In 1898, Dr. Henry D. Perky (1844-1904?), the inventor of shredded wheat and president of the National Food Company in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (the predecessor of the National Biscuit Company) purchased the castle-like structure of the former Oread Collegiate Institute in Worcester, Mass. Ther, he established the Oread Institute School of Domestic Science for the purpose of training young women to become teachers in this field. The one-year program included courses in sewing, cooking, marketing, laundry, psychology, pedagogy, elocution, chemistry, physiology, etc. The Institute existed from 1898 to 1904. It supposedly was to move to Glencoe, Md., where an agricultural department was to be added, but with Perky's death, however, the Institute closed.
From the description of Letterbook, 1904. (American Antiquarian Society). WorldCat record id: 191259579
