Oread Institute facts for kids
The Oread Institute was a special school just for girls and young women. It was started in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1849 by a man named Eli Thayer. Before it closed in 1934, it was one of the oldest schools for women in the United States.
The Oread Institute offered different levels of learning. Its four-year program was like a college course. Many people believe it was one of the first schools to offer this kind of advanced learning just for women. The program was similar to what was taught at Brown University, where Eli Thayer had studied.
Famous Students and Their Impact
Two students who graduated from Oread, Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles, later started Spelman College. This college was named after another Oread graduate, Laura Spelman Rockefeller. Laura Spelman later married John D. Rockefeller, a very famous businessman. She attended Oread while John D. Rockefeller was working as a clerk.
The Oread Castle
Eli Thayer built a huge, castle-like building for his new school. It had tall towers, just like a real castle! The Oread Institute closed its doors in 1881.
From 1898 to 1904, the building was used as the Worcester Domestic Science Cooking School. It finally closed for good in 1934.
A Name That Traveled
The Oread Institute also gave its name to a place far away. There is a hill called Mount Oread in Lawrence, Kansas. The main campus of the University of Kansas is now on this hill. Lawrence was founded in 1854 by settlers from Massachusetts. These settlers were sent there by the New England Emigrant Aid Company, which was also created by Eli Thayer.
