Bennett College (New York)
Coordinates: 41°46′35″N 73°41′58″W / 41.77639°N 73.69944°W
Bennett College was a women's college founded in 1890 and located in the town of Millbrook in New York. The school closed in 1978.
Bennett College was founded in 1890 at Irvington, New York by May F. Bennett. In 1907 the college moved to its final home on 22 acres (89,000 m2) in Millbrook, Dutchess County, New York. In 1907 the school had an enrollment of 120 students and a faculty of 29. Originally named The Bennett School for Girls, the course of study was six years (four years of high school and two years of higher study). In the early 20th century the school discontinued high school courses and became a junior college only. The two-year curriculum continued through the 1970s. Generations of young women from prominent American families attended Bennett over its 90-year history.
Majors of study included art, fashion design, interior design, music, modern languages, literature, history, dance, drama, child development, equine studies, and domestic science. Activities at Bennett included gymnastics, golf, tennis, horseback riding and skiing. The school was home to a full-time teaching Nursery School for 3 and 4 year olds as well as a riding stable.
At the time of its closing, enrollment was around 300 students.
With the growing popularity of coeducation in the 1970s, Bennett found itself struggling to survive. An attempt to upgrade facilities and convert to a coed college in the mid-1970s left the already troubled college in financial distress. In 1977 the trustees attempted to reach a collaboration agreement with Briarcliff College, a junior women's college in nearby Briarcliff Manor which was also struggling with low enrollment. The plan did not work, however, and Briarcliff instead merged with New York Institute of Technology in 1977 after both Briarcliff and Bennett entered bankruptcy. In 1978 the college closed its doors for good.
...
Wikipedia