while private schools maintained uniform requirements. The patch has a black background, gold embroidered trim, the words CHARLOTTE HALL SCHOOL 1774 in white embroidery and an image of the school crest flanked by two figures and a gold eagle embroidered above the crest.
label: Description
content: Charlotte Hall was founded in 1774 when the first board of trustees met. It was an outgrowth of Maryland’s “Free Schools” system which was established in 1723 by Queen Charlotte of England “to provide for the liberal and pious education of the youth of this province, the better to fit them for the discharge of their duties.” The General Assembly of Maryland originally expected a free school in each of the 12 counties but in 1773 it passed an act that provided for the sale of the free schools in St. Mary’s, Charles, and Prince George’s counties, and that the proceeds be spent on one school to “be erected at the place called The Cool Springs of Saint Mary’s County to be called Charlotte Hall.” 50 acres of land, part of Good Will Plantation, were purchased from the William Poston family in 1774. The first principal of the school, Reverend Hatch Dent was sworn in as a trustee on August 15, 1787 and was married to a member of the Posten family, Judith Poston. The school opening date was supposedly 1796, though the building probably wasn’t open until January 1797. Students were taught Latin, Greek, French, English, grammar, writing, and a complete system of mathematics. Military training was added early in the 1850’s. The school was opened continuously from 1796 until 1976 when it closed for financial reasons, making it one of the oldest and longest-running schools until it closed. The school had many illustrious as well as infamous graduates, from of all major professions including clergy, congressmen, the first Librarian of Congress, a U.S. Surgeon General, actors, and possibly two Lincoln assassination conspirators. While it began as an elite school for males of Anglo Saxon heritage, the school saw many changes in it's last fifty years. Female students were first admitted in the early 1970s due to the financial problems due to lagging enrollment and a couple of fires. At the time of it's closing, the school enrollment was predomineintly African American, in keeping with the local demigraphics, though its reputation for academic excellence was maintained in part as a result of resources provided through private tuition The school property once embraced 300 acres and is now part of Charlotte Hall Historical District, which operates the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. The town was named after the school, and the Welcome Center is currently housed in the former headmaster’s residence.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: depicted
content: Eagles
label: used
content: Education
label: referenced
content: School
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
label: See more items in
content: Cultures & Communities
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2011.0093.02
label: accession number
content: 2011.0093
label: catalog number
content: 2011.0093.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: blazer patch
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: embroidery (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 cm; x 3 17/32 in