Massachusetts. The Putney School In 1934 a Hull House friend arranged the sale of Elm Lea Farm in Putney, Vermont for a reduced price for Hinton to found a school. There in 1935 she founded The Putney School, the first coeducational New England boarding school, an experiment in progressive education, and a working farm, which she was to direct until 1955. She based its structure on her belief in the value of manual labor, art and music, and scholarship as equally necessary components of a healthy adult life. At first it enrolled the children of wealthy progressives and liberals; and though all its students, staff, and faculty were heeded and treated as constituents by Hinton, she was the sole director of every aspect of the school. The school's early success depended largely on her forceful personality; in the late 1940s and early 1950s, though, many of the school's teachers began to resent her complete authority over its running. Eventually Hinton was forced to compromise with a nascent teachers' union on matters of salary, conditions, and procedure. After 1955 she continued to attend the school's meetings, though she was officially retired, and travelled, led trips, founded other education projects and summer camps, and gave speeches. Personal life Hinton was married to Sebastian Hinton, a patent attorney who is credited with inventing the jungle gym in 1920. Hinton had three children. Her daughter Jean Hinton Rosner (1917-2002) was a civil rights and peace activist. Her daughter Joan and her son William H. Hinton lived for decades in China before and after the revolution. William H. Hinton was a Marxist sinologist. William's daughter and Carmelita's granddaughter Carma Hinton is a documentary filmmaker (The Gate of Heavenly Peace). References Further reading Kennedy, Shawn G.. "Carmelita Hinton, Educator Who Founded Putney School" (obituary). The New York Times January 23, 1983: Section 1, page 28. 1890 births 1983 deaths Schoolteachers from Vermont 20th-century American women educators People from Putney, Vermont Bryn Mawr College alumni People from Omaha, Nebraska People from Weston, Massachusetts 20th-century American educators Hinton family