Our History

Founded by Mrs. Lillias Rumsey Sanford as “The Terrace: Mrs. Sanford’s School for Boys” in Seneca Falls, NY; started with seven students.

In its inaugural year there were seven students. This was to be a “home school” for boys under thirteen years of age. Its purpose was to prepare students for the new private secondary schools, many of which had been founded during the preceding fifteen years.

Walter B. Wildman served as Headmaster; developed a structured curriculum and established the School’s reputation.
The 1900-1901 admission catalog described the program: “Great care will be taken to make the home life bright and happy, to cultivate in the young boys high ideals, and to control them by judicious means without harsh measures.”

For the first year Mrs. Sanford acted as Head of School. Walter B. Wildman was hired in 1901 and served as Headmaster until 1906. Mr. Wildman was a classical scholar who in 1898 had graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, at the top of his class. He was a young man with a great deal of energy and strength of character.

For the next five years Mr. Wildman remained in Seneca Falls, working with Mrs. Sanford to develop a suitable curriculum for the school, one which would establish Rumsey Hall’s reputation in the eyes of prep school headmasters. Requirements for each of the school’s five forms were carefully worked out and implemented. The youngest students, those in the “Preparatory Form”, were introduced to English, mathematics and geog­raphy; Latin was added in the Ist Form, mechanical drawing in the IInd Form, and US history in the IIIrd Form. In the IVth (and highest) Form students studied English composition and rhetoric, prose literature, algebra, spelling, French or Spanish and Latin. In addition, they were expected to learn manners and etiquette, formal dancing, and piano, harp or violin. There was also an athletic program, which included contests with Seneca Falls teams and other schools in the area.

The catalog for 1904-1905 lists 22 of “Our Boys,” a half dozen or more were day students. Most of the boarders were from New York and there were three from Pennsylvania, and one each from Utah, Alabama, Maryland and North Carolina. When Mr. Wildman left Rumsey in the spring of 1906 for a teaching position at the Mackenzie School in Dobbs Ferry, NY, Rumsey was well established both in size and reputation.

School moved to Cornwall, CT under Mrs. Sanford and new Headmaster Louis Henry Schutte P’33, ’37; enrollment grew to 65 students.

The unique working relationship forged by Mrs. Sanford and Mr. Schutte became the cornerstone of Rumsey Hall School in Cornwall, the embodiment of two passionate educators who shared the same vision. Many traditions still survive today: a prize for Declamation has been a Rumsey standard since the earliest days and Track and Field Day has been a yearly event since 1912.

Mrs. Sanford died in 1940. Her daughter-in-law, Helen Greves Sanford, took over as Director until 1941. Headmaster Schutte declined an option to purchase the school, and in 1941 it passed into the hands of John F. Schereschewsky Sr., popularly known as “Mr. Sherry.” Mr. Sherry and his wife, Betty, came to Rumsey Hall from Suffield Academy, where he had been Headmaster.

No sooner had the Sherrys purchased the School than World War II broke out. The country was in turmoil, and in 1943 Mr. Sherry left Rumsey Hall to join the Navy for two years. He served his tour of duty with the amphibious forces and commanded a landing craft during the Normandy invasion.

During this time, David Griffin Barr, a devoted faculty member since 1914, was appointed interim Director of Rumsey Hall. Together with Mrs. Sherry, he led Rumsey Hall until Mr. Sherry returned. Mr. Barr remained as Headmaster until 1956. Carrying on the precepts developed by the School’s early administrators, the Sherrys and Mr. Barr further defined and practiced the philosophy of educating the whole child. They are credited for first establishing the Effort List as a measure of students’ success—a fundamental hallmark of a Rumsey Hall education even today.

In the late 40’s Mr. Sherry and Mr. Barr found themselves faced with a momentous decision. In Washington, CT lay the vacant campus of the former Romford School for Boys, a casualty of wartime hardship. A Washington consortium formed by several prominent citizens of the area was seeking a new occupant for the campus and they approached Mr. Sherry to see if he might consider it as a home for Rumsey Hall.

This vacant Washington campus held several attractions. In Cornwall, limited space had always been an issue, preventing any further expansion of the School. Also, Rumsey Hall did not own the buildings it occupied and had to lease them from the town of Cornwall.

Co-education was introduced in the 1949-1950 academic year, with Rumsey Hall becoming one of the first schools of its kind to discontinue an all-male enrollment. New building projects continued through the 1950’s and 1960’s as the enrollment of the School steadily increased to 175 students.

Under his administration, Rumsey Hall continued its tradition of providing a challenging program in a supportive, family-like atmosphere. Enrollment in 1985 stood at 155 students.

In 1995, a village-like architectural scheme was initiated. The Upper School courtyard replaced the existing driveway, and the Dicke Family Library project was completed, alongside numerous facility improvements.

By 1997, the J. Seward Johnson Sr. Fine Arts Center, Garassino Family Classroom Building, and Satyavati Science Center were completed. In 1999, the School purchased 47 acres of adjacent property, and an additional 14 acres were gifted in honor of Rumsey’s Centennial. These properties doubled the size of the campus and provided space for future campus enhancements.

Since 2000, the School has engaged in an ambitious program to improve its facilities, including the construction of the Dane W. Dicke Family Math and Science Buildings, Cutler Cottage, Scott Evans Seibert ’92 Memorial Field, and Roy Football Field.

The Cornell Field, Pavek Field, and New Dorm Field were rebuilt to accommodate the School’s growing enrollment. Additionally, the Maxwell A. Sarofim ’05 Performing Arts Center, a new gymnasium, four new dormitories, Lufkin Rink, Campus Center, and The Dorothy Rochon Anderson Memorial Building were added to Rumsey Hall’s continually improving campus and programs.

Hoeninger, an alum, had been at Rumsey since 1989 and had risen through the ranks to become Assistant Headmaster and Director of Admissions.

Matt Hoeniger stepped down in the spring of 2020, and Associate Head of School Brooke Giese, a well-respected administrator at Rumsey, assumed the role of Interim Head of School during the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Giese successfully led the School through this crisis,  launching hybrid and distance learning opportunities and adapting the School’s program to meet the demands of the national emergency.

Following a national search, Ian Craig was appointed Head of School in 2021.  Since then, the School has reached record enrollment, achieved a balanced gender ratio among boarding students, added popular Signature Programs for Seniors, and developed a Makerspace.

The School has also embarked on two exciting initiatives: a new dormitory to house 28 students, which broke ground in June 2024, and a new academic center slated to begin construction in June 2025.