USA > Illinois > Christian County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Christian County, Volume II > Part 9
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The efforts of the pioneers to educate their children, crude as they were in many ways, formed the foundation for Christian County's present fine system of education. In the form- ing of a settlement of only two or three families, one of the first tasks the pioneers placed upon themselves was the founding of a school in which their children might prepare themselves, even though the labor of these children could be seldom comfortably spared from the work of the homestead. As in other localities, many of the best schools were of the subscription type.
John W. Wheat taught the first school at Taylorville in 1840, He was followed by Thomas B. Dougherty, David Miller, Aaron H. H. Roundtree and Miss Sarah Holland. There being no public school building, school was held in various buildings. At one time the office of Capt. Hardin, located on the south side of the square, was used for this purpose. A brick seminary was erected in 1850 by the school di- rectors and the Sons of Temperance, Division No. 145. The lower story was used for school purposes and the upper story as a temperance hall. D. L. Moore and John B. Jones were among the teachers employed in this building. In 1858 the town was divided into three dis- tricts, and in 1870 another division was made, this time the town being divided into two dis- tricts. A substantial brick building was erected in each district, As the town continued to
grow in population more school buildings be- came necessary. Therefore, in 1894, an eight- room building was erected in North Dakota, a division of the town lying within the East dis- trict, and later a four-room building was erected in Hewitville, a division lying within the west district. In 1914 this building was enlarged by the addition of four rooms. The two dis- tricts were consolidated by petition under one
superintendent. Thirty-seven teachers, includ- ing special teachers in manual training, domes- tic science, writing, drawing and music, are now employed in the graded schools of Taylor- ville. The schools have an enrollment of 1,400.
PIONEER TEACHERS.
The departments which made up the educa- tional system of the early days were largely confined to the treatment of the "three R's." Reading, writing and arithmetic received their full due, but even these subjects were handi- capped by the lack of proper books and by the fact that the older children could be spared from the farm for only two or three months dur- ing a school term. The pioneer teachers always earned their salaries, which in some cases aver- aged $8 to $10 per school montli, and in others $1.50 per pupil. Under the impetus of these incomes the pioneer, teachers labored so effec- tively and conscientiously that from under their care came men who have left their imprint marked indelibly upon the pages of history.
FIRST COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT.
At the time of the organization of Christian County, in 1839, there was appointed the first school commissioner,' the aforementioned Hon. H. M. Vandeveer, who had taught as a pioneer in Mosquito and South Fork townships. But long before this time there had been an attempt at some kind of government of the schools, for as early as 1818 the "Enabling Act" had appro- priated section 16 in each township to the state for school purposes. The legislature, in 1828, authorized the sale of these lands and borrowed the money, but the returns were too small to maintain the schools and it was found necessary to levy taxes. A county fund was created by an act of the legislature, in 1835, and this act also provided that the teachers should not re- ceive from the public fund more than half the amount due them, and that the surplus should constitute the principal of the county fund, which amounted to $348,285.75. In the same year the interest on school moneys borrowed by the state was first disbursed to the counties. Prior to this, in 1824, there had been given to the counties the balance of the overflow and swamplands for educational purposes, after pay- ing for drainage and levees.
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATION.
The first township in Christian County organ- ized for school purposes was that of South Fork, the December term of the county court, in 1839, appointing Robert Richardson, Sr., Benjamin Robertson and William Harvey, Esq., as trustees, while Mr. Council was appointed treasurer and served as such for many years. The township organization was effected in 1866, trustees of schools were appointed for the seventeen town- ships of the county, each township was divided into districts to accommodate the rapidly grow- ing population, and the log schoolhouse gradu- ally gave way to the more comfortable frame house. Also, at this time, there was realized the necessity for a higher standard among the teachers, and the requirement for a certificate of qualification from the township trustees was demanded. In addition to a comprehension of reading, writing and arithmetic, the teachers were required to have also a knowledge of the elementary principles and facts of geography and history.
FURTHER PROGRESS.
Coming to a realization of the real needs and benefits of public education, the general citizen- ship demanded frequent and advanced legisla- tion in this direction. The separate office of state superintendent of schools had been created in 1854, being filled by Hon. Ninian Edwards, at a salary of $1,500 a year; in 1857 the first State Normal School was established; and in 1869 the Southern Normal; and from that time to the present the legislature has not been slow to give the people all the necessary normal schools, the locality being well supplied in this respect. The following several paragraphs are quoted from a contemporary work on the schools of Christian County : "In a former sketch of the schools of Christian County, given in 1880 by ex-County Superintendent R. W. Orr, stress is laid upon the efforts made to encourage bet- ter and more thorough preparation for teaching by those who were engaged in the work as well as by those who expected to teach, by insisting upon their attendance at county normals and in- stitutes. But of all the excellent work done by Mr. Orr during his long term of office which ex- tended from 1873 to 1898, with a break of only four years, the most important and most influ- encing act was the introduction into the ele-
mentary schools of the State Course of Study, in 1889. The Manual and Guide for the com- mon schools had its beginning in Macon County about 1879 or 1880 with John Trainer, who was then county superintendent. His work soon spread to Piatt, Champaign and other counties. As the idea developed it appealed to the good judgment of educators all over the state and at a meeting of the Central Illinois Teachers' As- sociation, in March, 1889, the plan was discussed and Hon. Richard Edwards, superintendent of public instruction, issued a call to county super- intendents to meet at Springfield, April 10, 1899. to discuss the advantages of a uniform State Course of Study.
"As a result of that meeting, a committee of county superintendents was appointed to compile a course of study for the state, consisting of eight years' work of eight months each. This course was completed and published in time for the opening of schools in September of that year. Mr. Orr immediately introduced the course into the schools of this county and most of the teach- ers strove zealously to adapt it to the needs of the schools under their control and to secure the aim which the friends of the course claimed for it and which are as follows: First: To fur- nish, as a basis for work, to superintendents, teachers and directors, an outline of the various branches required by law to be taught in the schools of the state, arranged in the several grades, in accordance with established and ap- proved methods. Second: To advance pupils, step by step, through their school life, giving them credit for work done, and thereby lessen- ing the evil effects of a too frequent change of teachers. Third: To unify the work in the common schools of the county by furnishing the basis for a close and more effective direction and supervision, and for comparing by means of ex- aminations or written reviews the results in the different schools. Fourth: To enable directors and parents to know better what the common schools are accomplishing for their children and to co-operate with teachers in the work."
It should be of interest to every resident of Christian County to know that this State Course of Study was published in Taylorville by the late C. M. Parker, editor and publisher of the School News. Mr. Parker more than any other person contributed to its development into its present valuable and enlarged form and it now remains as a monument to him, whose keen fore-
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
sight, good judgment and great faith in it made possible its permanency.
The School News, an educational publica- tion, was established by Mr. Parker in 1887, to explain the State Course and to render help to teachers in carrying out the new plan of organiz- ing and grading the schools. Both of these pub- lications are now in use in every part of the United States and have made the name of Tay- lorville, Christian County, Illinois, known to mul- tiplied thousands of people.
The monthly examinations, which serve both as tests and as means suggestive of the best methods of teaching, allow the county super- intendent, whose visits to the schools are neces- sarily infrequent, an opportunity for keeping in touch with the work. The central examination, however, which for many years was held in the center schoolhouse in each township, where the advanced pupils of all the schools in the group met and compared work, has been aban- doned in recent years because of the almost im- passable roads encountered in some localities in the months of March and April.
ADDED STUDIES.
The reading, writing and arithmetic of the early days have been added to considerably. The course of study has been continuously broadened as the years have passed and as the people have come to realize the great advantages to be gained by a more thorough and compre- hensive knowledge. The subjects of language and grammer so entered into everyday life and activities that they soon found a place in the school curriculum ; following them came history and geography, subjects which appeal so strongly to the mind of the child; physiology, with hy- giene and a knowledge of the parts and care of the body filled a much-needed want in the life of the pupils-probably there is no study which has a greater yield of benefit. Nature study, music, manners and morals, with manual training, agriculture and domestic science have entered into the school life of the pupils. A glance at the studies taught in the high schools will give the reader an idea of how far education and educational methods have advanced since the days of the "three Rs." These include : English, Algebra. General History, Botany, Zo- ology, Physics, Physiography, Chemistry, Ameri- can Literature, English Literature, English His-
tory, American History, Civics, Plane Geometry, Solid Geometry, Latin, Caesar, German.
EQUIPMENT.
In the equipment and maintenance of the pub- lic schools more tax money is spent than for any other item on the list, and for no other expenditure of money is so much expected. It follows that the equipment of the schools has been steady and continuous. When the people came to a realization of the unsanitary condi- tions under which their children studied, and of the handicap-not to say danger-that they thus faced, they began to desire a change in the order of things. Soon the old log schoolhouses began to be replaced with more modern structures, of frame; light, heat and ventilation, the three es- sentials to health, became paramount issues, and schoolhouses were improved by the adding of cloak rooms and porches. Stoves were changed from the middle of the room to the end, ven- tilating systems were freely installed. paper- hanging and painting were resorted to, black- boards, libraries and pictures made their appear- ance, and teachers, directors and patrons plunged energetically into the work of making the school- houses as clean, as healthy and as attractive as the best homes in the community.
In this connection particular attention has been paid to the subject of heating and ventilat- ing systems in late years. In the year book of the Christian County schools for 1915-16, he says : "The purposes of breathing are two-fold : First, to provide the body with oxygen ; second, to remove the waste particles of the body. Clean, wholesome air is as much needed as clean, whole- some food. Air from which a part of the oxygen has been removed is positively dangerous to health. Lack of plenty of pure air in a school- room causes headaches, nervousness, colds, ca- tarrhs and listlessness. Therefore, the subject of ventilation is very important and is demand- ing more attention daily. The greatest single blessing that has ever been visited upon the schoolroom is the room furnace or heater. This apparatus is set in one corner or end of the room where it is out of the way. It will heat the room to an even temperature and at the same time ventilate perfectly by bringing the fresh outside air in through the heater and remov- ing the foul air from the floor. In this manner a current of fresh, clean air is running in and a
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J. W. Fr Ento
Homer Branko
Martha A Brexito.
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
current of foul air is running out all the time, and the children are breathing health-giving in- stead of disease-laden air." The following schools have installed heating and ventilating systems : Pike, Green Academy, Sherman, Buck- eye, Maple Grove No. 23, Pleasant Hill No. 63, Evergreen, King, Meader, Wenzler, Monegan, Tyler, Plainview, Friendship, Spring Creek, Ja- cobs, Cleveland, Prairie Lea, Hedge College, New Hope, Pleasant Ridge, Grant, Johnson, Mil- lersville, Durbin, Henderson, Liberty, Sycamore, Dawson, Duval, Hazel Green, Center, Mound, Gardner, Weiser, Ash Grove, Greer, Butler, Car- ter, Dunkel, Parkinson, Oak Branch, Kirby, Ja- cobs, Pleasant Ridge, Pleasant Valley, Lawton. Myers, Resler, Washington, Willeys, Willow Dale, Brushy Branch, Fraley, Ireland, Provi- dence, Maple Lawn, Old Stonington, Eagle, Hedge Row, Randallville, Salem, Sassafras, No- ble, Skinner, Compton, Hazel Ridge, Gopher, Oak Ridge, Douglas, Goodrich, Buckhart, Holben, David, Pleasant Grove, Campbellsburg, Bolivia, Silver Grove, Craig, Maple Grove No. 173, Clarks- dale, Brush College. Star, Greenwood, Prosperity, Shiloh, Cottonwood, Pleasant Hill No. 208, Fair- view and Greeley.
In the same book, to which we are indebted for much of the material that composes this article, we find the following, indicative of how far the equipment has advanced from the days of the crude puncheon benches : "Every child who attends the public school is entitled to a seat that fits him. In many school- houses there are no desks for the smaller children. They must sit with their feet swing- ing from two to six inches from the floor. The desk is too high for their arms. These conditions cause much disorder as the chil- dren must change their positions frequently on account of the discomfort. As a result their bodies are often misshapen and the school work very poor. It is nothing less than a crime against childhood not to provide every pupil with a seat of suitable size and properly placed." An- other indication of advancement is found in the following: "The use of a common drink- ing cup was made unlawful by a recent act of the Illinois Legislature. Therefore, unless a sanitary fountain is provided it is necessary for each child to have his own cup. Many di- rectors have purchased cups for the use of all pupils in their schools and have provided racks or other means of keeping them in order. In some schools enough nails have been driven in
the walls for all the cups and the teacher has assigned a certain nail to each child upon which he is expected to keep his cup when not in use. Some device as this should be used. Cups should not be kept in desks or carried in the pockets. Every rural school should have a covered water can or earthern jar with a faucet, or, better still, one of the many sanitary fountains de- signed for use in schools that have no water pressure.
STATISTICS FOR 1846.
Daniel Miller, the fourth commissioner of schools for Christian county, reporting to Camp- bell Thomas, secretary of state and ex-officio state superintendent of schools, in 1846, gave the following statistics, which are interesting as compared with those for 1916:
Whole number of schools in county, 6.
Whole number of scholars attending, 173.
Whole number of children under 21, 1,236.
Whole amount of school funds, $69.03.
Average paid male teachers per month, $14.00.
Average paid female teachers per month, $10.00.
Henry L. Fowkes in his annual report to Francis G. Blair, superintendent of public in- struction, for the year ending June 30, 1916, presented the following figures :
Number of school districts, 143.
Number of schoolhouses, 155.
Number of pupils enrolled, 8.565.
Number of males under 21, 7,851.
Number of females under 21, 7,706.
Teachers employed, 291. .
Amount of money used for school purposes. $254,446.41.
Estimated value school property, $799,377.
Average annual wage paid male teachers, $741.91.
Average annual wages paid female teachers, $500.50.
SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS.
The school commissioners since the organiza- tion of Christian County have been as follows :
H. M. Vandeveer, appointed May 16, 1839; John W. Wheat, elected August 2, 1841; Thom- as S. Leachman, elected August 7. 1843 ; Daniel Miller, elected August 4, 1845; James C. Mor- rison, elected August 2, 1847 ; James C. Morrison, elected November 6, 1849; James C. Morrison,
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
elected November 4, 1851; Richard Sparks, elect- ed November 8, 1853; Isaac Hanon, Jr., elected November 7, 1855; S. S. Cissna, elected Novem- ber 3, 1857; S. S. Cissna, elected November 5, 1861; James A. Ryan, elected November 3, 1863 ; A. McCaskill, elected November 7, 1865; W. F. Gorrell, elected November 7, 1869; R. W. Orr, elected November 4, 1873 ; R. W. Orr, elected No- vember 6, 1877 ; Francis W. Boyd, elected in No- vember, 1881; R. W. Orr, elected in 1885; R. W. Orr, elected 1889; R. W. Orr, elected in 1894; D. O. Witmer, elected in November, 1898; Edith Witmer, appointed in August, 1899; Anna L. Barbre, elected in November, 1900; Anna L. Bar- bre, elected in November, 1902; Anna L. Barbre, elected in November, 1906; Henry L. Fowkes, elected in November, 1910; Henry L. Fowkes, elected in November, 1914 and the present in- cumbent.
SCHOOLS OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.
Following is given a list of the schools of Christian County, with their teachers for the year 1916-1917 :
PANA, TOWN 11 NORTII, 1 EAST.
Pana Township High School, District No. 302 -W. E. Andrews, principal, Pana ; H. L. Karns, commercial; C. C. Scott, agriculture; Carl O. Nybladh, history and economics ; Harold B. Ray, mathematics ; Merrill Dakin, history and Eng- lish ; Olive K. Trader, English ; Adah Woffenden, German ; Elise Phinney, Latin and history ; Har- old C. Mohler, manual training ; Ruth Hammond, domestic science.
Lakeview, District No. 1-Edythe Rayhill, Pana.
Sunny Yard, District No. 2-Hazel Anderson, Pana.
Clark, District No. 3-Lenora Price, Pana.
Pana, District No. 4-J. L. Hart, superintend- ent, Pana.
East School-O. P. Simpson, principal; Grace Mouts, Zeta Kelligar, Rena O'Connor, Eva Brandon, Mrs. Virginia Willcockson, Susan Mooney, Isabel Casey, Elizabeth Casey, Margue- rite Ricketts.
West School-A. J. Daniely, principal; Ethel Small, Margaret Morgan, Jennie Simpson, Alma Galster, Mae Etter, Loretta Sheehan, Lillie Neu.
Eugene Field School-Mrs. Mary Springstun, principal ; Blanche Calet, Ella Row.
North School-Katherine DeLane, principal ; Alice Firth, Mollie Eller.
South School-Augusta Garretson, principal; Lola Cothern, Marie Chalfant.
Special Teachers-Margaret Coffey, music.
Malin, District No. 5-Lewis Harris, Pana.
Maple Grove, District No. 6-Nora Brandon, Pana.
Progress, District No. 7-Katherine Klein, Pana.
PANA AND ASSUMPTION, TOWN 12 NORTH, 1 EAST.
Assumption Township High School, District No. 303-J. O. Stanberry, principal, Assumption ; E. M. Fritter, science ; Estella Fritter, English ; Isla Sutherland, Latin; K. B. Seyller, mathemat- ics and athletics; Lena P. Grau, domestic sci- ence.
Assumption District No. 11-C. G. Wysong, su- perintendent, Assumption ; Ruth Bennett, Mrs. Mary H. Clark, Mrs. Estelle Reber, Susan Clark, Fay Branyan, Ella Cronin, Ruth Cheshire.
Hazel Ridge, District No. 12-Laura Snow, As- sumption.
Carter, District No. 13-Nellie Phillips, Pana.
Dunkel, District No. 14-Lillian Tressler, Pana.
Pleasant Grove, District No. 15-Eva Nicholls, Pana, R. F. D. 5.
Millot, District No. 16-Fern Logan, Millers- ville.
Parkinson, District No. 17-Ruth Stein, Pana, R. F. D. 2.
ASSUMPTION AND PRAIRIETON, TOWN 13 NORTH, 1 EAST.
Forest Hill, District No. 21-Rose Lawlis, As- sumption.
Oak Branch, District No. 22-Myrtle Linstrum, Assumption.
Maple Grove, District No. 23-Edith Black- burn, Stonington, R. F. D. 2.
New Hope, District No. 24-Luella Dunkel, Assumption.
Union, District No. 25-Helen Coonrod, Tay- lorville.
Kirby, District No. 26-Flora Legru, Mowea- qua.
PRAIRIETON, TOWN 14 NORTH, 1 EAST.
Jacobs, District No. 31-Gwendolene Yantis, Moweaqua.
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Charles Henry Brockelsly & Family
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
Pleasant Ridge, District No. 32-J. Owen Thomas, Moweaqua.
Nebraska, District No. 33-Ray H. Smith, Stonington.
ROSEMOND, TOWN 11 NORTH, 1 WEST.
Pike, District No. 41-Ellen Kennedy, Pana, R. F. D. 4.
Sherman, District No. 42-Bertha Watts, Pana, R. F. D. 4.
Grant, District No. 43-Mae Bangert, Pana, R. F. D. 4.
Rosemond, District No. 44-E. E. Wacaser, principal, Rosemond; Lota Law, Chas. E. Kim- ball, Lydia Bartow.
Greeley, District No. 45-Delsie Miles, Millers- ville.
LOCUST, TOWN 12 NORTH 1 WEST.
Pleasant Valley, District No. 51-Orlando Kuhle, Owaneco.
Lawton, District No. 52-J. T. Brandon, Owaneco.
Myers District No. 53-John Nelson, Taylor- ville.
Johnson, District No. 54-Violet Bailie, Owa- neco.
Owaneco, District No. 55-W. C. Abrams, principal, Owaneco; Ara Large, high school as- sistant ; Edna Bailie, Cora Leeper.
Resler, District No. 56-Flossie Hawkins, Mil- lersville.
Millersville, District No. 57-Moray Umberger, Millersville.
Durbin, District No. 58-Anna Fitzpatrick, Owaneco.
Buckeye, District No. 59-Lola Pittinger, Owaneco.
MAY, TOWN 13 NORTH, 1 WEST.
Washington, District No. 61-Lucile Sadler, Stonington.
Willeys, District No. 62-Velma Waddle, Tay- lorville.
Pleasant Hill, District No. 63-Mabel Snyder, Taylorville, R. F. D. 5.
Willow Dale, District No. 64-Ivah Burdick, Stonington.
Brushy Branch, District No. 65-Carrie Allen, Assumption.
Spring Creek, District No. 66-A. L. DeBarr, Taylorville.
Fraley, District No. 67-Dollie Fraley, Taylor- ville.
STONINGTON, TOWN 14 NORTH, 1 WEST.
Ireland, District No. 71-Marie Boyle, Ston- ington.
Providence, District No. 72-Flora Lockwood, Stonington.
Pine Grove, District No. 73-Lyla Burdick, Stonington.
Mt. Zion, District No. 74-Edith Spates, Tay- lorville.
Maple Lawn, District No. 75-Lyla Humphrey, Stonington.
Stonington, District No. 76-G. E. Lowry, su- perintendent, Stonington; Miriam Post, H. S. German, English and history; Jennie Willson, H. S. Latin and mathematics; Halvern Norris, grammar; Edith Emerson, Florence Meisen- helter, Stella B. Nail, Helen Sullivan, Mrs. Jes- sie Hurlbutt, Helen Hershey.
Green Academy, District No. 77-Geo. M. Pas- lay, Stonington.
Old Stonington, District No. 78-Robert Bul- lington, Stonington.
MOSQUITO, TOWN 15 NORTH, 1 WEST.
Pleasant Valleye, District No. 81-F. H. Clower, Boody, R. F. D. 1.
Eagle, District No. 82-Leota Linn, Mt. Au- burn.
Henderson, District No. 83-Thelma Walters, Mt. Auburn.
Hedge Row, District No. 84-Archie Truxell, Mt. Auburn.
Liberty, District No. 85-Sarah Ping, Blue Mound.
Sycamore, District No. 86-Anna Hartwig, Blue Mound.
Randallville, District No. 87-J. H. McCart, Stonington.
Salem, District No. SS-Katherine Bilyeu, Blue Mound.
Union, District No. 89-Anna Livergood, Mt. Auburn.
NORTH MOSQUITO, TOWN 16 NORTH, 1 WEST.
Sanders, District No. 135-Edna F. Buxton, Mt. Auburn.
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY
Pleasant Grove, District No. 136-William Williams, Mt. Auburn, R. F. D. 2.
Cannon, District No. 137-Beulah Henderson, Mt. Auburn.
GREENWOOD, TOWN 11 NORTH, 2 WEST.
Sassafras, District No. 91-C. E. Gaugh, Mor- risonville.
Noble, District No. 92-Mayme Nagle, Morri- sonville.
Skinner, District No. 93-Alice Norris, Noko- mis, R. F. D. 5.
Compton, District No. 94-Elsa Grace Bote, Nokomis.
Gopher Hill, District No. 95-Esther Buch- holz, principal, Nokomis; Florence Lehman, Nokomis.
JOHNSON, TOWN 12 NORTH, 2 WEST.
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