On May 1, 1837, Episcopal bishop George Washington Doane welcomed
52 young women from eight states to his new school, St. Mary's Hall, in
Burlington, New Jersey. Bishop Doane's radical innovation of giving young
women the same mental training as young men motivated people from far
and wide to send their daughters to this new school. Doane's visionary
efforts soon turned many heads and changed many hearts, and the school
grew accordingly. Today, as a coeducational school known as Doane
Academy, the institution carries forward Bishop Doane's passion to push
the boundaries of education. Located along the banks of the Delaware
River, Doane Academy builds and instills character and a sense of duty into
its students and prepares and guides them as they move "Right Onward"
to change the world.

In St. Mary's Hall and Doane Academy, Jack H. Newman, director of archives, has selected from materials preserved within the Eliza Green Doane Archival Library to assemble a concise telling of the long, storied, and ongoing history of this beloved institution. Cynthia McFarland is a descendant of Bishop Doane and a member of Doane Academy's board of trustees. John McGee has driven a powerful transformation at the school since becoming headmaster in 2000.