[2] The establishment of Charlestown Female Seminary was part of a movement to facilitate the education of young women that took root in the United States in the 1820s and 1830s.
Mount Benedict acquired a superior reputation, leading both Catholic and Protestant families to enroll their daughters there.
[2][3] The Charlestown Female Seminary, located at 30 Union Street, was established by two First Baptist Church pastors, Dr. William Collier and Dr. Henry Jackson.
[2] They opened the school in 1830, but in 1831 it was taken over by Martha Whiting,[1] "one of the pioneers of female education in America,"[4] on the suggestion of her pastor, Rev.
[8] Painter Ellen Harrington created paintings including a Portfolio of Exercises and Drawings Done while a student at the academy.