USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 18
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Other teachers of the schools at this time were: Mary Howells, Cin- cinnati: Mehitable Fowler, Troy; Amelia Holby, Kate Cunningham, Mary Wilson, Almira Thomson, Bell Carroll and Mrs. Rebecca Rhiver.
The first high school commencement exercises were held at the Baptist church on May 19, 1871. There were two graduates, Miss Ida R. Stout and Miss Anna Myers, who afterward won distinction in the New York jour- nalistic field. On this memorable occasion the two young lady graduates read essays which were pronounced creditable productions by the hearers.
There were five graduates at the second annual commencement, which was held at the Christian church. Those who were members of the class of 1872 were Mollie Paul, Mary Christy. Jennie Williams, Lizzie Shirk and Lou Pope. Mr. Pope later became head of a Chicago educational concern. In 1873 Ida and Herschel Wooden and Belle White were granted diplomas. There were about fifty students in high school at that time.
The grade teachers then were as follows: Rebecca Rhiver, Seymour Pierce, Allie Thomson, Mamie Wilson, Lizzie Dobyns, Mary Howells, Ame- lia Holby. Mary E. Wilson, Maggie Stoner and Mary Elcock.
The high school grew steadily in popularity as people perceived its value and in a very few years classes of considerable size were being graduated. (13)
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As years went by, more and more students saw the necessity of secondary school training and entered the high school direct from the common branches.
In 1876 the attendance had so increased that added quarters were ren- dered necessary, and a brick addition, fifty by eighty feet, was built, in 1877, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. The trustees then were W. A. Donnell, Samuel Christy and Doctor Bracken. The addition is still in use for the grades. The first principal of the new high school was W. P. Shan- non, who served until 1882, when he became superintendent of the city schools, succeeding Superintendent Harvey. Mr. Shannon died on Decem- ber 16, 1897.
C. T. Hottell became the principal when Mr. Shannon was given the superintendency. He was followed by David Curry and George L. Roberts. Mr. Roberts served the high school for ten years and then went to Indiana University in the summer to take his Bachelor's degree. He returned to Greensburg for the following school year, and upon the death of Mr. Shan- non was appointed to take the superintendency. He remained here until 1901, and then went to Frankfort, and later to Muncie. He is now at the head of the department of education in Purdue University.
The next high school principal was Edgar N. Mendenhall, who served six years and resigned in 1903 to become county superintendent. Superin- tendent Roberts was succeeded in 1901 by D. M. Geeting, former state superintendent of public instruction, a man of broad experience, who was thoroughly acquainted with all branches of school work. He served until 1903, and then left Greensburg to become deputy state statistician, a posi- tion he held until his death. Superintendent Jerman, the present incum- bent, succeeded Professor Geeting in 1903.
There have been graduates every year except 1883, when the high school course was enlarged and another year's work added. There have also been five colored graduates from the Greensburg high school, but none of recent years. The enrollment in 1908-09 had been the largest up to that time. It was as follows: High school. 184; West building, 679; East build- ing, 284. Total, 1,147.
The high school had reached such proportions by 1912 that it was deemed necessary to provide larger and more modern quarters. The con- tract was let on August 16, 1912, for the erection of a new high school build- ing by Trustees W. C. Woodfill, John F. Russell and Dr. R. M. Thomas. Pulse & Porter were awarded the contract for $65,410.09. It was completed in the winter of 1914, and, although not entirely finished, the high school classes were first held in the new building in the winter term of that year.
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There have been 753 graduates from the Greensburg high school in its forty-six years of existence, 267 boys and 486 girls making up the list, ac- cording to the figures gleaned from the Standard.
The Greensburg schools have attained their high state of development through a long series of educational efforts, and the good citizens of this city deserve a great amount of praise in contributing so nobly to this cause and standing behind all educational ventures which have been carried on by the different heads from the beginning of the school systems. The high school stands today in the front ranks, and in looking back over the educa- tional history of the county it can be seen that the early seeds of education which were sown by such illustrious men as Professor May and others are being reaped by our present generation in their modern building and the 11p-to-date instructors.
ADAMS TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS.
The present status of the schools in Decatur county may be discussed by townships. Adams township has three consolidated schools and one district school. The largest of these schools is located at St. Paul. This is a commissioned high school and its history and developments will be taken up later. The next consolidated school in this township in point of size is located at Adams. This school is equipped with a modern building and, in addition to the regular grade work, three years of high school work are taught. Four hacks serve as a means of transportation to the children who attend this school and five teachers administer to the intellectual wants of the children. The third consolidated school is located at St. Omer. The regular grade work is taught in this school. but the high training is secured at St. Paul. The district school is supplied by one teacher, who has charge of all the grades.
CLAY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS.
Clay township has within its limits two consolidated schools and two district schools, in addition to a joint district school which accommodates tlie pupils from Clay and Sand Creek township and is located on the township line. The largest of these consolidated schools is located at Burney. This is a commissioned high school and affords excellent opportunities to the pupils of this section for high-school training. The children are furnished with seven hacks to bring them to the seat of learning in the township and the school is well attended. Although the building is large and the school
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has been provided with sufficient teachers to accommodate them in the past. still in the last few years, owing to the general trend of children from the district schools to the consolidated schools, the capacity of the school has been crowded to the limit and plans are already under way to enlarge the present building in order that the increase in enrollment can be properly taken care of. Clifty is also provided with a consolidated school, but only for grade work. This school has three teachers who administer to the grade pupils. Two district schools are located in the rural districts of the township and are each supplied with one teacher, who has charge of all the grades.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL.
Clinton township was originally divided into four school districts, each district being accommodated with a one-room school building. The school enumeration of Sandusky having increased, it was necessary to add another room to the building there.
The first steps toward consolidation were made in 1894 under rather singular circumstances. A teacher had been hired to teach the school at district No. 2. When the day arrived for the opening of the school year the teacher was present, but not a pupil put in his appearance, as they had all entered the Sandusky schools. The teacher continued going to the school and finally the trustee compromised with her for one-half of her salary. This was the beginning of consolidation in Clinton township.
The enrollment steadily increased and in 1896 another room was added. In 1900 one school hack was introduced for the transportation of children to and from the Sandusky schools. The second district school to be aban- doned was district No. 4, which occurred in 1905. The following year the third and last district school was abandoned, with the resignation of the teacher in charge of that school.
This left Sandusky the center of the schools of Clinton township and. with the added enrollment from the other three districts, the school build- ing was not large enough to accommodate the pupils. In August, 1907. another room was added to relieve the congestion. In 1898 the two-year high school course was offered and in 1907-08 the rooms were divided and a teacher placed in charge of each room. The state superintendent's report shows that Clinton was the first township in the state to have a completely consolidated school, with necessary conveyances to carry the children to and from school. All was progressing very nicely until January 21, 1910, when the entire building and its contents were destroyed by fire. The term of
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school was unfinished and it was necessary to finish the school in the Metho- dist church and three private dwellings.
In the spring of the same year ( 1910) Trustee E. L. Meek let the contract for a $15.750 school building, which was to be erected during the summer. The building is located on the north side of town and on the Ft. Wayne pike. It is on the site of the old building, but the grounds were enlarged by the purchase of an acre of ground. This building was completed in the fall of 1910 and school was held in it for the first time that year. The building is one of the most beautiful, modern and well-equipped consolidated school buildings in this part of the state. There are three rooms on the first floor for the different grades and the second floor is taken up with the eighth- grade room, high school room and auditorium.
The enrollment for 1915 in the high school was seventeen. There were four grade teachers and the high school superintendent. The teachers, and grades over which they have charge, are as follow: Kirby Payne, high school; Carrie Thackery, seventh and eighth grades; Janie Martin, fifth and sixth grades: Mary Cushman, third and fourth grades; Mabel McDowell, primary. The basement is divided into two large play rooms, one for each sex. Six hacks are utilized in transporting the children to and from this seat of learning. Consolidation has proved successful in Clinton township on account of the small size of the township and the excellent financial condition at the present time.
FUGIT TOWNSHIP.
Fugit township has not made such rapid advancements in the lines of consolidation as some of her sister townships. The only consolidated school in this township is located at Clarksburg. This school received its commis- sion in 1913, graduating the first class in 1914. This school is well attended and has a very modern course of study. Kingston has one of the most unique schools in the county. A new country school building was erected. at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars. It was the intention of the founder to form a community school. This building has two rooms, with a large assembly room in the basement, covering the entire first floor, and is modern in every respect. One striking feature of this building is the lighting system which includes a large skylight. At present only one teacher is employed in this school and the attendance the past year was only twenty. A Catholic school is located at St. Morris. This building is owned by the church, but the teachers are employed by the township and are approved by the citizens
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of this parish. The building has two rooms and two teachers are regularly employed. There are also two district schools in this township.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
Jackson township has the greatest number of consolidated schools, no district schools remaining in this township. The five consolidated schools in this township are located as follows: Newburg, Waynesburg, AAlert, Big- horn and Sardina. The four first-named schools have only two teachers, who administer to the wants of the children, while the last named has three. Two years high school work is taught in all of these schools, in addition to the regular course of study for the grades.
MARION TOWNSHIP.
Marion township, owing to its unfortunate location in not being sup- plied with the proper railroad or interurban facilities, has made no advance- ment in the line of consolidation. The condition of the roads in this town- ship make consolidation almost an impossibility. There are eleven district schools located over this township and one teacher supplies each of these schools. There is also a parochial school, located at Milhousen. Four teachers are employed to administer to the children of this locality. One of these teachers, however, is employed by the public, the church exercising power in the choosing of this teacher.
SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP.
Salt Creek township has lately made rapid advancements in the consoli- dation of its schools. In 1909 a school building was erected at Newpoint, at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. This school maintains a three-years high school, in addition to the grade work. There are also three district schools remaining in this township, which have not been changed by the consolida- tion. Among those, who, in more recent years, served as teachers in the schools of Salt Creek township, are: G. M. Gard, Ellen Moody, James D. White, John H. Bobbitt, Dennis O'Dea, H. W. Jenkins, Mrs. H. W. Jenkins, Ed Glidewell, Grover C. Harding. J. G. Collicott, now superintendent of the Indianapolis city schools, received his elementary education in this township, as did also Lewis A. Harding, prosecuting attorney, and Anna B. Collins, of Indiana University. Fred Baas was principal of the Newpoint schools in 1915.
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SAND CREEK TOWNSHIP.
Sand Creek township has one consolidated school, located at Letts. This school building has been remodeled and affords very modern and com- modions quarters for the young aspirants for knowledge. This school also presents a commissioned high school course of study and the enrollment for the past year totaled forty-four. Westport also has an up-to-date high school, with an enrollment of eighty-five. There are six outlying district schools in this township, which have not experienced the advantages of a consolidated district.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Washington township has two consolidated grade schools, supplied with two teachers each. There are also three district schools in this township, which cannot be consolidated. The high school students of this township are accommodated by the Greensburg high school, which is dealt with in its proper place.
Summarizing the different township schools of this county, it can be easily seen that there is a marked advancement toward consolidation and centralization. The citizens of this county, as in other counties, are begin- ning to realize the greater advantages which can be gained from a consoli- dated school, which affords more high-salaried teachers and better educa- tional facilities than could be received through many scattered one-room schools.
WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL.
The first school at Westport was taught in the year 1845 by a Mr. Bid- dinger. This school house was a one-room log building, having seats around the wall, a large stove in the center of the room and recitation benches arrayed in a quaint manner around the stove. These benches and seats were made of rough-hewn logs which were not promoters of comfort. The ses- sions of the school during the first winters after the building was erected never exceeded three months and the average attendance was estimated at about thirty.
In 1859 this log building was replaced by a two-story brick structure, erected on the site of the old log school house. The upper room was used as a town hall, but soon the school attendance was increased and conse- quently this was used for class purposes. Mr. Strickland taught the first school in this new brick building. He also was the first teacher to introduce
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high-school studies in the curriculum of the school course. When he retired from the field of teaching this work was dropped and was not taught again until the present school building was erected. Under Mr. Strickland's leader- ship the attendance of the school was increased, the average then being about sixty-five pupils. Two teachers were regularly employed and, some years, the attendance was increased until it was necessary to add another teacher.
The increased attendance also brought about the necessity for larger and more modern quarters, but this could not be provided at that time, so a frame room was built for a temporary means of relieving the congestion. The publication of a weekly school paper was begun about this time and became quite an interesting factor among the students. After the building of the railroad, the attendance of the school rapidly increased and the school soon boasted of an attendance of one hundred and twenty students. The majority of these were enrolled at the brick building, as the frame room was only used for the primary grades. The average length of the term was from six to seven months, and from three to four teachers were employed.
The present building was erected in 1896. It was originally a two- story brick building, containing four rooms and two halls. The average attendance at that time was about two hundred and twenty-five and from four to five teachers were employed. In 1909 the building was enlarged by the addition of two new rooms. The original two upper rooms were converted into one large auditorium and a laboratory, and a recitation room was also added to the basement.
The school was commissioned in 1909-10 and additional improvements have been made to the building since that time. The school is furnished with modern equipment and devices, is both comfortable and attractive and has an average attendance at present of two hundred and eighty. The school has been under the leadership of Supt. Oscar W. Holmes since its commission to the first grade ranks. Superintendent Holmes is a graduate of Indiana State Normal School and ranks with the foremost educators of the day. Since its commission Westport high school has graduated eighty students from its ranks who are now engaged in various callings.
Athletics is a great factor in the regular work of the school life. Domestic science and agriculture have also been added to the curriculum of studies. The common school attendance averages two hundred and the high school attendance is placed at eighty. Seven teachers are employed.
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ST. PAUL SCHOOL.
The history of the St. Paul schools, as with all of the early schools of Indiana, begin with the little log school house. In the year 1851, when the surrounding country was one vast wooded territory, with scattered settle- ments, there was established a small school in the little village of St. Paul. This was the beginning of an educational program, the end which has not been reached, but is still pushing ever higher. The interior of this room was characteristic of all the early log school buildings. A large fireplace occupied one end of this building, and at the opposite end was a small plat- form, on which the early pedagogue held his sway. The desks were made of half logs, with their flat face hewn smooth, and the seats were similarly constructed. Along the wall was a long, smooth, wide board used for writ- ing. The three K's-reading, writing and arithmetic-were the only sub- jects taught. Such was the beginning of the school system in St. Paul.
About the year 1856 the quarters of the school was changed to a frame building, but this was only a temporary change. The next move was to the second story of what was then known as the Ridlen building, but is now occupied by Mr. Johannes' buggy shop. Some of the teachers who saw active service there were Mr. Madison, George Stotsenburg, David Sutton. Dr. and Mrs. Ballard. Spelling was one of the chief diversions in the schools of this time and many good spellers were developed.
After several years, the school again shifted and this time established in the building which is now the home of Henry Neidigh. The growth of the schools had reached such proportions at this time that two rooms and two teachers were required. Among the names of the teachers who served at this time were James Scull, Mrs. D. J. Ballard, Eunice Paul, Charles Powner, George Stotsenburg and Doctor Ballard. One of these who is especially remembered by the pupils is Charles Powner. Mr. Powner was a near-sighted man, of little training, and the boys found plenty of time and opportunity for fun at his expense. It was during this period of school that the people became divided on religious and political views and this, in turn, split up the school system. There were then established three different schools, besides the remnant of the public school. They were located as follows: One in the Methodist church, one in the Catholic church, and one in the Floyd building. The latter was a private school established by the Madison and Woodard families, the former being sectarian schools. This factional difference was soon adjusted and in 1870-71 a new school build-
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ing was erected on the site of the present high school building. This was a large, square, brick building erected by Trustee Benjamin Jenkins. It con- tained six class rooms and a large assembly room. Each morning the entire school would gather in the large assembly room for the opening exercises. which consisted of singing, etc.
Gradually the courses were enlarged by the addition of a few high school subjects, but the exact date of this is unknown, although the first graduates of this one-year course are given as Flo Hoover and Frank Ray. The first teacher in that high school was Mr. Alcott. This was merely an incentive toward the greater work of making this a standard high school. A short time later a three-year course was added and this was maintained until the old building was destroyed by fire. The teachers who assisted in the old building were Mr. Lewark, principal; Mr. Jewett, number four ; Mrs. Jewett, number two, and Mrs. Viola Palmerton, number one.
The building was destroyed by fire in 1901 and work was immediately begun on the erection of a new building, but this was not accomplished in time for school work that winter and, in consequence, school was held in the rooms of the Kanouse and Floyd buildings. In 1902 the building was completed, but the courses of study remained the same. A little later the standard for Indiana high schools was raised by the Legislature and Mr. Crawley was placed in charge of the schools. Too much praise cannot be given to Mr. Crawley for his efforts in raising the St. Paul schools to their present standing. The advancement of this high school has been marked and, with the assistance of the patrons, Mr. Crawley has been able to meet all of the demands of the state board of education and keep St. Paul high school in the first rank of commissioned schools of the country. It was commissioned in the fall of 1911.
Nearly all lines of work are now demanding a high-school education. Competition is driving men in every field of endeavor to make better prepa- ration. As a result, advanced schools for farming, business, theology, medi- cine and law are demanding that students shall have completed a standard four-year high school course before taking up their college or advanced work. The patrons of this school have fully realized this and, in order that their children might be able to go forth into the world and cope with gradu- ates from other schools on an equal footing, they have seen to it that their high school should add all of the different advanced courses in learning and offer every inducement for the home training.
The high school has graduated approximately thirty-five students in
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their four years of commissioned standing. Professor Crowley have served as superintendent for the school for thirteen years and deserves a good por- tion of the praise due this high school. There are seven teachers and two hundred students at present in grades and high school. The high school alone employs three teachers and has an enrollment of fifty students.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CHURCHES OF DECATUR COUNTY.
There is no more potent factor in the life of any community than the church, and the influence of an active denomination is measured by the wholesome spirit which may be found in the community. More than ninety years have elapsed since the first settlers of Decatur county made their per- manent homes here, and within that time more than ninety churches have arisen in the county. Many of them have long since closed their careers, but the good which they accomplished still remains. There are those who main- tain that the people of today are not as religious as the pioneers of the state, but things religions are not to be measured by human standards. The mere fact that there are fewer churches in Decatur county today than fifty years ago does not argue that the people are any the less religious; neither does it imply that the life of people is of a lower standard than it was in the "good old days," which some like to think were nearer the millenium.
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