Never married, she was inspired by the loss of her brother, the teacher Jeremiah Wilbur Masters, to typhoid fever to start the school.

James Jennings McComb, a cotton magnate and philanthropist, moved to Dobbs Ferry in the 1880s to be closer to his children.

He purchased a 23-acre parcel close to Wilde House from one Dr. Ryder, and commissioned a mansion, called Estherwood in honor of his second wife, Esther Wood, on it.

At the time, the school, which had a burgeoning student body, was considering move to Irvington to the estate of Cyrus West Field.

McComb convinced Eliza Masters to stay in Dobbs Ferry by purchasing 11 acres south of Estherwood, building First and Second Houses on them in 1883, and leasing them to the school for a nominal rent.

In 1888, McComb built a Third House as a school building with an assembly hall, classrooms, a gym, a studio, and a laboratory.

The school taught English, French, Latin, music, art, the Bible, moral philosophy, astronomy, botany, mathematics, domestic science, and etiquette.

[7] The school's wooded 96-acre campus is on a hilltop in Dobbs Ferry, a historic village with a sloping geography and waterfront on the Hudson River.

A five-minute walk from the campus brings students down to the heart of town, and a train ride to New York City that takes anywhere from 35 to 50 minutes.

Both sets of dorms have outdoor space with grills for use in the warmer months as well as phones, wireless internet connections, and washers and dryers.

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