"Rose Hill" Seminary from Girls - Tipton, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 39.567 W 092° 46.908
15S E 518984 N 4279009
William's Seminary....had many names it seems, but still a girls' school...
Waymark Code: WM126C6
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/10/2020
Views: 1
County of site: Moniteau County
Location of site: 209 Howard St., Tipton
Marker on site:
Built in 1858 as a school for girls called "Rose Hill", which closed with the advent of the Civil War, this 17-room home was headquarters for Union General John C. Fremont in October, 1861. Purchased by the Greim/Maclay family in 1865, it served as a family home until given to the friends of the Maclay Home, Inc. in 1983. The house, on the national Register of Historic Places since 1979, stands as an historic reminder of the vigorous frontier growth associated with the coming of the railroad to Central Missouri."
~ The Tipton Jaycees and the Friends of the Maclay Home, Inc. - 1985
"In June of the following year, a barbecue was held in Tipton for the purpose of
raising funds for the construction of the "Tipton Seminary." 6 This would seem a
clear reference to the Williams' seminary, but for the fact that newspaper accounts
reveal the existence of two contemporary schools in this period. On December 3,
1859, advertisement was made in the Weekly California News for the Tipton Seminary,
run by "G.W. Johnson and his Lady."
Again in the Weekly California News, is this:
"...Mr. W.W, Williams has his neat brick building, in the same vicinity, nearly complete. This building is designed as a young lady's Seminary, under the control of Mrs. Williams, a most estimable lady, and a successful teacher, who deserves the most liberal encouragement from the people of our county."
"It is therefore evident that Mrs. Mariah M. Williams had been conducting classes
by the time the article appeared. However, the first official advertisement for
her school did not appear until [later that month, on August llth. ... "
"At no point in the available documentation is the school referred to as Rosehill
Seminary. It is variously referred to as Tipton Female Boarding School, Tipton
Female High School and Tipton Female Seminary. However, the name Rosehill Seminary
is firmly fixed in the memories of the Maclay family and of the local citizens.
This may have been an affectionate nickname for the school or a way of distinguishing
it from the counterpart run by the Johnsons, which was called the Tipton Seminary." ~ NRHP Nomination Form