William Coe Collar, Headmaster from 1867 to 1907 and commonly recognized as the Second Founder, quadrupled the size of the student body and maintained that the School’s greatness lay in its ideals of character training. His accomplishments include:

• Hiring specialized teachers in physics, chemistry, modern history, and German (subjects then required for Harvard admission).
• Advancing Roxbury Latin in the national educational spotlight through his own and his colleagues’ textbooks and through pioneering methods in teaching science.
• Introducing extracurricular activities: a school newspaper, student dramatic productions, and athletic teams in football, baseball, track, and hockey.

In the mid-1920s, a 50-acre estate in West Roxbury was procured, and the School moved to its present campus in 1927.

From 1860 until 1927, Roxbury Latin resided in a small building on Kearsarge Avenue in Roxbury. In the mid-1920s, a 50-acre estate in West Roxbury was procured, and the School moved to its present campus in 1927. The eminent architect William Perry of Perry, Shaw & Hepburn designed the new school building; the firm would later—in part due to its success at Roxbury Latin—be entrusted with the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg.

Thanks to the generosity of the School’s alumni and benefactors, Roxbury Latin’s physical plant has quadrupled in size over the past 20 years, and adjoining acreage for new fields was acquired.