Reverend John Hewitt took over as principal of the Bloomsburg State Normal School on March 28, 1872.  He was rector of the Episcopal Church in Bloomsburg, and continued his duties there while serving as principal.  The discipline at the school was much stricter while he was in charge.  The trustees granted Hewitt the power to dismiss or replace teachers, and students required his permission in order to leave campus.

Hewitt ably served as principal, but in April of 1873 he asked the board to relieve him of his duties as principal at the end of the spring term so that he could return to the ministry fulltime. When graduation in June of that year concluded his time as principal was complete.  John Hewitt was commended for the able and efficient manner in which he had run the normal school.  He continued on in the ministry, serving as pastor at Episcopal churches in Bloomsburg, Columbus, Ohio, and Bellefonte, PA.