“I give, devise and bequeath unto the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Hawaiian Islands, its successors and assigns forever, all of my right, title and interest in and to the said property to the said church.”
“It is the desire and intent of both the church and myself that the church shall maintain and operate on the said property a good school …” Katherine [‘Kate’] McGrew Cooper, Last Will and Testament, March 27, 1958.
From the 1950s, during a seven (7) year period of planning and discussion, Kate Cooper, together with then Episcopal Bishop Harry Kennedy and the Rev. Rodger Melrose, Seabury’s founding Chaplain and Headmaster, spent countless hours planning and praying on what Seabury Hall might become. (Seabury)
Whoa, let’s look back …
On the morning that the advertisement for “Maunalei” appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser (November 19, 1944), Mrs Charles B Cooper was sitting on the lanai with a group of friends. One of them tossed the paper to her, saying, “Here is the house that you should buy, Kate.” (Seabury Hall Alumni)
The advertisement read, “Situated at an elevation where it is constantly cool, this five bedroom house designed by Honolulu’s leading architect, is the last word in modem planning, comfort and construction. Set apart, it provides a home designed for peace and quiet living.”
“One looks out toward West Maui and the north shore while toward the south one sees the slopes of Lanai in the distance beyond the south shore. … The grounds, 8.79 acres, are fully landscaped in a manner which does not destroy the mountain beauty of the setting and yet is in keeping with the semi-colonial design of the house.” (Adv, Nov 19, 1944)
“Maunalei” was built in 1929 by Dr William Baldwin, the second son of Emily and Henry Perrine Baldwin. It was designed by Mr. Baldwin’s cousin, Charles W Dickey, one of Hawaii’s most outstanding architects. The contractor was Charles C. Savage.
Following Dr Baldwin’s death, the house was put up for sale to settle his estate. For some time, ‘Kate’ Cooper had been looking for just such a house. Maunalei did seem to be the perfect answer for her. She purchased the estate (for approximately $109,000) and was settled on Maui by early 1945. She loved Maui and lived here very happily for 18 years.
In 1958, foreseeing a need for a boarding school for girls, Mrs. Cooper bequeathed her estate to the Episcopal Church in Hawaii, and at her death in 1963 Seabury Hall was born. (Seabury Hall Alumni)
(Seabury Hall is named after Rev. Samuel Seabury, the first Episcopal Bishop of the American Church. November 14, 1784, Samuel Seabury was consecrated Bishop in the Church of God. Seabury served the church in Connecticut.)
Founded in 1964 as an Episcopal boarding school for girls, Seabury Hall, in the 1970s the School accepted boys, and in the late-1980s it eliminated the boarding program to focus exclusively on serving Maui. It is now a coeducational independent day school. (Seabury Hall)
The school is Episcopal in religious affiliation but nonsectarian in its instruction. (Maunalei was later renamed the Cooper House and houses administrative offices, a reception area, a dining facility, and a chapel.)
“Groundbreaking ceremonies for Seabury Hall’s girIs dormitory, designed by Bruce Cruikshank, will take place tomorrow [February 20, 1964] near Makawao, Maui. Seabury Hall is to open in September as a boarding school for girls and a day school for girls and boys.”
“Its nine acres were a gift from the late Mrs Katherine McGrew Cooper to the Episcopal Church. The new dormitory will have 30 double rooms on two floors, an infirmary and teachers quarters. The Reverend Roger M Melrose, headmaster, will officiate”. (SB, Feb 19, 1964)
“’Seabury Hall is being established to fill a need in Hawaii for a girls’ boarding school,” Bishop Kennedy said. “’We need a school where girls living in a community learn to meet the changing demands of life and education with new and better methods, while maintaining an unswerving emphasis upon standards and ideals of lasting value.” (SB, June 3, 1964)
Beginning in 1993, the school has built a full-size gymnasium, a Middle School building, an Upper School building, parking for school and public events, a library, and most recently a new Arts, Innovation, and Music Center. Extensive playing fields support the PE and athletic programs.
Signature programs at Seabury Hall include an AP Capstone Program in addition to 22 AP courses and 10 Honors courses offered; Engineering and Technology; Hawaiian Studies and Hawaiian language; Community Service Leadership; Winterim Program and experiential learning.
Seabury has little over 500 students (325 in Upper School and just under 200 in Middle School). It is accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges; Hawaii Association of Independent Schools. (Lots of information here is from Seabury Hall.)
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