USA > Illinois > Knox County > History of Knox county, Illinois > Part 51
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But all these things are changed now. We no longer see the log school-house. The last one, we believe, in Knox county was aban- doned last year. Their places are filled with handsonie frame or brick structures, which, for elegance and beauty of design, rival those of older settled countries; and in place of the "masters," who were " looked up to" as superior beings, and were consulted on all matters of law, physic and religion, there are teachers of liberal culture, intel- ligent and progressive, many of whom have a broad and comprehen- sive idea of education, and regard it as something more than teaching
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merely in order to make a living-more than a knowledge of a great number of facts in the universe of mind and matter. It means cul- ture, the educating, developing and disciplining of all the faculties of the human mind. It is comprehension of the entire being of man; and the school or teacher who takes charge and care of the young should provide the means and methods for carrying forward the pro- cess in all departments of their complex natures, physical, mental and spiritual.
In these respects the teachers of Knox county, led by their devoted, progressive and intelligent Superintendent, Miss Mary A. West, have made remarkable advances during the past few years. Order, system and progress seem to be her miotto, which, together with her zeal in having, fundamentally, practical knowledge disseminated through every school district, and the energy displayed to arouse and create a desire for advanced knowledge, for thorough mind and physical cul- ture and strength in these different departments, eminently fit her for the important position of County Superintendent of Schools. It has been and is the policy of Miss West, since officially empowered, to raise the standard of requirements for teachers' certificates. One of the most effective and practical means brought to bear in this direction was the establishing of "teachers' drills." Annually she has assem- bled the teachers together, and for a few weeks, with the aid of otlier able instructors, given a thorough normal drill .. Another means adopted by her of aiding teachers in their work, is an ably conducted educational department in the leading county paper. Through this medium she is enabled to encourage and instruct them by giving each week practical suggestions and timely hints, news from their co-labor- ers, the best selections from educational periodicals, and assurances of fellowship in the work. Besides these features, it contains something for the children. This department of the Republican Register was opened in October, 1875. In addition, there are the "County" and the "Township Institutes," also for the improvement and advance- ment of the modern teacher. For twenty-four years a "County Teachers' Institute" has been sustained, usually meeting semi-annu- ally ; but when, in 1875, the "Township Association" was organized, the Institute met but once a year. Still further to educate the edu- cators, an occasional meeting of the principals of the ten graded schools is held. Another excellent idea for uniformity is annual meetings of the township treasurers, and occasionally meetings of the school directors are held in each township.
. In the educational department of the Centennial Exhibition the Knox county schools bore a conspicuous and honorable part. The ex-
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hibit compared well in quality and quantity with exhibits of the large city schools of the State.
To create a greater interest in educational affairs the ever fruitful method of competition was employed. In 1877, at the county fair, a school exhibit was a feature. Here specimens of workmanship of many of the schools were displayed. This plan proved a success, and the County Superintendent, anxious to create and foster every means for the advancement and improvement of the schools, determined to make special provision for an exhibition of school work the present year. Accordingly a building was constructed on the fair grounds at Knoxville, especially for this department; and here, as proof of her zeal and earnestness in educational matters, as well as the interest manifested by Dr. C. W. Leffingwell, Treasurer of the Institute, we will mention that this expenditure was made by them with the prospects of their treasuries being re-imbursed through the liberality of the people after witnessing the effects of it.
The County School Superintendent has been agitating the adoption of a definite course of study for all county schools. She claims for it the following advantages: It would give greater definiteness to the work of the school-room and uniformity in the work accomplished. It would prevent the one-sided development too often seen. It would prevent much of the injury now suffered by schools from frequent change of teachers. Directors would be able to give more specific directions to teachiers, and to judge more accurately as to their efficiency. It is evident that under the present regime there is a great waste of teaching force. A graphic illustration of the present mode of conducting the country schools in this respect is from the pen of Miss Leanna Hague, the efficient teacher of Cherry Grove school. She says:
" What teacher does not have vivid recollections of that awful first day in a strange school, when, after enrolling names and noting studies last pursued, an attempt is made to form classes to suit the assumed needs of the pupils! If no record of classification and pro- gress has been left by your predecessor, if from directors you could obtain no information upon the subject, what wonder you stand bewildered at the 'gumbly' of studies reported! The name of Ben- jamin Franklin heads your roll. He confidently produces a Fifth Reader for your inspection, reports himself ready for Long Division, guesses he knows the multiplication table, is ignorant of script, but can print. Arabella went faster than her class in Arithmetic, and last term recited alone; ' didn't like grammar,' so dropped it to take up algebra. Of one thing you may be sure there are candidates
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for admission to every grade of reader. You make a bold plunge into the sea of difficulties, and assign reading lessons. You find, as the classes come up before you, that the children, shrewdly taking advan- tageof your ignorance, have classified themselves according to their 'own sweet wills.' You discover that Ben. Franklin, being an enterpris- ing little chap, read his Fourth Reader through at home, during vaca- tion, and now sighs for 'fresh pastures.' Arabella, whose taste for mathematics has been indulged at the expense of her elocution, ' lends to the rhyme of the poet the music ' of a sing-song tone not approved by the best speakers. Maria's old reader was in tatters, and'her moth- er thought it praiseworthy economy to have the new one of a higher grade. John Henry was out of school while his class studied the Sec- ond Reader, but to-day he is stumbling over the easiest words in his NEW Third."
The many colleges of Knox county naturally wield an influence for good in educational fields. Pupils can be carried from the primary through all the various grades and studies until graduation in classi- cal, theological or scientific courses of a high standard in established colleges. While the young men have been amply provided for in educational privileges and will probably soon have another institution, Knox Agricultural School, opened especially for them, the young ladies have received equal or greater attention in this respect. There is perhaps nothing which so clearly demonstrates the progress of so- ciety, and the elevated stand of the people of this county, as the great and increasing attention devoted to educating girls. Knox county can boast of schools of this nature inferior to none in this great State. The evils resulting to society in consequence of uneducated women are numerous; and the educators of Knox county seem to be fully awake to these effects, and to the importance of having a' highly cul- tured and moral female community. They realize that to a very great extent the education and proper culture of the coming generations de- pend upon the character of the woman. It is she who fashions and molds society by giving, as teacher and parent, the first and most lasting impressions. Her influence is everywhere felt and realized. If her character be pure and her mind elevated, such will be the char- acter of the community. Nature has especially constituted women the early guardians and instructresses of children, and clothes her with sympathies suited for this important trust.
The first school held in Knox county was at Cherry Grove, Cedar township, in the early part of the year 1832. This antedates the first school at Henderson one year. It was taught by Robert Bell, who therefore was the first school-master ever to wield the rod in this
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county. He was a Kentuckian, a thorough teacher, an excellent and much respected citizen. Recently Mr. Bell was heard from by some of his earlier pupils. He was then residing in Red Wing, Minnesota. This first school was attended by 16 scholars, the greater portion of whom were "grown up;" and was a well regulated, orderly school. The usual Friday afternoon exercises in etiquette, after spelling ex- ercises, common to that period, were observed in this school. Of the pupils now known to be living are, J. C. Latimer, of this county; his sister, Mrs. Coy, of Iowa; Mrs. McMillen, eldest daughter of Abraham D. Swartz, Washington Territory; and Mrs. Benjamin Swartz, of Kansas.
Mr. G. W. Melton tells us that one of the pioneer masters who taught in his neighborhood, made it a rule, in order to insure prompt- ness, to give the last scholar that arrived in the morning a sound thrashing. To be sure this was a severe treatment, but no doubt pre- vented an undue amount of tardiness. Various means have been tried to prevent this troublesome feature, many of which have proven beneficial; but we doubt whether there ever was a rule adopted which proved more effective than the above. There is a noticeable. fact in the present system and management of the schools, in regard to punctuality of scholars that is highly commendable. Lateness has been reduced almost to its minimum.
In order to enable the reader to note better the contrast between the schools as conducted from a quarter to a half century ago and the present system, we give a few incidents of the earlier schools.
HOLIDAY TREATING.
A general custom among the early schools was that of " holiday treating;" and the scholars looked forward with great expectation on the near approach of the holidays. In 1835, in one of the schools, the scholars notified their teacher (lady teachers in those days were almost unknown) that he must treat at holiday time. This he strongly re- fused to do, and the scholars accordingly made out their conditions in writing, that he must treat, or they would stand him on his head in a spring. The scholars, however, were divided, some being on the side of the teacher. One of the oldest pupils, who favored the teacher, was taken by the other side and given a thorough ducking, which readily turned him, too, against the teacher. The teacher, whose turn came next, divining his fate, yielded, and furnished the "stew" for the school. That night the school-house was burned. Who did it ' was never publicly known.
This old custom of treating prevailed more or less until 1852, when
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Mary Allen West,
CO.SUPT. OF SCHOOLS.
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a Yankee teacher broke up the practice. His name was Starr, and at the time he was teaching in the Westfall school-house, situated near the late William McMurtry's farm, in Henderson township. On the approach of the holidays Mr. Starr was notified by his scholars that he must furnish a bushel of apples as a treat. The rule then was, that if the teacher succeeded in getting to the school-house first in the morning, and held his position until school time, he was acknowl- edged victor, and excused from treating. If the scholars arrived first, and could keep the teacher out until after school time, they were the victors, and the teacher must either treat or take the penalty. On this occasion the teacher secured the apples, took them to the school- house, and got up into the loft with them before any of the scholars came. As the boys arrived, supposing they were first, they began to talk quite freely and tell what they would do; how they would duck their teacher, etc., freely expressing their dislike for him. One, more courageous than the rest, expressed a decided wish to give him a good thrashing. To all of these remarks and threats Starr listened quietly, and when the hour arrived for "taking up the school" he opened the scuttle, and emptied the contents of his sack down upon the floor. The younger scholars freely helped themselves, while some of the larger and more daring ones, mortified at their defeat, skulked off. We leave the readers to contrast, for themselves, this with the schools of Knox county at the present time.
THE LOUD SCHOOL.
In the summer of 1833, on section 14, Henderson township, Frank- lin F. Barber taught the first school in that vicinity, and the second in the county. This was a remarkable school, and for the following interesting facts concerning it we are indebted to T. J. Mansfield and Mrs. G. W. Melton, who, with Mrs. Samuel Melton and Mrs. Ellen Blue, are the only pupils who attended this school that are now living in Knox county.
No regular hours of keeping the school were maintained. The teacher began as soon as the first scholar came. The boys on enter- ing the room took off their hats and "made their manners" to the teacher, which was a bow. The girls made a "courtesy."
, On Friday afternoon the exercises were in choosing sides and spell- ing for an hour or two, and after returning to their seats they would be given lessons in etiquette. The teacher would appoint one to re- tire with his or her things on, and on returning, another was selected to receive him or her at the door as a stranger, take the hat or bonnet, and wraps off the visitor, lay them away, and conduct around and
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introduce him or her to each of the other scholars. This was continued until all had acted the same part. On closing the school, which was about sundown, some were appointed to carry around the hats, bon- nets, coats and shawls of the others. They then retired, one at a time, "making their manners," as on entering.
This was known as a "loud school," because every one studied his or her lessons alond, which was often " confusion worse confounded." Those studying arithmetic were permitted to go out into the woods, where it was more quiet, when getting their lessons. In those days "spellin', readin', ritin' and 'rithmetick was all the larnin' they wanted their children to have."
This school-house was about 16 by 18 feet, and was built of round logs. The cracks between the logs were chinked and daubed. The old-fashioned fire-place occupied one end of the building, with its chimney made of split sticks laid up in cob-house fashion and daubed with clay. The floor was made of puncheon; and for seats was se- lected a bass-wood tree, split and hewed, with hard-wood legs. The writing-desks were prepared in the same way, only a larger tree was selected, and the desks were made against the sides of the building. This completed the school furniture.
For the closing exercises of this school, the parents of the children in attendance were invited. The teacher, or "school-master," as lie was then called, had arranged for a " stew." Mary Ann Riley, being the oldest girl, was selected to make it. The afternoon was spent in playing ball and drinking "stew," which was not an uncommon drink in those days. It was made of water, sugar, whisky, allspice and bnt- ter, cooked together by bringing it to a boiling heat. Four of the scholars became quite funny. The teacher also became so "boosy" that he threw a saucer bebind the back-log, and it took him until 3 o'clock in the morning to get home. The girls, seeing the evil effects of the "stew," concluded they would make no more. The school, however, was considered a success, and the teacher was employed for another year.
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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
KNOX COLLEGE.
It was often said by the pioneers of Illinois that the great prairies would never be cultivated. The early settlers along the edges of the groves, little foresaw that in a few years railroads and cities would be built in the middle of the broadest prairies, and that the whole land would be covered with waving fields of grain. How strange it seemed, when it first became known that more than ten thousand acres of land had been bought in Knox county, and that a colony would soon arrive to occupy the land and found a college out on the wild prairies, and stranger still to those who came from stony old farms carved out of dense forests to delve in the black soil which required only the plow and a year of sun and rains to convert it into a garden !
But a plan, the result of long and serious thought, had been matured, and a circular issued setting forth the importance of educating the young. The circular proceeded at some length to advocate manual- labor institutions, and was also in favor of "providing for the thorough education of women." Rev. Geo. W. Gale, the author of the plan, was connected with the first regular effort made in this country to combine manual labor with a liberal course of instruction. His thoughts had turned in this direction as early as 1825. Encour- aged by success in the State of New York, he drew up a plan for a large institution in the west. In a "Brief History of Knox College," written by Dr. Gale in 1845, he gave the plan, a synopsis of which may be found in the history of Galesburg, in this book.
. Many to whom the plan was shown urged its prosecution, but the. location was not easily settled. "Michigan, Northern Indiana and Illinois were successively considered but no place selected, which de- . layed the enterprise itself, so that at one time the projectors had well nigh or quite relinquished the idea of its prosecution."
However, it was resumed the following year, a subscription was opened, and soon about thirty families embarked in the enterprise, the names of whom and their first labor will be found in the sketch of Galesburg.
A second meeting was held at Whitesboro, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1835.
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The forenoon was spent in prayer and other religious exercises, and in the afternoon the following resolutions, among others, were adopted:
Resolved, That a committee of three persons be appointed to make a purchase and appraisal of lands in Illinois or Indiana, for the objects specified in the circular, and that G. W. Gale, H. H. Kellogg and Sylvanus Ferris be that committee; also that Nehemiah West be a substitute for Mr. Kellogg.
Mr. Thomas Simmons was subsequently added to the committee. About the middle of September, Messrs. Gale, Ferris, West and Sim- mons left for the western country. Rev. Mr. Gale having been detained by sickness, at Detroit, Mr. Samuel Tompkins was added to the committee. Rev. Jno. Waters also accompanied the committee and assisted in selecting the site. They arrived at Knoxville about the middle of October, and soon had their attention called to a tract of land lying along the south side of Henderson Grove, and in a few days a purchase of 10,747 acres was effected. A meeting of the sub- scribers was held at Whitesboro, Jan. 7th, 1836, with Rev. Jno. Waters chairman, and N. H. Losey secretary, at which the report of Geo. W. Gale, as agent, was accepted. They tlien voted to divide the land according to the plan, and to appoint trustees, who should have charge of the property and become incorporated as soon as practicable, by the Legislature of Illinois, under the name "Trustees of Prairie College, Illinois." The Trustees appointed were Rev. Jno. Waters, Sylvanus Ferris, Rev. H. H. Kellogg, Thomas Simmons, John C. Smith, Walter Webb, Rev. Geo. W. Gale, Nehemiah West, Isaac Mills and Samuel Tompkins. Committees were appointed to pro- vide for building a college edifice. The college was chartered in Feb., 1837, by the name " Knox Manual Labor College." But the manual labor plan was abandoned at an darly day, and in 1857 the name was changed to Knox College.
There were in all thirty-four subscribers to the original circular and plan. Of these, nine came in 1836. Of the remaining subscribers, a part did not purchase, some returned to their lands, and others sold out at an advance; but there was no want of interest in the enterprise. During 1836, about thirty families took up their temporary abode in the southern edge of Henderson Grove, and others came early in 1837. Aug. 9th, 1837, the College Trustees held their first meeting at the house of Matthew Chambers, in Knoxville. There were present, Jno. Waters, Geo. W. Gale, Jno. G. Sanburn, Geo. H. Wright, Parnach Owen, Erastus Swift, Thos. Simmons, Matthew Chambers, Nehe- miah West and Nehemiah H. Losey. Peter Butler, of Monmouth, Win. Holyoke and Sylvanus Ferris were added to the Board, and it
KNOX COLLEGE, GALESBURG.
KNOX SEMINARY, GALESBURG.
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CIRCUIT CLERK.
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was " resolved to receive the property of the association of subscribers, and to carry into effect their original purpose in accordance with the charter." An academy building was erected in the fall of 1838, on the northeast corner of Main and Cherry streets, and the school opened early in the winter, with forty students, under the direction of N. H. Losey. In 1838, Rev. H. H. Kellogg was appointed Agent of the college, and entered upon his duties as President in Aug., 1841.
The college was fully organized, and the first Freshman class entered in the fall of 1841, and the first class graduated in 1846. In Nov., 1839, the interest-bearing funds of the college was reported to amount to $29,715.00, after paying all the indebtedness of the Board. In 1843 -- 4, Dr. Gale obtained in the East, 1,600 volumes for the library, and about $2,000 in money, $800 of which was expended for apparatus. In 1844, President Kellogg, while in England, obtained donations in books and money to the value of nearly $2,000. In 1843, a building which had cost more than $5,000, was burned, without insurance. Soon after, the citizens of Galesburg and vicinity subscribed about $3,500.00 to aid in the erection of college buildings. One building was completed in 1844, and the other a year after, constituting what are known as the east and west buildings .* The following quotation from Dr. Gale's " History," will show the condition of affairs in the year 1845:
" After this outlay of more than $10,000, the productive fund of the institution is more than $20,000. Besides this productive fund, the college has unsold lands, chiefly within the original purchase, valued at $30,000; and unsold lands in other counties worth $7,000 or $8,000 more. There is land and town property reserved for theo- logical instruction, if applied to that use within a given time, valued at $3,000. So that the entire fund for all educational uses, realized from this enterprise, is at present some $70,000. The town of Gales- burg now has some 70 dwellings, besides mechanics' shops, stores, mills, Academy and College buildings, accommodating about 800 inhabitants. Profaneness is rarely heard in the streets, and intoxi- cating drinks have neither foothold nor advocates in the community.
In 1847, the Academy was removed to the northwest corner of the Public Square, into a brick building, which twenty years afterward gave place to the Union Hotel. In 1848, measures were taken to establish a complete course for the education of young women. This course at first occupied three years, but was lengtliened to a four years'
*Mr. J. P. Williston, of Northampton, Mass., commenced contributing to the support of the college, in 1844, and did not cease his benefactions till the year 1855, when they amounted to more than $8,000.
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course, in 1868. The first class graduated in Jan., 1851. In 1857, thirty thousand dollars were expended in building the Ladies' Semi- nary, a large five-story edifice, with chapel, recitation rooms, music and painting rooms, and ample accommodations for boarding. During the same year, the main college building was completed, at a cost of over $50,000. It contains a chapel, lecture and recitation rooms, and rooms for cabinets, apparatus and library. In 1860, a three years' scientific course was established, which was changed in 1873 to a four years' course, with the addition of a year to the work of preparation. In 1876, a building, thirty-six by seventy-two feet in dimensions, was erected for a gymnasium, at a cost of fifteen hundred dollars, and the students now avail themselves of the opportunity for gymnastic training .*
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