The History of St. Mary's Episcopal School

Where yesterday meets tomorrow can aptly be applied to St. Mary's Episcopal School. Now in its third century of operation, the School is rich in history.

The story of St. Mary's begins in 1847. A small parochial school came into existence at Calvary Episcopal Church because of the deep Christian faith of a woman named Mary Foote Pope. Pope may have lived in the 19th century, but her ideas were those of a 21st century woman. Her philosophy continues to resonate through the halls of St. Mary's today in her belief that women should have the opportunity for the same excellent education offered to men. Her vision transcends time, and today's outstanding graduates are indebted to her early emphasis on the education of women.

Pope's 25 years of leadership spanned one of the most tumultuous times in American history. In 1862, Pope relocated the School to Hernando, Mississippi until the end of the Civil War, when she moved the School back to Memphis to the corner of Poplar Alabama.

From 1873 until 1910, St. Mary's Episcopal School was run under the direction of the Sisters of the Order of St. Mary. During their tenure, the Sisters were confronted by the challenges and consequences of two yellow fever epidemics. Despite this, the School survived and continued to offer girls a fine college preparatory education. One of St. Mary's most treasured traditions, May Day (now known as Springfest), began when the Sisters were in charge of the School. In 1880, the School was relocated to St. Mary's Cathedral. Today, each senior class, as a reminder of the Sisters' dedication, visits St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral.

In 1910, under the direction and authority of the Bishop, the School was entrusted to the direction of Helen Loomis who served as Principal of the Upper School until 1949. Mary Paoli directed the Lower School until her death in 1922. Today, her name is kept alive by an award given each year in her memory to an eighth grade student with the highest scholastic average over two years. Katherine Neely acted as Principal of the Lower School from 1922 until 1949. During this era, St. Mary's was located at 1257 Poplar Avenue.

Major obstacles confronted the successful operation of an independent school during this era of the School's history: two World Wars and the Great Depression. Loomis and Neely triumphantly tackled the challenges of the times. Commencement in 1949 marked both the retirement of Loomis and the last formal activity of the school on Poplar Avenue. In September of that year, St. Mary's relocated to Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church and a smaller school reopened to students in kindergarten through the fourth grade. From 1949 through 1958, St. Mary's enjoyed the leadership of Gilmore Lynn, and, for the period of several years, boys attended St. Mary's.

In 1953, St. Mary's expanded to the sixth grade and relocated to the Church of the Holy Communion at Walnut Grove and Perkins. In 1958, St. Mary's was incorporated and the Board of Trustees hired Lawrence Lobaugh as the School's first headmaster. By the fall of 1959, St. Mary's enrollment had nearly doubled to 400 and faculty had increased to 30; in 1961 the first issue of the School's yearbook, Carillon, was published; and in 1962 the School was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

Perhaps the individual most responsible for St. Mary's gaining its outstanding reputation as a college preparatory school, not only in Memphis, but also in the South and throughout the country, was Dr. Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes. Hughes was headmaster of the School from 1962-1973. During his tenure, St. Mary's graduated an increasingly high percentage of National Merit Scholars, incorporated as an independent Episcopal school, and became the first independent school in Memphis to integrate its student body.

Since Dr. Hughes, the School has enjoyed four more headmasters, including David Leech, Geoffrey Butler, Thomas Southard, and today's Head of School, Marlene Rutledge Shaw. Currently, more than 800 girls continue to experience the remarkable journey of a St. Mary's education. The National Merit Scholarship Program recognized 36 percent of the 2006 senior class. More athletic teams are fielded than ever before and the creative arts program includes dance, drama, music (both vocal and instrumental) and art.