The
Naval Academy Primary School began in the early 1900s as a nursery school for
children of Naval Academy faculty and staff, both military and civilian. Two
sisters, the Misses Liza and Mary Magruder, operated the school, often referred
to as The Magruder School. From
the schools inception until the late 1940s, it was housed in a succession of
locations: the east end of Dahlgren Hall; the lower level of the Naval Academy
chapel until 1913 when John Paul Joness body was placed in the chapels crypt;
and Isherwood Hall, a building subsequently demolished to provide the site for
Alumni Hall.
In
1949, the school moved across the Severn River into a building that formerly housed a BOQ and later an officers club annex.* The school continues today in this delightful location
on Mill Creek, only minutes away from the Naval Academy and historic Annapolis,
Marylands capital city.
*In March 1943, construction was
completed on a new BOQ at the Navys Radio Transmitter Facility (RTF) located
on Greenbury Point across the Severn River from the Naval Academy. These
quarters housed an influx of military personnel working at the RTF during the
height of the World War II. When
the war ended, the number of officers stationed at the RTF declined and
occupancy at the BOQ fell significantly. In 1947, this BOQ was converted to an
annex for the nearby Naval Academy Commissioned Officers Mess, and included a dining hall, ballroom, bar,
bowling alley, and guest rooms. In 1949, the seldom-used mess annex was turned
over to a group of military parents supervising the operation of the Naval
Academy Nursery School then located in a golf shack at Perry Circle near USNAs
gate eight. The Navy gave the group permission to convert building 74 for use
by the Naval Academy Nursery School. In 1953, the Naval Academy Nursery School
Association was chartered and recognized by the Maryland Secretary of State as
a nonprofit Maryland corporation. Five years later, the schools name was
changed to Naval Academy Primary School