Academics
Areas of Study

Quick Links

Winning, losing, and learning through sports

Together in the dorms: Community life at boarding school

Trades and Training for Boys

State School in an Expanding Nation

Segregated Schools in the post-war South

Lincoln signs act of congress to authorize Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind to confer degrees

Little Paper Family: Deaf students turn to newspapers and magazines

Home away from home: Schools for the Deaf

Home Skills – Training in sewing, cooking, and hairstyling

From Asylum to School: Families pool their resources

Family ties: Deaf children away at school get creative for writing to parents

Classroom learning for Deaf students

After school: Extracurricular activities at Gallaudet

A language shared by hand and heart: Laurent Clerc brings sign language from Paris

A solemn responsibility, a cup of consolation

About

History Through Deaf Eyes – A Place of Our Own

In 1817, the first permanent school for deaf children opened in Hartford, Connecticut. At the time, most Americans still lived on farms or in small towns. The scattered population made it difficult to establish schools, especially for deaf children, who were few and far between. Because schools for deaf children had to serve such large areas, most were boarding schools. In these residential settings, a community of deaf people began to form. ASD Students in front of old ASD building.

In one of the earliest photos of the American School for the Deaf, Girls pose for the student picture in front of the “Old Hartford” building.

American School for the Deaf c. 1890s

A language shared by hand and heart: Laurent Clerc brings sign language from Paris

A place of our own: the first permanent school for deaf children

A solemn responsibility, a cup of consolation

After school: Extracurricular activities at Gallaudet

Classroom learning for Deaf students

Family ties: Deaf children away at school get creative for writing to parents

From Asylum to School: Families pool their resources

Home away from home: Schools for the Deaf

Home Skills – Training in sewing, cooking, and hairstyling

Lincoln signs act of congress to authorize Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind to confer degrees

Little Paper Family: Deaf students turn to newspapers and magazines

Segregated Schools in the post-war South

State School in an Expanding Nation

Together in the dorms: Community life at boarding school

Trades and Training for Boys

Winning, losing, and learning through sports
Back to Formation of a Community