USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II > Part 24
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Another schoolhouse was on South Main street on the site of the Stewart building. When Sarah A. Stewart taught there in 1850 she had as pupils Levi Moulthrop, H. N. Starr, H. P. Holland, Mrs. J. P. Manny, George Manlove, John W. Taylor, Jr., and W. F. Stewart. Miss Stewart was a sister of the late D. J. Stewart, Sr., and became the wife of Thomas D. Robert- son. The Second Congregational church was organized in this schoolhouse. It was later moved a few yards south and used as a black- smith shop. It was torn down when Mrs. Brill's block was erected. There was also a small schoolhouse on the south side of Green street, between Church and Court. It was a white frame building. Abbie Parker, a sister of G. W. Parker, taught there at one time.
H. P. Kimball was principal of a classical institute, in the basement of the First Baptist
church, from 1855 to 1856. A score of students left this institution and entered eastern col- leges. Two years' 'study was considered suffi- cient to advance pupils through a full prepara- tory course of mathematics and the usual books · in Latin and Greek, giving tliem a sufficient and thorough preparation. Seely Perry taught a preparatory school for young men about a year and a half, in the First Methodist church. At this school quite a number of students prepared for college. Among these were the late Dr. Selwyn Clark ; Alexander Kerr, for many years emeritus professor of Greek in the University of Wisconsin; Rev. John Edwards, brother of Mrs. Clemens. On account of ill health, Mr. Perry turned over the school to a brother of Dr. E. P. Catlin.
ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW.
The free public sehool system of Illinois dates from 1855. In December, 1853, a large common school convention inet at Jerseyville, composed of many adjoining counties, and one at Bloom- ington, for the whole state. These movements produced results. The General Assembly, which met the following February, separated the office of state superintendent of public instruction from that of seeretary of state, and made it a distinct department of the state government. The state superintendent was required to draft a bill embodying a system of free education for all the children of the state, and report to the next General Assembly. On March 15, 1854, Governor Matteson appointed Hon. N. W. Edwards, state superintendent. In the follow- ing January Mr. Edwards presented a bill which became a law February 15, 1855. For state pur- poses the school tax was fixed at two mills on the $100. To this was added the interest from the permanent school fund. A free school was required to be maintained for at least six months in each year, and'it was made imperative upon the directors of every sehool district to levy the necessary tax. Thus the free school system of Illinois began when the taxing power of the state was invoked in its behalf. The school law was bitterly opposed, and narrowly escaped re- peal. Sir William Berkeley, the royal governor of Virginia, said in 1670: "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have these in a hundred years." The spirit of this pious wish prevailed in
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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY
southern Illinois; and there was a repetition of the old conflict between the two distinct classes of people in the two portions of the state. The southern portion was poor, while the northern portion was well-to-do; and it was only as it was made to appear to the southern portion that it was receiving more from the state school fund than it was contributing, that the people acquiesced in the law.
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD SCHOOLS.
The charter of 1854 had conterred upon the city council of Rockford full power over its schools, and on June 20, 1855, the council passed its first school ordinance under the new school law. The city was divided into two school dis- tricts : East side and West side, designated Nos. 1 and 2. A board of school inspectors was ap- pointed, consisting of George Haskell, A. S. Miller, and Jason Marsh, after whom the Marsh school was named. In December the board voted to purchase of A. W. Freeman his lease of the basement of the First Baptist church for a school in district number two. Mr. Freeman was employed to teachi at $800 per year. At the same time H. Sabin was engaged for the first district, and the old courthouse on the East side was leased. The council had provided by ordinance for a school agent for each dis- trict, whose acts were to be approved by the council, and the present sites of the Adams and Lincoln schools were purchased and on August 14, 1857, occurred the formal dedication of the two union school buildings. Previous to this time Rockford had no schoolhouse of its own.
The first district school had three principals from 1857 to 1884. The first was Orlando C. Blackmer, who was appointed March 10, 1857. His assistant was S. F. Penfield, and Mrs. Ralph Emerson, before her marriage, was also a teacher. Mr. Blackmer was a graduate of Wil- liams College. After he left Rockford he be- came a member of the firm of Adams, Blackmer & Lyon, the first publishers of The Sunday School Times. His last years were spent at Oak Park, where he died suddenly January 5, 1913. He was a brother of Mrs. N. C. Thompson.
Henry Freeman, Mr. Blackmer's successor, was a native of Massachusetts, born within twenty miles of Plymouth Rock. He was graduated at Andover, Mass., in 1839. In 1859 the board of school inspectors invited Prof. Freeman, who
had filled many educational positions, to take the position of principal and superintendent of schools at East Rockford, at a salary of $1,000 a year. This position he filled twenty-one years, until he resigned in 1880. During this long serv- ice hundreds of pupils came under the influence of the principal, and his strong character was a potent factor in promoting that which was for the best interest of the pupils. The third and last principal was Proť. A. W. McPherson, who remained until 1884.
George G. Lyon was chosen principal of the Second school district March 10, 1857. The old pupils of Prof. Lyon had the pleasure of hon- oring his memory by planting the Lyon elm on the Lincoln school grounds, on April 22, 1904. They gathered in the schoolhouse, and after a short program in the presence of the present teachers and scholars, they planted tlie tree. Mrs. H. P. Holland paid hier old instructor a splendid tribute. She said, in part: "Mr. Lyon possessed in a great degree the power of kindling the sacred flame of learning in the minds and hearts of his scholars .. It has been said there is no royal road to learning. There is a royal road; it is the road which a royal teacher makes. Such a teacher was George G. Lyon, for whom we plant this tree, the Lyon elm." Prof. Lyon was succeeded in 1863 by E. M. Fernald, who was succeeded in 1865 by E. D. Weller. Prof. Blodgett became principal of the West side school in September, 1866, and held this position fifteen years. He had served his country in the Civil war as captain of Com- pany E, Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry.
There is a story of Prof. Blodgett of unusual human interest. When Robert P. Porter came to Rockford about 1872 to begin his newspaper career on the Gazette, he was poor and friend- less. His only capital was energy and ambition. Prof. Blodgett loaned him books and befriended him in other ways. After Prof. Blodgett left Rockford he was for five years editor of the publications of the United States Geological Sur- vey. Mr. Porter forged rapidly to the front, and in 1890 he was appointed by President Har- rison superintendent of the census. He remem- bered his former benefactor and appointed him a special agent to collect statistics of education throughout the United States. Prof. Blodgett occupied a responsible position for many years in the Interior Department. His last years were
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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY
spent in retirement in Washington, D. C., where he died May 25, 1916, at the age of 84 years.
Prof. W. W. Stetson became principal in 1SS1. He left Rockford in 1884 and became school superintendent for the state of Maine.
By 1857 a small frame structure had been erected iu South Rockford as a schoolhouse. This was soon enlarged, and was later super- seded by a stone structure, now known as Kent school. Thomas Sherratt and a Mr. Munson were early principals. Mr. Sweet, another early principal, went to California and there died. This school for the greater part of the inter- vening time has been in charge of one man. Prof. O. F. Barbour, a native of Ohio, came to Rockford in 1859, and was for a time engaged in the dry goods business. In September, 1866, he became principal of the Kent school, and re- tained this position nearly half a century. Later reference will be made to Prof. Barbour in this chapter. Upon his death Miss Lillian Dales was appointed principal of Kent school.
PUBLIC SCHOOL REORGANIZATION.
The general law of 1872 for the incorporation of cities was silent on the school question, and when Rockford was organized under the general law, it retained the school features of its spe- cial charter. The movement for a re-organiza- tion of the public schools of Rockford began in the summer of 1883. In July a petition was drafted, to be presented to the city council, ask- ing that body to submit to the voters the ques- tion of reorganizing under the general free school law of 1872. Little or no progress ap- pears to have been made until March of the following year, when a second petition was cir- culated and signed by a large number of repre- sentative citizens. Meanwhile, however, the leaven of agitation was at work. The fact had been realized for several years that the board of school inspectors in 1861 increased from three to five members, did not possess adequate pow- ers. It had no authority to levy taxes and its functions were otherwise limited. The board was practically an educational committee of the council, and its action was subject to review by the higher body. Popular agitation was in- tensified by a bitter newspaper controversy. On March 17, 1884, Hon. Alfred Taggart, mayor of Rockford, addressed a special message to the city council, in which he reviewed the state
school law in detail and severely criticized the act in so far as it might be made to apply to Rockford. Mr. Taggart maintained that the remedy for existing defects in the local system was not in abandoning the provisions of the , city charter for the general school law; but in consolidating the two school districts of the city into one district, and making it co-extensive with its corporate limits, with all the schools under the supervision of a general superintend- ent. Mayor Taggart was thoroughly versed in school law, was an able executive, and withal a forceful personality. His special message changed the tide of public opinion so completely that the city council, at its meeting of April 7, passed an ordinance making Rockford one school district. When the municipal election was held in April the people rejected the state school law by a majority of more than 1,200 votes and thus sustained the mayor and council. Rapid progress was made during the remainder of the year. The mayor subsequently appointed H. N. Baker and A. A. Morse as inspectors. Their associates were Dr. F. H. Kimball, Prof. M. S. Bebb and Thomas Buchanan. Upon these gentle- .men devolved the duty of launching the Central High school.
P. R. Walker, of Rochelle, was appointed prin- cipal teacher for the city schools at a salary of $1,800 per year. The title of the office was sub- sequently changed to superintendent. At the time of Superintendent Walker's appointment a school census just completed showed Rockford had a population of 8,850 under twenty-one years of age.
THE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
The faculty of the Central High school was organized by the appointment of Prof. A. W. McPherson as principal at a salary of $1,300 per year; Miss May Frye, assistaut principal, and Miss Jennie Waldo and Miss Anna Lathrop, teachers. It is a notable fact that after a lapse of more than thirty years, Miss Waldo is still a teacher in the high school. This record has no parallel in the history of the institution. Miss Lathrop is now Mrs. Anna Lathrop Case, of National avenue. Rooms on the second floor of what was then 113 West State street were leased for the use of the high school. The owner was Mrs. Mary P. Starr, and the rental was $300 for one year from August 1, 1884, with the priv-
EDWARD FITCH
MRS. EDWARD FITCH
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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY
ilege of one or two additional years. These rooms are over Smith & Sons' shoe store. It was in such modest quarters that the Central High school of Rockford was opened September 1, 1884, with about 150 pupils.
The selection of a site for a central building involved the inevitable struggle between the two sides of the river. The site chosen was known as the Thurston lots on South Madison street, for which $5,000 was paid. The cost of the building was in round numbers $25,000. This is an insignificant sum compared with many of the later grade schools. The high school build- ing was formally dedicated March 18, 1886.
The first addition to the high school was built in 1900, the second in 1906, and the third in 1914. The latest addition, a beautiful structure and splendidly equipped, was formally opened De- cember 4, 1914, when it was estimated five thou- sand people were present. Addresses were made by Superintendent Jones ; Mrs. E. S. Gregory, a member of the board; R. K. Welsh, former presi- dent of the board; and C. P. Briggs, principal of the high school. There are four floors and basement in the third addition. The basement is devoted to swimming pool; gymnasium, 50 by 70 feet, with running track, 24 laps to the mile ; and supply room. On the ground floor are the wood-working shop and glue room ; stock preparation room for wood-working shop; library room, with shelves for 3,000 volumes. On the first floor are the administration offices of the city schools, eight recitation rooms and training room for teachers. The second floor ac- commodates the commercial department and ten recitation rooms. The third floor has three drawing rooms and blue print room. This addi- tion cost approximately $235,000. This figure includes a new heating plant, which provides heat for the entire high school, and changes made in the heating apparatus of the original high school building, the one adjoining the last addi- tion. W. H. Cook was the contractor of this addition ..
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS.
The Rockford Central High School has been served hy six principals. Prof. A. W. McPher- son resigned at the end of the school year in , pointed were to serve for one year, and five 1885. His last years were spent in Rockford, where he died February 15, 1912. He was highly esteemed as an educator and Christian gentle-
man. The second principal was Charles A. Smith, a graduate of Amherst College, who re- mained five years, resigning in November, 1890, but continued his work as an educator after leaving Rockford. He died several years ago.
Walter A. Edwards was appointed principal November 15, 1890, and hegan his duties the following January. Prof. Edwards was a son of Richard Edwards, at one time state superin- tendent of public instruction for Illinois. He was born at Normal, Ill., September 17, 1862, and was graduated from Knox College in 1883. He came to Rockford from Decatur, and re- mained four years. Prof. Edwards resigned in 1895. He is now head of the classical depart- ment of the high school in Los Angeles, Cal. Prof. B. D. Parker became principal in 1895 and remained nine years. Prof. Ellis U. Graff was the next principal. He came to Rockford in 1904 and remained four years. He is now super- intendent of schools in Omaha, Neb.
Prof. C. P. Briggs, the incumbent, came to Rockford in September, 1908. Miss Harriet Morse, who has been connected with the high school more than half a century, is assistant principal.
BOARD OF EDUCATION LITIGATION.
There was no change in the system of school management for more than twenty years after the consolidation of 1884. Before the end of that period a feeling developed that the schools of the city could be more efficiently managed either by an appointed or an elected board of education wholly independent of the city council and vested with full control of the school system. In 1906 a group of public-spirited citizens associated themselves together with a view to bringing about such a change. The act of 1879, which ap- plied to school systems being operated under special charters, seemed to offer an opportunity for a change to an appointive board. This law provided for the appointment by the mayor with the approval of the council, of a hoard of education consisting of ten members and a president. Two of the members were to be chosen from each ward, and the president from the city at large. Five of the members first ap- for two years, and thereafter all for two years. The president was appointed for one year. On November 19, 1906, after the courts had passed
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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY
upon the question at issue between the advocates of an independent board and the city council, Mayor Jackson appointed a full board, as fol- lows :
L. M. Noling, president; First Ward, B. A. Slade and R. C. Lind; Second Ward, A. P., 5, 1913, when Mayor Bennett presented names Floberg and Elwyn W. Chandler; Third Ward, Laura P. Gregory and A. G. Everett ; Fourth Ward, W. K. Welsh and W. F. Barnes; Fifth Ward, Pearl Biller and Dr. T. H. Culhane.
The test cases which caused this change con- stitute an interesting feature of Rockford school history.
The questions of whether or not the schools of the city were being legally managed, and whether or not the law of 1879, providing for an inde- pendent board, applied, were raised at the insti- gation of the association above referred to, in two different cases. These cases were conducted by and in the name of R. K. Welsh, for several years president of the board of education. They were defended by the then legal department of the city. The first case arose by filing objections to the school tax on small piece of real estate, claiming that the city council was without power to initiate a levy of taxes for school pur- poses. This was heard in County Court, Judge De Wolf of Boone County presiding, in June, 1906, and was decided in favor of the objector, the court holding that the council did not have the power of managing the schools, but that it was properly vested in a board under the Act of 1879.
The second case was in the form of a quo warranto proceeding in the Circuit Court against the members of the city council and school in- spectors to compel them to show by what au- thority they were managing the schools. Upon a hearing of this case before Judge Frost in November, 1906, the court held that the Council and inspectors were without legal authority to manage the schools and that a board ought to be appointed under the Act of 1879. Prior to this decision, of Judge Frost, the city had caused an appeal to be taken in the first case to the Su- preme Court. At the time of Judge Frost's deci- sion this appeal was pending. Mayor Jackson, however, having confidence in Judge Frost's in- terpretation of the law, immediately appointed the new board as above indicated. In February, 1907, the first case was decided by the Supreme Court, the latter court affirming the decision of Judge DeWolf. The opinion in this case is re- ported in Volume 225 of the Supreme Court
Reports, at Page 364. This ended all the litiga- tion and firmly established the legality of the new board.
The school board, as chosen, was obliged to make another legal fight a few years later, May for members of the board of education, the appointments were hung up by a majority vote of the city council. It was contended that the board was an elective rather than an appointive body and that the validity of the acts of the board was involved. To settle the question a decision was asked from Attorney General Lucey. Pending his opinion Mayor Bennett, at the next meeting of the council, withdrew his nominations, in order to extend to the opposing aldermen the courtesy of securing a ruling from the attorney-general.
During the incumbency of Attorney-General Stead, it was his uniform rule to refer all school questions to the state superintendent. When Mr. Lucey succeeded to the office he followed the precedent established by Mr. Stead, and when opinion was sought he turned the mat- ter over to t the state superintendent, who promptly reaffirmed an opinion given by him in December, 1911, that boards of education in Rockford are appointive. The superintendent's decision was a thorough review of the case. The contention, however, was continued, and July 25, 1913, Judge Arthur H. Frost, of the Winnebago County Circuit court, handed down a decision in the controversy over the legality of the school board, brought by Swan O. Widell in the name of tlie people against R. K. Welsh, president of the board, and the ten additional members of the body. 1
The court held that the board is legally con- stituted. His opinion was given in writing and the entire case was reviewed in its various angles.
It has been contended by those who favor an elective board that the law of July 1, 1903, and amended by the law of 1911, repealed the law of 1879, under which Rockford schools are now operated. Superintendent Blair, in his opinion, held that the law of 1911 did not apply to Rockford, and that the act of 1879 was still in force. The law of 1911 applies to only two cities in the state, Springfield and Quincy. The validity of the board, as now constituted, is therefore unassailable.
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GRADE SCHOOLS.
Previous to the re-organization of the schools in 1884, the ten grade schoolhouses were simply designated by the wards in which they were severally located. Superintendent Walker, as he became acquainted with the history of the city, advised the naming of the several schools in honor of Rockford citizens, and with two ex- ceptions, the board of education adopted this policy.
The West side high school, built in 1857, was called the Lincoln, in honor of Abraham Lincoln, It was rebuilt in 1892 at a cost of $35,000. The East Rockford high school, also built in 1857, was christened the Adams, in honor of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. In 1893 the old stone structure was razed and a two-story brick building erected at a cost of $40,000. In 1904 about $5,000 was ex- pended in a steam heating plant and a system of fan ventilation. This building was re-chris- tened the Henry Freeman, for the former princi- pal of the East side high school. The Chestnut street school, erected in an early day and re- built in 1899, was called the Blake, for Thatcher Blake, one of the first two settlers of Rockford. The West State street school, built in 1868, was named the Ellis, in honor of Colonel E. F. W. Ellis, who was killed in the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862. The Ellis was rebuilt on Elm street, and the old structure formed the nucleus of the St. Thomas Catholic high school. The Fourth Ward building was erected in 1874 and perpetuates the memory of Dr. George Haskell, who came to Rockford in 1838. The Fifth Ward school, built in 1858, was called the Kent, after Germanicus Kent, the founder of Rockford. The Court street building in South Rockford, built in 1883, and enlarged in 1892, bears the name of Richard Montague, a pioneer of 1835. The First Ward school, built in 1866, and rebuilt in 1892, was named in honor of John Hall, an early member of the board of education. The old Ninth street school, erected in 1881, perpetuates the name of the famous inventor, John Nelson. This building has been abandoned and a new structure erected on the corner of Fifth avenue and Fourteenth street. The school in the Sixth Ward, built in 1872, was christened the Marsh, in honor of Colonel Jason Marsh.
Ten grade school buildings have also been erected since the district consolidation of 1884.
These, with two exceptions, bear the names of prominent citizens of Rockford. The Wight school, built in 1889, is named in honor of James M. Wight, a prominent barrister, member of the constitutional convention of 1870, and a mem- ber of the legislature. The Garrison school, built in 1887, and enlarged in 1892, is named for Thomas Garrison, who came to Rockford from New Jersey in 1853 and purchased a large tract of land north of the city. Mr. Garrison died October 6, 1871. The Brown school, erected in 1892, derives its name from Judge William Brown, who held several offices of public trust, and was for twenty years a judge of the Circuit court. The Church school was built in 1894, and perpetuates the memory of Judge Selden M. Church, an early settler, postmaster, member of the legislature and judge of the County court. A large addition was built in 1914. The Kish- waukee school was built in 1896 and gets its name from the street on which it stands, which, in turn, is derived from Kishwaukee River. Kishwaukee is an Indian name. The Turner school was built in 1898, and derives its name from J. M. Turner, a supervisor and alderman. Mr. Turner, in recognition of this honor, gave the school a bell. The Jackson school was com- pleted in 1904, and is named for Charles E. Jackson, who was mayor of the city when the building was erected. The Peterson school was opened April 1, 1912. It received its name from P. A. Peterson. The Walker school is a me- morial for P. R. Walker, and was opened in January, 1913. The Highland school was not erected by the city, but became its property by the annexation of Highland. Of these twenty grade schools all except three teach eight grades. Haskell and Marsh are four-grade schools, and Highland has seven grades.
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