Brownell-Talbot School is Nebraska's only private, independent, college preparatory school for grades preschool through twelve.  Our students come from throughout the Omaha metropolitan area in order to enjoy our family focused environment and to benefit from small classes, a challenging curriculum, and opportunities to participate in clubs and sports.

From Pony Express to Wireless

Brownell-Talbot College Preparatory School

140 Years of History

Brownell-Talbot College Preparatory School opened on September 17, 1863, as a girls' boarding school offering the daughters of the pioneer families settling the Nebraska territory the educational advantages available in the East. Joseph Cruickshank Talbot, Episcopal Bishop of the Northwest, founded the school, naming it Brownell Hall to honor its primary fundraiser, Thomas Brownell, Bishop of Connecticut. The original site was the old Saratoga Springs Hotel, a defunct resort. Located at 24th and Grand, the school was three long country miles from Omaha, then the territorial capital.

"Danger and inconvenience"

The school opened with a principal, three teachers and an enrollment of forty young women who arrived by boat or traveled the unpaved roads by private carriage, lumber wagon, or stage coach. A description of that time comes from the book Historical Sketch of Brownell Hall, written in 1914 by Fanny M. Clark Potter, Brownell alumna, Class of 1873: "There were no graded schools, no high school, no railroads, no telegraphs, no telephones. Mail was carried by coach, buckboard or horseback. There were no pavements, no sidewalks, no electricity, no gas, no coal, no water system, no sewer system, no sewing machines, no washing machines, no laundries and no servants. We were in the midst of a terrible civil war and had hostile Indians all around us. Truly great faith and courage were required to shape and build in the midst of so much danger and inconvenience."

Thanks to the availability of wild game (venison, quail, prairie chickens, wild ducks and turkeys), and Brownell Hall's dairy cows, food was plentiful, though limited in variety. Oranges, bananas, peaches, and pears were unknown. Apples had not yet been grown in Nebraska; those shipped in cost an amazing $15 per barrel. Deliveries of sugar, coffee, tea, and dried fruits came sporadically by riverboat. In the face of such circumstances, the administration was flexible. Firewood and fresh produce sometimes paid the $200 tuition bill.

Occasionally the wild strawberries growing in nearby fields proved too great a temptation for the schoolgirls, and a few would sneak off the property, bringing back berries to share with the others. At that time, Brownell Hall's rules forbid students to leave the yard. The fear was not that the girls might spoil their dinner - it was the ever present danger of Indian attack.

Girls lived two to a room, complete with a bureau, washstand, two chairs, and a wood stove for heat. Candles and oil lamps provided light. Hoop skirts, full dresses, lace collars, and turbans were favorite fashions.

A rigorous course of study

Educational standards were high. The ten-month school year provided long terms of faithful drill and study. Traditional fine arts, music, and literary instruction was combined with Latin, French, German, chemistry, natural philosophy - all before the first United States women's college (Vassar) had graduated its first class.

Interest in cultural and scientific achievements was great. School legend has it that one of the school's principals first brought the new power of electricity to Omaha with Brownell Hall's Friday evening demonstrations of "the spark." Another cause of great sensation during this time was the visit of General William Tucumseh Sherman. The story goes that long after their famous visitor had departed Brownell, students continued to salute the piano that he had leaned upon, "almost as respectfully as if it had been General Sherman himself."

First high school graduates in Nebraska

Within five years of its founding, the school moved into Omaha at 16th and Jones Streets and was incorporated by the State Legislature. The new building was built of wood, supplied with water from a well in the yard, heated by coal stoves, and lighted with coal oil lamps. Bishop Robert Clarkson presented diplomas to the first graduates in the state at Brownell Hall's commencement on July 10, 1868.

Bishop Clarkson had a long and close relationship with Brownell Hall, briefly moving in as Rector and teacher in 1869, with Mrs. Clarkson acting as matron and housekeeper. Under his leadership, "Truth and Justice, Religion and Piety" were considered the four great cornerstones to building good character.

As Brownell's reputation for excellence grew, the school began to attract students from across the country and soon outgrew its facilities. In 1887, the school relocated to land on South Tenth Street donated by Herman Kountze. A large, three-story brick structure was built, complete with steam heat, gas lighting, hot and cold running water, speaking tubes, electric bells, and a basement gymnasium for physical culture classes. The school flourished, reaching a record attendance of seventy-three boarders and fifty-nine day students in 1891. Two of Buffalo Bill Cody's daughters were boarding students at Brownell Hall in the 1880s and '90s.

"A higher life in woman"

Alumnae involvement increased during this time with the birth of the Brownell Hall Alumnae Association in 1889. All those with a Brownell diploma and one dollar for annual dues were invited to participate. The stated objectives were "to promote the growth of a higher life in woman, to further in all possible ways the prosperity of the school, and to encourage young girls to take advantage of the opportunities for Christian education, which Brownell Hall affords."

Brownell moved to its present location at 400 North Happy Hollow Boulevard in 1923. For almost forty years, students attended classes in the stately "old white building," once the home of John Nelson Hayes Patrick and then the site of the Happy Hollow Country Club. The building was razed in 1960. Worthington Hall, built as the original dormitory, now houses classrooms and offices. While the school has maintained the tradition of academic excellence, it has changed with the times. Although boys had long been accepted as day students in "the nursery" or early primary grades, Brownell did not begin the formal transition to becoming a coeducational facility until 1952. In 1963, in the school's centennial year, the first freshmen boys were admitted, and the school became Brownell-Talbot, taking the names of both bishops responsible for its birth. The last boarders left in 1965, the first coed class graduated from the high school in 1967, and in 1969, the school was incorporated independent of the Episcopal Church.

Today's modern campus

Today's modern, seventeen-acre campus includes the Hitchcock Science and Fine Arts Building, the Theisen Fieldhouse and Swimming Pool, St. Matthias Chapel, Worthington Hall, and the recently renovated educational wing.

Brownell-Talbot School, the only independent, coeducational college preparatory day school in the state of Nebraska, has a unique history. Founded on the highest principles, the school has a strong frontier heritage of strength, growth, and adaptability. With pride in its past, Brownell-Talbot School looks forward to the next 138 years.

www.brownell.edu