USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > West Haven > History of West Haven, Connecticut > Part 8
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A fire at the West Haven Car Barns, on February 28, 1935, resulted in a $19,798 loss. Twelve cars, including two snow plows and a sand car, were destroyed. Damage to the building was confined to the roof. The fire resulted from faulty insulation on the wiring of an electric snow plow.
Incident of the Stolen Fire Truck
Many amusing and exciting stories are told by veterans of the volunteer fire companies. Probably the tale most retold is the story of the stolen fire truck. When Arthur Travis was fire chief of the four central fire companies in 1918, the board of finance voted the purchase of a 750-gallon Seagrave Pumper for the Savin Rock Hose Company. Center Engine Company members were irked that such a fine new fire engine should be given to the smaller company at the Rock. Accordingly, when Joseph Casner, the department mechanic, was sent to the Savin Rock firehouse to deliver gas for the new pumper, he stole the pumper, drove it away, parked it in the Engine Company's house, and disconnected the battery.
The resulting furor in the two fire companies subsided only after Fire Chief Travis secured a temporary injunction from the superior court, restraining First Selectman Sherman and Mechanic Casner from holding the apparatus. Within twenty-four hours the stolen engine was back in its proper quarters, where there was much rejoicing, as it was the only fire apparatus the company owned.
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WEST HAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT
From the organization of the Borough in 1873, until 1911, a police committee of three members appointed by the Warden and Burgesses had charge of local police. Constables performed police duty until 1897, when the first uniformed policeman, Robert W. French, was appointed. In the 41 years since that time, the department has increased to 88 members, including one chief, one captain (detective), one desk officer, three sergeants, one detective-sergeant, 11 Grade A patrolmen, 7 Grade B patrolmen and 63 Grade C, or supernumerary, patrol- men. This growth was necessitated in a large degree by the development of Savin Rock as an amusement resort.
Robert W. French, the first member of the force was promoted to sergeant May 12, 1908, and became the second chief June 24, 1921. He is now retired.
In 1898, the second member, John M. Loomis, was added to the force. He became a Sergeant in 1901 and was made the department's first chief on May 12, 1908. He is now on the retired list. The present chief, Harry W. Tuttle, appointed on May 1, 1924, is the third to hold that office.
The oldest patrolman of the force in point of service in that capacity, Thomas J. Kennedy, was appointed on June 1, 1901 and was retired in 1939.
From 1904 to 1912, the West Haven Police Department had one mounted officer, Walter N. Scranton, the only mounted patrolman ever appointed on the force. His beat was along the water front from Second Avenue to the Milford line at Oyster River. One of his duties was to retrieve hot-air balloons that had been released from the "White City", when parachute jumpers were popular at Savin Rock.
Captain James Tiernan, now retired, was appointed June 4, 1907, promoted to sergeant June 4, 1911, and advanced to captain on February 29, 1928. His application for retirement because of ill health was granted November 11, 1935.
The board of police commissioners was created by legislative act on October 13, 1913. The first board, appointed by First Selectman John Wilkinson, in- cluded James S. Harlow, chairman; Charles W. Scranton, former chairman of the old police committee; and Charles Stormont. The present commissioners are John Curran, chairman, Carl Harcke, and Charles Clare.
The police retirement fund, established by legislative act in 1921, provides for the retirement on half-pay after 25 years of service of any member of the force who has reached 60 years of age. An amendment passed in 1937, grants one-half retirement pay to surviving wife or children, on the death of a retired member of the force.
Under the regime of Chief Tuttle, many improvements have been made and the equipment of the department has been modernized. A detective bureau has been established, traffic lights have been installed on main highways, an ambulance-patrol car has been purchased, one motorcycle patrol and three
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West Haven's Guardians of Law and Order as They Appeared in 1903
Walter N. Scranton, West Haven's Only Mounted Patrolman; He Covered the Waterfront, Second Avenue to Oyster River 1905-1910
WEST HAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT
modern squad cars, equipped with radio tuned on the New Haven police wave- length, patrol the 118 miles of West Haven streets. Chief Tuttle has also added 40 supernumerary patrolmen.
In 1930, Chief Tuttle installed the Henry fingerprint system, a modification of the Bertillon system, and has recently added photographic equipment, so that West Haven now has its own rogues' gallery.
The Revolver Club, organized 1937, under the direction of Albert C. Murphy, an expert pistol shot, has materially increased the quality of police marksmanship. Regulations now require all members of the department to engage in weekly revolver practice.
REVOLVER TEAM (West Haven Police)
Since the organization of a police revolver team, West Haven police, hitherto comparatively untrained men, have been shooting favorable scores. The accuracy of the department members in the handling of revolvers has increased a hundred per cent. The department now has five qualified instructors, expert pistol shots, all of whom are members of the department, and is represented by teams in two leagues.
In the New England Police Revolver League, the West Haven Police have four teams of five men each, competing in the weekly matches; and in the Connecticut Revolver League (southern) a team of eight men shoots the course weekly. The five highest scores are computed for the average.
The pistol range, on the second floor of the Town Hall, was built almost entirely by department members in their spare time. It consists of ten firing points and is one of the best equipped and largest indoor pistol ranges in the State. The outdoor range on Bull Hill Lane, rebuilt in the spring of 1940, has 20 firing points.
Civilian shooters are permitted the use of the range on three nights a week, and the following organizations, whose teams are members of the Connecticut Revolver League, take advantage of the opportunity: West Haven Fish and Game Club, St. Lawrence Holy Name Society, and the Pine Tree Club. These organizations have the services of qualified police instructors as coaches.
Shooting for "record" is required once a year, in April. In 1939, the de- partment qualified six experts ; eleven sharpshooters ; and ten marksmen. Scores necessary to hold the various ratings include: expert 255 or better with a 38- calibre revolver; sharpshooter, 234 or better with a 22-calibre revolver; and marksman, 180 or better with a 22-calibre revolver.
In an effort to encourage better markmanship among the local police, the West Haven Chamber of Commerce, in 1937, at the suggestion of Albert Murphy, manager of the West Haven Branch of the First National Bank, offered a trophy for high score to be inscribed annually with the winner's name. The trophy, a figure of a policeman holding a revolver at arm's length, mounted on an oblong base, is 20 inches high. Two spread eagles are mounted on the outer edges of the 12-inch base to balance the upright figure. All members of the
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
West Haven Police Department, including supernumeraries, are eligible to compete for this prize in the competitive shoot conducted annually in September. The man obtaining the highest aggregate score is declared the winner, and his name is engraved on the trophy, which is kept on display in the chief's office.
The winner in 1937 was Sergeant Gustave Misbach ; in 1938, Supernumerary Patrolman Millard Tibbetts ; and in 1939, Sergeant Misbach.
Medals awarded by the New England Police Revolver League for the current year were presented by Chief Harry Tuttle, at a meeting of the depart- ment attended by the police commissioners, on May 21, 1940. Supernumerary Patrolman Millard Tibbetts was awarded the gold medal for "high aggregate score for Connecticut". Clerk Robert Hadden received a silver medal for "highest in Class 6"; and Sergeant Gustave Misbach, a bronze medal "for coaching winning teams".
Two of the four teams representing the department in this league won medals in league competition. Team No. 1, consisting of Sergeant Misbach, Patrolman John Monahan, and Supernumeraries George Osborne, Millard Tibbetts, and Carl Petersen, won second place in Class No. 3 and received bronze medals. Team No. 4, comprised of Patrolmen Edmund Bradley, Harold Burns, Howard Leslie, and Supernumerary Kurt Otto, were awarded silver medals for first place in Class No. 10.
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EDUCATION
First mention of a schoolhouse in West Haven is contained in the records of the Ecclesiastical Society of the First Congregational Church. In 1742, money was raised by the sale of town lands, and it was voted that the amount of 328 pounds, 5 shillings, 10 pence be approved for the year for the support of the school "until the end of time, unless the government ordered to the contrary".
According to the Jurisdiction Records of 1661, a schoolmaster of the period was paid a total of 60 pounds per annum, the majority of these payments being made as follows: 30 bushels of wheat, 2 barrels of pork, 2 barrels of beef, 40 bushels of Indian corn, 30 bushels of pease, 2 firkins of butter, 100 pounds of flax, and 30 bushels of general foods.
As the population of the village increased, additional school facilities were needed. In 1805, the Southern District urged the erection of a new school- house on the Green, but it was "voated" not to build the proposed school on this location. That vote was evidently reconsidered, and the building was auth- orized, "in any place around the Green within forty feet of the line of the squair". Erected in that same year, the building was still standing on the Green in 1857 but was not in use after 1849, when the classes were consolidated with those of the Union Avenue School.
UNION SCHOOL
For many years prior to 1860, Union School, a two-room wooden structure with a graceful belfry and bell, and a noisy chain water pump, stood on the plot of land at Union Avenue and Center Stret, where the present brick Union School now stands. During the 1880's, three wooden schools successively stood on this site. English, Latin, astronomy, and algebra were among the subjects taught ; all materials, including text books, were furnished by the students. Slates were used instead of paper and pencil.
For several decades after 1860, summer as well as winter terms were held. In 1861, the salary of a teacher, Dealer M. Smith, is recorded as $76 for a summer term. The cost of operating Union School for that entire year was $392.60.
WVALDENSE SCHOOL
Another link in West Haven's early system of education was the little Waldense School, at Morgan Lane and Benham Hill, established in the Western District in 1829. This typical country school was at first supported by a dozen families, each household in turn sharing the responsibility of boarding the teacher. Two instructors were annually employed, a female instructor for a period of five months, starting with the first of May, and a male teacher for four months, starting after Thanksgiving.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
To maintain the Waldense School, in 1829, the Western School District levied a tax of nine cents on the dollar, and gave each proprietor the privilege of paying one-half the tax in timber and labor; timber was valued at the appraisal of the carpenter, and labor at "6 cents an hour when called by the committee for the same".
The original building was 1514 x 30 x 9 feet. A second Waldense School erected several years later was 20 x 30 x 12 feet, and covered with pine boards at the sides. As protection against the cold winds of winter, there were no win- dows on the north side of the building. On the other sides were five tiny win- dows, with 3 x 5 "lights"; the underpinning was laid in lime mortar.
A vote of the school district was required to "set up" school for the two terms, and parents of each scholar over 4 and under 16 years of age were taxed according to the number of days the pupil attended school. The district cus- tomarily ruled that "No Scholars Shall Be Entitled To Free Money That Are Over 16 And Shall Pay Their Tax". In 1839, the school district voted a teach- er's salary of $1.75 a week, and estimated the cost of board at $1.25 per week, "each one having the privilege to board his part as near as can". A vote was also taken to designate those who should furnish the cord wood for fuel, and the price was stipulated at $7.25 per cord for walnut wood, cut to fit the stove.
The school was governed by a district committee of one member, whose duties consisted of general supervision, hiring the teacher, and purchasing the fuel. At a school district meeting on March 6, 1871, hesitancy was shown in allowing one week's vacation during the summer term, the vote in favor being qualified, "if, and when the committee shall deem it for the interest of the school".
The perplexing question at a district meeting on July 14, 1879, was the teacher's irregularity in starting school in the morning; as a result, E. E. Ben- ham was named to superintend the commencing of school. Teachers were paid $7 per week at that time and sessions were held in summer, fall, and winter.
As larger quarters were necessary in 1897, the district school committee sold the little buikdling to John Lyman, who commandeered 11 pair of oxen to move the structure over rough roads to 311 Savin Avenue, where it is now in use as a dwelling. During that summer a new school, 30 x 40 feet, was erected. Operation of this little district school came to an end in 1920, when the pupils were transferred to the Colonial Park School. On August 29, 1925, the school building went under the auctioneer's hammer and was sold to James H. Mills.
This old school also is now in use as a residence.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
In 1845, there were four school districts in the town of Orange, and by 1874 the number had doubled. Of these, three were in West Haven; Union, North- ern, and Western districts; they functioned as individual districts until consoli- dated in 1926. Since then, the town schools have been operated as a single dis- trict.
EDUCATION
In the early days, each district was controlled by a district committee and was under the supervision of a board of school visitors. These school visitors, who were elected to the office, made periodical inspections of the schools, inves- tigated the work being done, and offered suggestions.
In 1899, there were four school houses in the Union School District with 1,055 pupils between + and 16 years of age. The other two West Haven Dis- tricts had one school house each, with a total of 411 pupils.
In that year, the Union School District was reorganized under a board of education. Other school districts continued under supervision of the board of school visitors until 1926, when schools were consolidated, and supervision of all schools was transferred to the board of education. A legislative act of 1927 provided that the West Haven Board of Education have six members.
The four-room Campbell Avenue School, built about 1893, in the section then the Northern School District, is the last of West Haven's wooden school buildings. For many years before the erection of this structure, a small, crude schoolhouse stood on the site. A two-room school also was conducted on Smith Place.
HIGH SCHOOL
A two-year course of instruction in high school subjects was first given in 1899 in the old wooden Union School building. The first class of five pupils occupied a room together with the eighth grade. When the Union School, a two- story brick building with a tower, was erected on Center Street in 1890, the high school pupils were transferred to that building.
There was no high school graduation in 1896, as the course was changed to three years. In 1909, a fourth year was added.
For several years, the need for a new high school building was apparent, but it was not until November 11, 1925, that construction was started.
The new high school, at 270 Main Street, opened in 1927 with an enroll- ment of 596 students. Registration increased to such an extent in the succeed- ing years that double sessions became necessary. During the past year, 1,832 students were enrolled. The largest graduating class on record was the class of 1934, numbering 327 students.
Seth G. Haley, a graduate of Bowdoin College, was named principal of the high school in September, 1919. Among his accomplishments was the adoption of an athletic program, which gained such impetus by the year 1922 that the appointment of a physical director became a necessary step. Francis Fitzgerald was named to this post, which he still holds.
EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS
In June of 1898, Edgar C. Stiles of Hartford, a former principal of the Seymour schools, was made superintendent of West Haven schools. Mr. Stiles served the West Haven school system until his death in 1933. At that time Mr.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
Haley was appointed superintendent, and D. Webster Belcher was named princi- pal of the high school.
In 1902, when need for a school was felt in the southern section of the town, the Washington School, at Washington Avenue and Noble Street, was erected ; it was replaced in 1921 by a 16-room structure, named the Noble School.
Washington School, the largest grade school in West Haven, a 19-room building, was built at Washington Avenue and Brown Street, in 1909.
Between 1900-1910, expansion and improvements in the school system were notable. In 1903, a new course of study was prepared for all schools. The Brown and Campbell schools were enlarged, and eight rooms added to Union School; in 1910, kindergartens were established.
The Colonial Park School was erected in 1920, and in 1935 a large addi- tion was built with P. W. A. funds. A school committee of seven, appointed in 1920, was in charge of this school until June 15, 1926. In the following fall, the town's three school districts were consolidated.
ALLINGTOWN DISTRICT
Not for several years after the 1926 consolidation of school districts was an- other school building necessary in this area.
In 1937, the four-room Lampson School, built in 1897, was demolished. Its pupils were transferred to the First Avenue School, an eight-room structure built in 1921. This building, the second brick schoolhouse in Allingtown, had been preceded by the eight-room Forest Street School, made necessary in 1912 by an influx of families from neighboring communities.
In 1929, a greatly increased population made necessary the building of the nine-room Lincoln School, which was followed by an eight-room addition to the Forest Street School, in 1933.
The Edgar C. Stiles School on West Main Street, named in honor of the school superintendent, opened in September, 1931. Its facilities include a loud speaker in each class room, connected with a radio in the principal's office. The institution is a fitting tribute to a man who devoted untiring efforts to the West Haven school system.
Cost of operating West Haven schools for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1940, was $586,462.08. Of the total amount, $414,965.38 was furnished by the town from the general tax and $171,496.70 by the district tax.
Schools in use in 1940:
Noble School
152 Washington Avenue at Noble Street
Washington School
369 Washington Avenue at Brown Street
Union School
176 Center Street at Union Avenue
Campbell Avenue School
120 Campbell Avenue at foot of turnpike (opportunity )
Colonial Park School Lincoln School
63 Seaview Avenue at Overlook Avenue
25 Ogden Street-off Fairfax Street
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-
West Haven High School, Main Street; Opened in 1927
A
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EDUCATION
Edgar C. Stiles School Forest Street School First Avenue School Thompson School St. Lawrence School High School
West Main Street
25 Forest Street at Orange Avenue
840 First Avenue at Dana Street
165 Richards Street-east of Campbell Avenue Main Street at Union Avenue ( Parochial) Main Street-east of Washington Avenue
PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ESTABLISHED
Through the efforts of Father Jeremiah Curtin, a 12-room grade school, at Main Street near Union Avenue, was erected in 1917 by St. Lawrence's Roman Catholic Parish. This building, an eight-grade school, has a seating capacity of 420 pupils. The Reverend Arthur C. Cavanaugh is now (1938) principal of the school.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
The Seaside Male Seminary, a preparatory school, operated from 1859 to 1878. It was organized by R. Quincy Brown and taken over, in 1866, by Luther H. Northrup. Under the latter's guidance, many foreign pupils were enrolled from Cuba, Chile, Peru, and China, and the seminary established a reputation for the instruction of Orientals.
Among the Chinese students prepared for Yale at this school was Tatotai Jeme Tienyow, later famous as the engineer of the Peking Hsiang Railroad, the first railroad to be built entirely by Chinese. Other Chinese graduates include Lo Kocksui, who became an engineer with the Ning Hsiang Railroad in Huan, and Owyong King, who, in 1903, was Chinese Vice-Consul in San Francisco.
A rare catalog of the seminary states that "Students disciplined here are admirably qualified for Farm, Work Shop, Sales Room, Counting House, Ship- ping Office or the more classical institutions".
The seminary was disbanded in 1878 and the building was used as a board- ing house for summer visitors at the shore. It was torn down in 1923.
The Commercial and Classical Boarding and Day School for boys, at 415 Savin Avenue, was conducted by W. F. Thomas from about 1855 until the late 1870's, when the Thomas family moved from West Haven to Ohio.
According to legend, Mr. Thomas always carried a carpet bag for his books, papers, and various articles, and was known as "Carpet Bag Thomas". He was assisted by his wife in conducting the school.
Among well-known West Haveners who attended the school were the late E. E. Bradley, Cyrus Tuttle, and Dennis A. Kimberly, who was burgess of the Borough of West Haven from 1888 to 1891.
The Phelps Nursery School, in the Phelps Homestead at Campbell Avenue and Elm Street, has been conducted since 1934 by Miss Marjorie Phelps. Pupils ranging in age from two-and-one-half to four-and-one-half years, are taught in- structive games, co-operation, and work that prepares them for entrance to kin- dergarten. The school is open from September to June.
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CHURCHES
THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF WEST HAVEN
In the early days the West Farms section, now West Haven, was a parish of the Congregational Church in New Haven. As the community grew, the set- tlers felt the need of a church of their own, and, since they were confident of their ability to support a separate ecclesiastical society, petitioned in 1711 for the right to establish their own church. Many objections were raised by the people of New Haven, but the General Assembly finally granted the desired authority. In 1715, the territorial bounds were fixed, and, in 1719, the Church Society was granted a State charter. Those self-reliant settlers were not with- out justification of their faith in themselves, for, unlike many other parishes, this one was immediately able to erect a church and to supply it with a pastor.
Some of the settlers believed that the best site for the church would be at the foot of Shingle Hill, but the wisdom of choosing a more central location was recognized, and the first church edifice was erected in 1719 on the site of the present West Haven Green, then low, marshy land overgrown with alders, given to the community by Samuel Candee and Shubael Painter. According to the custom of that time, the meetinghouse was designed for a double purpose, as a place of worship, and for the uses of civil authority.
This first meetinghouse of wood, 36 x 48 feet in size, was a very plain and small structure, with exposed rafters. Entrances were placed at both ends, and a main doorway on the west opened into the aisle opposite the pulpit, over which a sounding board was suspended. This meetinghouse had neither a steeple nor a bell; a drum was beaten to call the people together for service or the affairs of the Society. Two meetings were held each Sabbath, with a brief intermission between for lunch and an opportunity much needed, during the winter, to get warm, as the meetinghouse was not heated. Some people owned foot stoves or carried heated soap stones with them, but such comforts were generally frowned upon as vanities.
The early records of the church were destroyed by the British in the raids of 1779 and 1781, but the records of the Ecclesiastical Society, from 1724 on, are preserved at the State Library in Hartford.
The first minister, Samuel Johnson, who served from 1720 to 1722, was relieved of his duties in 1722, when he announced his intention to go to England to take orders in the Church of England.
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