1861 Girls School in Columbia Teaches How to Be a Southern Belle

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Games at 1861 Girls School at Athenaeum Rectory in Columbia

Editor’s note: This article originally ran in our Spring 2008 edition. The group who started the 1861 Girls School has since moved from the Athenaeum Rectory to Antrim Plantation, also in Columbia.

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Walk onto the grounds of the historic Athenaeum Rectory in Columbia during the annual 1861 Girls School, and you might forget you’re living in the 21st century.

For one week in July, the Athenaeum returns to the year 1861, as it provides the backdrop for teenage girls to learn the skills a young lady would have needed in the 19th century. Girls ages 14 through 18 travel from all over the country and beyond to attend the school. In past years, girls have attended from as far away as Europe.

Penmanship and Parlor Games

“They learn things like ballroom dancing, etiquette, penmanship, needlework, Latin, hairstyling and mourning customs,” says Becky Logue, a volunteer at the Athenaeum Rectory. “Most the faculty are re-enactors and educators who take a week out of their summer to participate. This is the 18th year of the Girls School, and they’ve really developed it and honed their skills. Much of the staff has stayed the same since the beginning.”

Throughout the week, the girls stay with area host families and behave as if they were living in 1861, curtseying to elders and practicing other social graces. They dress in traditional 19th century costumes that they bring with them from home.

“There are some very beautiful gowns,” Logue says. “A lot of the girls make their own costumes with their mothers or grandmothers. They also order them off the Internet and arrange to rent them.”

Visitors to the Athenaeum during the 1861 Girls’ School might find girls in lavish hoopskirts practicing penmanship on the wraparound porch or playing parlor games inside the rectory, depending on the day’s schedule. Highlights of the week include a garden tea on the Athenaeum’s front lawn on Thursday afternoon and ommencement ceremonies and a grand ball on Friday evening. The girls are escorted at the ball by members of the Jackson Cadets, a fraternal service organization for high school boys.

“The Jackson Cadets take dance lessons with the girls all week, and they perform a grand march together at the ball,” Logue says. “It’s really something to see. There’s a huge line of ball gowns.”

Athenaeum Rectory in Columbia

Why Attend the 1861 Girls’ School?

Each year, around 20 girls attend the 1861 Girls’ School, traveling from as far as New Hampshire and New Jersey.

“I chose to attend because I love history and costuming, and I thought it would be interesting to step back in time for a week,” says Sarah Lally of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. “I wanted to get a sense of what ladies had to go through back then and walk in their shoes.”

Katherine Marie Housley of Winchester, Tennessee, heard about the girls’ school when she was little and looked forward to attending for several years.

“Nowadays we don’t slow down to do things with effort, and I wanted to know how to really act like a lady,” Housley says. “When someone comes to my house, I want to know how to present things to them properly. We learned things you’d need to know to host a dinner party or evening gathering.”

1861 Girls School at Athenaeum Rectory in Columbia

Now a longstanding Columbia tradition, the 1861 Girls’ School was founded by Mark Orman, who serves as its dance master.

“I was a summer tour guide at the Athenaeum 19 years ago, and I thought it would be neat to go back in time and see what life was like,” Orman says. “We get a lot of girls who come with little or no self confidence. A week of being told what to do and how to do it and mingling with other girls does them a lot of good.”

Some may argue that skills such as ballroom dancing and needlework aren’t necessary for women in the 21st century. But Angie McClanahan, a longtime faculty member at the 1861 Girls’ School, would beg to disagree.

“I don’t think being graceful and ladylike is ever out of style. It’s something that’s sorely missing in today’s society,” McClanahan says. “It’s a privilege to act as our ancestors did and learn how they lived their lives. This is such a unique opportunity for the girls – it’s once in a lifetime.”

For more information on this year’s 1861 Girls School, visit www.1861girlsschool.com.

4 Comments

  1. Helen Carter says:

    I just aw the PBS program on Southern Belles. It was interesting. I wish that I could be 16 again. I am now thinking your school would be fun for my youngest granddaughter who is. We shall see when she is fifteen. Hope your summer program continues.

    Thank you for bringing women’s history to life to be continued.

    Sincerely,

    Helen J. Carter

    • Angie McClanahan says:

      Mrs. Carter, I am glad you enjoyed the PBS program. We at the Athenaeum had mixed feelings about it. I teach etiquette, parlor games, and dance at the Girls’ School. Please sign up your granddaughter before she is ineligible. I have two handsome sons who escort at the Girls’ School, and it is truly an experience that cannot be had elsewhere in the world.

      In Southern Felicity,

      Angie McClanahan

  2. Pam J says:

    I was horrified by the PBS program! If you can’t see what is so wrobg with this concept, there’s no point trying to explain it to you & the families who send their daughters.

  3. Kat says:

    I’ve not attended this program nor has my daughter but it would seem to me that looking back in our history to a sweeter more genteel way of living could be helpful to young women wanting a brief look at their ancestors way of life. We can learn from history. What to do and what not to do. There was indeed a certain order to things. Not to say that we’d ever return to such defined gender roles but there are aspects of order and etiquette that do make sense. My grandmother came from TN and in fact her mom worked at a girls school in either Columbia or Cross Bridges way back when. I’m actually looking for the school where she may have worked. I’m a writer and am looking for historical details.

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