USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > History of Dubuque County, Iowa; being a general survey of Dubuque County history, including a history of the city of Dubuque and special account of districts throughout the county, from the earliest settlement to the present time > Part 101
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915
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
chosen president pro tempore and P. W. Crawford, city recorder, was ex-officio secretary. R. C. Waples was authorized to buy the fifth of lot 447 adjoining the fifth then owned at the corner of Twelfth and Clay streets. The purchase was made subsequently at a cost of $2,000. On the third of March the board voted to open schools in the third and fifth wards with two teachers each. At this time a serious clash occurred with the council. Upon ask- ing the council for a statement of the amount of money at the dis- posal of the board of education the council, through Ben M. Sam- uels, chairman of its committee on schools, replied that there had been a fund of $7,000 which had been used for other than school purposes, but would be restored as soon as a loan for $100,000 could be negotiated. The board of education then adopted the follow- ing resolution : "Resolved, That under the construction put upon the power and duties of this board by the city council, we see no prospect of effecting anything for the establishment of public schools in this city by any work this board can do and that we adjourn sine die."
The council on March 10 adopted a new ordinance and appointed H. A. Wiltse, F. E. Bissell, S. M. Case, J. J. E. Norman and J. A. Reid as a new board to serve until the regular election in April. Although they were in office only a month, they started something. They voted to open schools in the first ward, West Dubuque, and on Dodge street in rented rooms, reported plans and specifications for a school building in the third ward and asked the council for $10,000 for such building. At the April election the following were chosen members of the new board, one from each ward: J. A. Langton, C. Childs, H. A. Wiltse, F. E. Bissell and John King. The council levied a tax of $8,810 for teachers and a tax of $17,620 additional to a regular appropriation of $30,000 for schoolhouses. Plans for three-story, twelve-room buildings in the first and third wards were drawn by J. F. Rague and contracts let to Berry, Playter & Longhurst.
Previous to this year Dubuque owned but two schoolhouses, nei- ther of which could seat comfortably more than seventy pupils, al- though the city claimed a population exceeding 12,000. The school census of 1856 showed 2,808 of school age, but there were only 264 in school. These were taught by eight teachers, two male and six female, in the two buildings owned by the city and in several rented rooms. The Express and Herald, February 27, 1856, said : "There is at last a prospect that public free schools will soon be es- tablished in this city. At present there is not a single school build- ing worthy of the name at the disposal of the board."
In 1857 the buildings in the first and third wards were completed and another of the same size and style was erected in the fifth ward. The complete cost of first ward building was as follows :
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
Building
$17,114.93
Filling lot . 717.50
Protection wall. 1,197.66
Sewer
161.50
Inside walk 78.75
Furnishing
5,351.92
$24,622.36
The total cost of the third ward building, including furniture, was $27,067.91, and of the fifth ward building, $23,026.56. The building in the third ward is still in use and apparently as strong as ever. Those in the other two wards gave way in 1906 to beau- tiful, modern, well-lighted, well-ventilated and well-furnished structures. School opened in the first ward in June, 1857, with the following corps of teachers: George W. Hough, principal ; Ad- die Warner, Mrs. Helen S. Allen, Sarah E. Cantillon, Hannah A. Gillingham, Anna E. Childs, Eliza M. Rogers, Jane M. Butler and Lizzie M. Cantillon. The principal received $100 and the teachers from $30 to $45 per month.
In the third ward school was opened February 2, 1857, with the following corps of teachers: A. F. Townsend, principal; E. Jane Thomas, Melissa Eggleston, Frances A. Cogswell, Eliza Hawley, Mrs. Sarah J. Taylor, Josephine L. Dorr, Lois Bissell, Sarah E. Weston and Daphne L. Churchill. The fifth ward school was opened in September, 1858, with the following corps: I. C. Sny- der, principal ; Emily A. Temple, Eliza A. Phipps, Harriet D. Bul- lard and Jane Thomas. The principals of these first three schools have been, first ward, now called Franklin school :
George W. Hough . June, 1857-June, 1858
J. J. Jewett.
September, 1858-June, 1859
H. H. Belfield. . September, 1859-June, 1860
Charles Mckenzie September, 1860-June, 1861
No school. September, 1861-December, 1861
H. H. Belfield. . January, 1862-June, 1863
J. H. Sanborn. September, 1863-June, 1864
O. A. Brownson September, 1864-June, 1878
James E. Welsh. September, 1878-December, 1903
Annie A. O'Shea January, 1904
Third ward, now called Prescott school :
A. F. Townsend February 2, 1857-June, 1858
S. M. Case. -September, 1858
Jasper Fisk . October, 1858-March, 1859
Miss E. A. Phipps April. 1859-June, 1859
A. F. Townsend September, 1859-March, 1860
J. M. Woodruff. April, 1860-June, 1861
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
No school .. September, 1861-December, 1861
Albert Stebbins . January, 1862-June, 1863
J. H. Goodrich September. 1863-April, 1864
David Parsons May, 1864-September, 1865
H. H. Belfield . October, 1865-June, 1866
C. W. Demon . . September, 1866-June, 1867
Thomas M. Irish September, 1867
Fifth ward, now called Audubon school :
I. C. Snyder September, 1858-January, 1859
H. H. Belfield . February, 1859-June, 1859
Charles G. Kretschmer September. 1859-December, 1897 B. J. Horchen January, 1898-
In the spring of 1858 a high school was opened in the upper room of the third ward school. "This school, as we understand, is opened as an auxiliary, or rather a higher department of the public schools of the city." (E. and H., May 22, 1857.)
The school was in charge of the principal of the third ward school until October, when S. M. Case was made principal of the high school department with one assistant. In January, 1859, the high school department was transferred to the female seminary building on Seventeenth street at the head of Iowa. The board had purchased this building for $12,000. The school opened with IIO students in charge of S. M. Case and two assistants. Charles G. Kretschmer, who had been teaching a private school, taught the German classes throughout the year and then was appointed principal of the fifth ward (Audubon) school. In April Mr. Case was succeeded by Dr. W. C. Catlin, who resigned after two weeks of service on account of ill health. A. F. Townsend served as principal during the remainder of the year. On account of lack of funds the high school was discontinued in 1859 and the build- ing on Seventeenth street reverted to former owners. The teach- ers were paid in scrip and salaries were reduced about 50 per cent. From 1859 to 1865 principals received from $40 to $50 per month and teachers from $20 to $30. The high school course of study in 1859 was :
FIRST YEAR.
First Term.
Higher arithmetic, Analytical grammar, Word analysis, English history, Latin lessons, German.
Second Term.
Algebra,
Bookkeeping, Language analysis, English history, English composition,
Language analysis, English composition,
Latin lessons,
Latin lessons,
German, Constitution U. S.
Third Term. Algebra completed, Geometry,
German, Review of all.
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
Composition and declamation by sections once in three weeks ; penmanship twice a week; vocal music once a week; lectures by the principal on common things, morals, manners, etc., once a week.
SECOND YEAR.
First Term.
Second Term.
Third Term.
Geometry,
Geometry,
Higher algebra,
Natural philosophy,
Natural philosophy,
Natural philosophy,
Physical geography.
Physical geography,
General history,
General history,
General history,
Botany,
Physiology,
Physiology,
Virgil,
Latin, grammar and Cæsar,
Latin, grammar and Cæsar,
German,
Greek (optional),
German.
German,
Review of year's
studies.
Composition and declamation, penmanship, music and lectures as in first year. (It should be said that the class in physiology re- cited only twice a week.)
THIRD YEAR.
First Term. Second Term.
Third Term.
Higher algebra,
Spherical trigonom- etry, Surveying,
Geology,
Plane trigonometry,
Astronomy,
Astronomy,
Agricultural istry, Moral philosophy,
Critical readings,
Geology,
Virgil,
Moral philosophy,
Greek (optional),
Virgil,
Greek (optional),
French (optional).
Cicero's orations,
Anabasis (optional), French (optional).
Moral philosophy and intellectual philosophy, each twice a week. Compositions and critical readings by sections once in three weeks, original addresses once in three weeks, vocal music once a week.
Those who complain of the present "crowded" courses of study should read the above. What shall be said about the three teachers of 1859? Perhaps it was fortunate that the board was compelled to close the school after an existence of one year.
Candidates for admission to the high school were required to pass an examination (ten questions each, approved by the board) in definitions, geography, mental arithmetic, principles of arith-
chem-
Chemistry,
Chemistry,
Intellectual philosophy, Review of ancient history,
French (optional),
Bookkeeping (double entry ).
Surveying,
Mensuration,
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
metic, written arithmetic, English grammar, U. S. history, general history. The text books used in the grades were Sanders's read- ers and speller, Sanders & Merrill's elocutionary chart, Sargent's charts for teaching the alphabet. Webster's dictionary, Davies's series of arithmetics, Cornell's series of geographies, Payson, Dun- ton and Scribner's penmanship, Green's series of English gram- mar, Willson's history of the United States.
Among the rules of the board were the following :
"The teachers shall meet on Saturday forenoon of each week and occupy three hours in receiving instructions from the board, discussing methods of teaching and in exercises in the branches taught in their respective schools, with a view to the introduction of uniform and the promotion of better methods of instruction and in hearing reports and essays on educational topics."
"Any teacher who shall fail to be present at the time for open- ing school or be absent from a teachers' meeting shall forfeit the amount of one-half day's salary."
"Principals shall render to the board of directors a weekly list of all pupils in their respective schools who have been absent five hours during the preceding week without having been excused. Such pupils may, at the discretion of the board, be dismissed from school for the remainder of the term."
"The school year shall commence on the last Monday in August and shall consist of forty-four weeks of five days each week and six hours each day. The fall term shall commence with the school year and close on December 24: the winter term shall commence on the first school day after the January I and close on the first Friday of April; the summer term shall commence on the first Monday after the second Friday in April and close precisely six weeks before the last Monday in August."
"The several teachers may open their respective schools by read- ing either the Protestant or Douay version of the Bible, by repeat- ing the Lord's prayer in concert and by singing, the exercise to be limited to eight minutes. In case a majority of the parents or guardians of the pupils under the instruction of any particular teacher shall remonstrate in writing against the use of the Bible and repeating the Lord's prayer, such teacher shall intermit these exercises. The Bible shall be read without note or comment."
The last rule quoted caused a tempest. The Bible accompanied with prayer and psalm singing was introduced in September, 1858. A call for a meeting of all those opposed to such introduction and in favor of a purely secular education to be held in the court- house on the evening of September 18 was signed by forty of the most prominent citizens.
Gen. George W. Jones called the meeting to order and General Hodgdon was called to the chair. Speeches in opposition to tlie new rule of the board of directors were made by General Hodg-
920
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
don, Judge Corkery, General Jones and B. M. Samuels. Strong resolutions were adopted unanimously and a committee consisting of Ben M. Samuels, George W. Jones, Charles Corkery, Warner Lewis and D. A. Mahony appointed to interview the board of directors. The members of the school board replied, trying to justify their action on religious grounds.
Great confusion was caused in 1858 by a strange order of the board calling the school in the third ward the first public school, that in the first ward the second public school and that in the fifth ward the third public school.
An important movement was started May 19, 1858, at a meet- ing of the county board of directors, composed of the presidents of the boards of directors of all school districts in the county. Judge Lovell was chairman. The object of the convention was to consider the best course of instruction, methods of school gov- ernment and qualifications of teachers. Before the convention some one suggested a county high school. A committee was ap- pointed to consider the propriety of establishing such a school. The next day the committee, through its chairman, reported in favor of the proposition and suggested the city of Dubuque for its location. Delegates were present from every township in the county. There was considerable enthusiasm and a board of trus- tees, one from each township, was chosen. The convention ad- journed to meet at Caledonia at the call of the chairman. In July C. Childs, secretary, called for sealed proposals from towns or in- dividuals offering lands or buildings for a county high school, said proposals to be in his hands by August 10. Offers were made by Caledonia, Epworth, Cascade, Dyersville, Farley and the Lang- worthy brothers. At a meeting of the trustees in September, all the proposed plans were voted on and every one failed to secure a majority. The vote on Dyersville was a tie, five to five, and there was a majority against Cascade, Epworth, Farley and Caledonia. By a vote of six to four the whole matter was finally postponed until April. 1859, and by that time the proposition was killed by the rivalry as to location, contemplation of increased taxation and the full realization of the financial panic. The idea, however, was so good that the writer wishes he could give the name of the man who first suggested it in that Dubuque convention. Yet there are in various sections of the country advocates of such a school to- day who believe they have a panacea entirely new and modern.
All schools were suspended in the fall of 1861 on account of lack of funds, but reopened in January with the exception of the high school. In 1864 a tornado unroofed the fifth ward building, causing the district an additional expense of $3,000; this building was again hit by a tornado in April, 1869, partly unroofing it, re- pairs for which cost $625.
In 1865 the board purchased Turner Hall at the northeast corner
921
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
of Twelfth and Clay streets for $6,000; the board also paid $500 for a five-year lease held by a theatrical manager and nearly $7,000 for reconstructing and furnishing the building, making the total cost of the property $13,500. It and the old third ward school, built in 1856 at the southwest corner of these streets-the two to- gether now known as the Prescott school-are the only old large school buildings in the city.
The location of the proposed county high school caused a spir- ited controversy in the newspapers. County members objected to sending children to the city on account of exposure to temptations. The Langworthy brothers offered a site free in the northwestern part of the city and F. E. Bissell and W. Spaulding, trustees of the Female Seminary, offered their building at less than cost. Mr. Bis- sell said, "County people should send their children to the city for the very purpose of exposing them to temptation so they may try to resist temptation ; that virtue exists only in the man who wanted to sin but dare not." Some said, "Whether in city or county, do not buy the Dubuque Female Seminary with its martello towers. The people of the county should not be saddled with the mistakes in school architecture of a few gentlemen in the city who wish to get out of an unpleasant predicament."
In March, 1866, the school board established a school for negro children in the basement of the Methodist church on Seventh street. This action was taken in response to a petition circulated by some negroes.
A writer in the Herald of February 2 said: "If such a school is established here, niggers will flock here in swarms to get 'larnin',' and the gas will have to be kept lighted all day to enable one to find his way through town." Miss Mclaughlin was the first teacher. The Herald of March 7 says: "The school numbers seventeen scholars of all sizes, ages and shades of complexion, straight hair, curly hair and wool. The largest in attendance are a couple of barbers who are pitching in on A, B, C." In 1870 a petition signed by fifteen colored citizens asking to have their children admitted to the ward schools and the separate negro school discontinued was granted July 25. but on August 25 on account of emphatic opposition among the whites, the question was reconsidered and the negro school continued. The school was ordered discontinued February 22, 1877.
The State Teachers' Association met in the third ward school building in August. 1864. The high school department which had been discontinued in 1859 was reopened in September, 1866, with J. M. Brainerd as principal, in a room on the second floor of Tur- ner Hall, which became known as the High School building, and was so used until 1895. A three-year course of study was adopted and embraced the following: Mathematics (three years) : Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation and surveying; science (three
922
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
years), natural philosophy, botany, geology, chemistry; history (one year), United States history, universal; Latin (two and a half years), Greek (one and a half years). German (one and a half years), French (one year), English (one-half year).
Principals of the high school have been :
Number assistants.
S. M. Case October. 1858-March, 1859 I
A. F. Townsend April, 1859-June, 1859 2
J. M. Brainerd
. September, 1866-June, 1867 I
M. H. Beach September, 1867-June, 1875 I to 2
J. D. Wells September, 1875-June. 1877 2 to 3
H. L. Peet. September, 1877-June, 1885 3 to 4
F. A. Parker . September, 1885-June, 1888 4 to 5
D. Compton September. 1888-June. 1895 5 to 7
E. D. Walker . September, 1895-June. 1896 8
F. L. Smart September. 1896-June, 1900
IO to 14
J. S. Gochenauter September. 1900-June, 1902
14
F. L. Smart. September. 1902-June, 1906
15 to 18
J. A. Anderson September, 1906-
17 to 18
The growth of the high school is indicated in the following fig- ures of total enrollment : 1870, eight-one: 1880, 175: 1890, 256; 1895-6. 372 ; 1900-01, 487 ; 1905-06, 575; 1910-11, 477. The pres- ent high school building, one of the finest looking school buildings in the state, was erected in 1894. Bonds for $75,000 were voted in March, 1893; the last one was redeemed July 11, 1905. In 1870 the high school graduated its first class, consisting of two mem- bers, Sarah M. Belden and Mary A. Dorgan. From 1870 to 1876 there was a three-year course and the number graduating dur- ing that time was twenty-five. From 1877 to 1885 there were three courses-a four-year classical, a four-year Latin scientific and a two-year business-and the number graduating in those years was, classical, nineteen ; Latin scientific, 100; business, 100. From 1886 to 1895 there were but two courses-a four-year Latin scientific and a two-year business-and the number graduating in those years was, Latin scientific, 171 ; business, 207. When Superintend- ent Oldt took charge of the schools in 1895 and discovered that the great majority of the pupils were enrolling in the two-year course, he arranged five parallel four-year courses with the hope of inducing pupils to remain longer in school by selecting one of the new courses. Three years later all pupils were in a four-year course, and the two-year course was discontinued. The number graduating from the two-year course in 1896-1898 was 101, and from a four-year course in 1896-1911, 685. The total number of graduates from the high school to July 1, 1911, therefore is: Orig- inal three-year course, twenty-five; two-year business course, 408;
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
four-year courses, 975, or a grand total of 1.408. The school is well equipped and has a good corps of instructors; its graduates are accepted without examination by the great majority of our colleges and universities.
On May 21. 1868, Dr. H. Rischatsch and John Ruegamer ap- peared before the board of directors with a petition from a number of German Catholics, asking to have their school recognized as a public school and to have a portion of the school fund set apart for its support. The petition was referred to a committee com- posed of John Hodgdon, J. P. Quigley and J. H. Thedinga. At the next meeting, June 18, the committee made a lengthy report, concluding as follows: "The school fund and the school taxes are by law devoted to the support of the public schools, open and ac- cessible to all youth between the ages of five and twenty-one years, irrespective of their religion, nationality or social standing; to di- vert the same to any other purpose would be, as your committee believe, a violation of existing laws. Your committee, therefore, are constrained to report adverse to the prayer of petitioners." The report was adopted unanimously.
In 1865 the Dodge street school was opened in a room fur- nished free of rent. In this year two acres of land were purchased in West Dubuque for $750 and a one-story, two-room frame build- ing put up for $4,000; this school is now called the Irving school ; in the same year a house just like the West Dubuque house was built on land the board had owned for many years at Wilde street near the end of South Dodge. The cost was $4,000 and the school was called the South Dodge (now Bryant) school. In 1866 the board built the old ( front) part of what is now known as the old Lincoln school at a cost of $18,000 and the school was opened February 11. 1867, with T. M. Irish as principal; at the end of the year he was transferred to the third ward ( Prescott) school and has remained there to date. In October, 1868, the board purchased a lot on Fremont avenue near Dodge street for $250 and in 1870 built a one-room brick house for $2,000. This school was called Dodge street school, now the Morse. In May, 1870, the board bought the lot adjoining the old high school building for $2,000. On September 22, 1870, the board rented a room on Couler avenue from J. Zugenbuehler for $11 per month, including jani- tor service. The committee was "pleased to report that it was not necessary to buy any new furniture except a clock, two chairs and a stove." September 26, 1871, the board voted to build an additional room to the one-room frame building on the fifth ward (Audubon) grounds. It was built by Bell, Holland & Green at a cost of $584.25.
In March, 1874. a tax of $3.500 was voted for a building on Couler avenue. The board purchased three lots on which the pres- ent old Fulton school stands for $1,000 and erected a building
924
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
( the rear part of what is now known as the old Fulton) for $7,780. School opened November 16, 1874. In October, 1877, the board completed the purchase (begun in 1858) of lot adjoining the third ward school for $2,500. In 1879 the two lots in the rear of the original fourth ward (Lincoln) school were purchased for $2,000. It was then thought they had exceptionally large playgrounds. In December, 1880, the West Dubuque school was destroyed by fire ; in July, 1881, the contract for a new and larger building was let to James Howie, the cost to be $6,697. This building was also burnt, March 11, 1892: the present building was erected the same year by G. S. Weaver at a cost of $17,404. The contract for building the Marshall school was let to Reford & Johnson April 23, 1883, for $11,240. In 1886 the rear part of the present old Lincoln school was built by A. Ney & Co. for $7,400; the fur- naces cost $950. In 1889 the Peter Cooper school on the corner of Cedar and Seventeenth streets was built by H. Geiger for $2,340; in the same year the Jackson school on West Locust street was built by James Crawford at a.cost of $15.075: the additional cost for the heating plant was $2.198. In 1891 the front part of what is now known as the old Fulton was built by Oeth and Hartman for $12,890. In 1894 the high school was built.
In March, 1901, the people voted in favor of an extra tax of $18,000 for an addition to the Fulton school. The board did not think it advisable to build an addition to the Fulton on account of lack of limited room, and therefore bought land on the opposite side of the street for which they paid as follows: C. J. Even, corner lot. $1.650 : George and Theodore Schrup, lot No. 2, $1,400; Alphons Schmid, lot 3. $1.400; Mrs. Louisa Traut. lot 4, $1,400; C. J. W. Saunders, two lots, one of which to be used for the Even residence on the corner lot. $2,100, a total of $7,950. The con- tract with L. Hartman & Son for the building, smokestack and tun- nel was $25,633: steam heating and plumbing for both buildings, $7,000; retaining wall, $894.85; grading. $357; sodding. $179.28. The total cost slightly exceeded $40,000.
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