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CoEd at 50: Celebrating Fifty Years of Coeducation on the Circle

In September 1975, Groton's first female students passed through the Schoolhouse doors.

The matriculation of those forty-eight young women was the culmination of intense consideration, planning, and hard work by many in the Groton School community. Not satisfied with the tradition of a boarding school exclusively for boys, trustees and leaders endeavored to improve the school in a dynamic and deliberate sense. Women have been an integral part of Groton's history from its beginning, and the female students, faculty, and administrators who arrived on the Circle as the school became coeducational brought energy, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to the success of the endeavor.

Collectively, these architects and pioneers ushered in coeducation at Groton.

Since Groton's founding in 1884, the ethos of inclusion and commitment to excellence have been defining throughlines.
That openness, demonstrated in myriad ways throughout the school's history, prepared the institution for that moment of change in 1975. Groton's defining commitment to excellence ensured that, once adopted, coeducation would be successful.

Girls of '77

Read the Spring 2017 Quarterly article by Naomi Polk '77

50 Years of Coeducation

Read the Winter 2026 Quarterly article featuring highlights of the coed anniversary

Share Your Memories

Fill out this form to share your memories!

A vintage portrait of Caroline Estelle Mudge Lawrenc

 

Caroline Estelle Mudge Lawrence

In 1883, Caroline Estelle Mudge Lawrence, along with her husband James Lawrence, donated the land upon which Groton School is now built. Estelle was a photographer in the early years of the medium. You can read more about her in the Quarterly, and view more of her photographs in the gallery here.

Images were generously provided by: L.S. Lawrence and Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld ’81, P'09, '13, '15, '18

A vintage image of Jame Lawrence Jr sitting in the Homestead

James Lawrence Jr. in the Homestead. Behind him is the portrait of Gertrude Lawrence, his sister-in-law—both the land Groton School is built on, and the baptismal font in the church were donated in her honor. 

A vintage landscape of a field with tall grass surrounded by trees

A landscape image of the "River Pasture" in Groton. The Lawrences owned significant acreage in Groton, and James Jr. raised many types of livestock.

A vintage group photo of several boys surrounding Endicott Peabody

Though not clearly captioned, this photo is likely of a group of Groton School boys, with Endicott Peabody identifiable in the middle.

A snowy landscape with trees and a fence

Snow in Groton—remaining an ever-popular bastion of Instagram likes nowadays—was a recurrent subject in Mrs. Estelle Lawrence's photographs.

A snow-blanketed landscape of Groton in the 1800s

A wide angle of the town of Groton under a blanket of snow in the late 1800s. This image was printed in one of the Homestead Concert programs that Fannie Peabody kept a copy of in her scrapbook. 

A vintage photo of the Homestead on Farmer's Row

The Homestead was one of Mrs. Estelle Lawrence's most common subjects. This house still stands on Farmers Row and remains largely unchanged. 

Vintage photo of two sheep on a fenced lawn

James Lawrence Jr. became an avid farmer after moving to Groton. An 1880 census counted that at the time he had 91 sheep that produced 700 pounds of wool.

A portrait of a man in a decorative frame, set against a floral patterned background.

John Singer Sargent painted portraits of both Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence in 1881. Unfortunately, both paintings were destroyed in a house fire in 1939. This image is one of the only records of this lost masterpiece. 

An antique group photo

This photo isn't captioned beyond the names of everyone in the image. Presumably it is the student body of Groton School, surrounding Mr. and Mrs. Peabody

The Groton School boys pose for a photo in the Homestead

Every year for over two decades, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence invited the Groton School boys to the Homestead for an annual concert held just before winter break. The program typically included performances by Mrs. Lawrence herself, the Glee Club, and poetry readings by Mr. Billings and Mr. Gardner. 

A vintage portrait of the Lawrence's three children and three dogs

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence's three children: Richard Lawrence, Elizabeth Prescott Lawrence, and James Lawrence III, and three dogs: Thor, Buff, and Blitz.

A vintage photo of an animal handler with a cow

Mr. James Lawrence Jr. was a passionate farmer and grew a impressive stock of farm animals, including cows, sheep, and pigs during his life in Groton. 

A vintage landscape image of the Nashua River surrounded by lush trees.

A landscape image of the Nashua River surrounded by lush trees.

A couple in a canoe on the river

The Nashua River has long been a popular spot for boating and water sports. 

Two boaters in canoes paddle down the river

The Nashua River has long been a popular spot for boating and water sports. 

A vintage photo of a large tree in winter

A large tree on the property of the Homestead

A photograph of a portrait of Charles Redington Mudge

A photograph of a portrait of Col. Charles Redington Mudge, Mrs. Estelle Mudge Lawrence's brother, who died in combat. St. Stephen’s Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynn, MA was built in his memory. 

From the Archives:


Fannie Peabody married Endicott the year after he founded Groton School. Deep in the archives lies a special collection of Fannie's scrapbooks. More than four volumes of albums contain sketches, ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, and even telegrams from Teddy Roosevelt!

Though we think of scrapbooks today as albums full of pictures, in Fannie's day photography was still in its early stages. Not many of her album pages contain photographic prints, but this is one of the few that do. The all-school photo was taken for the school's twentieth anniversary.

A scrapbook page with two illustrations of a football game

Many of Fannie's scrapbook pages are filled with sketches and artwork, presumably by students who gave her the drawings. These two depict a particularly rainy football game.

Two scrapbook pages with newspaper articles about Teddy Roosevelt's visit to Groton

Newspaper clippings are prominent throughout the scrapbooks. Of course when President Teddy Roosevelt came to Massachussettes to visit Groton, it was big news!

A telegram from the White House to Teddy Roosevelt Jr.

Fanny also had a telegram from the White House to Teddy Roosevelt Jr. passing along congratulations to Groton.

A scrapbook spread with a map for a race, a letter, a drawing in a composition book, and a handful of photographs.

Most of the pages are a hodgepodge with no clear theme. This spread contains a map for a race, a letter, a drawing from a composition book, and a handful of photographs.

A post of beets and one that reads %22De feet of St. Marks%22

Could these posters be some of the first from St. Mark's Days?

This spread has a comic of a gym mishap, a copy of the original school prospectus, and a handwritten compilation of sporting event scores.

This spread has a comic of a gym mishap, a copy of the original school prospectus, and a handwritten compilation of sporting event scores.

This drawing from 1900 shows %22the end of an old tradition in feathers.%22 It appears that a thanksgiving pillow fight was occurring in the dormitories. 

This drawing from 1900 shows "the end of an old tradition in feathers." It appears that a Thanksgiving pillow fight was occurring in the dormitories. 

An elaborate crew event poster, a schedule for prize day week, a drama production stub and a sketch of a red horse.

An elaborate crew event poster, a schedule for Prize Day week, a drama production stub, and a sketch of a red horse adorn these pages.

 

Letters to Betsey Peabody, Groton's First Female Teacher 

In 1975, Elizabeth "Betsey" Peabody turned eighty years old. To celebrate this milestone birthday a family member solicited cards and greetings from her former students. Ms. Peabody spent over thirty years (1932-1963) teaching at Groton School as the first female teacher. In her early years, she taught science, then transitioned to English, where she spearheaded the remedial reading program. Below you can see brief snippets of her impact on just a few of the students who crossed paths with her over her many years with the school, along with a few pictures of her from family albums (often sporting some very fashionable hats!).

Yearbook Selections 1976-1986

A group photo of the third form in 1976

The Third Form in the 1976 yearbook.

1976 Yearbook Scan of the Fourth Form

The Fourth Form in the 1976 yearbook.

1976 Yearbook Scan of the Fifth Form

The Fifth Form in the 1976 yearbook.

1976 Yearbook Scan of school activities: choir, debating society, black awareness society

1976 Yearbook clubs and activities: Choir, Debating Society, Black Awareness Society

A yearbook scan from 1976 featuring group photos of The Circle Voice, The Grotonian

1976 clubs and activities: The Circle Voice, The Grotonian

Winter sports 1975–76

A yearbook spread from 1978 with many black and white photos

Student life candids from the 1978 yearbook

A yearbook spread from 1978 with many black and white photos

Another spread of student life from the 1978 yearbook

A scan of a yearbook spread of students

Student life candids from the 1984 yearbook

Student life candids page from the 1985 yearbook

Student life candids from the 1985 yearbook

Sixth form class of 1985 photo of students in on a bus

Sixth Form class of 1985 

Watch Excerpts from the Twentieth Anniversary Documentary

Mary Crocker, Headmaster's Wife

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Mary Drinker: Assistant Head of School

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Lukie Wells: The Dawn of Co-Prefecture

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In 1995, Groton School commissioned a documentary for the twentieth anniversary of coeducation, produced and directed by Amy Cunningham ’79 and Lynn Piasecki ’79. In the film, faculty, alumni, current students, and other community members shared their
reflections on the early years of coeducation.

 

Evolution of a Logo

During the 2024–25 winter term, art students in Ms. Ho's graphic design class were given a final project for the history books: designing a logo to represent the 50th anniversary of coeducation at Groton School. All four students in the class created designs which represented what coeducation meant to them. Daniel Velazquez '25's logo was selected. The logo design was then refined by a professional design firm, and a visual identity was developed by John Donovan '20.

View Designs

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A lot of research went into celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of coeducation. These posters, designed by John Donovan '20, hang outside the library and help tell the story of women and coeducation at Groton School.

Co-Prefects

Read the 1989 Circle Voice Article.

In 1989 a new co-prefect system was implemented, ensuring both a boy and a girl were elected to be senior prefects. Read the CV article about its early days.

Girls at Groton??

View the survey sent out on coeducation.

In the early 1970's Groton began seriously considering going coeducational, but they wanted to garner the opinions of key stakeholders. This survey was sent out to alumni, faculty, and current students.