Naval Academy Primary School
History of the School

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Introduction

The Naval Academy Primary School began in the early 1900s as a nursery school for children of Naval Academy faculty and staff,

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