USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county > Part 4
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
School teachers were among the first immigrants to Iowa. This gives point to the fact that the people of Iowa have ever taken a deep interest in education and in this direction no state in the Union has a better record. The system of free public schools was planted by the early settlers and it has expanded and improved until now it is one of the most complete, com- prehensive and liberal in the country. The lead mining regions of the state were the first to be settled by the whites and the hardy pioneers provided the means for the education of their children even before they had comfortable dwellings for themselves. Wherever a little settlement was made, the school- house was the first thing undertaken by the settlers in a body. and the rude. primitive structures of the early times only disappeared when the communi- ties increased in population and wealth and were able to replace them with more commodious and comfortable buildings. Perhaps in no single instance has the magnificent progress of the state of Iowa been more marked and rapid than in her common-school system and in her schoolhouses. Today the schoolhouses which everywhere dot the broad and fertile prairies of Iowa are unsurpassed by those of any other state in this great Union. More . especially is this true in all her cities and villages, where liberal and lavish appropriations have been voted by a generous people for the erection of large, commodious and elegant buildings, furnished with all the modern improvements, and costing from ten thousand dollars to sixty thousand dol- lars each. The people of the state have expended more than twenty-five mil- lion dollars for the erection of public school buildings, which stand as monu- ments of magnificence.
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THE FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING AT DUBUQUE.
Dubuque saw within its limits the first school building erected in the state of lowa, which was built by J. L. Langworthy, and a few other miners in the fall of 1833. When it was completed, George Cabbage was employed as teacher during the winter of 1833-4 and thirty-five pupils answered to his roll call. Barrett Whittemore taught the school term and had twenty-five pupils in attendance. Mrs. Caroline Dexter commenced teaching in Dubuque in March, 1836. She was the first female teacher there, and probably the first in Iowa. In 1839 Thomas H. Benton, Jr., afterwards for ten years su- perintendent of public instruction, opened an English and classical school in Dubuque. The first tax for the support of schools at Dubuque was levied in 1840. A commodious log schoolhouse was built at Burlington in 1834, and was one of the first buildings erected in that settlement. A Mr. John- son taught the first school in the winter of 1834-5. In Scott county in the winter of 1835-6, Simon Crazen taught a fourteen months' term of school in the house of J. B. Chamberlin. In Muscatine county, the first term of school was taught by George Baumgardner in the spring of 1837. In 1839 a log schoolhouse was erected in Muscatine, which served for a long time as school- house, meeting house and public hall. The first school in Davenport was taught in 1838. In Fairfield Miss Clarissa Sawyer, James F. Chambers and Mrs. Reed taught school in 1839.
Johnson county was an entire wilderness when Iowa City was located as the capital of the territory of lowa in May, 1839. The first sale of lots took place August 18, 1839, and before January 1, 1840, about twenty families had settled in the town. During the same year Jesse Berry opened a school in a small frame building he had erected on what is now known as College street.
In Monroe county the first settlement was made in 1843 by John R. Gray, about two miles from the present site of Eddyville, and in the summer of 1844 a log schoolhouse was built by Gray and others, and the first school was opened by Miss Urania Adams. About a year after the first cabin was built in Oskaloosa, a log schoolhouse was built, in which school was opened by Samuel W. Caldwell, in 1844.
At Fort Des Moines, now the capital of the state, the first school was taught by Lewis Whitten, clerk of the district court, in the winter of 1846-7, in one of the rooms on "Coon Row," built for barracks.
The first school in Pottawattamie county was opened by George Green, a Mormon, at Council Point, prior to 1849, and until about 1854 nearly all the teachers in that vicinity were Mormons.
The first school in Decorah was taught in 1855 by Cyrus C. Carpenter, since governor of the state. During the first twenty years of the history of Iowa the log schoolhouse prevailed, and in 1861 there were eight hun- dred and ninety-three of these primitive structures in use for school purposes in the state. Since that time they have been gradually disappearing. In 1865 there were seven hundred and ninety-six; in 1870, three hundred and thirty-six ; in 1875, one hundred and twenty-one, and today there is probably not a vestige of one remaining.
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In 1846, the year of Iowa's admission as a state, there were twenty thou- sand pupils of schools, out of one hundred thousand inhabitants. About four hundred school districts had been organized. In 1850 there were twelve hundred and in 1857 the number had increased to three thousand, two hun- dred and sixty-five. The system of graded schools was inaugurated in 1849 and now schools in which more than one teacher is employed, are universally graded. Teachers' institutes were organized early in the history of the. state. The first official mention of them occurs in the annual report of Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Jr., made December 2, 1850, who said: "An institution of this character was organized a few years ago, composed of the teachers of the mineral regions of Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. An association of teachers has also been formed in the county of Henry, and an effort was made October last to organize a regular institute in the county of Jones."
Funds for the support of public schools are derived in various ways. The sixteenth section of every congressional township was set apart by the general government for school purposes, being one-thirty-sixth part of all the lands in the state. The minimum price of all these lands was fixed at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Congress also made an addi- tional donation to the state of five hundred thousand acres and an appro- priation of five per cent on all the sales of public lands to the school fund. The state gives to this fund the proceeds of the sales of all lands which escheat to it, the proceeds of all fines for the violation of liquor and criminal laws. The money derived from these sources constitutes the permanent school fund of the state, which cannot be diverted to any other purpose. The penalties collected by the courts in fines and for forfeitures go to the school fund in the counties according to their request, and the counties loan the money to individuals for long terms at eight per cent interest, on secur- ity of lands valued at three times the value of the loan, exclusive of all buildings and improvements thereon. The interest on these loans is paid into the state treasury and becomes the available school fund of the state The counties are responsible to the state for all money so loaned and the state is likewise responsible to the school fund for all money transferred to the counties. The interest on these loans is apportioned by the state auditor semi-annually to the several counties of the state, in proportion to the num- ber of persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years of age. The counties also levy a tax for school purposes, which is apportioned to the several district townships in the same way. A district tax is also levied for the same purpose. The money arising from these several sources con- stitutes the support of the public schools and is sufficient to enable every sub-district in the state to afford from six to nine months school each year. The burden of district taxation is thus lightened and the efficiency of the schools is increased. The taxes levied for the support of the schools are self imposed. Under the admirable school laws of the state no taxes can be legally assessed or collected for the erection of schoolhouses until they have been ordered by the election of a school district at a school meeting legally called. The teachers' and contingent funds are determined by the board of directors under certain legal instructions. These boards are elected annually.
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The only exception to this method of levying taxes for school purposes is the county tax, which is determined by the county board of supervisors. In each county a teachers' institute is held annually under the direction of the county superintendent, the state distributing annually a sum of money to each of these institutes.
STATE UNIVERSITY.
By act of congress, approved July 20, 1840, the secretary of the treasury was authorized to "set apart and reserve from sale, out of any public lands within the territory of Iowa not otherwise claimed or appropriated, a quan- tity of land not exceeding two entire townships, for the use and support of a university within said territory when it becomes a state." The first general assembly, therefore, by act approved February 25, 1847, established the "State University of Iowa" at Iowa City, then the capital of the state. The public buildings and other property at Iowa City were appropriated to the university but the legislative sessions and state offices were to be held in them until a permanent location for a capital was made. The control and management of the university were committed to a board of fifteen trustees and five were to be chosen every two years. The superintendent of public in- struction was made president of this board. The organic act provided that the university should never be under the control of any religious organization whatever, and that as soon as the revenue from the grant and donations should amount to two thousand dollars a year, the university should com- mence and continue the instruction free of charge, of fifty students annually. Of course the organization of the university was impracticable so long as the seat of government was retained at Iowa City.
In January. 1849, two branches of the university and three normal schools were established. The branches were located at Fairfield and Dubuque and were placed upon an equal footing, in respect to funds and all other matters, with the university at Iowa City. At Fairfield the board of directors organized and erected a building at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars. This was nearly destroyed by a hurricane the following year but was rebuilt more substantially by the citizens of Fairfield. This branch never received any aid from the state and, January 24. 1853, at the request of the board, the general assembly terminated its relations to the state. The branch at Dubuque had only a nominal existence. The normal schools were located at Andrew, Oskaloosa and Mt. Pleasant. Each was to be governed by a board of seven trustees to be appointed by the trustees of the university. Each was to receive five hundred dollars annually from the income of the university fund, upon condition that they should educate eight common school teachers, free of charge for tuition, and that the citizens should contribute an equal sum for the erection of the requisite buildings. The school at Andrew was organized November 21. 1849, with Samuel Ray as principal. A building was commenced and over one thousand dollars expended on it but it was never completed. The school at Oskaloosa was started in the courthouse, September 13, 1852, under charge of Professor
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G. M. Drake and wife. A two story brick building was erected in 1853, costing two thousand, four hundred and seventy-three dollars. The school at Mt. Pleasant was never organized. Neither of these schools received any aid from the university fund but in 1857 the legislature appropriated one thousand dollars for each of the two schools and repealed the laws authorizing the payment to them of money from the university fund. From that time they made no further effort to continue in operation.
From 1847 to 1855 the board of trustees of the university was kept full by regular elections by the legislature and the trustees held frequent meet- ings but there was no actual organization of the university. In March. 1855, it was partially opened for a term of sixteen weeks. July 16, 1855, Amos Dean of Albany, New York, was elected president but he never fully entered into its duties. The university was again opened in September, 1855, and continued in operation until June, 1856, under Professors Johnson, Van Val- kenburg and Griffin. The faculty was then reorganized with some changes and the university was again opened on the third Wednesday of September, 1856. There were one hundred and twenty-four students (eighty-three males and forty-one females) in attendance during the years 1856-57, and the first regular catalogue was published. At a special meeting of the board, September 22, 1857, the honorary degree of Bachelor of Arts was con- ferred on D. Franklin Wells. This was the first degree conferred by the university.
By the constitution of 1857 it was provided that there be no branches of the state university. In December of that year the old capitol building was turned over to the trustees of the university. In 1858 ten thousand dol- lars were appropriated for the erection of a students' boarding hall. The board closed the university April 27, 1858, on account of insufficient funds, and dismissed all the faculty with the exception of Chancellor Dean. At the same time a resolution was passed excluding females. This was soon after reversed by the general assembly. The university was reopened September 19, 1860, and from this time the real existence of the university dates. Chancellor Dean had resigned before this, and Silas Totten, D. D., LL. D., was elected president, at a salary of two thousand dollars. August 19, 1862, he resigned and was succeeded by Oliver M. Spencer. President Spencer was granted leave of absence for fifteen months to visit Europe. Professor Nathan R. Leonard was elected president pro tem. President Spencer re- signing, James Black, D. D., vice president of Washington and Jefferson College, of Pennsylvania, was elected president. He entered upon his duties in September, 1868.
The law department was established in June, 1868, and soon after the Iowa Law School at Des Moines, which had been in successful operation for three years, was transferred to Iowa City and merged in the department. The medical department was established in 1869, and since April 11, 1870, the government of the university has been in the hands of a board of regents. The university has gained a reputation as one of the leading educational in- stitutions of the west and this position it is determined to maintain.
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STATE NORMAL COLLEGE.
Cedar Falls, the chief city of Black Hawk county, holds the state nor- mal school, which is an institution for the training of teachers and is doing most excellent work.
STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
By act of the legislature, approved March 23, 1858, the State Agricul- tural College and Farm was established at Ames, in Story county. In 1862 congress granted to Iowa two hundred and forty thousand acres of land for the endowment of schools of agriculture and the mechanical arts. In 1864 the general assembly voted twenty thousand dollars for the erection of the college buildings. In 1866 ninety-one thousand dollars more was appro- priated for the same purpose. The building was completed in 1868 and the institution was opened the following year. The institution is modeled to some extent after the Michigan Agricultural College. In this school of learning admission is free to all students of the state over sixteen years of age. Students are required to work on the farm two and a half hours each day. The faculty is of a very high character and the college one of the best of its kind. The sale of spirits, wine or beer is prohibited within three miles of the farm. The current expenses of this institution are paid by the income from the permanent endowment. Besides the institution here men- tioned are many others throughout the state. Amity College is located at College Springs in Page county, Burlington University at Burlington, Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa College at Grinnell, etc.
STATE INSTITUTIONS.
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.
The legislature established the institution for the deaf and dumb, Jan- uary 24, 1855, and located it at Iowa City. A great effort was made for its removal to Des Moines but it was finally located at Council Bluffs. In 1868 an appropriation was made by the legislature of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars for the erection of new buildings, and ninety acres of land were selected south of the city. October, 1870, the main build- ing and one wing were completed and occupied. In February, 1877, fire de- stroyed the main building and east wing. About one hundred and fifty stu- dents were in attendance at the time. There is a regular appropriation for this institution of twenty-two dollars per capita per month for nine months of each year, for the payment of officers and teachers' salaries and for a support fund. The institution is free to all of school age, too deaf to be educated in the common schools, sound in mind and free from immoral habits and from contagious and offensive diseases. No charge is made for board or tuition. The session of the school begins the first day of October and ends the last day of June of each year.
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COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND.
In 1852 Professor Samuel Bacon, himself blind, established a school for the instruction of the blind at Keokuk. He was the first person in the state to agitate a public institution for the blind, and in 1853 the institute was adopted by the legislature, by statute, approved January 18, 1853, and re- moved to Iowa City. During his first term twenty-three pupils were ad- mitted. Professor Bacon was a fine scholar, an economical manager and in every way adapted to his position. During his administration the institu- tion was in a great measure self-supporting by the sale of articles of manu- facture by the blind pupils. There was also a charge of twenty-five dollars as an admission fee for each pupil. In 1858 the citizens of Vinton, Benton county, donated a quarter section of land and five thousand dollars for the establishment of the asylum at that place. May 8th of the same year the trustees met at Vinton and made arrangements for securing the donation and adopted a plan for the erection of a suitable building. In 1860 the con- tract for the building was let for ten thousand, four hundred and twenty dollars, and in August, 1862, the goods and furniture were removed from Iowa City to Vinton, and in the fall of the same year the school was opened with twenty-four pupils. There is a regular appropriation of twenty-two dollars per capita per month for nine months of each year to cover sup- port and maintenance. The school term begins on the first Wednesday in September and usually ends about the first of June. They may be admitted at any time and are at liberty to go home at any time their parents may send for them. The department of music is supplied with a large number of pianos, one pipe organ, several cabinet organs, and a sufficient number of violins, guitars, bass viols and brass instruments. Every pupil capable of receiving it is given a complete course in this department. In the industrial department the girls are required to learn knitting. chocheting, fancy work, hand and machine sewing ; the boys, netting, broom making, mattress mak- ing and cane seating. Those of either sex who desire may learn carpet weaving.
HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
The hospital for the insane was established by an act of the legislature, January 24, 1855. The location for the institution was selected at Mt. Pleasant, Henry county, and five hundred thousand dollars appropriated for the buildings, which were commenced in October of that year. One hun- dred patients were admitted within three months after it was opened. The legislature of 1867-68 provided measures for an additional hospital for the insane, and an appropriation of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars was made for the purpose. Independence was selected by the con- missioners as the most desirable location and three hundred and twenty acres were secured one mile from the town on the west side of the Wapsipinecon river and about a mile from its banks. The hospital was opened May I, 1873. The amount allowed for the support of these institutions is twelve
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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. SHENANDOAH
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
dollars per month for each patient. All expenses of the hospital except for special purposes are paid from the sum so named, and the amount is charged to the counties from which the patients are sent.
SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOME.
The Soldiers' Orphans' Home is located at Davenport and was originated by Mrs. Anne Whittenmeyer, during the late rebellion of the states. This noble-hearted woman called a convention at Muscatine, September 7, 1863, for the purpose of devising means for the education and support of the orphan children of Iowa, whose fathers lost their lives in the defense of their coun- try's honor. The public interest in the movement was so great that all parts of the state were largely represented and an association was organized called the Iowa State Orphan Asylum. The first meeting of the trustees was held February 14, 1864, at Des Moines, when Governor Kirkwood suggested that a home for disabled soldiers should be connected with the asylum, and arrange- ments were made for collecting funds. At the next meeting in Davenport the following month, a committee was appointed to lease a suitable building, solicit donations and procure suitable furniture. This committee obtained a large brick building in Lawrence, Van Buren county, and engaged Mr. Fuller of Mt. Pleasant as steward. The work of preparation was conducted so vig- orously that July 13th following, the executive committee announced it was ready to receive children. Within three weeks twenty-one were admitted and in a little more than six months seventy were in the home. The home was sustained by voluntary contributions until 1866, when it was taken charge of by the state. The legislature appropriated ten dollars per month for each orphan actually supported and provided for the establishment of three homes. The one in Cedar Falls was organized in 1865. An old hotel building was fitted up for it and by the following January there were ninety- six inmates. In October, 1869, the home was removed to a large brick build- ing about two miles west of Cedar Falls and was very prosperous for several years but in 1876 the legislature devoted this building to the State Normal School. The same year the legislature also devoted the buildings and grounds of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, at Glenwood, Mills county, to an institution for the support of feeble-minded children. It also provided for the removal of the soldiers' orphans at Glenwood and Cedar Falls homes to the one lo- cated at Davenport. There is in connection with this institution a school building, pleasant, commodious and well lighted, and it is the policy of the board to have the course of instruction of a high standard. A kindergarten is operated for the very young pupils. The age limit to which children are kept in the home in sixteen years. Fewer than twenty per cent remain to the age limit. A library of well selected juvenile literature is a source of pleasure and profitable entertainment to the children, as from necessity their pleasures and pastimes are somewhat limited. It is the aim to provide the children with plenty of good. comfortable clothing, and to teach them to take good care of the same. Their clothing is all manufactured at the home, the large girls assisting in the work. The table is well supplied with
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a good variety of plain, wholesome food and a reasonable amount of lux- uries. The home is now supported by a regular appropriation of twelve dollars per month for each inmate, and the actual transportation charges of the inmates to and from the institution. Each county is liable to the state for the support of its children to the extent of six dollars per month, except soldiers' orphans, who are cared for at the expense of the state.
FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN.
An act of the general assembly, approved March 17, 1878, provided for the establishment of an asylum for feeble-minded children at Glenwood, Mills county, and the buildings and grounds of the Soldiers' Orphans Home were taken for that purpose. The asylum was placed under the man- agement of three trustees, one of whom should be a resident of Mills county. The institution was opened September 1, 1876. By November, 1877, the number of pupils were eigthy-seven. The purpose of this institution is to provide special methods of training for that class of children deficient in mind or marked with such peculiarities to deprive them of the benefits and privileges provided for children with normal faculties. The object is to make the child as nearly self supporting as practicable and to approach as nearly as possible the movements and actions of normal people. It further aims to provide a home for those who are not susceptible of mental culture, relying wholly on others to supply their simple wants.
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