History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 13

Author: Stormont, Gil R
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen
Number of Pages: 1284

USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 13

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

It was the general custom in those days to study the lessons aloud, each pupil conning his spelling and reading lesson aloud or in an audible whisper. The droning of the words in spelling was frequently accompanied by a rhythmical swaying of the head and body backwards and forwards, generally in time to the syllabication of the words.

There was one great requisite on the part of every pioneer teacher-he must be a good disciplinarian. The most important query usually put to an applicant was. "Can you govern? Can you make the scholars stand around ? Can you handle the big boys?" When this point was settled affirmatively in the minds of the district school directors, the applicant was generally sure of being employed, irrespective of other qualifications. It was primarily a ques- tion of "no lickin', no larnin'," in those days.

The schoolmaster was a veritable Squeers. Beech and hickory switches. of which he always kept a good supply, constituted the persuading and cor- rective features of his instruction. The daily application of the rod or "ferule" was considered just as necessary by some teachers as was the conning of the spelling lesson or the noon hour lunch. Some teachers made it a point to patrol the room regularly and whacked each pupil over the shoulders whether he needed it or not. This type of schoolmaster was "one of those old-fashioned teachers who gave the impression that he would rather beat a boy than not, and would even like to eat one if he could find a good excuse. He whipped for poor lessons; he whipped for speaking in school; he took down his switch for not speaking loud enough in class; he whipped for com- ing late to school; he whipped because a scholar made a noise with his feet, and he whipped because he himself had eaten something unwholesome for breakfast."-Eggleston.

There was generally very little system, method or school room art mani- fest in the pioneer schoolkeeping days. In some districts the first pupil to arrive in the morning was the first one to recite, there usually being one scholar to the class. After the first lesson was heard there were frequently

I36

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

exciting and amusing scrambles to recite, the general rule being that pupils were to recite in the order in which they reached the teacher's side. Every pupil was usually in a class by himself, there being as many classes as there were pupils. The pioneer teacher rarely grouped his pupils into classes, such a method of recitation apparently never entering his mind. The individual method, however, possessed some solid advantages which the group method of the present day sadly lacks.

The course of study in the log cabin school house during the first genera- tion was not a very extensive affair. It usually consisted of reading, writing, spelling and ciphering to the single rule of three or simple proportion. Some of the teachers were not able to teach ciphering, but one was found occasion- ally who could even do compound proportion or "the double rule of three." The latter was considered a prodigy in the early days. The earliest arithme- tics used were Guthrie's, Smiley's and Pike's, the last being the one most often referred to. The New Testament and Murray's English Reader were the common reading books, although the custom was, in the pioneer days, for the pupil to bring any book he might happen to have at home. Some of these books were the Bible, hymn books, books of religious poems, Fox's "Book of Martyrs," Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," Aesop's Fables, Weem's "Life of Washington," Grimshaw's "History of England," Flint's "Natural His- tory" and Emma Willard's "History of the United States." Webster's old "Blue Back" Elementary Speller was almost universally used.

An extended course in spelling always preceded the reading. The scholar progressed gradually from "a-b ab" to "incomprehensibility." After a prolonged apprenticeship in spelling the words, and in pronouncing them at sight, reading was taken up. The speller contained progressive lessons in reading, made up of short, pithy moral sentences and pointed stories, which usually contained one or more words used in connection with the annexed spelling lesson.

Great stress was placed upon spelling by the old schoolmasters. It was a universal custom in the country schools, even up to and later than 1850, for the whole school to stand up twice a day and spell for head. Upon one day in the week, usually Friday, the afternoon was given over to a spelling match in which the whole school took part. The custom when spelling was to pronounce the word first, then spell and pronounce each syllable separately, repeating each of the preceding syllables in connection with the syllable last spelled, then pronounce the whole word again when completed.

In some of these early schools, when the scholars had read and studied

I37

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

the spelling book through and through several times and could pronounce all of the words at sight, they were formally set to reading.

Writing usually followed spelling and reading. Quill pens were uni- versally used in the earlier days, there being at that time no lead or slate pencils. It was one of the requirements of the schoolmaster that he should be able to fashion pens out of goosequills. Copy books were usually made of sheets of foolscap paper sewed together. Home-made ink was made by mixing together the inner bark of the maple with copperas, or from sumac and oak balls in vinegar. Pokeberry juice was sometimes used, but on ac- count of its tendency to sour it never came into general use. The most com- mon type of inkstand of that period was made from a section of cow's horn which was fitted into water-tight wooden bottles. Pewter and lead were also used for making inkstands.

During the writing recitation the scholars sat on a bench by the long shelf or table under the window. If they were beginners they practiced on making the "pot hooks and hangers" that constituted the first exercises. If they were further advanced, they followed the copy set by the master, this copy usually consisting of some moral or literary gem worth remembering, such as "Commandments ten, God gave to men."

After writing, the subject of arithmetic or ciphering was usually taken up. This was practically limited to the boys, as the girls were not con- sidered, as a rule, to have "heads for figures." Occasionally the girls would take up grammar or geography when these branches happened to be taught. which was not very often. Grammar was seldom looked upon with favor, it being considered an absolute waste of time to study it.

Indiana was admitted as a state in 1816. The system of schools in the first generation lasted, therefore, until about 1850. A number of new and better text-books were introduced during the latter part of this generation. McGuffey's readers and spellers became very popular, as did also Ray's arith- metic, which was introduced in 1848. This arithmetic took the place of the older Guthrie's. Smiley's and Pike's, and introduced dollars and cents instead of shillings and pence as a form of money exchange. The more advanced teachers now taught "square and cube roots" in addition to the single and double rule of three. The best types of schools used Olney's or Mitchell's geographies, Kirkham's grammar, Goodrich's history and Comstock's physiology.

The county seminaries, established by the state Legislature in the early twenties, were distributed liberally through the state in about half of the

I38

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

counties. These institutions, in connection with private academies, formed the basis for the higher public education in the state. Seventy-three private and incorporated schools were opened between 1825 and 1850. These seminaries and private schools constituted the first approach to the present high school system. Types of each of these schools have already been given in the discussion of the schools in Princeton.

Notwithstanding the leavening influence of these institutions in connec- tion with the rural school districts, the school system of Indiana before 1850 was woefully lame. Free schools were considered by many as undemocratic and those who objected to them were bitterly opposed to taxing themselves to educate other people's children. The idea had not yet become prevalent that it is the right and the duty of the state through the taxation of all its citizens, to provide every child with an education. A member of the Legis- lature in 1837 declared, during the discussion of a proposed school tax, "When I die, I want my epitaph written, 'Here lies an enemy to free schools!'" (Boone, Richard G .; History of Education, p. 87.) In 1833 it was esti- mated by a competent educator that "only about one child in eight between five and fifteen years was able to read."

Caleb Mills, a thoroughly progressive educator from New Hampshire, settled in Indiana in 1833. During the next decade and a half he labored incessantly to create a more enlightened educational sentiment in Indiana and to reduce the large per cent of illiteracy. Principally as a result of his agitation the Legislature of 1847-48 passed an enactment allowing the peo- ple of the state to vote for or against a proposition to tax themselves for the support of free schools.

The election for this purpose was held in the fall of 1848, and the propo- sition was carried by a majority of 16,636 for free schools ; 78,523 votes were cast in the affirmative and 61,887 in the negative.

The Legislature of 1848-49 enacted a new school law, authorizing publie taxation for schools, but leaving the people of cach county free to accept or reject the law as they chose. An election for this purpose was held in August, 1849, and the result was a majority in favor of the law of 15.767. Fifty- nine counties voted in the affirmative and of the thirty-one that voted against the law twenty were in the southern half of the state.

According to the Indiana census of 1850 there were at that time nearly seventy-five thousand people over the age of twenty-one who could not read. "Forty thousand voters could not read the ballot they voted, and nearly thirty- five thousand mothers could not teach their children the alphabet." (Conklin, Julia S., Young People's History of Indiana, p. 215.)

I39

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

The new state Constitution of Indiana was adopted on February 10. 1851, and became the law November 1, 1851. A new era in education began with the ratification of the new Constitution. The pioneer period was over.

Following the adoption of the Constitution, the Legislature of 1852 supplemented and amplified the educational provisions contained therein and thus laid a broad basis for future educational development. By enactment of this Legislature the township became the political and the school unit of the state, Indiana being the first state to adopt the township as the school unit.

By the Legislature of 1852, a law was passed providing for the sale of all county seminaries, the funds to be used for the benefit of the common schools. A general tax of ten cents on each one hundred dollars was also provided for school tuition purposes. Section 130 of the same act declared that "The voters of any township shall have power at any general or special meeting to vote a tax for the purpose of building or repairing school houses and purchasing site therefor, providing fuel, furniture, maps, apparatus, libraries, or increase thereof, and for continuing their schools after the public school funds shall have been expended, to any amount not exceeding annually fifty cents on each one hundred dollars of property and fifty cents on each poll."

Thus were free schools ushered in for the first time in Indiana. Up to this time secondary education was popularly relegated to private enterprises and religious denominations and it was still a question in the minds of a large proportion of the people whether it was right to tax everybody for the main- tenance of the common schools. Under the provisions made by the law of 1852, however, new school houses were rapidly erected, graded schools were organized all over the state, and within a few years many of the larger towns and cities had excellent high schools.

Just at the time, however, that educational progress had gained an ex- cellent start a severe blow was given it by an unfavorable decision of the supreme court of Indiana. In 1858 the court declared unconstitutional the laws permitting local taxation, on the ground that these laws were not "gen- eral and uniform" as required by the Constitution. This decision proved disastrous not only to the common schools but caused the abandonment of every high school in the state.

In 1865 the Legislature passed the same law with different wording and this was soon afterwards declared constitutional by the supreme court.

I40

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

MORE ON GIBSON COUNTY EARLY SCHOOLS.

No complete record is extant concerning many of the first schools of this county, for the pioneers made, but seemed to have little time to preserve, history. It is generally conceded, however, from such facts as have been preserved in printed page and memory, that the first school house was erected about 1807-08, in the northern part of White River township, in the Robb settlement, and soon thereafter in two or more other localities.

Of this first school house it may be related that the structure was a one- story log house with clap-board roof and puncheon floor; the roof was held on by weight-poles made fast by hickory withes; it had windows of greased paper to admit the light, a portion of a log being left out on each side to make room for a substitute for glass. . A large fireplace extended across the entire rear end of the room, which was made of clay and sticks forming a chimney in which on cold days a roaring fire of logs, piled high, sent out heat ; the schoolmaster took good care to have his seat in the warm corner of the room. The fine desks of modern days had no place there, but slabs fastened up around the side of the house by pegs driven into the logs answered as a writing and ciphering table, while puncheon benches served for seats. The pupils all faced the walls when studying, but ranged themselves in a semi- circle in front of the fireplace when called to recite. In those primitive days the varied apparatus to be found in most of our school houses at the present day had no place, no maps faced the wall, neither did a globe or Webster's "unabridged" have a place on the teacher's desk, if desk there chanced to be. No disagreeable chalk dust filled the room, for no blackboard was used. The three rudiments-reading, writing and arithmetic-were the principal studies, the writing being done with goose quills from ink made by boiling in water the outer and inner bark of the maple with copperas, which formed a black fluid. The early schools of the county were subscription schools; the teach- ers generally boarding round from house to house, among the patrons of the school, and receiving their salary in money or produce. The school houses heing few and far between, it was no uncommon thing for the pupils to have to trudge three, four or even five miles morning and evening to get a little schooling. The teachers, generally, were poorly educated, if stories told of them are to be believed, and in many instances sadly needing to be taught themselves. Most of them were proficient in wielding the rod. It is related of one of the early teachers that he would occasionally get drunk during the school hours and vary the program of exercises by whipping the whole school, beginning on his own poor boys first, by way of getting his hand in.

14I

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

It is believed that the second school taught in Gibson county was by Joseph Duncan, an Eastern man who was better educated than the average man of this section. He taught school here in 1808 in an old log cabin, situated at the spring in the southeast corner of section 2, a half mile west and north of where now Owensville stands. In 1810 William Woods taught in the Williamson settlement, in a small log building, with a fire place in both ends, and a log was left out on one side over which was pasted greased paper to admit the light. Mr. Woods "boarded 'round," as they called it. In 1811 John Johnson taught in the same place, and in 1812 Adley Donald taught in a little log cabin which stood on the south side of the branch, in what is now Princeton. This cabin had previously been occupied by one of the pioneers. It stood on what is now South Main street. David Burch also taught in the same building, later. In 1817 another log school house was built opposite the corner where the United Presbyterian church now stands. This was only used a year or two, and after the erection of the frame Covenanter church, school was taught in it until the erection of the brick seminary building in 1830. Teachers who taught in these buildings were Solomon D. King, John Coursley, Matthew Cunningham and William Chittenden. Ira Bostwick taught a subscription school in the old Covenanter church immediately after it was finished. Major James Smith was another early teacher in Princeton. John Kell also taught a subscription school about 1820. In 1823 William Chittenden taught a private school in his own dwelling. In 1818 William Putnam taught a school in what is now Barton township, in a cabin of one of the old settlers, the building being located on section 7, township 3, range 9 west. George Sharp and James Simpson were others who taught early schools in the county.

Year after year and decade after decade, the schools of the county in- creased in number and, generally speaking, in efficiency, until in 1884, when the county school superintendent (H. A. Yeager) reported that at that date there were in Gibson county white and colored children of school age amount- ing to a total of 7,833, divided among the various townships as follows : Barton township, 705; Center, 562; Columbia, 369: Johnson, 1,004; Mont- gomery, 1,091 ; Patoka, 997; Wabash, 125; Washington, 524: White River, 911 ; in Princeton corporation, 1,072; in Oakland City corporation, 473.

At that date there were fourteen graded schools in this county, Prince- ton, Fort Branch, Oakland, Owensville, Haubstadt, Patoka, Hazelton, Fran- cisco, Somerville, Snake Run, in Barton township: Gravel and Black River, in Montgomery township; Ennes, in Washington township; and Orr, in

142

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Patoka township. Thirty years ago, 1883, the following is shown by the reports to have been the condition of schools in Gibson county :

White River township had nine frame school houses and fifteen teachers.

Montgomery township had one brick and sixteen frame buildings and one log schoolhouse, with twenty-three teachers.

Columbia township and Patoka township had eight frame buildings and eight teachers.

Washington township had ten frame buildings and eleven teachers.

Patoka township had twenty-three frame houses and twenty-four teachers.

Center township had nine frame buildings and eleven teachers.

Barton township had twelve frame buildings and fourteen teachers.

Johnson township had thirteen frame houses and fifteen teachers.

Wabash township had four frame houses and four teachers.

City of Princeton had one brick and two frame buildings and seventeen teachers.

City of Oakland had one brick and one frame building and six teachers.

The total number of school houses in this county was then one hundred and eleven, of which one hundred and seven were frame, one log and three brick. The number of teachers employed was one hundred and forty-eight, and the amount of school property was estimated at one hundred twelve thousand three hundred and seventy dollars. This was the showing made in 1883-84.

SCHOOL STATISTICS FOR YEAR ENDING AUGUST 1, 1913.

The subjoined is from the last report of the county school superintendent of Gibson county. It is the 1912-13 report made to the state :

Barton township had enrolled 436 pupils ; an average attendance of 364; number of frame school houses, 13; value of all schoolhouses, $29,000.

Center township enrollment. 412 ; average attendance, 350 ; frame houses, 9; brick, I ; valuation of school houses, $25,000 ; number volumes in library, 1,200.

Columbia township, number enrolled, 218; average attendance, 91 ; frame schoolhouses, 9: value of school houses, $9,000.

Johnson township, enrolled, 227 ; average attendance, 185 ; number frame buildings, 6; brick, 3; books in library, 500; valuation of school houses, $17,500.

Montgomery township, enrolled 960: average attendance, 720; number

143

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of schoolhouses, 18 frame and 1 brick; volumes in library, 1,200; value of schoolhouses, $30,000.

Patoka township, enrolled. 644; average attendance, 413; frame build- ings 15, brick 3 ; valuation of buildings, $21,885.

Union township, enrolled, 572 ; average attendance, 428; number frame schoolhouses 8 and brick 2: valuation of buildings, $40,000; books in library, 1,100.

Wabash township, enrolled, 211 ; average attendance, 88; number frame schoolhouses, 8: valuation of buildings, $6,000.

Washington township, enrolled, 407 ; average attendance, 319: buildings, Il frame and I brick; valuation of buildings, $18,200: books in library, 477.

White River township, enrolled, 720; average attendance, 534; buildings, 9 frame and I brick; valuation of buildings, $28,000.

City of Oakland, enrollment, 549; average attendance, 435; two brick school houses, valued at $30,000; books in library, 1,050.

City of Princeton, enrollment, 1,440; average attendance, 1,229; number schoolhouses, one frame and four brick, with new buildings for 1913 costing $75,000.

Grand total of value of schoolhouses in county, $254,700.

Grand total of enrollment in county, 6,796 ; average attendance, 5,030.

Total number schoolhouses in county, 117 frame and 18 brick.

Total number books in libraries in schools of county, 5,797.

Total number enrolled in the high schools of county, 521 ; number gradu- ates in county, 85.

Number teachers in county, 101 males, white, colored four ; of females, white 125, of colored. seven-total, 237.

Total amount paid to all teachers, $116,732.08.

Total amount on hand for all schools in January, 1913, $30,165.

Total amount on hand for all schools in country, $22,736.

SCHOOL EXAMINERS, COMMISSIONERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS.

The predecessor of the present county superintendent of schools runs in this line from the earliest date :

First, the law of 1824 provided for the election of three trustees in each township, a part of whose duties it was to examine teachers and grant licenses. No educational qualifications were required of the "examiners."

Second, the law of 1831 provided for a school commissioner for each

144

GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.

county, whose duty it was to look after the finances of the local school corporations. He served for a term of three years.

Third, the law of 1833 provided for the election of three sub-trustees in each district who were to hold office one year. These persons examined applicants for schools.

Fourth, the law of 1837 authorized the circuit court to appoint annually three examiners whose duty it was to examine teachers.

Fifth, the law of 1849 abolished the office of school commissioner of counties, and retained the three school examiners above mentioned, in each county, and substituted one trustee in the township for the three before employed.

Sixth, the law of 1859 made the number of township trustees one in- stead of three. In 1861 the law provided for one examiner with a term of three years for the three that had held office heretofore in each county. The appointive power was in the hands of the county commissioners. Examina- tions were now for first time made public.

Seventh-In 1873 the law was changed again and the old system of commissioners, examiners and trustees was all wiped out and the office of county superintendent of schools was created and is still in operation.

The following are the persons who have served since 1852:

School Examiner-Jacob F. Bird, 1852; W. T. Stilwell.

School Superintendent-W. T. Stilwell, 1873; Henry A. Yeager, Wood- fin D. Robinson, Thos. W. Cullen, Henry Neikamp, John T. Ballard, John F. Fulling, Wilbur F. Fisher.

OAKLAND CITY COLLEGE.

Oakland Institute was the original name of the present Oakland City Col- lege. The two-story brick school building was erected in the years 1868 and 1869 by a number of citizens of Oakland, the building costing a sum of eight thousand dollars. The school was at first a subscription school, and the first superintendent was Prof. Lee Tomlin. The college did not succeed, however, at first, and was sold to the township in 1877, to be used as a public school building. Later new and larger buildings were erected and the capacity has been increased from year. to year until now Oakland City College has every modern equipment for educational work.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 13

Author: Stormont, Gil R Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen Number of Pages: 1284

Author: Stormont, Gil R
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F.Bowen
Number of Pages: 1284