1930 Todd School Class Photo (Includes Orson Welles)
Title
1930 Todd School Class Photo (Includes Orson Welles)
Description
1930 Todd School class photo with Grace Hall in the background. A young Orson Welles (age 14 or 15) is in the middle of the back row (standing in front of the tree). Roger "Skipper" Hill, headmaster, is fifth from the right in the back row.
The Todd School for Boys (1848–1954) was an independent school located in Woodstock, Illinois founded by Reverend Richard Kimball Todd, a Presbyterian pastor. Under the guidance of Headmaster Noble Hill in the 1920s and Hill’s son Roger in the 1930s, it became known as a progressive school that provided students, including Orson Welles, with a creative educational environment that emphasized practical experience over traditional academics. The main Todd School Campus was located on the northeast corner of the Rt. 47 and Rt. 120 junction.
The famous actor and director, Orson Welles, is the best-known Todd School graduate. He started at Todd School in 1926 and graduated in 1931 at age 15. In the summer of 1934, he returned to produce the Todd Theatre Festival of Shakespearean plays at the Opera House.
Welles’ first known film, Hearts of Age, was filmed in Woodstock. The building seen in the film is Wallingford Hall on the school campus. The Todd School bell used in the film now resides in front of the Woodstock Presbyterian Church, and the gravestone is in the Calvary Cemetery on Jackson Street.
Welles is perhaps best known for directing and starring in Citizen Kane. In another of his movies, The Stranger, set in a boys’ boarding school, Welles paid homage by including subtle references to Todd School.
Welles was a frequent visitor to the school after graduating, and would eventually serve on the Todd School board and his daughter, Christopher, attended the school. Welles remained friends with Roger Hill, Todd School Headmaster, and the two men collaborated on the Everybody’s Shakespeare.
The Todd School for Boys (1848–1954) was an independent school located in Woodstock, Illinois founded by Reverend Richard Kimball Todd, a Presbyterian pastor. Under the guidance of Headmaster Noble Hill in the 1920s and Hill’s son Roger in the 1930s, it became known as a progressive school that provided students, including Orson Welles, with a creative educational environment that emphasized practical experience over traditional academics. The main Todd School Campus was located on the northeast corner of the Rt. 47 and Rt. 120 junction.
The famous actor and director, Orson Welles, is the best-known Todd School graduate. He started at Todd School in 1926 and graduated in 1931 at age 15. In the summer of 1934, he returned to produce the Todd Theatre Festival of Shakespearean plays at the Opera House.
Welles’ first known film, Hearts of Age, was filmed in Woodstock. The building seen in the film is Wallingford Hall on the school campus. The Todd School bell used in the film now resides in front of the Woodstock Presbyterian Church, and the gravestone is in the Calvary Cemetery on Jackson Street.
Welles is perhaps best known for directing and starring in Citizen Kane. In another of his movies, The Stranger, set in a boys’ boarding school, Welles paid homage by including subtle references to Todd School.
Welles was a frequent visitor to the school after graduating, and would eventually serve on the Todd School board and his daughter, Christopher, attended the school. Welles remained friends with Roger Hill, Todd School Headmaster, and the two men collaborated on the Everybody’s Shakespeare.
Source
From the Caryl Roskie Lemanski Collection
Date
1930
Collection
Citation
“1930 Todd School Class Photo (Includes Orson Welles),” Woodstock Public Library Archives, accessed April 19, 2026, https://woodstockpubliclibraryarchives.omeka.net/items/show/486.
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