Our Pick
Posted on @rawstates
Valley Forge Military Academy, the model for Pencey Prep
1936
Wayne, Pennsylvania
The academy opened in Wayne in 1928 as an all male military boarding school. J.D. Salinger was sent here after failing out of a Manhattan school and graduated in 1936, and he later built Holden Caulfield's Pencey Prep out of the place. The school announced in September 2025 that it would close after the following academic year, blaming costs and falling enrolment.
That was 1 of the hidden places.
Location: historic site
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