History
In the 1880s, Luther Kountze established an estate in northern New Jersey. He began to buy more land, eventually expanding his estate to cover 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). This eventually became the home of St. Mary’s Abbey/Delbarton, Morristown National Historical Park and Lewis Morris County Park. Kountze eventually named the estate “Delbarton," borrowing one syllable from the names of each of his first three children (DELancey, BARclay and LivingsTON).
In 1918, Kountze died, leaving the entire property to his family. The family decided to put the estate for sale. In 1925, the monks of Saint Mary’s Abbey, then in Newark, purchased approximately four hundred acres of Delbarton to use as a separate house for younger members for studying, finally settling on the property in 1927.
After some time, the monks decided to open a secondary school, as the Newark residence had done so with St. Benedict’s Preparatory School. After some deliberation, Abbot Patrick O’Brien opened Delbarton School in 1939, appointing Father Augustine Wirth as the first headmaster. At that time, the school was a boarding school for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students.
In 1942, Father Stephen Findlay succeeded as Headmaster and introduced drastic changes. The grade levels were modified, ultimately resulting in seventh through twelfth grades being offered. The Kountze carriage house was destroyed in a fire in 1947, leading to the construction of the St. Joseph Gymnasium. Because of the fire, the school chose as its motto, "Succisa Virescit" (having been cut down, she grows back stronger), borrowing from the often destroyed Abbey of Monte Cassino in Italy. Trinity Hall opened in 1959, allowing the enrollment to increase to over 300. Father Stephen retired in 1967 to the position of Director of Development. In 1971 the Schmeil-O’Brien Hall dormitory was dedicated, although the majority of students were day students.
Delbarton’s fourth headmaster, Father Gerard Lair (1975–1980), initiated more changes. The system of discipline from demerits and detention changed to a conversational program designed to bring about positive changes. As the academic prestige of the School grew, the Board of Trustees decided to terminate the residential program in 1978. The last two resident students graduated in 1983.
Since then, more facilities have been built, with the dedication of the Lynch Athletic Center in 1983, Findlay Science Pavilion in 1995, and Fine Arts Center in 2006.
Read more about this topic: Delbarton School
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