Almost Nobody Knows That Parts Of The Iconic Movie Dead Poets Society Were Filmed At This Tiny Delaware Boarding School
By Meghan Byers|Updated on April 19, 2024(Originally published May 08, 2023)
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Meghan Byers
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A New Jersey native, Meghan is passionate about travel and enjoys finding off-the-beaten path destinations. You're most likely to find her at a coffee shop, or hitting the trails with her dogs. She graduated with a creative writing degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and has been writing professionally for over a decade.
Delawareans know that there’s more to the First State than meets the eye. Though it may be tiny, Delaware is filled with hidden treasures – and in fact, there’s a classic film that’s made use of just a few. If you’ve ever wondered, wherewas “Dead Poets Society” filmed? wonder no more. Key scenes from the classic 1989 movie “Dead Poets Society” were filmed in Delaware, with its strict “Vermont” boarding school, Welton Academy, being located, in fact, right in New Castle County. Let’s take a closer look at this famous movie filmed in Delaware.
"Dead Poets Society" (1989) is set in 1959 at a fictional, elite all-boys boarding school called Welton Academy. Throughout the course of the film, an unorthodox English teacher, John Keating (played by Robin Williams), inspires his students through poetry to "seize the day" and step outside of the restrictions on their individuality and freedom imposed by Welton's conservative and unforgiving ethos.
Directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman, Dead Poets Society is regarded by many as among Robin Williams's best movies. It was nominated for four Golden Globe awards and won an Academy Award for best screenplay.
You can view the trailer here:
Although Welton Academy is in Vermont within the fictional universe of Dead Poets Society, the filming location for Welton Academy was in fact St. Andrew's School, in New Castle County, Delaware.
Founded in 1929 by A. Felix du Pont, St. Andrew's was originally an all-boys school, though it became coeducational in 1973. Today it is a private Episcopal boarding school with only a little over 300 students. It's situated on over 2,000 acres, between Wilmington and Dover, with a mailing address in Middletown.
"Dead Poets Society" isn’t the only production that’s made use of St. Andrew’s School as a filming location, either. This is also where portions of The West Wing episode “Two Cathedrals” was filmed – widely considered to be one of the best episodes in television history. In this episode, St. Andrew’s serves as the private school that the young Jed Bartlet attended. However, it's probably best known for its use in Dead Poets Society.
St. Andrew's School (Delaware), 350 Noxontown Rd, Middletown, DE 19709, USA
Other locations in Delaware used in filming "Dead Poets Society" include the Everett Theatre in Middletown, where the character Neil Perry played Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The Everett, 47 W Main St, Middletown, DE 19709, USA
The town depicted in the movie is actually beautiful New Castle, Delaware, settled by the Dutch in the 1600s and brimming with historic charm. Cobblestone streets and river views make this town a lovely, scenic filming location for Dead Poets Society.
Amstel House Museum, 2 E 4th St, New Castle, DE 19720, USA
And of course, there's the cave where the eponymous Dead Poets Society meets. This is in fact Beaver Valley Cave, which is the only formally recognized cave in the state of Delaware. It's listed as a registered national historic landmark, and has also been called Wolf Rock Cave.
Interested in visiting New Castle and exploring this “Dead Poets Society” filming location yourself? We think this peaceful, cozy apartment in New Castle makes for a wonderful home base to enjoy all that this area of Delaware has to offer.
For more things you may not have known about the First State, check out these fun facts about Delaware!
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