Wellesnet

By RAY KELLY

Not far from the corner of McHenry and Seminary avenues in Woodstock, Illinois, stands Rogers Hall – the last remaining trace of the fabled Todd School for Boys.

Founded in 1848 by the Rev. Richard K. Todd, the school was known as Woodstock Institute. It was christened the Todd Seminary for Boys in 1873, and, finally, the Todd School for Boys in 1930.

Rev. Todd’s assistant, Noble Hill, purchased the seminary from the reverend upon his retirement in 1892. He served as its headmaster for more than 40 years. Noble Hill was succeeded by his son, Roger Hill, who led the school until its closing in 1954.

Todd School’s notable alumni included Orson Welles, cartoonist Gahan Wilson and Fermi Lab founder, Robert Wilson.

In the years that followed its closing, the Todd School for Boys campus was sold off and various buildings demolished.

Marian Central Catholic High School is situated on Todd School’s former airstrip. The parochial high school opened its doors in September 1959.

Woodstock Christian Life Services/ Hearthstone Communities purchased the athletic field and Grace Hall, Welles’ former dormitory, in 1956. A year later, Grace Hall was renamed Harrison House and housed teenagers as part of the Woodstock Children’s Home.

Despite pleas from local historians and prominent Welles scholars like Simon Callow, Grace Hall was demolished in 2010 to make way for an expanded senior living area.

Neighboring Rogers Hall is the sole remaining building of the former Todd School campus. It was built in 1910 and used primarily as a classroom building. It was named for Grace Elizabeth Rogers, wife of Noble Hill.

“It’s corner-stone was laid the June day I graduated from Noble’s original school building, Clover Hall. Over the years the English basement was gradually filled with shops: Woodworking, Printing, Ceramics, Forge, Auto Mechanics. The second floor had our 200-seat theatre,” headmaster Roger Hill wrote in his autobiography One Man’s Time and Chance, a Memoir of Eighty Years.

It served as the Woodstock Masonic Temple in the years following the closing of the Todd School.

Now, Rogers Hall is an apartment building. A two-bedroom unit has a monthly rent of $825. (Sorry, no pets allowed). It is the last vestige of a school that meant a great deal to students like Welles.

A sign in the main driveway notes the rich history of the grounds: “Formerly Todd Seminary for Boys.”

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