USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Norwalk > The romance of Norwalk > Part 20
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To decide if the building being erected would be large enough to accommodate an increase in ten years; to decide if the lot was big enough to permit of an addition if neces- sary; to decide if perhaps it would not be better to abandon the site altogether and pick another; to decide if, after all, it would not be better to give up the idea of a new high school building at the present time, because of the high cost of material and labor; to decide whether matters might be helped by either increasing the building committee or dis- charging it altogether and selecting a new one; and to de- cide if the building committee had acted within its powers in accepting plans radically different from those presented when the money was appropriated for the building.
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After this hectic disturbance, when the meeting finally came together, it was merely decided to "let the committee go ahead!" The building was erected in 1909 with nine- teen rooms, plans being made to accommodate about 550 pupils. Since that time, seven additional rooms have been opened, three in the assembly hall, it having been found necessary to use part of the assembly hall for study purposes, and four on the third floor. The present school building program contemplates in the future, the erection of a new and up-to-date high school building on a central site. The school now stands on West ave. near Courtland Place.
While the matter of establishing a high school in Norwalk hung in the balance for 38 years, another problem of edu- cation was occupying the attention of the local people. For some time leaders in the community had harbored the idea of abolishing for all time the school districts and of bring- ing each separate school directly under the town supervision. There were many who opposed any such move and when the matter was put to vote in October, 1875, there were only 142 in favor of the consolidation and 952 against it.
The matter hung fire for a number of years and it was not until 1911 that the townspeople could come to one mind on the subject, when the districts were consolidated.
It is interesting to follow the increase in expenditures for the schools by the town of Norwalk down through these years. In 1869, $15,000 was laid aside for education for one year in Norwalk. The sum was increased to $20,000 in 1871. In 1875, it was $29,500; 1887, $31, 114.25; 1899, $49,425 ; 1903, $55,757; 1912, $102, 186.60, this including the high school; 1929, $449,5II.II. The great jump in the yearly running expenses of the schools from a little more than one hundred thousand dollars in 1912 to nearly five-hundred thousand dollars in 1929, is explained by the fact that pupil enrollment has increased greatly in the past 17 years, and by the fact that teachers' salaries today are much higher than they were in 1912. Proof that Norwalk does not spend too much on its schools is given in the 1924
.
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and 1925 reports made to the State Board of Education. At that time the average per capita cost of elementary schools for a selected group of Connecticut cities and towns was $84.40. The cost in Norwalk was $67.80.
Evening schools were established in Norwalk in 1893. At a special meeting, it was voted to form evening schools “in the Winnipauk school district, one in the Center school dis- trict, one in the Over River school district, one in the South Norwalk school district and one in the East Norwalk school district, they to be continued 100 nights." Today there is one large evening school which is conducted in the Frank- lin Junior high for 78 nights during the winter months. For some time it has been under the direct supervision of Joseph Nathanson, science instructor at the Norwalk High school, and it has a registration of about 300 pupils each year. The night school has become an outstanding educational institu- tion in Norwalk. Public schools today are really free. Tu- ition rates were abolished by legislation in 1868, and in 1900, Norwalk voted to supply text books and supplies to all scholars. Up to this time books had been purchased only for those pupils who could not pay for them. Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14 and it is estimated that there are now about 6,000 boys and girls in attendance at the public schools of the City of Nor- walk. More than 1,000 others are in private schools.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
In the city at the present time, there are the following schools; Winnipauk, Franklin, Concord, West Norwalk, Brookside, Rowayton, Roosevelt or North Center, Marvin, Broad River, Over River, Putnam, Knudsen, Lincoln, Jeff- erson, Cranbury, or North East, Washington, Center ele- mentary, and Center Junior, Franklin Junior, Roger Lud- low Junior, Norwalk Senior high, and Fitch, recently de- stroyed by fire and about to be rebuilt.
Of Fitch schools there have been many, the name being
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the oldest in town. One of the first, or perhaps even the first school in town was called Fitch and there have been several since, by that name. The last Fitch school, which was burned to the ground in February, 1929, stood on the corner of East ave. and Winfield st. The building which preceded it, was a "little red schoolhouse" which was built in 1820 and for many years was located on the top of East ave. hill or Earle hill, as it is sometimes designated. It was later moved down to the foot of the hill where it stood for another period of time, though much closer to the road than it is now. When the new Fitch school (which burned in 1929) was built, the little old red schoolhouse was put up for sale. The father of Mrs. John F. Darrow, 30 West Main st., who was Oscar Raymond, bid in the little place for his father-in-law, Stephen Raymond.
This old school, which was later turned into a house and was moved farther into the lot to its present location, is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Milton Dana Morrill, at 185 East ave. When the structure was turned into a house, the school bell was sold to Captain Charles Cook St. John, who placed it on the front of his boat. Mrs. Darrow is under the impression that the auction of the little old school house, in which Oscar and Stephen Raymond figured, took place about 1868, and that by that time the last Fitch school which just burned, had already been built. This would then place the erection date of the last Fitch school previous to the year 1868, although local school authorities are of the opinion that the school was built in 1871. It is difficult def- initely to place the date. At the present time, plans are in progress for a new Fitch school building.
The Franklin school, another old building, was thought to have been built about 1854. Wooden additions were made in 1873 and 1894. Previous to 1854 there had been two schools in the district: the Old Well school, a two-room affair in the vicinity of the present Soldier's Monument near the South Norwalk Congregational church; and the Flax Hill school of one room, near the junction of West st.
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(Flax Hill road) and Lowe st. The two schools were con- solidated and known as the Union school or the South Nor- walk Union school district, in 1854. In that year a five- room building was erected for the Union school, later called the Franklin school. This building, which is part of the present Franklin school, was made of wood but was filled in with brick, and was located on the corner of Flaxhill road and Franklin st., where the present school stands. The school being considered very modern for those years was well attended. Yearly tuition was charged, ranging in price from $.90 in the primary grades to $4 in the high school classes for district scholars and $5 in the high school classes for out of district students. The principal in 1860 was paid the lordly sum of $800, while his four assistants put together couldn't scrape up more than $1,400.
By 1870, the number of pupils in the Union or Franklin school had grown to 758 and it became necessary to provide some manner of taking care of them all. It was decided to build another school. In such manner did the Concord school on Concord st. come to be built, its three rooms be- ing opened to pupils in the fall of 1871. It cost not quite $10,000. In 1886 the Concord school was enlarged from three to eight rooms. But it was not long before more room was needed and the year 1888 found the school again cramped for space. Many wanted to build a new school; but others objected. Matters dragged along for some years, first one room, then another being opened until in 1897, three rooms in the Knudsen building, two in the hat factory of Alden Solmans, who is now president of the South Nor- walk Savings Bank, and one in Arion Hall were in operation as parts of the school.
Returning to Franklin school, in 1873, a wooden addition was made, changing the building from a five to a nine room school and later, in 1894, with a second wooden addition, to a ten room building with an assembly hall. In 1897 a brick addition was built to the Franklin school and the whole building was remodeled. The place now houses both the
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Franklin elementary and the Franklin junior high schools. Portable school rooms have been added recently. There are now 20 rooms in total.
The Five Mile River district of Norwalk, which in earlier days concerned itself with the western end of the city, in- cluded the West Norwalk, Brookside and Rowayton sections. It supported, during the nineteenth century, three schools : the North Five Mile River, or West Norwalk school; the Middle Five Mile River or Brookside school; the South Five Mile River or Rowayton school. These schools, which, during the early half of the 19th century were under the jurisdiction of the Darien School society were taken over by the town of Norwalk, after the state had abolished all school societies in 1856.
The North Five Mile River school, now the West Nor- walk School, has an interesting history. The existing records began in 1841. That there was a school in the district be- fore this date is evidenced by the fact that in the year 1841 under date of September 25 it was voted to erect a new building as the old had become too dilapidated. The di- mensions were to be 18 by 22 feet with ten foot posts. The building was finished October 1841 and cost just $266.61.
In 1858 the building was enlarged. In 1872, the old building having now become too small, it was decided to build a third school, the expense of which was not to exceed $2,500. When it was completed the old schoolhouse was sold to the highest bidder for at least $245. In 1877, the name North Five Mile River school was changed to West Norwalk School. In the summer of 1926, the West Nor- walk school was remodelled, the building being the same which was erected in 1872. The first teacher mentioned in connection with the West Norwalk school was Miss Frances A. Selleck who in 1843 taught the "summer school" and re- ceived the salary of nine dollars a month for her labors.
One of the oldest schools in local history is the Brookside school, once known as the Middle Five Mile River School, near the intersection of Flaxhill road and the road from
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New Canaan to Rowayton. The exact age of the original Brookside school, we do not know but we do know that it antedated the year 1847, for Samuel Richards Weed, at the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Norwalk in 1901, spoke of being a pupil in the Brookside school in 1847. The present Brookside school is a building of the better rural type, of two rooms, accommodating about 50 pupils.
The history of the Rowayton elementary school, formerly known as the South Five Mile River School, goes back a considerable time. The district was organized in 1820 and a small schoolhouse about 12 by 15 feet was erected. There were 12 scholars at the time, some of whom had desks and some of whom had nothing but slab seats. The teacher re- ceived $16 a month and boarded round at the homes of the different neighbors. The first schoolhouse stood just east of what was known for many years as the Andrew Bell homestead. The property, which is still known to many in Rowayton by that name, was located on a triangle be- tween Jacob and Cudlipp sts. The old house stood on a corner piece of land which pointed into the intersection of Jacob st., Rowayton ave., and Hunt st. In 1848, the second schoolhouse was built, this time being placed on the river bank, opposite the Raymond cemetery. It was larger and more comfortable than the first. There are still among us, Norwalkers who went to this Rowayton school. At one time Frederick Sterling Lyon, the grandfather of Andrew Lyon, on the staff of the Post Telegram in Bridgeport and of Miss Mary Lyon of 126 Flax Hill road, was principal of the school and was known as a stern disciplinarian. The present school building was erected at a cost of $10,000, in- cluding the cost of the grounds, in 1890, on its present site, on Rowayton ave., near the intersection of Witch Lane. It includes four rooms and accommodates about 100 pupils.
A wooden frame building erected about 40 years ago is the Roosevelt or North Center school on Newtown ave. The school contains just four rooms. There was a school in the district in 1853. Marvin school, a substantial brick
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building of eight rooms, was erected in 1900 on property on Gregory boulevard between Second and Third sts. Pre- vious to this time, classes were held in vacant rooms in a nearby building.
The Broad River school dates back to 1861. In that year a wooden building 28 feet long and 22 feet wide was erected, costing only a little over $600. George L. Finney was the first teacher. In 1924 the present $30,000 fireproof brick building was erected on New Canaan ave., north of Silver- mine ave. There are four rooms with all improvements, the registration now being nearly 100 pupils. When the new school was built, the old one was taken over by the Broad River Community club and made into a clubhouse. Shailor B. Walkley of Broad River, who retired last June after 5 1 years as a teacher, 37 of which were spent in this city, was principal of the Broad River school when there were only 25 pupils, about a quarter of the present number.
The Winnipauk school was once known as the Northwest school. It has been housed in a variety of buildings. The first, it is thought, was built previous to 1800, probably about 1790, on a piece of property just north of the large gate leading to what was once known as the Butterworth barn on the Butterworth property where now lives Guiseppe Scalisi, shoemaker of 377 Main ave. The first school was a one story structure made of wood. Logs of wood, burned in a stone hearth, furnished heat for the building. The furniture consisted of rough board desks around three sides of the room and seats or benches made of half logs with the flat surface up, the rounded surface, into which legs were driven for support, being down. The building was used for school purposes until 1836, when it was made over into a dwelling house. The second schoolhouse, erected in the year 1836, was also one story high but was of brick, about 20 by 35 feet in size. It was erected on a triangular plot "formed by the three roads just south of the Norwalk mills and north of the Orcutt store and about 15 feet east of the Danbury and Norwalk railroad track," says an old
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account. The Orcutt store, which has long since passed on, stood about where the railroad siding platform of the Norwalk Tire and Rubber Co., now is located. This build- ing boasted a lovely belfry, but for some reason, no bell. The building was later sold at public auction for $100. It was torn down about 50 years ago, it is believed. The third and present school house is a substantial building of granite, erected in 1868 at a cost of $8,000 on Main ave., near the intersection of Belden Hill ave. This school is built on a hill so that the rear of the upper rooms is nearly level with the ground outside. The building with its three rooms accommodates something over a hundred pupils.
The present Over River school on Academy st. is quite old, the date of the erection being unknown. It is of wood and houses a manual training shop and stock rooms. The four class rooms are on the second floor. The Putnam school on Franklin st., near Clay, is an old fire house, not owned by the school department but rented from the dis- trict. It contains four rooms and accommodates about 150 pupils.
The Knudsen school on Chestnut st., in the rear of the Concord school is another old frame building, the date of which is not known although it is thought to be previous to the year 1897. It is believed to have been built by Mr. Knudsen of Denmark who came here in 1865 and whose wife ran a select school on Fifth ave., New York. Mr. Knudsen was quite a philosopher. When asked why he erected the building, which was not in the beginning used as a school, he said he did not know, that he had the money and the Lord had the idea. For some time Mr. Knudsen gave lectures on astronomy in the hall. On the little hill which lies between Veno Court and Wood st., back of the Concord school, he built himself an observatory where he conducted his experimental work. Later, the Knudsen building was given to the district for school purposes. It contains seven rooms.
The Lincoln elementary school on the corner of Concord
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and Chestnut sts., is a neat brick building of eight rooms erected in 1916. Jefferson school, located on Prospect ave., on a side hill overlooking Van Buren ave., is a modern ten- room, brick building with auditorium, built in 1914. The Cranbury or North East school on Newtown ave., in the Cranbury section was built many years ago but remodelled in 1926. It is of wood with modern daylight sash on one side. There was a school in the district in 1853. Washing- ton school, situated on Cedar st., near the Post road, was built in 1914. It is a brick erection boasting 12 rooms and an auditorium.
An antiquated building of uncertain date houses the pres- ent Center elementary school at the rear of the Center Junior high school, Main st. The school has eight rooms. The Center Junior high school on the corner of Main and School sts. was not built until 1924-1925. There are ten rooms in the main building. Two more in the form of a portable school were added in 1926. Near Winfield st. and East ave., in East Norwalk is the Roger Ludlow Junior high school which was built also in 1924-25. It is of brick and has 12 rooms.
Two parochial schools and a vast number of private schools have served to make Norwalk's educational history one of interest and progress. Both the parochial schools, St. Mary's at 6 Leonard st., and St. Joseph's, 9 Henry st., are flourishing. They offer courses from the kindergarten up to the high school and are well known for high standards of scholarship. Father John Russell who came to St. Mary's R. C. church, January 30, 1878, built St. Mary's Parochial school. Classes were first held in 1880 in a wooden building. In 1882, the present school building was erected. There are now 278 boys and 231 girls enrolled, according to the last Catholic directory. Father Russell is now with St. Patrick's R. C. church in New Haven. St. Joseph's parochial school was founded in 1912 by Father Richard J. Carroll. He purchased the property on Chestnut st., at the corner of Henry st., and erected a convent and beside it St. Joseph's
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parochial school. At the time of completion there were two grades in the school, but each year a grade was added until the school was complete and the first graduation could be held. When the school began there were less than 80 pupils. The enrollment is now 400 boys and girls, the school being filled to capacity.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Of the oldest private schools in Norwalk we know but little. There was an academy at one time which stood on the "Green" and belonged to the Norwalk Congregational church. Edwin Hall was principal for a while. In the early 1800's there was an Episcopal academy here, discontinued in 1829. The South Norwalk Academy later known as the Norwalk Academy, which stood on West ave., almost op- posite the site of the South Norwalk Methodist church was a well known school in the first half of the 19th century. At first designed for boys, girls were later admitted to the school. Storrs Hall, brother of Dr. Edwin Hall was an early principal. The academy continued until the early '50's.
A private school which enjoyed a wide reputation in the middle of the last century was that founded by the Rev. Charles Selleck, author of "Selleck's history of Norwalk" in 1855. For many years the school boasted an average of 100 boarding pupils who were fitted for the best colleges, for West Point and for the United States Naval Academy. The school was conducted by Mr. Selleck for 34 years until 1889. At that time it was taken over by Colonel Roberts and became the Norwalk Military Academy. In 1897 it was known as the Norwalk University School. Other boys' schools of bygone years included the Norwalk Latin school in 1883 conducted by Professor Alexander Johnston; a boys' school run during the '60's on Bayview ave; a boarding school for boys run by John Osborn on Strawberry hill.
Norwalk, during the latter part of the 19th century har- bored many girls' private schools as well as boys' schools.
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There was for instance the "Select School for Young Ladies and Children," established by the Misses Brockway in 1869 and continued until 1882. There were some 30 pupils in attendance who were fitted for college, special attention being given to history, drawing, elocution and music. The Home Lawn School for Young Ladies was started by Miss Helen Stevens in 1872 on the site of the present home of George L. Woodward, president of the National Bank of Norwalk, at 15 Belden ave. It was later moved to another section of the city and discontinued in 1885. Where Dr. W. J. Tracey lives, 637 West ave., once stood an extremely select school for young ladies conducted by a Mrs. White. Miss Baird's Home School for Girls, established in 1871, was located at the corner of West ave. and Orchard st. There were about 60 pupils in the school, who were "prepared for college or society, possessing disciplined minds and bodies, carefully formed manners and self-control."
The Hillside School for Girls, Prospect Hill, of which Miss Margaret Brendlinger, Miss Vida Hunt Francis and Miss Jessie Truman are principals, commenced its years of meritorious service in Darien in 1883. At that time it was known as the Mead School for Girls and Young Ladies, under the supervision of Mrs. Melville E. Mead. It moved to Norwalk in 1889. Mrs. Mead continued as principal of the school until her death in 1908. In that year the school was reorganized and continued under the direction of the present heads, Miss Brendlinger and Miss Francis. Miss Truman joined the staff of principals June, 1929.
On the side of the hill, high above the city, is the Hillside School, located on its six acres of wooded land. The main house, the Homestead, has an interesting history. It was originally built by Mrs. Louisa Smith and was used as a girls' school before the Civil War. Later it became a school for boys under Dr. Fitch. Mrs. Mead acquired it when she moved her school from Darien to Norwalk. Today, the school includes classes from primary to college entrance and has a total registration of more than 125, both boarding and
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day pupils. The institution, which has a staff of 24, has an enviable record of honor students, in the better colleges of the country.
The Thomas school, Miss Mabel Thomas, principal, Wilson rd., opened in October, 1922, with eight pupils. Today there are 160 students, boarding and day, who re- ceive instruction from kindergarten to college entrance. The school property covers 20 acres of ground. The nursery school, which is housed in a remodelled farm house, apart from the main buildings, on Juniper Ridge, Highland ave., takes up ten acres, this number being included in the 20 above mentioned. Here boys and girls are received at the age of three. All work and play is conducted out-of-doors, summer and winter, when the weather is fine. The staff of the Thomas school numbers 25 teachers, three of whom are masters. The school is progressive, with a broader program than the average, taking special note of the individual talents of its students. The Storey school, 3 Connecticut ave., run by Mrs. James Storey, was commenced in 1907. It is a school for boys and girls of intermediate and high school grades and offers a three year high school course. In the city there are a number of kindergarten and primary schools, among them being that run by Mrs. George Sartain, 13 North ave.
No mention is being made of the so-called Harstrom School for boys which stood for many years on Prospect ave., for the reason that the late Professor Carl Harstrom maintained that it was not a school but rather a house of tutoring for Yale, Harvard and Princeton. Among the busi- ness colleges here have been Brown's Business College opened for instruction in 1897, but since disorganized, and Merrill's Business College, 97 Washington st., which is now in its 4Ist year and has an average of 70 pupils. Mrs. M. A. Merrill, who first owned the school, was the first woman founder of a business college in the United States.
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