Exploring the Jacob Tome School For Boys

The Tome School for Boys, located in Port Deposit, Maryland, was founded by Jacob Tome as a preparatory school for boys; and it first opened in 1894.

The campus is really secluded and not that well-known among urban explorers in Maryland, making it the perfect spot to visit — graffiti is sparse, the buildings are beautiful, and there is a good chance the only other living things you will see are deer in the woods and turkey vultures on the railings.

In 1942, Congress appropriated the campus to be used as a US Naval Training Center (Bainbridge) and the location of the Naval Academy Preparatory School. The Tome School for Boys campus was then referred to as USNTC Bainbridge, which was activated in October of 1942. Bainbridge operated throughout World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, and the Cold War era. It was finally closed as a military facility in March of 1976. During its 34 years of operation as a Naval Training Center, it graduated over 500,000 recruits.

I am a little uncertain if the campus was reopened after that, but it appears to be that the Jacob Tome School For Boys moved from the original campus in Port Deposit, Maryland. The school property and buildings were listed as a historic district in 1984. The thirteen surviving buildings on campus include Memorial Hall, three dormitories (Jackson, Madison, and Harrison), the Chesapeake Inn dormitory and dining hall, the Director’s residence, the Monroe Gymnasium, and six Master’s cottages.

Getting to the campus is a little bizarre, but that’s pretty common when it comes to urban exploring. The main entrance to the campus is located on Bainbridge Rd and barricaded. The whole area is fenced off and the road can be busy, so you have to be pretty sly. My friends and I ended up parking on Main St and then walking down Bainbridge Rd until we spotted a gap in the fence. When the coast was clear, we crossed the street, went through the fence, and started delving into the woods. We used a GPS from there to get to the actual campus, which is located on Tome Rd.

Exploring the campus was a blast. Getting to it was pretty interesting and Blair Witchy at points because there are some houses located sparsely around the area. The main buildings surround a field. The large buildings are boarded up really well. There are ways to get in, but most of the rooms and halls are dark, so I definitely recommend bringing a flashlight for traversing the halls.

The campus is secluded and for the most part untouched. Every once in a while it’s pretty fantastic to explore a place that isn’t covered in graffiti. All in all it was pretty amazing!

written by edenhovenga on 2013-04-19 #places #abandoned #locations #baltimore #location #lomography #maryland #urban-adventures #urbex #select-type-of-location