Her Beloved School: The Women Who Built Frost Hall

In 1915 the Gordon Missionary Training School was outgrowing its quarters, and it became obvious that a new building was needed. This is the story of three women who helped build the original Frost Hall located on the Fenway in Boston (and yes, this means that the current building is really Frost Hall 2.0).

With the new building in mind, Dean Nathan Wood (the future president), went to visit Martha Dodge Frost, an “elderly but vigorous and intelligent lady.” Frost remarked that she was unable to give money to the school as she had just donated $25 ($796 today) to a local hospital. The visit ended on friendly terms, and Wood did not give up hope completely, noticing that “one real connection was the Spirit that came at the doorstep,” and he continued to pray about the visit.

A few months later, Frost came to Wood with a complete change of heart. She described how she had lain awake at night thinking about the school and especially the struggles and sacrifices of four girls who Wood had told her about. Moved by the story of these girls who were living in the parlor of a building called 592, Frost ultimately ended up giving a total of $120,000 ($3.8 million in 2026) for the construction of an entirely new building.

Even with Frost’s massive contribution, it soon became clear the project would need more funding. So, at a dinner hosted by Lucy Peabody—a member of the Board of Trustees—Nathan Wood and his wife, Isabel, spoke with Sarah E. White about the new building. By the end of the meal, White pledged $10,000 that was used to build White Library. But the gift came with a unique sacrifice: according to Wood’s account in his book, A School of Christ, White was going to use that money to purchase an automobile, but Wood believed that she gave it up because she loved giving more.

Additional funding was still needed to build an auditorium, so Gordon’s leaders approached Anna Thing. Her husband, Samuel, had been a deacon for Clarendon Street Baptist Church under A.J. Gordon. Anna, now widowed, had established the Thing Fund at Gordon—a work study program named for her husband. After a letter from Wood, Thing agreed to give $15,000 from the fund and an additional $5,000 of her own funds for the auditorium. Despite now living across the country in California, Wood recounts in his book, Thing remained in “happy written contact with leaders and alumni of her beloved School.”

Martha Dodge Frost

While the names of White and Thing have faded into history, Frost’s name has long been acknowledged. The April 11, 1917, minutes from the Board of Trustees meeting state that “the School is now and shall forever remain the school which Martha Frost raised into public dignity and conscious strength by giving it a home of its own.” For Frost, the connection had become so great that she felt Gordon’s “students and alumni were her children” and her legacy would continue in the lives “going out from her building.” 

And, of course, when Gordon moved to Wenham, they renamed Prince Mansion to honor her. Frost, White, and Thing are far from the only women who have played a role in making Gordon what it is today, but the next time you are walking through Frost Hall (2.0), remember, as Wood wrote, “The things which were impossible with men were possible with God and Miss Frost.” And Sarah White and Anna Thing!