Gonzaga College High School/Washington Seminary Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of papers and records of Washington Seminary (1821-1828, 1848-1858) and its successor Gonzaga College High School (1858-). The Washington Seminary portion of this collection contains financial records (1821-1827, 1848-1858); legal documents (1810-1821); a public program notebook (1850-1851); a school diary (1850-1854); correspondence and receipts (1827-1829, 1848-1857); and event ephemera and student materials (1827, 1848-1859). The financial records and correspondence in this part of the collection document the use of enslaved people by the school.
The Gonzaga College High School section holds ephemera (1863-1939), including for the 1921 centennial; correspondence and receipts (1858-1860, 1883-1959); and material surrounding the alumni association (1929-1940, 1956-1958).
The Gonzaga College High School/Washington Seminary Collection includes documents that establish its historical ties to slavery. Specifically, the financial records and correspondence of the Washington Seminary show that it hired out several enslaved individuals from enslavers living in or near Washington, DC.
Dates
- Creation: 1821 - 1959
Conditions Governing Access
All published documents housed in the University Archives are open for use. Unpublished documents are governed by the following use restrictions: unpublished material dating from 1971 and later may only be consulted with the permission of the office which created it; unpublished material dating from 1970 or before may be used with the permission of the Archivist or the creating office, unless otherwise restricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.
Historical Note
Gonzaga College High School is the oldest all-boys high school in Washington, DC. It opened to students in 1821 as Washington Seminary, located on F Street between 9th and 10th Streets NW (contiguous to St. Patrick's Church), and operated under the charter granted to Georgetown College in 1815. Because the Society of Jesus prohibited the acceptance of tuition payments from its schools, Washington Seminary closed in 1827 as it could not operate under those terms. More than twenty years later, in 1848, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus re-opened the Washington Seminary to a high student enrollment with 525 students registered in 1850.
In January 1858, the Maryland Province applied for a new charter under a new name--Gonzaga College High School--to separate its operations from Georgetown College with the new charter being granted in May 1858. In November 1859, the Jesuits established the seat of their missions in Washington, DC, at St. Aloysius Church on North Capitol and I Streets NW. Subsequently, in 1871, Gonzaga College High School moved from its center city location on F Street to a site adjacent to St. Aloysius.
Extent
1.0 Cubic Feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Latin
French
Metadata Rights Declarations
- Title
- Gonzaga College High School/Washington Seminary Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Mary Beth Corrigan
- Date
- 2024-05
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2024-05: This finding aid replaces previous collection-level finding aids for Gonzaga College High School (GTA-000768), Washington Seminary (GTA-000450), and Gonzaga College (GTM-000018)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Archives Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu