The Penn State Abington campus was originally developed in the early twentieth century as a private girls' school. It had been founded in 1850, as the education of girls began to receive attention and new institutions were established. It was located at two previous sites before this campus was developed. The school was founded by teachers Mary Bonney and Harriette A. Dillaye as The Chestnut Street Female Seminary in Philadelphia, serving girls from the ages of 12 through 18. It had a classical curriculum comparable to that of male seminaries of the time. With increasing enrollment and expansion to lower grades, by 1883 The Chestnut Street Female Seminary needed to find a campus that could accommodate the larger student body of nearly 100 students annually.