It was established by Young John Allen[citation needed] and Laura Askew Haygood in 1882.

[2] Multiple missionaries of the school lived in a building across from it.

[3] In 1952 it merged with St. Mary's Hall into Shanghai No.

The school for its entire history catered to high socioeconomic status families and accordingly drew most its students from them.

Citing Qianshi jinsheng (前世今生, "The previous generation and life today") by Su Su (素素), Wang Zheng, author of Women in the Chinese Enlightenment: Oral and Textual Histories, wrote that "parents spent fortunes to make social connections that would help their daughters enroll" at McTyeire due to its prestige.