USA > Iowa > Wright County > History of Wright County, Iowa, its peoples, industries and institutions > Part 17
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Rev. John Toothill held the charge as successor to Father Hanley until December 25, 1887, when Rev. John Egan assumed control, Father Toothill having been removed to Dubuque county. The capacity of the church being unable to meet the growing requirements of the constantly increasing nin- ber of Catholics, the buikling was enlarged and otherwise improved at a cost of one thousand dollars, in the summer of 1890, under the direction of
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WRIGIIT COUNTY, IOWA.
Father Egan, and was dedicated in September of the same year. In 1893 a cemetery site, three acres in extent, was purchased at a cost of one hun- dred dollars an acre, and platted for the accommodation of the Catholics of Clarion.
Between 1888 and 1892 four lots were added to the Catholic church property. The Catholic community had enjoyed the blessings of holy mass on each alternate Sunday since 1887. On the evening of June 20, 1804, this happy and hopeful community experienced a severe adversity, when a tornado struck the church building, razing it to the ground and destroying the furniture. The loss, however, was mostly covered by insurance. The regular Sunday service was not interrupted, for a hall was at once engaged in the second floor of the Elliott block and mass was offered up there for the first time on July 1, and on December 16, 1894, for the last time. After mass on July 1, a building committee was selected by the entire congrega- tion, at the suggestion of Father Egan, to manage the work of erecting a new church. At a full meeting of the committee on July 10, a general plan of structure was decided upon, and J. P. Eisendont, of Boone, Iowa, was accepted as architect to draw plans and specifications. A frame structure veneered with brick was decided upon, and the pastor made an individual canvass of the Catholic people to secure subscriptions. The contract was awarded to Matthew Goslin, of Clarion, for the superstructure, while J. Stewart was awarded the contract for foundation work, the material being supplied by the committee. This new church was dedicated on January I. 1895, by Very Rev. T. M. Lenihan, of Ft. Dodge. W. J. Halpin, of Eldora. preached the sermon, and Rev. G. T. Nogle, of Garner, celebrated solemn high mass, while the choir of Belmond rendered the music.
CHURCH'S SECOND DISASTER.
Rev. M. - B. Murray succeeded Father Egan and became first resident pastor of Clarion, which charge be retained until July 1, 1913. During his pastorate the mission in Woolstock township was added to the Clarion work. While in Clarion Father Murray began the erection of a school, the cost of which was approximately estimated at between twenty and twenty-five thou- sand dollars, but when it was nearing completion, failing health caused the archbishop to remove him to another charge, and he was succeeded by Father Murphy, of the Dubuque apostolate, Angust 1, 1913. The new school building was then put in readiness and dedicated on September 7, 1913, by Rev. T. Nolan, of Eagle Grove. On this occasion the Rev. J. J.
192
WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA.
Loomey, of Coon Rapids, delivered an eloquent address on Christian edu- cation. Sisters from Cedar Rapids, three in number, were placed in charge of the school. The school was opened on September 8, 1913, with hoty mass, the enrollment being forty-four, which number has been nearly dou- bled since. A most successful school year was passed in 1914, a larger corps of instructors being found necessary.
On December 25, 1914, after early mass, fire was discovered to be issuing from the roof, and shortly consumed the entire church building. The contents, excepting the altars and pews, were saved, owing to the timely assistance rendered by all present, which means all Clarion. A meeting of the congregation was held soon after the fire and it was decided that a new church should be erected on the school grounds, to cost between twenty and twenty-five thousand dollars, a work that is expected to be accomplished in the near future.
THE SACRED HEART CHURCH.
The Catholic people are well represented and cared for at Eagle Grove by Sacred Heart church, whose building is located on East Fourth and Lincoln streets. The congregation was organized in 1882, soon after the building of the Northwestern railroad and the real beginning of the sprightly inland city which Eagle Grove has come to be. This church was organized by the following charter members, under the guidance of Father Brennan : Frank Mulligan, George Howell, John Howell, John Bowers, Edward and James Halligan, Joseph Kist, Philip Maier, James Mulligan, Martin Shaffer, Jacob Noar, Patrick Brennan and Robert Doyle. The present membership of this congregation is one hundred and twenty-five families.
The pastors who have faithfully served this congregation are: Rev- erends Brennan, Ireland, O'Brien and the present pastor, Father Nolan.
The first building used for the worshipping place of the Eagle Grove Catholics was a frame building, costing three thousand dollars, situated on Fifth and Lincoln streets, which was finished in November, 1882. In April, 1899, the present brick edifice was completed, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. It stands at the corner of Fourth and Lincoln streets, and the church property is now valued at fifty thousand dollars.
The Catholic people at Clarion held their first mass in the month of May, 1881, Father O'Keefe, of Webster City, celebrant. The service was held over John M. Overbaugh's furniture store, which was later burned. The congregation held their early services in the court house, but in January, 1884, Father Murphy, of Ackley, dedicated their first church.
A MODERN WRIGHT COUNTY COUNTRY SCHOOL ..
mir
DOMESTIC SCIENCE BEING TAUGHT IN WRIGHT COUNTRY SCHOOL.
CHAPTER XVI.
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY-PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF WRIGHT COUNTY.
The first settlers of Wright county were men and women of strong characters, possessing those sturdy qualities that ever make for progress and education. All believed in educating their children, and it was not very long after the beginning of the social order hereabout that school houses began to be seen here and there, in which the best teachers that the county then afforded were laying the foundation of the present admirable county school system. Rude, but quite comfortable, school houses were provided, and these soon were replaced by better frame structures, some of which were also used at an early day by the various religious denominations in which to worship on the Sabbath.
It is to be regretted that many of the earlier school records were in possession of Father J. D. Sands, the pioneer Congregational minister, at the time his house and complete library were burned at Belmond many years ago, he being county school superintendent at that time. However, by picking up data from various sources, believed to be entirely authentic, the following has been compiled regarding the early educational institutions of Wright county. Such facts as the writer can give will here follow, after which the subject matter in this chapter will be treated by the present effi- cient school superintendent, who will seek to show the history and develop- ment of the public schools of the county from about 1900 to the present date.
The first school houses, as well as the residences of pioneer families, were built of logs from the nearby forests. Many of these had ground floors, but usually the old-time puncheon floor was provided. Just before the beginning of the Civil War, frame school buildings became the rule, and have continued to multiply and take on up-to-date architectural features and conveniences.
The first regular school superintendent in the county was Josiah David- son, a man of fine ability, great energy and strength of character. Under his guidance the schools of this county flourished and were carefully han- dled. Josiah Davidson was a New Englander, and, besides organizing
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOW.V.
schools, served the county well in establishing Sabbath schools, officiating at funerals and holling himself in readiness to respond at any call in behalf of the general public uplift. He was also a teacher, and while holding his office as county superintendent, to which position he had been elected in 1858, he taught the Liberty district school, which was then the largest in Wright county.
FROM EARLY RECORDS.
A receipted bill for school books sent from a Cincinnati book publisher to Josiah Davidson, first county school superintendent of Wright county, under date of January 3. 1863, carries the following items: One Ray's "Higher Arithmetic,"- sixty-three cents; one Ray's "Higher Arithmetic," key, sixty cents; one Ray's "Higher Arithmetic," part two, nineteen cents; postage, twenty-six cents; total, one dollar and sixty-eight cents.
In September, 1860, J. M. Elder, of Belmond, wrote to Superintendent Josiah Davidson, of Liberty, for a renewal of his certificate to teach. Ile stated that he had secured the Belmond school and wanted a new certificate, or the old one renewed, adding: "You know my qualifications (good and bad ), so send the certificate your first opportunity, which will probably be by Doctor Cutier, on Saturday next. If you need anyone to assist you in your office duties on this side of the county, and deem me qualified, I will be pleased to act in your stead upon such notice."
An item about 1866, in the superintendent's journal, states that Miss Lauretta Eastman "is teaching the Liberty school at thirty dollars per month."
Under the pioneer school laws, there were districts which sent their school superintendents to given points, to meet the secretary of the state board of education. The following will explain itself :
"Webster City, lowa, October, 1859.
"Josiah Davidson,
"Dear sir: By note of this day received from Thomas Benton, Jr., secretary of the board of education for the eleventh judicial district, an- nounces that he will be in this place on Friday, November 4th, this year. to meet the superintendents.
"Yours in the interest of education. "E. H. BLAIR,
"County superintendent of Hamilton county."
.
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOW.A.
The first Webster's "Unabridged Dictionary" purchased in Wright county was the one ordered for district township of Liberty, July 27, 1861, at a meeting of the officers under A. F. Dean, president, and John Melrose, secretary.
FROM THE FIRST SUPERINTENDENT'S DIARY.
From County Superintendent Josiah Davidson's diary, in 1859, the fol- lowing excerpts are taken: "Wednesday, January 5, 1859. Started out on horseback this morning at sunrise for Belmond on the Iowa river to examine the common schools, stopped at Anson Brassfield's house and at O. McIntosh. A cold morning the thermometer ten degrees above zero. Ar- rived at Henry Luick's house on the east side of the lowa river about one o'clock, put up my horse and went to school. The school house is a substan- tial structure built of wood, plastered and beaded inside and painted out- side. Levi Wheeton, teacher, about seventeen scholars present. Study grammar, reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling. Good order in the school. A prayer meeting and preaching in the evening, presided over by Rev. MeNutt. Put up with Mr. Luick, no charge from him for putting up. "Left for home Thursday morning at ten o'clock, arrived home about three. James Gray, Judge Caller and W. Spence were at Belmond.
"Tuesday February 16, 1859. Struck out on the prairie by Oliver McIntosh's house and then for Belmond. Judge J. I. Calder and O. W. McIntosh went to Belmond yesterday with a load of corn on sleds and 1 followed their track. I arrived at Belmond at twelve o'clock and went to Mr. Oliver's house ; took dinner and at one o'clock, went to the school house. The school was open when I arrived. AAbout eighteen scholars were pres- ent when I arrived. I remained there until the school closed. At the close of the school I addressed the scholars. I took supper at Mr. Oliver's. In the evening I went to Mr. Luick's house and remained there over night. In the morning I returned to Mr. Oliver's and took breakfast and then started for Packard's, at Head Grove on the Boone river; arrived there about twelve o'clock: took dinner and in the afternoon examined the school under the charge of Miss Francis A. Fish. Nine scholars were present. Remained with Mr. Packard all night, and on Thursday morning went to Mr. Leland's house and then started for home. Arrived at home about two o'clock. Beautiful weather.
"March 8, 1859. Visited the school in Eagle Grove township; they are under the charge of Abby S. Hewett; but few scholars were preseint. A cloudy, dull day, looks like rain."
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA.
It will be observed that being county school superintendent in 1859 in this county was "no soft job," compared with that of the present superin- tendent, whose tours of inspection are made in his automobile.
EARLY TEACHER'S REQUIREMENTS.
The requirements of a teacher in Wright county, under Superintend- ent Davidson's administration, are set out in the following copy of an old "teacher's certificate." The motto on the printed form of the certificate was "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re."
"I, Josiah Davidson, County Superintendent of common schools in and for the county of Wright and State of Iowa, hereby certify, that I have this day examined the bearer, Miss Eleanor Dumond, in Orthography, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography and English Grammar, and find her com- petent to teach the same, and being fully satisfied that she possesses a good moral character, and the essential qualifications for the government and instruction of children and youth, she is hereby authorized to teach in the Public Schools of this County for the period of Six Months from the date of this Certificate.
"In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name at Liberty this 23d day of March 1860.
"JOSIAHI DAVIDSON,
"County Superintendent of Common Schools."
J. M. Overbaugh, still an honored resident of the county, son of the pioneer, C. N. Overbaugh, was a teacher in the county as early as 1864, and he states that in 1865, in addition to the studies above named in Miss Dumond's certificate, there was also being taught physical geography, while prior to 1870 were added elementary algebra and higher arithmetic.
About the time of the close of the Civil War the old-fashioned desks and benches were taken out of the school buildings and patent desks and seats were introduced, together with globes, outline maps and charts and a better grade of blackboards. At that time a comprehensive system of school records was adopted by the state, the same being generally faithfully kept by the teachers of Wright county.
While the records of school buildings are by no means complete, it is believed by those who are in a position to state the facts in the matter that the first school in Wright county was conducted in a log house twelve by fourteen feet, in Troy township, in 1855, and that the first substantial frame
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA.
school house was erected in Iowa township in the summer of 1857. In 1865 the county had twenty school houses, and in 1870 this number had been increased to thirty-three, of which thirty-one were frame structures and two of brick-the pioneer log cabin school houses having all disappeared.
THE SCHOOLS DURING THE SIXTIES.
From 1864 to 1868, during the administration of R. E. Train as school superintendent, the condition of Wright county schools is well set ont by the following paragraphs from Mr. Train's own pen :
"Then the schools were confined principally to the river valleys, and of the twenty schools all except the Purcell school on the south side of Big Wall lake, were near the Boone or Iowa. On the Boone there were ten schools, the Liberty ( now Goldfield) school being the largest. In the win- ter of 1865-6, 1 taught this school. There were sixty-three pupils enrolled, and nearly everyone of them was prompt in attendance. When the bell rang in the morning they came from all directions, pattering like sheep along the various crooked paths which lead to the schoolroom door.
"We taught none of the so-called higher branches, but did solid work on the 'R's' and many an old dog's-eared speller showed that fingers as well as memory had been employed in learning the mysteries of English orthog- raphy.
"On the lowa river there were nine schools. The largest of these was the Belmond school. William Finch, now a member of the firm of Finch & Hayward, here plied the birch with that vigor which has since characterized his energy and business career. Southeast of the town of Belmond, near the present site of the cemetery, was the Lnick school, taught by Miss Alice Packard (later wife of Fred Lnick), who was at that time one of the best teachers of the county. Among the other schools the more prominent were the Hickory Grove, Loomis, Kent, Horse Grove and Peterson, on the Iowa; and the Woolstock, Sells, Hewett, Middleton, Overbaugh and Martin schools on the Boone.
"The county superintendent's work then did not require all of his time. He visited the scattered schools once or twice each year, usually traveling on foot or on horseback, and examined a few applicants for certificates and conducted a teachers' institute. For his work he received three dollars per day and the salary amounted to less than one hundred dollars per year during the two terms that I served.
"The early settlers were generally interested in education and supported
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA.
the schools quite earnestly, but a few of them had fearful forebodings. They thought the schools were teaching too many subjects and that the children were in danger of becoming too highly educated and thus unfitted for use- ful employment and good citizenship. I recall one instance in which I was very severely criticized for advocating better school facilities and a more extended course of study. A few years, however, have wrought wonderful changes and improvements in the schools of Wright county, and now they are much better than I could then hope to see them during my lifetime."
SCHOOLS IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES.
When Rev. J. D. Sands, county superintendent, made his report in 1870 it was published in the W'right County Monitor, and from it we quote a few of the items:
"There are in this county thirty-three school houses, and thirty-nine sub-districts. Many of the school houses are of inferior order; some few schools houses in the county are passably well furnished, while others have no furniture. 'In some we find no blackboards and maps. There are two school houses in the county that have good inside arrangements, viz., No. 2, Clarion, and No. 1, Woolstock. The former is the best internally arranged school house in the county.
"Teachers' examinations are mostly oral, and when visiting the schools I permit the teachers to follow the same program until recess, then I take the school and go into a general review.
"One very powerful evil in our schools is the needless multiplicity of textbooks.
"Only thirty-seven teachers attended the institute this year.
"A teachers' association was organized at the close of the institute. Money was appropriated by the board of supervisors for the purchase of. books and apparatus, but owing to various causes said association has not yet met."
DEVELOPMENT FROM 1876 TO 1891.
The county school superintendent's reports, beginning really in good form and properly kept intact since 1876, show the following development in the schools of Wright county, to and including 1891 :
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOW.1.
Report of year ending October 1,
1870
1882
1886
1891
Number of district townships
11
15
10
Number of independent districts
0
2
5
5
Number of sub-districts
51
73
90
1IO
Number of ungraded schools
53
82
99
117
Number of rooms in graded schools
0
7
16
24
Teachers employed, women
65
112
125
170
Teachers employed, men
35
33
52
42
Teachers employed, total
101
145
177
221
Number of pupils of school age
1,398
2,553
3,511
4.290
Number of pupils enrolled
1,260
1,937
2,666
3.013
Average daily attendance
642
1,002
1,738
2.149
Average cost of tuition per month
$3.21'
$2,52
$2.21
$2.28
Number of school houses
54
74
102
123
Value of school houses
$28,453
$32.770
$60.975
$75.915
Value of apparatus
$1,336
$1,705
$1.540
$6,000
By the above table it will be observed that Wright county kept pace with her sister counties. Special mention is made, in this connection, of the high schools established in all of the independent districts of the county. The course of study adopted by the boards of education in these districts, in most cases, includes a good business training and college preparatory work, which, when completed, fits students to admission to the freshman class of first-class colleges.
The high schools open their doors to students from the country districts as well as to residents of the town in which they are located, and during the school year of 1891 and 1892 more than one hundred non-resident students were enrolled in the high schools of this county.
Comment on the advance sheets of the school report of 1892 says : "While the report is yet uncompleted, it is shown already that Wright county has grown largely in the matter of her schools in the last year. At least three towns will erect additional school buildings and the number of pupils the com- ing year will show great growth in the county. Wright county people, as a class, are educated, intelligent and progressive in their make-up. The com- mon schools have been liberally supported from the earliest day to the pres- ent. Not only in the public schools in the towns, but in the country districts ; also, the school buildings are neat and comfortable and furnished with the best of modern furniture. Many of them are well supplied with reference libraries, maps, charts, globes, etc. Earnest and progressive teachers, aided
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA.
by enterprising school officers and intelligent patrons, are successfully train- ing for the duties of life a company of bright children who will make Wright county a pleasing subject for the future county historian." And thus it is.
TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.
In 1870, a teachers' association was organized, as above stated in Rev. J. D. Sands' report for that year, but no general county society existed until 1876, in which year a teachers' convention held at Goldfield was formed into an association and has ever since been maintained, the same becoming the - Normal Institute, which was formed and held at Clarion in 1892, when all county teachers were enrolled. This association of teachers was the means of very greatly improving the teaching force.
AS VIEWED BY AN "EASTERNER" IN 1869.
In a little historical account of the schools of Wright county, published in 1869-70 by J. H. Stephenson, a Canadian, who, at the time of compiling his work here, had resided in the West two years, there is presented the fol- lowing concerning the interest taken in education in Wright county :
"The facilities that the county contains for education of the youth are ample and all-sufficient, and afford every opportunity for parents to have their children well educated. There are at present ( 1870) no less than thirty- four school houses in the county, and no teacher is employed who cannot satisfactorily pass through the most rigid examination. We know that it is a prevailing opinion with many of our Eastern friends that children 'way out West are brought up in a blessed state of ignorance and are altogether beyond the pale of civilization. Such is far from being the case, for if there is any- thing to which Western people pay special attention it is in having their chil- dren educated. One of the glorious features of the state of Iowa is her excel- lent school system of free schools, which is fully appreciated by the people.
"True, the people of the West are not so particular about having their sons and daughters taught all the 'accomplishments' which young people East think they must acquire to fit them for society, and which, in too many cases, unfit them for anything else than to lounge in ease and idleness. During our short experience in the West, we have discovered that all the knowledge and wisdom of the country is not confined to the people of the East by any means, and in no place is this more strikingly shown than in Wright county. It is really astonishing to see how readily boys and girls of ten years of age
COUNTRY SCHOOL IN WRIGHT COUNTY, BUILT THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.
Woodstock School
WOOLSTOCK SCHOOL.
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WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA.
will solve the most difficult problems in arithmetic; and the most compli- cated problem in algebra is to them as easy of solution as the simplest in addition. Nor is their learning confined to the study of arithmetic, grammar and geography alone; they are taught to guide the plow, drive the plane, shape the heated iron on the anvil and run the sewing machine and cook.
"They are also taught to experience what real life is, so that in future years, in prosperity or adversity, they will be prepared for any vicissitude that may take place, or any emergency that may come upon them.
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