Despite the stereotype of women at the time of Ferry Hall’s founding, Ferry Hall still emphasized the importance of academics for young women, claiming that they could — and should — be just as educated as men. While women in other schools focused on learning how to embroider, sew, and do domestic work, women at Ferry Hall were exposed to scholastic opportunities. This tradition and mindset carried on throughout the existence of the school.
Ferry Hall — originally known as The Young Ladies’ Seminary — was an all-girls school that opened in 1869. The bequest of Rev. William Montauge Ferry established Ferry Hall and continued to make quality education for girls possible. The school offered incredible opportunities for the young girls enrolled, including liberal arts, various mathematics, and science, which were not usually taught.
In 1918, Eloise Ruthven Tremain became the headmistress of Ferry Hall. During Tremain’s time, Ferry Hall gained national attention and became a cutting-edge American girl’s school. Treiman also cut ties with Lake Forest Academy, gaining legal and financial independence.
In 1925, both Ferry Hall and Lake Forest Academy separated from Lake Forest College, thus becoming two independent and separate preparatory schools.
When Tremain left the school, Ferry Hall experienced financial difficulties. During World War II, enrollment was filled to the brim but decreased drastically afterwards. Then, Ferry Hall trustees stepped into the spotlight, organizing a campaign to eliminate the mortgage Ferry Hall owed to Lake Forest College. In the early 1950s, they accomplished this.
In 1963, Ferry Hall had the largest enrollment of their time, 177 girls. During Robert Andrus’ time as principal, conversations between Ferry Hall and Lake Forest Academy began. Various factors led up to the merging of the two schools, including mixed lectures, conversations among students and administrations, and more.
The last class to graduate from Ferry Hall was the class of 1974. In the fall semester of that same year, both Ferry Hall girls and the boys from Lake Forest Academy joined in the first year of co-education of Lake Forest Academy.
Originally, Lake Forest Academy, an all-boys preparatory school, and Ferry Hall merged into one co-educational private school by the name of Lake Forest Academy-Ferry. Later in 1988, Ferry Hall was dropped from the name, thus the school continued to be known as Lake Forest Academy.
Gabi Stewart, Ferry Hall Prefect of the 2023-2024 school year, stated, “Sometimes a lot of people forget that [Ferry Hall] was also a part of the school. It’s not just the boys’ school.” It’s important to keep the memory and legacy of Ferry Hall alive, which LFA does through the celebrations of Ferry Hall Day and Move-up Day.
Terry Hall, class of 1967 Ferry Hall Alumni, said she was “expected to deal with current events, as well as with chemistry, American history, and algebra.” She continued to remark about her Current Events class, noting that the assassination of Kennedy, the rise of women’s rights, the Civil Rights Act, and the Vietnam War, among others, all emerged around her time at Ferry Hall.
Classes at Ferry Hall were small, with around 60 students per grade, which opened the possibility for individualized teaching and learning. With the support of teachers, women were encouraged to reach their full potential, as advanced subjects and materials, including personalized, independent projects, were readily available to study.
Campus life was somewhat restricted, as students could only leave on Wednesday afternoons or weekends with permission; however, within the campus, there was great freedom for them to explore. A safe, collegial environment was established where students could experiment without embarrassment, knowing that teachers would be there to guide them through any mistakes they made.
Compared to present-day LFA, coursework at Ferry Hall was not as demanding, but still more so than public schools back then. Because of the education given at Ferry Hall, students were able to prepare for college sufficiently. Hall said she was “much more prepared than the other students who got to freshman year with [her]” and that she “felt like [she] could coast in freshman year.”
Today, the LFA community celebrates Ferry Hall Day through different events. Students and sports teams wear yellow and white outfits on Ferry Hall Day. Lily Botero, Ferry Hall Prefect of the 2024-2025 school year, shared her understanding of Ferry Hall Days. She stated, “It is really about empowering not only the girls that are here but giving homage to the women who were here before us and the impact that they left us.” According to Botero, seeing this unity within the community truly made her realize the meaning behind her role. She was especially touched by this event and said, “When you see everybody wearing yellow, it is a small way to say that I’m here with you and I am willing to celebrate with you.” Usually, there are also yellow and white cake pops and cookies in the Student Center.
When referring to her experience as a Ferry Hall Prefect, Botero appreciated LFA for creating this role since it came out after the prefect roles did. She also expressed her excitement for being able to celebrate women who attended Ferry Hall that are still around.
Although Botero hasn’t yet met the Ferry Hall alumni, she looks forward to learning more about their experiences and sharing students’ lives at LFA today. “It is my role to uplift these women who came before us and to show them that their stories were seen,” Botero said. For all these years, staying in contact with these women through student representatives like Botero, LFA had experienced a full circle moment.
