Oralism Grows in Mystic

Zerah Whipple’s school in Ledyard had outgrown the farmhouse, and in 1876 he moved the school to a larger location. As 1893 superintendent Margaret Whipple Hammond described, “Zerah purchased from the heirs of one of Mystic's deceased wealthy citizens his former summer residence and moved his little School there… The house is little over a mile from the village of Mystic, healthfully built and situated on a high hill, commanding a beautiful view of the village, river, and sound.”

This pastoral setting allowed the school to become self-sufficient, and as Hammond remarked, “Most of the vegetables, milk, and eggs are supplied by the farm attached to the School, and the strawberries raised there are sold to the merchants of the village in exchange for groceries.”

Unlike the American School for the Deaf, Mystic Oral School adhered to a strict oralist policy. Students were not taught or allowed to use sign language. Scandal erupted in 1896 when the Connecticut Governor discovered Superintendent Margaret Whipple Hammond had been accepting state funds for students that no longer attended the school. Accounts vary, but Hammond was responsible for fraudulently collecting between $2,000 and $10,000 in state support.

Hammond quickly escaped to Canada and her daughter took over administrative duties. Remarkably, the Whipple Family remained active in running the school until 1921. It was then that the state of Connecticut took over and eventually closed the school in 1980 and converted the grounds to the Mystic Education Center which operated until 2011.

Credits and Sources:

Photos courtesy of:

Keenan; CT Illustrated Mystic Seaport Scholfield, E. A.; CT Illustrated Mystic Seaport; ****; Mystic River Historical Society, Dickinson, M. Josephine, 1983.001.0136; Mystic River Historical Society Dickinson, M. Josephine, 1983.001.0557.