St. John's Northwestern Military Academy

St. John's Northwestern Military Academy (SJNMA) was founded in 1884 as St. John's Military Academy (SJMA) in Delafield, Wisconsin, by Rev. Sidney T. Smythe as a private, college preparatory[1] and leadership development school. In 1995, Northwestern Military and Naval Academy (NMNA) in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, merged with St. John's Military Academy to become St. John's Northwestern Military Academy on the Delafield campus. SJNMA is principally a boarding school for boys and girls in grades 7–12, but also has an active day program. The Academy also offers several summer programs including an adventure camp, summer school and English as a Second Language courses.[2]

"St. John's Military Academy" redirects here. For the school in Salina, Kansas, see St. John's Military School.
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy
Location
1101 Genesee St.
Delafield, Wisconsin

United States
Information
TypeMilitary Boarding and Day School
MottoWork Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard
Established1884
PresidentTom Stocks
Grades7–12
Enrollment160
Campus size110 acres
AthleticsFootball, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Track and Field, Cross-Country, Wrestling, Swimming, Golf, Tennis, Hockey
Team nameLancers

Historic buildings

St. John's Northwestern's campus consists of a collection of historic buildings, many with towers and battlements in a style that suggests a Medieval castle, with most of them arranged in a U around the drill field.

  • The school's oldest surviving building is the 1857 rectory of St. John Chrysostom Church, a small Picturesque-style house which was repurposed in 1884 as the academy's first dormitory, infirmary and dining hall.[3]
  • Next is the odd Shingle style Memorial Hall, designed by John A. Moller with its two caps and built in 1893 as a recreational building/gymnasium.[4]
  • Next among the surviving buildings is the Dr. Sidney Thomas Smythe house, designed by John A. Moller and built in 1901, an unusual agglomeration of Shingle style (the massing) and Classical Revival (the Doric columns) styles. Smythe, the founder of the school, lived here, calling the house "Rosslyn."[5]
  • Knight Hall classroom building was added in 1902.
Smythe and DeKoven, with the Beacon in the middle distance
  • Next was DeKoven Hall, designed in Collegiate Gothic style by Thomas Van Alyea and built in 1906, a four story barracks/administration building with octagonal towers at the corners and battlements topping the walls.[6]
  • The dining hall and barracks Welles Hall was also added in 1906, designed by Van Alyea in a style similar to DeKoven Hall, but with a large square clock tower.[7]
  • The Beacon is a fieldstone monument built in 1923. It holds an eternal light and displays quotes from St. John's founder.[8]
  • Victory Memorial Chapel was built from 1921 to 1926, modeled by Van Alyea on the chapel at West Point, and clad in lannonstone.[9]
  • In 1927 the school added the two-story Hazelwood Hall designed by Van Alyea, housing barracks and classrooms,[10] and it was expanded with Scott Johnston Hall in 1930, with a corner turret.[11]
  • Smythe Hall was added in 1929, a classroom designed by Van Alyea in a "castle" style like the previous buildings.[12]

In 1977 these historic campus buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places for the complementary design of many of them and since the school is the oldest military academy in Wisconsin.[1]

Notable alumni
  • Daniel Gerber (SJMA 1916) was the founder and president of Gerber Baby Foods.[1]
  • Lt.Gen. Edward A. Craig (SJMA 1917) U.S. Marine Corps officer who commanded combat units during World War II and the Korean War.[13]
  • Spencer Tracy (NMNA 1919–1920, non-graduate) was a two-time Academy Award–winning actor.[14]
  • George Kennan (SJMA 1922) was the U.S. Ambassador to the USSR (1952) and Yugoslavia. He helped develop the Marshall Plan for reconstruction of Europe after World War II.[1]
  • George Wilson (SJMA 1933) was an NFL end with the Chicago Bears (1937–46). He later coached the Detroit Lions to the NFL Championship Game, 1957 NFL Championship before becoming the first coach of the Miami Dolphins.
  • Carl Thomsen (NMNA 1934) was former C.E.O. of Texas Instruments.
  • Daniel Rostenkowski (SJMA 1946) was an Illinois Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.[15]
  • Curtis Roosevelt (NMNA 1948), the eldest grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a statesman who served as a delegate representing the United States to the United Nations.[14]
  • Jayapataka Swami (Gordon John Erdman II, SJMA 1965) is a Hare Krishna guru.
  • Albert Graf (NMNA 1966) was the founder of Guidant Corp.
  • Martin Torrijos (SJMA 1981) was the President of Panama.[16]

Notes
  1. Katherine E. Hundt (1977-10-10). NRHP Inventory/Nomination: St. John's Hall. National Park Service. Retrieved 2019-10-11. With eight photos.
  2. "About Us". St. John's Northwestern Military Academy. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  3. "St. John Chrysostom Church Rectory". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  4. "Memorial Hall". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  5. "Smythe House". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  6. "DeKoven Hall". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  7. "Welles Hall". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  8. "The Beacon". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  9. "Victory Memorial Chapel". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  10. "Hazelwood Hall". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  11. "Scott Johnston Hall". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  12. "Smythe Hall". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  13. "Lieutenant General Edward A. Craig". Marine Corps University. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  14. Schoettler, Daniel (2019-09-02). "Military academy may get monumental homecoming". Lee Newspapers. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  15. "Rostenkowski, Daniel David". History, Art & Archives. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  16. Leonard, Thomas M. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Panama. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 274–275. ISBN 0810878356. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
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