Miss Mittleberger's School

The Mental, Physical, and Moral Development of the Girls of Ten-Twenty

The Old Rockefeller Property Miss Mittleberger rented 1020 Prospect Avenue (in the present-day 4100 block) from John D. Rockefeller to house and educate many middle- to upper-class daughters of families from both the Cleveland area and surrounding states. Rockefeller was constantly improving and adding on to this property to accommodate the growing school. In 1889, Rockefeller agreed to expand the school to the rear of the property fronting on Case Avenue (E. 40th), for which he paid approximately $33,000. Source: Cleveland Public Library, Photograph Collection

"It is hardly too much to say that we have accepted Miss Mittleberger's school as a part of the constituted order of things, much as we accept the shining sun, valuing its prominence and its generous benefits most when the brighter seasons end." — The Interlude

From 1877 to 1908, Miss Mittleberger’s School for Girls educated middle- to upper-class daughters from the Cleveland area, as well as those from out of state. The girls who attended Miss Mittleberger’s School received an extensive education while also creating lifelong bonds with their classmates. Many of the young women educated at Miss Mittleberger’s School went on to attend prestigious women’s colleges such as Bryn Mawr, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley.

Headmistress Augusta Mittleberger was born on September 13, 1845, to Canadian immigrant and prosperous coal and produce merchant William Mittleberger and Augusta Margaret Beebe of Oneida County, New York. Mittleberger had two younger brothers, William Jr. and Alexander. Mittleberger’s status allowed her to receive an education, and in 1863, she graduated from the Cleveland Female Seminary, located on Kinsman Avenue between Wallingford Court. (E. 45th Place) and Sawtell (E. 51st Street). Mittleberger was passionate about education and began tutoring students shortly after she graduated. From 1868 to 1869, she taught both History and Latin at the Cleveland Female Seminary. By 1874, Mittleberger joined the faculty of the Cleveland Academy, located on the north side of St. Clair Avenue, where she remained until her father died in 1875 after a battle with Bright’s disease, when Augusta was 30 years old.

Shortly after, Mittleberger decided to independently teach young girls in her private residence on Superior Avenue, where the Cleveland Public Library is located today. In 1877, Mittleberger's School moved to a house on Prospect Avenue just west of Willson Avenue (now E. 55th Street) and then, soon after, to another location on Prospect just west of Case Street (now E. 40th Street). In 1880, Mittleberger’s ability as an educator had captured the attention of many prominent families. To accommodate the growing number of students, she needed a larger location to support the expanding school. One notable family interested in her work was the Rockefellers. John D. Rockefeller and his wife, Laura, had two houses facing the southwest corner of Euclid Avenue and Case Street (E. 40th). One of these remained on the land and served as their home, and the second was relocated to the southeast corner of Prospect and E. 40th. This move was one of the first attempts in Cleveland to be successful, and it had cost the Rockefellers approximately $10,000 to $17,000.

The Rockefellers, who valued education, rented this space to Miss Mittleberger. By 1881, the building had become the home of Miss Mittleberger’s School for Girls, located at 1020 Prospect Avenue (now the 4100 block of Prospect Avenue), until its closure several years later. Fifty students attended Miss Mittleberger’s School that year, and the number of pupils enrolled continued to increase with the larger building in use.

One common misconception was that Miss Mittleberger’s School operated as a “finishing school” for upper-class women to learn the social and domestic etiquette to prepare them for high society and marriage. While courses on deportment and home skills were offered to the “girls of ten-twenty,” there was a rigorous course schedule in Miss Mittleberger’s Academic Department for girls between the ages of 14 and 19. Some of the many courses available included Algebra I-III, Astronomy, Art History, Basic Arithmetic, Bible, Botany, Clay Molding, Chemistry, Drawing, Elocution, English I-IV, French, Geometry, German, Greek Language, Greek History, Gymnastics, Latin, Spelling, Virgil Prose, and Wood Carving.

Mittleberger’s school also accommodated students of all ages. The school also had kindergarten, primary, and intermediate departments. The kindergarten and primary departments were co-ed, and the intermediate department, along with the academic department, was strictly for girls. Students in the academic and intermediate departments documented their daily lives in the school's monthly newspaper, The Interlude. This student paper included poems, fictional pieces, jokes, jingles, updates on staff, and descriptions of day-to-day activities in or around the area.

Miss Mittleberger’s School had many notable alumnae throughout its years of operation. For example, Belle Sherwin was the senior class president in 1886. Fanny Hayes, the daughter of Rutherford B. Hayes, attended before leaving for school in Connecticut, and Mollie Garfield, the daughter of President James A. Garfield, also attended between 1880 and 1883 before leaving for the same school in Connecticut.

In March of 1908, Miss Mittleberger announced that she was retiring and that the school would be closing. That June was the last commencement for Miss Mittleberger’s School, which was held at the First Baptist Church on the corner of Prospect and East 46th. Festivities and a celebration were held for the graduating class and Miss Mittleberger herself. Additionally, an Alumnae Association was established, and many of the women involved attended the final commencement to pay their respects and share fond memories of their classmates and their beloved headmistress. The Alumnae Association raised approximately $25,000 to endow the Mittleberger Memorial Kindergarten and gifted Miss Mittleberger with a purse of money that they wanted her to use for a vacation to Europe for some much-needed rest. Many of the remaining students who did not graduate that June transferred to the Laurel School to finish their education while still honoring their roots as the girls of Ten-Twenty.

Augusta Mittleberger dedicated her life to educating young women in Cleveland, Ohio. Her passion for teaching and serving as a role model for her students is evident in the many reminiscences of the women who attended and received a well-rounded education. Even after her retirement, Mittleberger dedicated her time to furthering the Mittleberger Memorial Kindergarten and her memorial scholarship, which supported two Cleveland-area senior students for many years. Augusta Mittleberger passed away on August 3, 1915, and was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.