The school was chartered in 1874 as
The Loomis Institute by five Loomis siblings, who were determined to turn tragedy into generosity after all of their own children died before the age of 21. The original 1640
Loomis Homestead was chosen as the site for the school, which opened in 1914. The forty-year gap between chartering and the opening of the school was due to the estate of the Loomis siblings being reserved for the siblings' retirement. In 1910,
John Mason Loomis's widow left over $1.1 million as an endowment to The Loomis Institute for charitable purposes. This donation allowed the school to remain tuition-free for its first four decades. The Loomis Institute was different from other New England preparatory schools: it had no religious affiliation, offered vocational training alongside college preparatory courses, and admitted both boys and girls. The Loomis Institute ended coeducation in 1926 when The Chaffee School was incorporated to educate girls on an adjacent campus. In 1970, the boys and girls schools merged to form The Loomis Chaffee School. Since then, the school has expanded its endowment, financial aid budget, faculty, and campus size. ==Overview==