Tome School Overview

“It is important that a boy goes forth from any preparatory school with more than a thorough knowledge of college requirements. He should be prepared for every contingency and should carry with him the valuable memory of pleasant contacts and close friendships.” – The Tome School Catalog

The Tome School for Boys was established as a boarding school in 1901 thanks to a bequest from Jacob Tome, a leading citizen of the town of Port Deposit and the state of Maryland. Earlier he founded the Jacob Tome Institute in town to provide a free education to local children. After Tome’s death in 1898, the institute’s board of trustees created a separate boarding school to generate revenue for the operation of the institute. Perched on a cliff above the Susquehanna River, the boarding school’s buildings were designed in the beaux arts influenced, Georgian revival style by Boring and Tilton, architects best known for their work at Ellis Island. The School was built using granite from quarries in nearby Port Deposit at a cost of $1.4 million – roughly $80 million today.

Now vacant, the school’s buildings are listed as a National Historic District. The school’s centerpiece Memorial Hall was notable for its copper cupola and large clock that made sure that students got to class on time. Twelve other buildings arranged loosely around a central green and named for American Presidents were used for dormitories, dining areas, sports facilities, trade education and classrooms. A central part of the 188- acre campus was the postcard perfect Italian garden.

The school’s goal was to give boys a college preparatory education. Athletics also played a major role in campus life. More than 3,000 boys were educated there, including several well-known Marylanders, and the children of the Carnegie and Mellon families. The school like rest of the country, fell on hard times and formerly wealthy families were no longer able to send their children to Tome. The last class graduated in 1941, the year before the school buildings and property were sold to the United States Navy. As part of the Bainbridge Naval Training Center, the school buildings & campus entered a new chapter, most notably becoming home to the United States Naval Academy Preparatory School.