USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 36
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Concerning the advantages of the consolidated district, the state superinten- dent of public instruction says in her report for 1918: "Greater enthusiasm in studies and all school activities on the part of the pupils, more highly skilled
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teaching and specialization in work on the part of the teacher, and better school- houses, grounds and equipment are offered by the consolidated school in con- trast to the one-room school with often a small attendance, small classes, teachers whose preparation is inadequate for a mixed school, and the school equipment very meager. Waste can often be eliminated in the consolidated district, since the cost of maintenance in the case of a one-teacher school for few pupils is about the same as for thirty pupils."
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO
In January, 1889, the legislature passed an act, the first section of which provided : "There is hereby established in this territory, at the town of Moscow, in the county of Latah, an institution of learning by the name and style of 'The University of Idaho.'"
The act also provided that the governor should appoint nine regents and the sum of $15,000 was appropriated to enable the board of regents to procure suit- able grounds and plans for buildings. A tax levy of one-half mill on each dollar of assessable property in the territory was also authorized to create a building fund, the tax to be collected and used for this purpose for four years. On October 1, 1889, the contract was let for the construction of the west wing of the main building and on October 3, 1892, the university was opened with President Franklin B. Gault and one other professor constituting the faculty.
In the meantime the constitution of the state of Idaho, which was adopted by the voters in November, 1889, confirmed the establishment of the university, to wit: "The location of the University of Idaho as established by existing laws is hereby confirmed. All the rights, immunities, franchises and endowments heretofore granted thereto by the territory of Idaho are hereby perpetuated unto the said university."
The number of regents was reduced to five in 1901 and under the constitu- tional amendment adopted at the general election of 1912, the government of all the state educational institutions and the general supervision of the public schools were placed in the hands of "The State Board of Education and Board of Regents of the University of Idaho," which consists of five members appointed by the governor, with the state superintendent of public instruction an ex-officio member. In 1918 this board was composed of the following: Evan Evans, Grangeville, president ; Ramsay M. Walker, Wallace, vice president ; J. A. Keefer, Shoshone, secretary ; William Healy, Boise; J. A. Lippincott, Idaho City; Miss Ethel Redfield, state superintendent of public instruction.
The work of the university is divided into six departments, viz: The College of Letters and Science; College of Agriculture, which also has charge of the ex- periment stations ; College of Engineering; School of Forestry; College of Law; and School of Mines. From a faculty of two members in 1892, the teaching force has been increased to nearly one hundred members, in addition to which there are about a dozen others interested in the work of university extension. New buildings have been added from year to year, increasing the efficiency of the institution. Liszt Hall was built in 1897 and was used for several years as the horticultural building. It was remodeled in the year 1907 and made the department of music in connection with the College of Letters and Science. The engineering building was erected in 1902-a brick structure 60 by 108 feet
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ENGINEERING BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, MOSCOW
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ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, MOSCOW
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and three stories high-and the same year Ridenbaugh Hall was built. It is the dormitory for female students and was named for Mrs. Mary E. Ridenbaugh, of Boise, who was then vice president of the board of regents. The armory and gymnasium building was erected in 1904. It is 64 by 129 feet, of red brick, and cost $25,000. On March 30, 1906, the first building erected in 1892 was destroyed by fire, together with a lot of valuable records, etc. In its place the present Administration Building was erected and three other buildings were put up in 1906-Morrill Hall, the assay building and the metallurgical laboratory. The three cost about one hundred thousand dollars. A flour mill and fruit by- products building were erected in 1908; a creamery and heating plant soon fol- lowed, and in 1917 the dairy building and three new barns were added to the equipment.
The first experiment station was established in 1892, when the university opened, and was made a part of the institution. A legislative appropriation of $15,000 annually is known as the "Hatch Fund" and has been used by the station since its establishment. By an act of Congress in 1906 the sum of $5,000 was appropriated to each state, to be increased $2,000 each year for five years, the money to be used exclusively for research work along agricultural lines. With these funds the College of Agriculture, acting under the authority of the legis- lature, has established substations or experimental farms at Sandpoint, Cald- well, Aberdeen and Jerome, and a high altitude station in the northern part of Teton County. The total enrollment of students during the year of 1917-18 was 801, of which 128 came from other states and 673 from Idaho.
LEWISTON STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
On January 27, 1893, Governor McConnell approved an act of the legis- lature establishing a state normal school at Lewiston, "Provided the mayor and common council of that city on or before May 1, 1893, donate ten acres, within the city limits and known as part of the city park, and authorizing the said mayor and council to convey to the trustees of said normal school the said tract of land," etc.
The trustees named were J. M. Howe, Norman B. Willey, B. F. Morris, Benjamin Wilson, J. W. Reid and C. W. Shaff, and the act provided that one- half of all funds from whatever source, including sales of land donated by Congress for the support of normal schools, should be used for the Lewiston State Normal School, and that boys sixteen years of age and girls of fifteen should be eligible as students upon declaring their intention of becoming teachers in the public schools of Idaho.
The site was acquired in accordance with the provisions of the act and the school is located on an eminence known as "Normal Hill," which commands a beautiful view of the Snake and Clearwater rivers. The west wing of the main building was completed in 1895, but the east wing was not formally opened for the use of the training school until 1906. Previous to that time the training school occupied a frame structure which was erected in 1899. A frame dormitory for women was built in 1901 and used until the completion of Lewis Hall, which was opened on February 1, 1908. It is a substantial brick building, similar in architectural style to the main or administration building. Another building of the same style is the home economics building, devoted to the departments of
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manual training and the domestic arts. It contains laboratories for the study of bacteriology and food analysis, rooms for clay modeling, etc. The gymnasium contains a swimming pool and bowling alleys in the basement and the first floor can be converted into an assembly hall with a seating capacity of about eight hundred.
On December 5, 1917, the east wing of the administration building was completely destroyed by fire and the central portion was badly damaged. The library, consisting of some ten thousand volumes and a large number of pamph- lets, with the records and bulletins of the school, was lost in the fire, but other institutions and people from all over the state were generous in their contribu- tions and in February, 1918, a new library was opened. On Monday following the fire, the training school was opened in the Knights of Columbus club rooms and the parlors of the Methodist Church, but the distance from the campus was so great that it was necessary to erect a temporary building. This was ready for use before the close of the first semester. It contains six class rooms and eight offices and cost $3,322.
Summer sessions of nine weeks' duration are conducted every year, giving teachers actually employed in school work an opportunity to review their studies during the summer vacation, the work of these summer sessions receiving the same normal standing as that of the regular terms. During the regular school year of 1917-18 a total of 507 students were enrolled, and in the summer term of 1918, the number was fifty-seven.
ALBION STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
This institution was established by an act of the legislature approved on March 7, 1893, on condition that "Josiah E. Miller, of the said town of Albion, shall, prior to the first day of May, 1893, donate to the board of trustees five acres of lot 3, section 6, township 12 south, range 25 east, with a permanent water right thereunder," etc., as a location for the school. The act also named as the first board of trustees the following: Josiah E. Miller, David M. Johns and Lewis Sweetser, of Cassia County; Will F. Montgomery, of Elmore County; Frank Campbell, of Oneida County; and James Gwin, of Owyhee County. It was further provided that the school should receive its "pro rata share of the available proceeds of sales of lands granted by the Government of the United States to the State of Idaho for the establishment and maintenance of state normal schools," and students were to be admitted under the same conditions as those provided for the Lewiston State Normal School.
No appropriation was made by the act of 1893 for the erection of buildings, but the Legislature of 1895 authorized an issue of bonds from the sale of which a fund of $40,760.63 was realized and the main building was commenced. The next Legislature insured the continuance of the school by providing for its sup- port in the general appropriation bill. In 1901 Miller Hall, the dormitory for male students, was built. The citizens of Albion,- trustees, faculty and students of the school raised a fund in 1905 and presented the institution with an ad- ditional five acres of ground as a site for a women's dormitory, for which the Legislature of that year made an appropriation. Hansen Hall, as this dor- mitory is called, was completed the following year. A training school building was authorized by the Legislature of 1907, and the gymnasium was completed
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, LEWISTON Destroyed by fire, December 5, 1917
DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND LEWIS HALL, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, LEWISTON
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in 1910. All the buildings are of brick, with foundations of lava stone. An additional nineteen acres of ground were purchased in 1910, giving the school a campus of thirty-one acres. In their report for 1918 the trustees of the school say :
"The Albion State Normal School is especially fortunate in having in its training school the entire public school system of the Village of Albion. This gives to the practice teachers actual school conditions and gives to the Normal School a public school system on its campus ; an advantage which no other normal school in the country possesses. The Village of Albion is furnishing $3,000 toward the payment of the salaries of the teachers in the training school and is also furnishing a library, two pianos and other equipment to be used in the training school. The village school board also furnishes material for the hot lunches which are given to the children from the country during stormy winter weather."
The Legislature of 1917 made an appropriation for the purpose of laying a pipe line to carry water for irrigation from Marsh Creek to the campus. The pipe line, two miles in length, was completed in the fall of 1917 and the year 1918 saw the campus kept in better condition than ever before in the school's history. Not only is water thus provided for sprinkling the lawns, but the pressure is also great enough to afford protection in case of fire. The attendance during the regular school year of 1917-18 was 724, and the summer term of 1918 en- rolled 325 students.
IDAHO TECHNICAL INSTITUTE
On March 11, 1901, Governor Hunt approved an act of the Legislature estab- lishing a school at Pocatello to be known as the "Academy of Idaho," to teach all branches commonly taught in academies and such special courses as are usually taught in business colleges: "Provided, that prior to May 1, 1901, the citizens of Pocatello shall cause to be donated two blocks of land adjacent to each other and cause the same to be conveyed to the board of trustees," etc.
The act further provided for the appointment by the governor of six trustees, set apart 40,000 acres of land granted to the state by the Adams Act for the sup- port of the school, and authorized a bond issue of $25,000 for the erection of suitable buildings. The citizens of Pocatello donated ten acres of land as a site for the school, which was opened in October, 1902. In a few years it became apparent that the institution needed a wider scope for its work and the Legis- lature of 1915 granted it a new charter and changed the name to the "Idaho Technical Institute," to wit :
"A school which shall be called the Idaho Technical Institute is hereby es- tablished in the City of Pocatello, Idaho, the purpose of which shall be the giving of instruction in such vocational, scientific, literary and technical subjects as will meet the educational needs of the students enrolled. Provided, that the course shall include two years and not more than two years of college grade and such work below college grade as the conditions of the educational system of the state render desirable."
Under the new provisions the work of the school has been divided into the department of engineering and mechanical industries, department of agriculture, department of home economics, department of commerce, department of music
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and the study of scientific, literary and professional subjects. The departments of engineering, agriculture and home economics give two-year courses to students expecting to continue the work in college, and the department of commerce gives a two-year course in shorthand and typewriting to students who have completed the course in some of the high schools of the state. Besides the campus of seven city blocks, the school has a farm of 140 acres. The buildings include the ad- ministration building, 74 by 187 feet ; Faris Hall, the men's dormitory ; Turner Hall, the women's dormitory; the industrial arts building, and the dining hall, besides the farm buildings, pumping plant for irrigation, etc., the total property of the institution being valued at $332,000. The enrollment for the year 1917- 18 was 563.
LIBRARIES
The library is an important adjunct in any system of education. The first library established in Idaho was the territorial (now the state law library), founded through the efforts of Edward J. Curtis, while he was secretary of the territory. This library is now kept in the capitol building at Boise, and smaller law libraries belonging to the state are located at Lewiston and Pocatello. Public libraries are maintained at American Falls, Albion (in connection with the normal school), Blackfoot, Boise, Burley, Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene, Genesee, Harrison, Idaho Falls, Lewiston, Malad City, Moscow, Mountain Home, Nampa, Nezperce, Parma, Payette, Pocatello, Post Falls, Preston, St. Maries, Sandpoint, Shoshone, Twin Falls, Wallace and Weiser. The University of Idaho, the state normal schools, the Industrial Training School at St. Anthony and several of the private and denominational schools and academies maintain libraries for the use of the students, and the Railroad Men's Young Men's Christian Association at Pocatello has a fine library for the use of the members. A number of the public libraries of the state have been aided by Andrew Carnegie, notably those at Boise, Lewis- ton, Pocatello and Preston, where buildings have been erected by Carnegie dona- tions.
FREE TRAVELING LIBRARY
The Idaho Free Traveling Library originated with the women's Columbian Club of Boise, which secured books by donation and through club funds, placed them in boxes of fifty each and shipped them to the isolated villages of the state where no public libraries were maintained. The demand for books soon became greater than the club could supply and the subject of creating a free traveling library was presented to the Legislature. On February 28, 1901, Governor Hunt approved the act creating the free traveling library commission, to consist of three members to be appointed by the governor, with the state superintendent of public instruction as secretary. The law has since been amended so that the commission is composed of the secretary of state, attorney-general, state super- intendent of public instruction, with the president of the university a member ex-officio. There is also a librarian, whose duty it is to keep a record of all books, attend to their shipment, etc. The books are the property of the state and are merely loaned for certain periods, when they are returned and sent to another locality.
The regular case or box of books contains fifty volumes, of which fifteen
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, IDAHO TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, POCATELLO
POCATELLO HIGH SCHOOL
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are standard fiction, fifteen juveniles and twenty on history, biography, philosophy, etc. The traveling library has increased in popularity from the time of its estab- lishment and the state now owns several thousand volumes which are kept "going the rounds." Through the medium of the traveling library the people in many lo- calities are enabled to read the works of the best authors, thus bringing them in touch with the world's literature and giving them the same advantages as their city cousins.
OTHER SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
There are in Idaho a number of educational institutions that have been founded and are maintained by religious denominations or persons interested in some particular phase of educational work. Following is a brief history of a few of those that are doing advanced work or which are devoted to certain lines of vocational training. Probably the best known of these institutions is the
COLLEGE OF IDAHO
On September 19, 1884, a number of Presbyterians met at Shoshone and organ- ized the Wood River Presbytery. The next day the committee on education, composed of Rev. E. M. Knox, Rev. C. M. Parks and Elder J. M. Morgan, which had been appointed at Malad City the preceding April, made the following re- port : "Your committee would respectfully report that, having examined the cause of higher education in Idaho, we find that in all our sister states and terri- tories schools of academic and collegiate powers are being established. As money has already been placed in the hands of your committee toward the establishment of a college in the Territory of Idaho, we would recommend that a committee, consisting of Reverend Renshaw and Reverend Knox, together with elders from Boise, Bellevue and Hailey churches, be appointed to take the subject under ad- visement and report at the next meeting of the presbytery."
That was about five years before the University of Idaho was established, and there were no high schools or academies worthy of the name in the territory. The committee reported progress from time to time and was continued, though several years elapsed before anything definite toward the establishment of a school was effected. In April, 1889, the presbytery met at Montpelier and the committee made a long report, in which they said, among other things: "While there is a desire everywhere for this institution, no one place has offered sufficient inducements or holds out the hope in the present of sufficient pecuniary help to warrant the beginning of the work; nor does the board of aid for colleges encourage any building with the hope of getting funds through the channels of the regular church contributions."
The report also stated that W. C. B. Allen had offered to donate forty acres of land near Shoshone as a site for the college, and Ira L. Warring had offered ground on the Camas Prairie. The report was adopted and the members of the presbytery were requested to confer with the various towns in Southern Idaho and ascertain what donations in the way of lands and money could be obtained. In April, 1890, the presbytery met at Caldwell and a committee of the citizens expressed their willingness to assist in establishing the college at that place. The communication addressed to the presbytery was as follows:
"At a meeting of the trustees of the Town of Caldwell, Idaho, holden on the Xl. I-23
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19th day of April, 1890, the following resolution was unanimously passed : 'Re- solved that Kimball Park be set aside and devoted to the purpose of a Presby- terian College, and should this proposition be accepted by the presbytery of Wood River, now convened in our town, the necessary legal steps be taken at once to complete the transfer of the property.'
"MONTIE B. GWINN, Chairman. "CHARLES H. REED, Clerk."
The offer was accepted by the presbytery and a committee was appointed to confer with the citizens, which resulted in contributions of some twelve thou- sand dollars being subscribed. Rev. W. J. Boone, Rev. J. H. Barton and Rev. J. P. Black were appointed a board of managers to consider and decide upon plans for the college building, receive all funds and perform such other duties as might be necessary to secure the erection of the building and instructors. This committee performed its work so well that the College of Idaho was opened for students on October 7, 1891, with a faculty consisting of Frank Steunen- berg, John C. Rice, John T. Morrison, Charles A. Hand, Rev. W. J. Boone, F. B. Maxey and Carrie S. Blatchley. Two members of this faculty were after- ward elected governor of Idaho and one is now serving on the supreme bench. The first year's work was conducted in the Presbyterian Church, but in 1892, the old administration building was erected, at a cost of $2,400, and the second year began in this building on October 10, 1892.
In April, 1893, the college was incorporated by John C. Rice, W. J. Boone, W. C. Maxey and A. Greenlund. The first class graduated in May, 1894.
The College of Idaho now has a well-kept campus of twenty acres within the city limits of Caldwell, and three modern buildings-Sterry hall, Finney hall and Voorhees hall-the value of the property being estimated at over two hundred thousand dollars. A large fund has been raised for future betterments, and a new endowment fund has been created in the sum of $600,000. Besides, the college has been selected by the Rockefeller "General Educational Board" as one of the three colleges west of the Rocky Mountains to which endowment funds will be given.
It is expected by those in charge of the institution, that this college will be to the Southern part of Idaho what the University of Idaho is to the northern section.
It is worthy of mention that when the armistice with Germany was concluded in November, 1918, every student of the college had been enrolled in the govern- ment service.
INTERMOUNTAIN INSTITUTE
This institution, located at Weiser, originated several years ago in the mind of Rev. E. A. Paddock, while working his way through college. Encountering many difficulties in obtaining an education, the question came to him: "Why can there not be a school of some kind in which it will be possible for young persons to get an education and at the same time learn some useful occupation, the wages of which will pay for their schooling?"
For years this thought remained with him, and when he came to Weiser in 1897 he determined to try the experiment of establishing a school along those lines. Thomas P. Maryatt and Jane M. Slocum, both college bred, became in-
Finney Hall
Sterry Hall
Voorhees Hall COLLEGE OF IDAHO, CALDWELL
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terested in the project, though neither was able to give the school any financial support. Mr. Paddock took a homestead, upon which a frame house 18 by 24 feet, one and a half stories high, was built in 1898. This house served as a boarding house for the workmen while they erected a larger building, and in October, 1900, the Idaho Industrial Institute was opened for the reception of students. The students did their own cooking and housework and were required to work at some kind of manual labor for at least two and a half hours every day. The capacity of the school was limited and more students offered themselves than could be accommodated.
The Idaho Industrial Training School was established at St. Anthony by the Legislature of 1903 and for several years there was some confusion between that institution and the one at Weiser on account of the similarity of names. Consequently, the name of the Weiser school was changed in 1915 to the Inter- mountain Institute. The motto of the school is: "An education and a trade for every boy and girl who is willing to work for them." No student under sixteen years of age is admitted, but on the other hand there is no limit, some of the stu- dents having been "men and women grown." One man entered the institution when he was thirty-eight, having never attended school and in eighteen months acquired sufficient education to go into business for himself and keep his own books.
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