Brief History

Hill School was founded in 1926 and has been at its current location just south of Middleburg since 1928. From 1928 until 1991, the campus grew from one to four acres. In 1991 and 1992 Mr. Stephen C. Clark, Jr. and his daughter Jane Forbes Clark (Hill ’69) donated 133 acres, which included a barn and outbuildings, as well as three houses. This institution-transforming gift gave the school the historical opportunity as well as the responsibility to create a campus that would embody its educational philosophy and program for generations to come.

The school developed the following principles to guide and inspire the design, construction and renovation of its buildings and the development of the grounds. They would:

1. Reflect, support and strengthen the school’s academic and co-curricular programs.
2. Create a “village-like” feel to enhance Hill’s value of community through child-scaled buildings, courtyards and playgrounds, easy outdoor access, and walkways that encourage students of all ages to cross paths each day.
3. Place a high priority on safety (traffic circle design, limited automobile access) and durable infrastructure, designed for long-term needs.
4. Integrate existing campus buildings into the master plan, and have new buildings reflect local architectural style.
5. Include a vision for the school’s long-term success and integrity, with particular focus on the arboretum, the athletic fields, science center and faculty housing.
6. Provide opportunities for use by the greater Middleburg community, including the walking paths and arboretum.

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Core Campus

The Core Campus consists of classroom and co-curricular buildings, an outdoor amphitheater, playgrounds, parking lots and entry roads on approximately twenty-five acres. It is the ‘village’ of the campus and includes:

1. The Wilson Science Building (1995) was funded by Jim and Barbara Wilson. This building houses the upper school science lab and classroom, as well as the 4th, 5th and 6th grade homerooms. In 1988, the Wilson family established an endowment to support science and math programs at Hill.
2. The Athletic Center (1997) includes two gymnasiums, locker rooms, storage facilities, restrooms, an office, and a classroom. Indoor athletic classes as well as the school’s annual auction, graduation, special assemblies, and a variety of community events are held in this building.
3. The Art Building (1997) is home to art classes for grades 1-8 and features outstanding natural light. It includes a kiln, pottery wheels, lots of table and floor space to work on projects, and a faculty office.
4. The Peard Music & Lunchroom Building (2000) was named for the Reverend Richard T.C. Peard (1941-1991), a member of Hill’s Board of Trustees and a beloved counselor to many Hill students and families. This building includes music and strings classrooms, a faculty office, and the lunchroom and kitchen.
5. The Sheila C. Johnson Performing Arts Center (2002) was donated by Sheila C. Johnson, whose visionary and magnanimous gift also provided a $2,000,000 endowment to ensure that the arts would always flourish at Hill. It houses a theater including an orchestra pit, a two-story fly system, extensive sound and lighting capabilities, a spacious entry gallery, a dance studio, dressing rooms, and an office. It is the ‘village center’, a gathering place for school assemblies, plays, and performances as well as a wide array of community events from speakers to concerts and dramatic productions. It is adjacent to two garden courtyards, which are the site for outdoor activities. Ms. Johnson is the mother of two Hill alumni.
6. The Lower School Building was renovated in 2003. This was for many years the school’s only building. The original two classrooms date back to 1928. Since its renovation, it is the home base for lower school (Kindergarten through grade 3) and includes classrooms (both large and small), tutoring rooms, a computer lab, a faculty room, and a well-equipped kitchen.
7. The Leachman Building was built in 1977 and renovated in 2003. It was donated in honor the late William Leachman, father of three Hill alumni, by his family and friends. It is currently used for Latin classes.
8. The Main School Building (2003) includes the main entrance (porch and reception area) to the school, administrative offices, the Kelso Family Alumni Room (Jane ’54, Dick ’56, Sara ’59, David ’66, and Robbie ’67 Kelso), the Arundel Family library (donated by Nick and Peggy Arundel, parents of an alumnus), and integrated the renovated upper school wing. In 1982 this three classroom wing was designed by Charlie Matheson, father of four alumni, and built by Trowbridge Littleton ’58, father of two alumni.
9. The Outdoor Amphitheater (2002), at the southern end of the recess field, overlooks the Bull Run Mountains. This is a setting for school assemblies, concerts and special events. The amphitheatre is beautifully landscaped and comfortably accommodates hundreds of people.

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Outer Campus

Much of the school’s 137 acre campus is open space and includes rolling meadows, woods, a pond, and a wetland. Shortly after the Clark family gift, Polly Rowley (parent of two alumni) envisioned, designed, and helped plant an arboretum which today consists of an apple orchard of antique varieties, a Colonial Native American garden, a butterfly garden, a tree circle where eight common native trees are arranged on the points of the compass, a maturing hedgerow of native species, and the Cork Tree Garden, which showcases ornamental and prairie grasses. More than 700 trees and shrubs and 2,000 conifer seedlings have been planted during the past decade.

The Arboretum enhances the school's curriculum and provides a community resource rich with alternative plant materials and ideas with a sensitivity to the environment, habitat development, species preservation, and natural beauty.

Four multi-sport (soccer, field hockey, lacrosse) fields, a baseball diamond, and a 1.5 mile trail, provide the setting for the school’s athletic program and are used during non-school hours by youth, high school, college and adult groups.

Located in the southwest corner of the campus, the Dornin Science Center (dedicated in 1993) is named for beloved science teacher Robert Dornin Sr. (1914-2002, and father of two alumni). The Center includes a barn, raised planting beds, an heirloom apple orchard, and a campfire ring and houses science labs, the annual all-school country fair, and special events.

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Faculty Housing

In keeping with Hill School’s commitment to being a community school we work hard to provide affordable local housing for our faculty. The school owns thirteen houses - eight of which were donated by friends of the school.

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