Our History

The Tome School owes its existence to the vision of Jacob Tome (1810-1898), merchant, banker, and philanthropist, who for most of his life was a resident of Port Deposit, Maryland, a small town in rural Cecil County. He devoted much of his considerable wealth to the creation of the school. It was his vision that Tome School would give the finest education to its students, and the school would be available to every child willing to undergo its regimen, no matter what his or her ability to pay the cost.

In announcing his preliminary plans in 1889, Mr. Tome said, "I have lived for fifty-six years in Port Deposit and have made my money there. I think it is only right that I should spend some of it for the good of the people there. My purpose is to erect and equip the necessary schools and laboratories for 500 children. I want to give them a practical education to fit them for the duties of life."

The Tome School was built and flourished - eventually outgrowing its original building in Port Deposit. In 1971, the school moved to a hundred-acre property in North East, MD, and a new addition was put on the building in 2004. Today Tome School serves almost 500 students in grades K-12.

The school today faithfully reflects its founder's aims. The curriculum differs in important respects, and in rigor, from that of typical American elementary and secondary education. Tome is organized into three divisions: the Lower School, comprised of Kindergarten and the first four grades, the Middle School, grades five through eight, and the Upper School with grades nine through twelve.