EHS: The Magazine of Episcopal High School

For Caroline DeVoe’s Digital History class last semester, four students took a deep dive into EHS history, each pursuing a topic based on their passions.

The beloved phrase “Go Maroon!” has not always been in the EHS vernacular. In fact, for its early years, Episcopal did not have any school colors, much less the well-known Maroon and Black we celebrate today.

In 1892, Episcopal High School reached far beyond its traditional southern source of students for the first time with the enrollment of the School’s first Chinese student, Theodore Wong. 

EHS alumnus travels 700 miles by bike in 1898.

For more than a century the EHS community has stepped up to support the School in its ambitious plans to deliver a first-rate education within facilities that inspire the pursuit of excellence.

In 1888, Principal Launcelot Minor Blackford went to great lengths to show students the home of the first president.

How businesses once courted EHS students through advertisements in The Chronicle. 

“The boys were much elated over the repast, a half dozen making themselves sick by repletion.” - Launcelot Blackford Thanksgiving 1874

How a student’s curiosity about the “forgotten war” led him to create a rich history of the school during WWI. 

A tree-lined campus approach holds deep yet varied meaning for generations of students and faculty. 

Students are connecting with The High School across generations, thanks to Episcopal’s archives. During the first two months of this year alone, 35 students visited Bryan Library to incorporate the School’s archival holdings into their research. 

Finals wasn’t always just a dance. It was once an entire weekend. 

The School’s archives hold numerous panoramic photographs from this time period that capture the campus and the community as they had never been shown before.

On January 21, 1957, Page Dame lll ’59 and Junius Fishburne Jr. ’58 took part in history by attending the second inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

The earliest football helmets, such as the one pictured here, worn by Gaylord Lee Clark, Sr. 1903, appear to have more in common with aviator caps than the football helmets fans are familiar with today. 

Before the days of email, texting, and even the telephone, EHS students kept in touch by mail. Letter-writing was practically an art form and the only way to share and receive news from home. Letters, eagerly anticipated, were read and re-read. Before student mailboxes were introduced in the 1930s, student mail was delivered to the dining hall. 

Stewart Gym opened in 1913 and has supported EHS students’ growth and well-being, serving over the last 100 years a multitude of purposes for the school community.

Episcopal High School was founded in 1839 on Christian principles. Although the School has evolved to meet the spiritual needs of a religiously diverse student body, spirituality is still at the core of school life. 

Since the earliest years of EHS, students have joined in inauguration activities to witness the transition of presidential power. While travel into the district was sometimes daunting, inaugurations have been enjoyed by EHS as both a moment in history and a rare school holiday. 

While EHS students’ travels to the School may no longer conclude with the excitement of a ride in Mack or the Donaldson brothers’ “bus,” Episcopal High School extends a warm welcome to all new and returning students, arriving by family car, taxi, or other means.

It is hard to imagine a time at Episcopal without athletic issue, the ubiquitous shirt and shorts worn by EHS students for afternoon athletics.

The experience we know as the start of school, parents driving or flying with their children to Episcopal and helping unload their belongings for a tearful goodbye in front of the dorm, is a relatively new development. In the early days of EHS, those goodbyes were frequently exchanged at hometown train stations. 

The tradition of student photography and the sharing of photos has long been supported by developments in technology, but never more so than today.

Hit by the historic “Snow King” blizzard of 1899, Episcopal’s students and faculty endured more than 40 inches of snow, drifts several feet high, single-digit temperatures, wind speeds in excess of 35 miles an hour (35 mph gusting to 48 mph), no water due to frozen pipes, and interrupted deliveries. 

While many of his peers viewed athletics as a waste of time, Launcelot Blackford, EHS Principal 1870-1913, recognized their value in building character and expending youthful energy. 

A 19th-century Episcopal student would likely be amazed at how comprehensive the School’s application process is today.

A diary kept by William Page Dame Class of 1896.

A hand written letter by Joseph Bryan, Jr., Class of 1861, while he was a student.

Significant artifacts were revealed through a recent archaeological survey conducted on the Episcopal High School campus.