Overview

Dr. Cyrus Collins and his wife Susan C. Collins established the Stockton Female Seminary, on 03/01/1858, making it one of the earliest schools for girls in the State of CA.

Building History

The Early Gothic Revival styled Stockton Female Seminary opened on Monday, 03/08/1858. A writer for the Mariposa Democatnewspaper said of the school: “Our Female Seminary was open for the reception of pupils on Monday last. It is a beautiful brick building, of Gothic structure, three stories high, and beautifully located. Doctor Cyrus Collins and lady are the teachers. They are both eminently qualified for the responsible stations they have assumed.” (See “Stockton Correspondence,” Mariposa Democrat. [volume] (Mariposa, Calif.), 03/11/1858. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026978/1858-03-11/ed-1/seq-2/> See Jim Thunder, Gothic-Calif Survey — PART 1, Chronicling America 04/2021–rev. 02/2023, [manuscript of notes and clippings], pp. 5-6. Manuscript sent from Mr. Thunder to the author on 03/02/2023. Many thanks to him for his diligent survey of Gothic architecture.)

The San Andreas Independent newspaper also announced the school's opening: “On the 1st of March next, Dr. Collins and lady, assisted by competent instructors, will open a Female Seminary, in a commodious building, situated in a retired and pleasant part of the city of Stockton. The course of study will be thorough, embracing all branches of learning taught in the best institutions of the kind; the discipline will be wild and parental; and it will be the constant aim of the managers to make the students feel perfectly at home. The boarding department connected therewith, will be under the immediate control of the Principal and his lady. As nothing was more needed among parents in the Southern counties of the State, than such as an institution at Stockton, we hope to see the projectors favored by a full attendance at its opening. The terms for a full session, of five months, are as follows: Board and Tuition in Common English Branches $150.00. Tuition in Common English Branches, $30.00. With Natural Science and Higher Mathematics, $40.00. Music on Piano or Guitar, with use of Instrument, $50.00. Ancient or Modern Languages, each $25.00. Drawing and Painting, $25.00. To be paid quarterly in advance. Boarding pupils to provide Furniture for their own rooms.” (See “Stockton Female Seminary,” San Andreas Independent, 02/20/1858, p. 1)

The Stockton Female Seminary's fourth session opened on 10/03/1859, and Its sixth session began on 09/10/1860. (At that time, a "session" lasted five months.) Cost of board and tuition was $150 for English classes, $50 for music, $25 for painting or drawing and $25 for ancient or modern languages. Payment was required in advance. In that year, trustees included Dr. E.S. Holden, Andrew Wolf, J. Sarles, J.M. Buffington, H.H. Hewlett, B.W. Owens, Austin Sperry, Dr. C. Grattan and P.E. Connor.

Cyrus Collins (born c. 1815 in VT) and Susan C. Collins (born c. 1826 in KY) were upper-middle-class citizens of Stockton. In 1860, the US Census noted that they owned real estate worth $10,000 and could afford to support two household servants, Allen Inwood (born c. 1815 in England) and Matilda Osenbeck (born c. 1837 in IN). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: O'Neal, San Joaquin, California; Roll: M653_64; Page: 1017; Family History Library Film: 803064, accessed 10/06/2023.) In the second year of operating the Stockton Female Seminary, their daughter Albertine Collins died on 05/09/1859 at the age of 10. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 10/06/2023.)

Building Notes

The Stockton Female Seminary was an Early Gothic Revival building with a cross-gabled plan and a three-story, castellated tower at one of the intersections. Like many structures in the Stockton area, the seminary stood on high foundations, with a daylighted basement. Stairs led up to the primary instruction spaces on the first floor.

PCAD id: 24603