Admissions / Development & Alumni / Communications

Once the village’s most prominent building, the Proctor Block was built in the 1870s as a municipal facility. John Proctor, a local tycoon, financed its construction as part of an extensive town improvement project.. It once had a third floor, but it was destroyed by fire a century ago. Over the years, different parts of the Proctor Block have served as a town hall, a U.S. post office and even a hamburger joint! Proctor purchased it 1983,  and it was renovated for history classrooms (upstairs) and  Admissions and Development offices downstairs. Today, Admissions occupies the entire first floor, and Communications and Development operate out of the upper level.

Maxwell Savage was completed in 1932 after the first Academic Building was destroyed by fire in 1931. It is the most prominent and recognizable building on campus. Named for a well-known Unitarian minister, Maxwell Savage is the main administrative building, while also serving as home to the world language department, the student mail room, and the bookstore. The bell atop Maxwell, as the students call it, rings to call the school together for morning assemblies and to celebrate team road victories. The back addition, built in 1958, is home to the English Department and connects to the Wise community center.

The Wise Center space was original constructed as Holland Auditorium in 1958, where it was home to all-school assemblies and Proctor Drama until the Norris Family Theater opened in the Meeting House in 2001. Through the generosity of a generous alumni and trustees, this space was completely rebuilt as the Ruby and Bill Wise ‘39 Community Center. Known on campus simply as “The Wise,” this is the place where students go to relax with friends, grab a bite to eat from the grill, or play pool and ping pong in the evenings.

Business Office / HR / Maintenance / Housekeeping

The Newell Service Building, known jokingly as “the Garage Majal,” is a high-tech facility for Proctor’s many service vehicles, including bio-diesel trucks, gators and tractors. The top floor is home to the Business Office, Human Resources, Maintenance, and Housekeeping.

Shirley Hall was completed in 1962, and was one of several significant construction projects completed during Lyle Farrell’s tenure. He served as Head of School from 1952 to 1971, and was proud to promote physical improvements to campus, referring to himself as “The Great Builder.” The building was named for William R. Shirley, class of 1916, who drew the architectural lines and donated to the project. Originally, the main floor housed the library and science labs, while the lower level featured Learning skills and the Mathematics department. In 1994, Shirley was significantly remodeled, and now the Science Department is on the top floor, with the Mathematics Department downstairs.

The Alice and David Fowler Learning Center is the crown jewel of our academic facilities. It was dedicated in June, 1994, in honor of David Fowler’s retirement (after 30 years at Proctor, including 25 years as Head of School). This building was inspired by a Quaker barn and celebrates the legacy of both David and Alice Fowler. A stunning, open atrium on the east side connects Information Technology with the Lovejoy Library and Learning Skills. The Fowler Learning Center immediately gained national attention in architectural magazines, and was honored for its successful integration of small-town, New England style with state-of-the-art technologies.

This facility, dedicated in 1970 to honor Lyle Harlan Farrell for thirty-eight years of service, was completely renovated in 2018 and houses athletics offices, the gymnasium, a state of the art fitness center, seven academic classrooms, the History Department, locker and shower rooms, extensive athletic training facilities. The Farrell Field House is among the finest basketball venues in the Lakes Region and plays host to local tournaments, Special Olympics New Hampshire basketball and weight lifting events, and serves as an indoor practice space for spring teams during seasons of significant snow fall. The Farrell Field House is a hub of activity during all hours of the day. 

Renovated by a local entrepreneur in the 1970s, this dormitory for nine students was purchased and dedicated to trustee Alfred King in 1981. Students occupy the first floor of King House, and a spacious faculty apartment is upstairs. King House is popular for its central location and home-style rooms.

Acquired by the school in 1994 to serve as the residence for the Head of School and family, this building was originally built for John Proctor’s brother, William, in the 1870s. The Head’s Residence was extensively remodeled in 2005, and again updated in 2021 in order to host guest speakers and other special guests to campus. The backyard is a popular spot for receptions, trustee cookouts and other social gatherings.

Named for Henry C. Ives, a scholarly instructor who served as Head of School in 1904, this dormitory is popular for its central location and architectural charm. It has a home-like feel, and the 12 students who live in Ives enjoy spacious rooms and a short walk to most classes.

The front “Cape” of this facility was a local residence from 1848 until 1980, when it was purchased by the school. At that time, the old barn that was attached to the back was moved across campus to become the Robert Wilson Forestry Building, and a new two-story dormitory, housing 12 students, was built in its place. The original, front cape serves as the faculty apartment. This dorm is named for an active alumnus from the Class of 1957, who served as a Trustee from 1970 until his passing in 2011.

This charming, Greek-revival colonial was built by John Proctor in the 1870s, and was renovated by the Carr family eighty years ago. Acquired by the school in the 1950s, Carr House is a popular dormitory for 18 students. The building retains many charming accents from its history as a grand home: dentil trim and fine molding, bull’s eye glass, rare patio tiles, and linen closets in a maid’s apartment. The original living room now serves as the dorm’s common space, located across the front hall from the faculty apartment.

The cottage at the west end, now a faculty residence, housed horse-drawn carriages in the 19th Century as a part of the Proctor and Carr Family estate. A new dormitory, built to exacting environmental standards, was completed in 1998. A classroom separates the east wing from the west wing. For decades, Carriage House served as an Environmental themed dormitory, and in 2022 became the school's first all-gender dorm. Students in Carriage House live with intentionality as they craft their dorm community. 

Named for Headmaster Theodore “Teddy” Parker Farr, Farr Cottage is a faculty residence.

Burbank East and Burbank West are under one roof, but are two separate student dormitories. They are home to Proctor’s 9th Grade Program. “The Burbs” are popular for their spacious, modern rooms, comfortable common spaces and great views of campus and immediate access to the Farrell Field Complex. It’s a short walk to the dining room and all athletic facilities, and Mud Pond Trail leads up Ragged Mountain from the back door.

One of the three sister dorms built in 1978, Johnson House is a dormitory for 12 students situated at the foot of Ragged Mountain. With windows facing south, and thick insulation throughout, Johnson is one of Proctor’s many environmentally responsible residences. Situated high above Farrell Field, Johnson House provides great views of campus, the Proctor Ski Area, the Blackwater River Valley, and Mount Kearsarge. Hiking and biking trails extend northward from the back door.

One of the three sister dorms constructed in 1978, Davis House is popular dormitory for 12 students. Named for generous benefactor Al Davis, this dorm is situated high above Farrell Field, Davis House offers fine views to the south and southwest. Hiking and biking trails extend northward from back entrance.

Named for Chuck Summerfield ‘72, who died in an accident shortly after his graduation, this is one of the three sister dorms built in 1978. A south-facing dorm for 12 students, Summerfield is one of many environmentally responsible residences. Hiking and biking trails extend northward from the back entrance.

Peabody House is a desirable central location on campus. It was built in 2008 to replace the long-standing Morton House. Home to two faculty families and sixteen residents, Peabody House utilizes geothermal heating and cooling and is built with sustainability in mind. In fact, all of its hardwood floors are a recycled basketball floor from a nearby college! Peabody’s southerly exposure and passive solar energy heat its spacious commons rooms. This dorm overlooks the Farrell Field Complex and Proctor Ski Area across the valley.

The Farm House was once home to Andover’s Fenton family and was acquired by the school in the 1950s. The original barn was rebuilt to become a dormitory for seven students, while the main house is a spacious and comfortable faculty residence.

Once a private home on North Street, Gulick House was acquired early in the 20th Century as the residence for Head of School J. Halsey Gulick. It was a boys’ dormitory throughout the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. In 1987, Gulick House was extensively renovated and is now a popular dorm for 12 students.

Known to students and faculty as “MLS,” this popular boys’ dormitory was originally built as the Moulton House Inn in the 1870s. One of many Proctor structures named for Unitarian educational leaders from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mary Lowell Stone is home to 17 students, with an apartment for a single faculty member and one for a faculty family. MLS is popular for its central location on North Street and its spacious dorm rooms.

Completed in the fall of 2013, Sally B Dormitory provides 16 students and two faculty families a beautiful new home. Proctor’s commitment to the highest residential life standards led to the building of a sixteen-student, two faculty family dormitory immediately to the east of Mary Lowell Stone House. Drawing on the classic, New England architectural lines of Mary Lowell Stone, the dormitory features suite-configured bedrooms. It was built to exacting environmental standards in line with the school’s Environmental Mission Statement. The project includes extensive improvements to adjacent landscapes, including off-street parking for three dormitories, and clearly delineated work areas for the Forestry and Land Use Departments. The official groundbreaking was on May 4, 2013 and dedication of Sally B was on November 16, 2013.

Mackenzie House was a private home until the 1950s, when it was purchased to serve as a boys’ dormitory. Renovated extensively in the ‘90s, “Mac House” is now a popular dormitory for students.

A dormitory for eighteen students, Gannett House was designed 1909 by H. Langford Warren, the founder of the architecture school at Harvard University. Renovated significantly in 1990, it now offers three double rooms and twelve singles on the second and third floors. The dorm is named for the renowned 19th Century Unitarian leader Ezra Stiles Gannet. 

Located on the Town Green, Fowler House was the residence for heads of school and their families; Lyle Farrell lived there from 1952-1971 and David Fowler was there from 1971 to 1994. The building was subsequently completely renovated to become a dormitory for twelve students and two faculty families.

A private residence until 2001, Denberg House provides additional faculty housing.

The Stone Chapel, a historic Tudor built in 1910, serves many purposes for the Proctor and Andover community. It was completely rebuilt in 2005, and served as home to the school’s  popular voice and chorus programs throughout the first two decades of the 2000s. The sanctuary of the original chapel serves as both a practice and performance space. Downstairs are practice rooms, where sopranos, tenors, baritones and bass singers practice in soundproofed spaces. On Sundays, the Chapel is used by the community as a Unitarian Church.

This charming building was constructed in the 1870s as a livery stable (for the horses that drew carriages from the railroad station to the Proctor House Hotel). It was extensively renovated one hundred years ago by H. Langford Warren, Dean of the Architecture School at Harvard University. After the renovation, it was used as Proctor’s gymnasium for the better part of the 20th century, with shower rooms on the north side. Slocumb was improved in 2009 with new insulation, windows, and added space, and is now home to studio art, ceramics, and a photography darkroom.

This facility houses a fun, highly successful day care program for thirty children, many of whom are employee children. Ten loving providers are seen pushing large carts loaded with smiling, sometimes sleepy, kids through campus at all hours of the day. The facility is privately run although property of the school.

Boat building has a long, colorful history at Proctor. Since the 1930s, hundreds of rowboats, sailing dinghies, canoes and kayaks have been built here. If you’re curious about what it takes to build a boat, here’s what one alum had to say.

When Alan Shepard was a boy– long before he became America’s first astronaut in space-– he spent a summer building a boat at Proctor. In 1961, when Shepard became a national hero, we named the old shop in his honor!

Today, the top floor is still home to woodshop and boat building classes. Downstairs, metal engineering, blacksmithing, and jewelry classes meet.

Originally constructed in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, the barn was disassembled piece-by-piece and rebuilt at the east end of the central campus as part of a Fall Family Weekend project in 1974. Today, it is the occasional home to faculty livestock. 

The finest school-owned ski facility in the United States, the Proctor Ski Area offers three slopes, extensive snow-making, and three ski jumps all under the lights. Opened in 1971, the Proctor Ski Area was enhanced in the late ‘90s with the addition of Yarrow’s Lodge, and again from 2009-2015 when top to bottom lighting and snow making on FIS alpine trails, as well as a FIS homologated Nordic course with snow making were installed. The Proctor Ski Area won the Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence in 2014. Extensive cross-country trails, including the beautiful Holley Trails, complete the valley’s snow sport facilities.

More than 90% of The Proctor Ski Area is powered by solar energy. All of the lights, pumps, lifts and the lodge are powered exclusively by solar. In 2015, 250,000 kwh of photovoltaic solar panels were installed on 4 buildings and at The Proctor Ski area.

Proctor’s ski jumping program was created by legendary coach Tim Norris, who continues to help future Olympians realize their dreams. Tim came to Proctor in 1962. He coaches local kids, many of whom come to Proctor to further their careers as national and international qualifiers. 30- and 15-meter jumps benefit from top-to-bottom snow-making and lighting, making this facility the finest in New Hampshire.

Yarrow’s Lodge has two stories of wood-heated space for relaxing, changing in and out of ski gear, a quick meal, and entertainment. Downstairs is all business. Upstairs, you can relax with views of the race course, purchase burgers and shakes, or step out on the immense south-facing deck, where a grill serves up more delicacies. Yarrow’s Lodge is a campus social center from December to March.

Situated immediately across the road from four dormitories, Carr Field offers three playing fields for soccer and lacrosse teams, as well as a new baseball diamond installed in 2013. Originally pasture land, Carr Field was graded in 1979 and is fully irrigated with water from the Blackwater River, which flows below its southern bluff. The field is named in honor of the Carr Family, who supported the school throughout the early 1900s and sold their extensive land holdings to the school in the late 1960s.

Located immediately above and west of Farrell Field House, ten new tennis courts were constructed in 2002. They are home to Proctor's four spring tennis teams and recreational tennis program, and are used widely by residents of Andover. 

Constructed in 2020, the Proctor Outdoor Center serves as a physical home for Proctor’s robust outdoor programs including, alpine skiing, ski jumping, freeskiing, kayaking, mountain biking, cycling, rock climbing, Wilderness Orientation, and Mountain Classroom. Featuring state of the art tuning rooms and workshops, as well as an indoor climbing wall and storage areas, the facility serves as a gateway to Proctor’s 2,500 acres of trails, rivers, ponds, and wilderness.

“The Ted” is one of the region’s finest hockey venues, with an all-new refrigeration system, new locker rooms, a new roof structure and state-of-the-art lighting. This beautiful rink is dedicated to the memory Teddy Maloney 88’, a former varsity boys’ hockey captain who lost his life at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. His death sparked a fundraising drive orchestrated by many of Teddy’s classmates and friends. The locker rooms in "The Ted" serve all three seasons of Proctor teams and welcome thousands of local youth skaters to the facility each winter. 

Farmland was excavated in 1957 to provide athletic fields for baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and eventually field hockey. In the summer of 2012, the school completed the $1.9 million installation of two synthetic playing fields, one illuminated for night games and general recreation. The 70,000 square-foot north field provides NCAA-sized surfaces for field hockey and boys’ lacrosse. The lit 93,100 square-foot east field hosts soccer and girls’ lacrosse, and is lined for football and boys’ lacrosse, allowing all sports to play under the lights. These fields are constructed for easy snow removal, enabling an early start to the lacrosse season. A natural-turf softball field is positioned to the southwest, with home plate situated at the conjunction of the synthetic fields.

“The Meetinghouse” is one of the most architecturally and aesthetically beautiful facilities in central New Hampshire. Designed in the image of a Shaker barn, the Meetinghouse is a physical metaphor for Proctor values. Here, the whole community assembles for daily assemblies at which anyone may speak. Dance studios, a blackbox theater, costume shops, a huge stage tech facility and the Cotton Projection Room surround the 410-seat Norris Family Theater. The Meetinghouse brings people together, to be their best. This is what Proctor is all about. The Meetinghouse was opened in 2001, and was named in honor of Steve Wilkins, who was Head of School from 1994-2005, and his wife Sarah, who taught in the Learning Skills Department.

In 2013, 273 photovoltaic solar panels were installed on the roof of the Wilkins Meetinghouse. These panels generate more than 70,000 KW hours of renewable electricity per year. 

Once a Congregational church for the people of Andover, this charming little chapel became the school infirmary in the 1950s. Dedicated in 1967 as Malnati Infirmary in honor of Head of School Lyle Farrell’s sister Helen Malnati, who served as Head Nurse for many years, this facility was renovated in the 1990s as a full service health center, with 7 beds, an evaluation room and a spacious welcoming area. The belfry atop the Health Center houses a historic bell original to the building.

The Sugar House, an extension of the Forestry Department, is busy throughout the months of March and early April. Maple sugaring is one of the most popular spring projects; dozens of students gather sap from the school’s extensive stand of maples, boil the sap, stoke fires, and finally pour and bottle the syrup.

In 2015, an architectural design course took on the task of remodeling the Sugar Shack. It was a perfect hands on project, giving students the chance to build and design a project that would be used by the Proctor community. It was subsequently dedicated the Johnson Family Sugarhouse. Ask for a bottle of maple syrup when you visit!

The Walt Wright ‘48 Biomass Plant was built in 2008, transforming Proctor’s 50 year old oil powered central steam plant into an energy efficient, biomass plant powered by local wood chips harvested off of Proctor's land. The plant has reduced Proctor’s heating oil consumption by more than 75% each year, connecting all major buildings throughout campus and allowing Proctor to live out its environmental mission statement.  

Proctor’s first athletic field was used by football teams for decades before it was formally dedicated to Mrs. Hazel Clark-Leonard in October, 1960. Today, Leonard Field is the home of football and boys’ junior varsity lacrosse.

Elbow Pond serves as home base for Mountain Classroom between voyages, serves as a faculty residence, and a popular swimming destination for Proctor families throughout the summer months. Its pristine and deep waters, fed by springs and Mountain Brook, make it the school’s most popular swimming spot. A swim dock and boathouse are located near the south end. Elbow Pond hosts a polar swim each week (even in the winter!) for daring community members.

The original cabin was constructed in 1943 by a student work team high above campus on the south face of Ragged Mountain. A new cabin replaced it in 1991. With a wood stove and upstairs loft, The Cabin is a great destination for student groups and classes. In addition, students with specific permission may camp at the Cabin on weekends. Fresh water is available from a stream to the west, and hiking trails lead on to The Bulkhead and other campsites.

A home base for Proctor’s Mountain Classroom program, the Elbow Pond House is home to a faculty/staff member and served as a dormitory from 2011-2017 when the decision was made to bring all boarding students on the campus proper. Situated overlooking spring-fed Elbow Pond about three miles from campus, Elbow Pond House provides housing for visiting guests and friends of Proctor.

Immediately behind the Elbow Pond dorm, this wood-fired sauna offers steamy heat to Proctor’s “polar swimmers” who arrive before dawn each Friday morning. Throughout the winter, a hole is maintained in the ice at Elbow Pond, just below the sauna. Hot coffee and doughnuts are traditionally served!

Originally used as a true boat house for sailing teams, the boat house at Elbow Pond now serves a lean-to and place to change for those desiring to take a dip in the cold, spring fed waters of Elbow Pond during the summer months, or for those intrepid souls who dare to take part in the  ritual of Polar Swim.

This remote beaver pond is easily accessible by a network of trails. Tent platforms, a fire ring and beautiful views make this a favorite campsite for students and teachers. Moose, deer, blue heron and wood ducks are frequent visitors to Mud Pond.

The recording studio is, in the words of the designer, “The finest teaching recording studio in the world.” While the technology inside gives students the ability to mix tracks like professionals, it is the vibration insulation that catches the attention of national media. A writer for an acoustic design magazine noted, “Each room is suspended by thousands of rubber pads against the outside wall, so that a heavy truck passing by on North Street (which would be rare) will have no discernible vibration in the performance spaces or the recording studio... No one has ever seen anything like this. And then there’s the recording technology!” In recording classes, each student designs unique mixes of music, which is displayed on a projection screen for other students to appreciate and evaluate. Visit this space when it’s in action, with jazz/rock playing in the studio, with the recording team working the state-of-the-art sound systems.

Students, faculty and friends all cooperate in this venture, growing lettuce, basil, carrots, chard, spinach, tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic, mustard greens and nasturtiums. Produce from the garden augments the salad bar through the summer, and, to some extent, throughout the year (basil pesto and other herbs freeze well!). While this garden’s history is only a decade old, organic gardening is a long-standing tradition at Proctor, going back to extensive “victory gardens” in the early 1940s.

A stream was dammed by a student “Improvement team” in the 1940s to create the school’s first skating rink. Boards and lights were installed in the 1950’s, as ice hockey became a major winter sport. After an indoor ice rink was installed (near the present facility,) the pond was dredged and a retaining wall was constructed on the east end. Today, Proctor Pond serves many purposes. It is a reservoir for campus irrigation systems, a home to wildlife and, once plowed, a central skating pond. Each winter, we build bonfires at the edge of the pond and play intramural broomball.

Cortland House is home to one faculty family and four students. The historic home was purchased by the school in 2014 and provides large, sunny rooms in a small, family style dormitory with a large backyard and easy access to athletic facilities and the Dining Commons.

The Woodlands Office serves as home base for the Woodland Manager. Proctor’s 2,500 acres are a tremendous resource for both the Proctor and local community, and the Woodlands Office is often the meeting place for forestry and wildlife science classes, local hiking groups, and visiting logging/forestry organizations discussing Proctor’s complex land use policies.

Located a stone’s throw down Lawrence Street and gifted to Proctor in 2008, Cangiano House is home to three faculty families. The large building, affectionately known in town as The Blue Manor, is named in honor of longtime Board of Trustee members and friends of Proctor Mark and Caren P’07 Cangiano and has a rich history in town, serving as a nursing home throughout much of the 20th century.

Built in the fall of 2016 after a fire destroyed Thoreau House in June of 2016, West End dorm sits adjacent to Cortland House, anchoring the west end of campus. Home to a faculty family and thirteen boarding students, the dorm’s large windows and spacious rooms provide an ideal location across the driveway from the Brown Dining Commons and the Farrell Field House.

The Proctor Dining Commons became the first dedicated dining facility in the school’s history in October, 2016. The ‘greenest’ building constructed on Proctor’s campus, the Dining Commons utilizes geothermal heating/cooling, state of the art insulation, and food processing equipment. The Dining Commons has stunning southerly views over Carr Field and the Proctor Ski Area.

Formerly the Blackwater Ski Shop, an iconic small town ski shop, the Proctor Community House is now home to the student-run Proctor Coffee House and Community program. The relaxed atmosphere downstairs provides an alternate student hangout on the weekends, while the pingpong table, full kitchen, and open space on the second floor provide a unique meeting space for classes and other groups on campus.

Home to one of the finest FIS homologated Nordic loops in New Hampshire, the Bill Paine ‘52 Nordic Center opened for use in December 2015. The 1.5 km sprint loop features full snow-making, while the full 2.8 km homologated trail system provides an unparalleled Nordic training and racing venue for Proctor’s Nordic team as well as local high school teams from around the region.

Tucked away as the eastern most building on Proctor’s campus, Phelps House serves a faculty residence.

The Wisconsin glacier broke off the east shoulder of Ragged Mountain some 20,000 years ago. Today, this granite outcropping, known as The Bulkhead, is a destination for campers, rock-climbers and those looking for spectacular vistas to the east and south. A hike to The Bulkhead takes approximately 90 minutes. From here, one can see Proctor’s campus, Elbow Pond, The Proctor Ski Area and Mount Kearsarge.

Also known as Adder Pond, this remote lake is stocked with trout in the spring. Trails lead to Mountain Classroom past the north shore, where a fire ring invites campers.

Constructed in 2022 to serve as an academic and physical gateway to Proctor’s 2,500 acres of woodlands, the Woodland Center features two laboratory classrooms, a state of the art greenhouse, and large, open gathering space with woodstove. Home to life sciences and courses from across departments looking for a window into the woodlands, the building was designed to utilize all local timbers, harvested on Proctor’s land near Elbow Pond. It is one of Proctor’s most ecologically friendly constructions.