Hamill House
Encyclopedia
The Hamill House is the original building on the campus of The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. Built in 1814 by the school’s founder, Isaac Van Arsdale Brown
, D.D. (1784–1861), the fieldstone schoolhouse is a national historic landmark and an example of Mid-Atlantic federal architecture
. The house still fulfills the founder's original intent by serving as a residence hall for both students and faculty. In 1885 the structure was renamed Hamill House in honor of Samuel McClintock Hamill
, D.D. (1812–1889) the Lawrenceville School’s longest serving Head Master. It is the first of the "Circle Houses," residential houses named for their location on a landscaped circle designed to surround the house by the 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted
.
, made plans to build an academy to prepare young men for Princeton
. Brown refused to let the War of 1812
divert him from his goal. Despite the uncertain times, he gathered sufficient funds to build a long stone schoolhouse in the federal style. When Brown’s new edifice was completed, it became the town’s first public building housing the Head Master, many of his pupils, and their classroom. The house has been in continuous operation as a residence hall since it opened in 1814. It was later named for the third Head Master of the school, the reverend Samuel McClintock Hamill
, an accomplished Presbyterian clergyman, educator, State Superintendent of Public Schools, and a founder of the New Jersey Historical Society
. When Samuel Hamill arrived at the school in 1837, he expanded the student body and built an additional classroom building. He remained at the school to become its longest serving Head Master. In 1885, the Lawrenceville School adopted the house system
, a traditional feature of British schools and Frederick Law Olmsted
, the founder of American landscape architecture and the designer of New York's Central Park
, landscaped the Lawrenceville campus with a formal circle at its heart. In the same year, minor alterations were made to the house so that it would have a main entrance on Olmsted's Circle and the first of the Victorian red brick houses surrounding it (Griswold, Woodhull, Cleve, and Dickinson) was erected. The motto of the Hamill House is: "E tenui casa saepe vir magnus exit." or "Often a great man emerges from a humble cottage."
in America. Varsity and house football at Lawrenceville School
began at Hamill House in the decades after the American Civil War
. The Circle houses at the school are members of the oldest active high school football league in America. Informal football games were organized by "Hamillites" as early as the 1870s and a formal league was created a decade later. Up through the 1891-92 school year, class football competitions were played rather than house games. House games began in 1892 and house colors, flags, and heraldry accompanied the earliest league play. Over the years individual house football traditions developed, including the annual rivalry game between the oldest Circle house (Hamill) and the youngest (Kennedy). Called the "Crutch Game," it continues to attract alumni, parents, and former housemasters who return for the game in large numbers every year.
and Zach Galligan
.
Isaac Van Arsdale Brown
Isaac Van Arsdale Brown was an American educator and Presbyterian clergyman who founded the Lawrenceville School near Princeton, NJ.-Biography:...
, D.D. (1784–1861), the fieldstone schoolhouse is a national historic landmark and an example of Mid-Atlantic federal architecture
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
. The house still fulfills the founder's original intent by serving as a residence hall for both students and faculty. In 1885 the structure was renamed Hamill House in honor of Samuel McClintock Hamill
Samuel McClintock Hamill
Samuel McClintock Hamill was an American Educator and Presbyterian clergyman. Hamill was the longest serving Head Master of the Lawrenceville School near Princeton, NJ.-Biography:...
, D.D. (1812–1889) the Lawrenceville School’s longest serving Head Master. It is the first of the "Circle Houses," residential houses named for their location on a landscaped circle designed to surround the house by the 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
.
History
In 1810, the seventh minister of the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Meetinghouse, Isaac Van Arsdale BrownIsaac Van Arsdale Brown
Isaac Van Arsdale Brown was an American educator and Presbyterian clergyman who founded the Lawrenceville School near Princeton, NJ.-Biography:...
, made plans to build an academy to prepare young men for Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Brown refused to let the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
divert him from his goal. Despite the uncertain times, he gathered sufficient funds to build a long stone schoolhouse in the federal style. When Brown’s new edifice was completed, it became the town’s first public building housing the Head Master, many of his pupils, and their classroom. The house has been in continuous operation as a residence hall since it opened in 1814. It was later named for the third Head Master of the school, the reverend Samuel McClintock Hamill
Samuel McClintock Hamill
Samuel McClintock Hamill was an American Educator and Presbyterian clergyman. Hamill was the longest serving Head Master of the Lawrenceville School near Princeton, NJ.-Biography:...
, an accomplished Presbyterian clergyman, educator, State Superintendent of Public Schools, and a founder of the New Jersey Historical Society
New Jersey Historical Society
The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition space, a gift shop, and a hall for lectures. The NJHS offers occasional...
. When Samuel Hamill arrived at the school in 1837, he expanded the student body and built an additional classroom building. He remained at the school to become its longest serving Head Master. In 1885, the Lawrenceville School adopted the house system
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
, a traditional feature of British schools and Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, the founder of American landscape architecture and the designer of New York's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, landscaped the Lawrenceville campus with a formal circle at its heart. In the same year, minor alterations were made to the house so that it would have a main entrance on Olmsted's Circle and the first of the Victorian red brick houses surrounding it (Griswold, Woodhull, Cleve, and Dickinson) was erected. The motto of the Hamill House is: "E tenui casa saepe vir magnus exit." or "Often a great man emerges from a humble cottage."
Football Tradition
Hamill House played a role in the early development of high school footballHigh school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
in America. Varsity and house football at Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
began at Hamill House in the decades after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The Circle houses at the school are members of the oldest active high school football league in America. Informal football games were organized by "Hamillites" as early as the 1870s and a formal league was created a decade later. Up through the 1891-92 school year, class football competitions were played rather than house games. House games began in 1892 and house colors, flags, and heraldry accompanied the earliest league play. Over the years individual house football traditions developed, including the annual rivalry game between the oldest Circle house (Hamill) and the youngest (Kennedy). Called the "Crutch Game," it continues to attract alumni, parents, and former housemasters who return for the game in large numbers every year.
The Crutch Game
In the early days of house football, play was often rough, raucous, and dangerous. In the fall of 1947, the coach of the Kennedy House team stepped out from the sidelines and intercepted a Hamill forward pass. In that moment he had entered the game. Realizing his error, he intended to flee the field but he was tackled to the ground. Once the teams resumed regular play, the Kennedy coach realized that his leg had been broken. Later in the 1947 season, the same players collided with Kennedy’s coach on the sideline, snapping the crutch and sending the convalescent coach to the ground once more. Every year since, the game between the two houses has served as the season ending game. A small plaque with the score for each team has been affixed to the original crutch and the winner has held the crutch for the remainder of the year. In 2007, the school observed the sixtieth anniversary of the contest for the crutch. The most recent crutch game (November 2010) resulted in Hamill winning the crutch in a 25-0 victory over Kennedy.Lawrenceville Stories
Hamill House figures prominently in Owen McMahon Johnson novels: The Prodigious Hickey, The Tennessee Shad, The Varmint, Skippy Bedelle, and The Hummingbird. Several of the books became early Hollywood films and in 1986 they inspired a PBS television mini-series featuring Edward HerrmannEdward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
and Zach Galligan
Zach Galligan
Zachary Wolfe "Zach" Galligan is an American actor.-Biography:Galligan was born in New York City, the son of Carol Jean , a psychologist, and Arthur John Galligan, a lawyer who was a founding partner of the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro. He has a sister, Jessica, and attended Columbia University...
.
Notable Hamill alumni
- Dierks BentleyDierks BentleyDierks Bentley is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip...
, county music artist - Michael EisnerMichael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
, author, philanthropist, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, and CNBCCNBCCNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
host - Robert Francis Goheen, author, educator, U.S. Ambassador to India, and President of Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
- Huey LewisHuey LewisHuey Lewis is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor.Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs...
, pop music artist, actor - Hugh Lenox Scott, U.S. Secretary of War and Superintendent of the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point - Alfred Alexander WoodhullAlfred Alexander WoodhullAlfred Alexander Woodhull was an American army surgeon. In 1885, he received the gold medal of the Military Service Institution and in 1907 the Seaman essay prize...
, surgeon, medical reformer, and brigadier-general, U.S. Army
Trivia
- Bill Littlefield, author and host of the NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
radio series Only A GameOnly A GameOnly A Game is a weekly sports program distributed by National Public Radio and hosted by Bill Littlefield. The show is produced at WBUR in Boston and airs on 210 affiliate stations around the country every Saturday...
, once served as a housemaster of Hamill House. - Country music artist Dierks BentleyDierks BentleyDierks Bentley is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip...
was once President of Hamill House. - Hamill House is often referred to as "Old Blue".