USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 34
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In the northeastern part of section 6, stood a log school house of the usual primitive type, erected sometime in the early twenties. In all proba- bility William W. Thomas was the first teacher. In this building was taught one of the first summer schools if not the first in the county by Myriam Swisher. This school was held in the summer of 1823 and was attended not only by the children of the immediate community but those from several parts of the township and county.
The third school house in the township known as the Broaddus school house, was built in 1823, or possibly a little later, in the southern part of section 12, or the northern part of section 13. Three of the first teachers were William Nelson, Lunsford Broaddus and a pioneer by the name of Clark. Within a period of a few years this building was supplanted by a more modern one a mile north. In the latter part of the thirties the pio- neers in the vicinity of Harrisburg awakened to the need of a school and erected a log house for the purpose. Nelson Penwell and William Thomas were among the early teachers.
Sometime previous to 1837 the settlers in the northwestern part of the township built a school house on the site later occupied by the Second Williams Creek Baptist church. Jasper Davis, Isaac Scarce and Harriet Thomas were some of the first teachers. Shortly after 1838 another school building was erected about a mile and a half north of the one mentioned
.. H ....
GROUP AT THE YANKEETOWN SCHOOL, HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
367
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
above, the first teachers being Harriet Thomas, Ann Ellis, Hiram Dale, C. M. Stone and Edwin Trowbridge.
The township now uses only three school buildings: A consolidated building at Harrisburg, the Grand Avenue building in the southeastern part of the township near the city of Connersville, and one district school. The Harrisburg school has three teachers, does non-commissioned high-school work and has displaced three rural schools, hacks bringing the children from the outlying districts to the school. The teachers are C. E. Brookbank, principal, and Hope Kerr and Leila Trusler. The Grand Avenue school has two teachers, Homer Taylor and Margaret Sturwold. The district teacher is Lillian Lake.
FAYETTE COUNTY SCHOOLS IN 1916-17.
During the past few years Fayette county has been gradually abandoning its rural schools in favor of a consolidated school system, a change which has been of incalculable benefit. There can be no question but that in a town- ship like Waterloo, for instance, the pupils are getting better training in the consolidated school than they formerly did when there were four meagerly equipped one-room buildings in operation. Better teachers, better buildings, better equipment and consequently better results follow the consolidation of the rural schools. This system has been carried to a farther degree in Fayette county than in any other county in the state, and all of this work has been accomplished under the efficient direction of the present county superin- tendent of schools, Claude Trusler.
At the present time there are only eighteen rural schools in the entire county, while every township but Columbia has a high school of some kind. Special music and drawing teachers are employed, so that every pupil in the county has the opportunity to get instruction in these two subjects. With the adoption of the present vocational system in 1913, Fayette county, under the direction of Superintendent Trusler, at once put the system in operation throughout the county. In fact, every act which the Legislature has passed during the past decade for the benefit of the public schools has at once been incorporated in the schools of the county.
During the year 1916-17 there were employed a total of ninety-four teachers in the county, not including the special teachers employed outside of Connersville. Of this number there were fifty-one outside of the county seat, the remaining forty-three being in Connersville. Nineteen teachers outside of the county seat were men and thirty-two were women; in Conners-
368
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ville there were only nine men, including the superintendent, to thirty-four women.
TEACHERS By TOWNSHIPS.
The following shows the teachers for the entire county outside of Con- nersville for the year 1916-17:
Columbia Township-Anna Smith, Marie Utter, W. H. Tate and Mrs. Anna Custer.
Connersville Township-Blanche Paris, Mary Harlan, John Peck, Mrs. Elizabeth Mahle, Mrs. Jennis Carter and Serena Ostheimer.
Fairview Township-Ernest Jeffrey, principal of the high school at Falmouth ; Florence Doane, Alfred Hall, Vina Lockhart, Nelle Retherford, C. W. Saxon and Frank Hinchman.
Harrison Township-C. E. Brookbank, principal of the high school at Harrisburg; Hope Kerr, Leila Trusler, Homer Taylor, Margaret Sturwold and Lillian Lake.
Jackson Township-Sherman Waggoner, principal of the high school at Everton; Ethel Moore, Edna Lake, Grace Newland, Hazel Banning and Frank Scott.
Jennings Township-Earl Lines, principal of the high school at Alquina ; Ethel Haines, Ruth Kline, Mazie Moore and Catherine Gettinger.
Orange Township-Edgar Starr, principal of the high school at Orange; Merle Colvin, Rolland Morris, Marguerite Sipe, William Cameron and Bryan Davison.
Posey Township-L. S. Miller, principal of the high school at Benton- ville : Mayme Thompson, Sarah O. Hussey, Emma Sutton and Mrs. Charles Freeman.
Waterloo Township-Ray Burns, principal of the high school at the con- solidated school; Lawrence Scott, assistant principal; Mary Greer and Effie Squires.
East Connersville-M. R. Lake, Mrs. Charity Rudd, Gertrude Elliott and Ruth Koch.
FAYETTE COUNTY SEMINARY.
The distinct feature of public-school education under the old Constitu- tion (1816-1852) was the county seminary. This was the only public school in operation in the state, and in some counties there was even a tuitional charge for it. The establishment of the seminary in Fayette county was made possible by the legislative act of January 27, 1827, and the building
369
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
of the two-story structure provided for by this act was the first building in the county for school purposes erected by public money. Unfortunately, the records of the seminary seem to have been lost, and the following sketch of this school has been prepared largely from former accounts of the school, supplemented by data furnished by Miss Katharine Heron.
The first trustees, appointed by the circuit court, were George Frybarger, Dr. Philip Mason and James Groendyke. Martin M. Ray was appointed clerk. This board was authorized to select the site for a seminary building, superintend the erection of the same, have general management of the school funds and select the teachers. The board of trustees selected two lots on the southeast corner of Fifth street and Western avenue for the site of the build- ing, the lots being owned at that time by Oliver H. Smith, and still the site of a school house. The officials entered into a contract with Richard Miller for the erection of the building, which was to be constructed of brick, to be two stories high and to be completed by January 1, 1829, for which he was to receive seven hundred and seventy-three dollars. Samuel C. Sample was appointed to superintend the construction of the building. The furnishing, painting and plastering of the structure was let to different contractors. Thomas Alexander agreed to lath and plaster the house for fifty dollars; Thomas J. Sample and William Burnett furnished the seats, desks and other necessary furnishings for forty-five dollars; Caleb B. Smith, afterwards in Lincoln's cabinet, contracted to paint the house, furnish the paint and brushes, for one dollar and twelve and one-half cents a day. The building, when completed, consisted of a hall and one room on the first floor, and on the second, a large room and a small room. In the large room were the grown boys and men and in the smaller room were the maps, charts, globes and other paraphernalia of the school. On the lower floor was an elevated platform running lengthwise with the room on which were seated the young women and girls, the smaller girls being seated in front of the older ones. On the opposite side of the room were the boys seated on wooden benches which extended crosswise with the room.
The building was not completed at the time specified in the contract, but was finished in time to begin school on July 13, 1829. According to an official notice issued by the school clerk. Caleb B. Smith, "the establishment of a seminary has been at the expense of the county, and the object of the managers is to afford to the youth of the county an opportunity of acquiring a good academic education." School opened on the above date with Samuel W. Parker, later member of Congress, as principal.
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370
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
TWO COURSES OF STUDY.
The original plan provided for two courses of study and the school year was divided into four terms. First, there was to be the elementary school, followed by a so-called English scientific course, the latter being divided into two classes, namely, the junior and senior. In the elementary school was taught orthography, reading, penmanship and arithmetic (Pike's sys- tem) through the "rule of practice." In the junior year arithmetic was completed, and Greenleaf's English grammar, ancient and modern geography (Worcester), bookkeeping through single entry, elements of history with historical charts (Worcester) and weekly recitations in declamation and composition. The senior year comprised rhetoric (Jame- son), logic (Hodge), natural philosophy and chemistry (Keating), algebra (Bonnycastle), geometry (Playfair), surveying (Gummerie) and mensura- tion (Bonnycastle). Tuition for these courses was two, three and five dollars, respectively. Latin, Greek and French could be taken with higher mathe- matics if applied for. Upon the completion of the course of study the stu- dent was given a diploma, and those completing it in part were given certifi- cates of progress. The greatest number of pupils in attendance at one time was about one hundred.
Subsequent early teachers in the seminary were Elder M. Bradley, a graduate of Brown University, and Harvey Nutting, who was graduated from Amherst College. Nutting also taught school in the basement of the Methodist church, now the German Presbyterian church.
After the academy building had been occupied a few years the need of a school bell became manifest and on Christmas Day, 1833, a subscrip- tion paper was circulated for the purpose of raising funds for the purchase of a bell that was to cost thirty dollars and fifty cents.
The seminary continued in operation until the adoption of the present state Constitution in 1852, and thereafter it appears that a private school was in operation for three years. In the summer of 1855 the school trustees of the town decided to acquire the old seminary building and use it for public- school purposes. It was decided to tear down the old building and erect a new structure and during the following year the old seminary building was torn down. Thus came to an end the seminary history of Fayette county.
371.
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
CONNERSVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
There were no public schools in Connersville under the 1816 Constitution. . Such schools as were in operation prior to 1852 were maintained by private funds and the schools were either what were known as "subscription" schools or tuitional schools. Owing to the fact that all these schools of early times were private affairs, there are no official records extant concerning them. The names of some of the teachers have been preserved, but it is impossible to give a consecutive history of the schools. Of course, after the opening of the county seminary in Connersville in 1829 that institution was liberally patronized by the citizens of the town, but this was not a town school, and is not to be so considered. It was a county institution and the only school in the county supported by public funds.
Just who the first teacher was in Connersville, where he held forth, what he taught, or what the length of the term may have been, are points upon which the historian is left to conjecture. The best evidence indicates that one Charles Donovan (or Dawson) opened a school about 1823 in a building which stood on the east side of what is now Central avenue. The same pedagogue subsequently taught in a log building on the east side of Central avenue, immediately south of Third street. Some time in the twen- ties, and before the establishment of the seminary in 1829, school was con- ducted in an abandoned dwelling on Central avenue. No records of these early schools are in existence, but it is known that in addition to Donovan, two men, Gilbert and Gray, had taught in the village before 1828.
EARLY ACADEMY FOR FEMALES.
One of the very early female academies in this section of the country was opened in Connersville in 1830 by a woman named Haines. A woman of the name of Stone also was a teacher. The school was conducted in the basement of the Presbyterian church, the site of which in later years was occupied by the Caldwell pork house and still later by the Andre theater. Although the school was supposed to be for girls only, the names of William Hankins, David Mount and Thaddeus Lewis were among the names of young boys enrolled. The pupils of the school used to spend their recess periods playing in the canal bed, at that time in the course of construction.
Private schools were also conducted in the early days. The Mrs. Stone above referred to was a teacher in the female academy, taught school in her own home, a one-story house that stood on the site of the Michael Shoeing
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FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
building. A Mrs. Earl also taught a private school in her one-room cabin. A school designated as the "Female Academy" was conducted by Mrs. Haines, wife of Doctor Haines, in a brick house on the site of the present Fifth street school building during the early period.
Very early the basement of the old Methodist church, now the Ger- man Presbyterian church, was used for school purposes. Up to about 1840 the church trustees furnished the room where many subscription schools were held in the period from about 1834 to 1840.
In 1843 the territory comprising the village of Connersville and vicinity was styled school district No. 7, of which Josiah Mullikin and Richard Winchel were the trustees. They employed John B. Tate to teach the com- mon branches in the village of Connersville for a term of six months, begin- ning on May 17, 1843, for which he was to receive a salary of twenty- two dollars a month.
In the absence of all records, a complete list of teachers in Conners- ville prior to 1853 cannot be given, but among the teachers in addition to those previously mentioned, were J. G. Edgerton, Harriet McIntosh, the Reverend Nelson, the Reverend Jenkins and a woman whose name was Ginn.
SCHOOL BOARD DEVISES A PLAN.
After the adoption of the free public school system in Indiana in 1852, the school board, composed of Messrs. Hagerman, Crawford and Applegate, in September, 1853, adopted the following resolution :
Whereas, The graded free public school presents advantages not to be found in the older systems, it is desirable to have introduced into the corporation schools as soon as possible, but in view of the expense involved in paying for tuition and other contingencies which would follow on the adoption of said system in all its provisions, and in the further consideration that all the means to be used in buying grounds and building school honses are yet to be provided, it is thought advisable to introduce a plan. The corporation school trustees shall furnish schoolrooms, including furniture, together with fuel to warm the same, on condition, first, the trustee must have satis- factory assurance that proper inducement will be presented to secure as many pupils as may be thought advisable. Second, that proper efforts will be made to introduce and carry ont the plan in compliance with such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the person or persons whose duty it may be to direct and control the same. All teachers engaging under this management will fix their own price of tuition, and make their own collections.
Be It Further Resolved, That to execute the above plan the corporation school tros- teés shall appoint an educational committee to be composed of two branches, first an executive branch to consist of three members, whose duty it shall be to prepare all the rules and regulations necessary in carrying out said system. viz., to receive the aj pli-
373
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
cation of teachers, and to make all proper arrangements to enable them (the teachers) to enter upon the discharge of their duties, to arrange the division of the grades, to select a series of text-books, and, in short, attend to all such duties as devolve upon the general superintendent of the district school. They will apply to the corporation school board for the schoolroom, when wanted, and for any repairs or material of any kind which may be required. Second, an auxiliary branch to be composed of three members from each of the three school districts, whose duty it shall be to assist the teachers in making up their schools, and also to confer with the citizens generally on the subject of the above management, giving all the information necessary to encourage and promote the desired success.
The executive committee appointed according to the above conditions were Rev. J. B. Brownlee, Rev. E. G. Wood and Rev. William Pelan. The auxiliary committee consisted of Joseph Justice, James Miller and James Mount, district No. 1; William Hawk, N. H. Burk and Alexander Morrison, district No. 2; William Brown, William Tindall and John Farner, district No. 3.
A suitable building could not be procured at this particular time and the idea of opening a school had to be abandoned temporarily. Subsequently a new school board was elected consisting of N. H. Burk, J. Justice and E. B. Thomas, and they remained in office until after the erection of a school building.
In 1854 nine teachers were employed in the Connersville school. They were Hannah Ginn. O. Aborn, L. J. Beach, Eleanor Jones, Catherine Farner, Harriet McIntosh, John W. McLain, H. R. Grosvenor and Euphemia Mulli- kin. The male teachers received thirty-six dollars a month, and the females, twenty dollars. The school enumeration for 1854 was six hundred and twelve; the number enrolled during the year was four hundred and twenty- nine; average daily attendance, two hundred and forty-nine.
FIRST FREE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
In September, 1855, the county commissioners leased the seminary lot for a period of ninety-nine years to the city school board and preparations were made for the erection of a school building. The building as com -. pleted in 1858 was eighty-six feet long and sixty-nine and one-half feet wide, three stories high, the first and second floors containing four rooms each, thirty-five by thirty-feet. Twelve-foot halls extended the entire breadth of the building. One-half of the third floor was finished for chapel purposes, Friday afternoon exercises and school exhibitions. This building stood until condemned in 1893.
The first free public school in Connersville opened in the new building in
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FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the fall of 1858 with John Brady as superintendent. He held the position until 1860 and from that date until 1865 Harvey Nutting was in charge of the schools. Charles Roehl was elected superintendent in 1865 and served in that capacity for two years. During these two years, the free school system was employed during the first six months and the remainder of the school term was taught as a subscription school. J. L. Rippetoe was selected as superintendent in 1867 and served four years. During his admin- istration the school term was lengthened to eight months in 1867, and to nine months in 1868. Several changes in the manner of instruction were introduced under his management. In 1871 a man of the name of Hughes was elected superintendent, remaining one year, and he was succeeded by one Housekeeper, who was compelled to resign on account of poor health before the close of the school year. In 1873 J. L. Rippetoe again assumed the management of the schools and continued in that capacity until 1885.
GRADUATES OF CONNERSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL.
It is impossible to trace in detail the history of the Connersville public schools during the two decades, 1858-1878, at the end of which the first class was graduated from the high school. The names of several of the teachers during this period, and all of the superintendents have been previously given. There are no official records which will show the character of the work done, whether there was a regular high-school course in operation, or whether the schools were graded. There were high-school subjects given during the seventies, but it is evident that the course was not planned with a view to graduation, since the first class did not graduate until 1878. In the fall of 1877, W. J. Bourn is designated as having been principal of the high school. Who he was, or where he came from, the local records do not state.
Since that year there has been a class of graduates to complete the high school each year, and a tabulated summary of the graduates shows that there have been six hundred and eighteen who have received the diploma from the high school.
The first graduating class from the Connersville high school held its exercises on June 14, 1878, at which time nine graduates made their bow to the public. Since that time there have been a total of 618 graduates, 218 boys and 400 girls. To this should be added a considerable number who, during the first twenty-five years, were denied a diploma because they did not study Latin. A tabulated summary of the number and sex of the grad- uates since 1878 is given below.
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FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA. -
Year.
Boys.
Girls.
Total.
Year.
Boys.
Girls.
Total.
1878
2
7
9
1899
3
II
14
1879
4
4
1900
3
8
II
1880
3
3
I90I
1881
2
9
II
1902
5
IO
15
1882
2
5
7
1903
4
5
9
1883
4
IO
14
1904
5
6
II
1884
9
9
1905
1
8
12
1885
IO
IO
1906
5
IO
15
1886
I
8
9
1907
8
II
19
1887
6
9
15
1908
16
18
34
1888
2
9
II
1909
16
13
29
1889
I
II
12
1910
16
9
25
1890
4
3
7
19II
14
17
31
1891
2
9
II
1913
7
18
25
1893
3
8
II
1914
14
23
37
1894
6
8
14
1915
17
27
44
1895
IO
5
15
1916
9
30
39
1896
7
16
23
1897
5
II
16
Total
218
400
618
1898
8
3
II
1912
I5
22
37
1892
3
8
CITY SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
There was only one building in the city for public school purposes between 1858 and 1888. In that year the present Eighth street building was erected. This building has eight rooms. In 1893 the old building which stood on Fifth street was replaced by the present structure, also an eight-room building. In 1894, the northern section, known as Maplewood was annexed to the city. The building was considerably enlarged about 1900. In 1915 the Maplewood building was remodeled, a large addition built, and to all intents was made a new building, with every convenience which modern school architecture demanded. The present magnificent high school building was built in 1904 at a cost of sixty thousand dollars. It contains twenty rooms, and a number of other rooms used for offices and for various other purposes. Thus at the present time the city owns four school buildings, and all of them are equipped to meet all of the modern demands of school work. When the high school building was completed in 1904, women of
II
15
1
1
1
1
1
376
FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the city started an agitation to have nothing but the best of classical pic- tures and statuary in the different school buildings. The different clubs of the town co-operated in buying pictures and statuary for each room, and within two years they placed seven hundred and fifty dollars worth of pic- tures and works of art in the various rooms.
SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS.
The first course of study, or "School Manual," as it was called, was issued in 1891, by W. F. L. Sanders, and since that time there have been others published, in 1907 and 1912, each carrying a five-year period. These reports are prepared by the superintendent and contain a wide variety of information concerning the schools of the city. The report for 1916-17 is now being prepared by Superintendent E. L. Rickert. and will be a work of more than one hundred and fifty pages. In addition to these reports of the superintendents at various times, Superintendent Guy M. Wilson issued a course of study in mathematics in 1911. These official publica- tions have been supplemented at times by an "Annual" produced by the senior class of the high school. These "Annuals" are very valuable compendiums of historical material and throw an interesting light upon the progress of the high school from year to year. A school paper called The Clarion is in the fourth year of its publication.
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