History of Jackson County, Indiana, Part 19

Author: Brant & Fuller
Publication date: 1886
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 759

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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).

On the opening of the Exposition, Oct. 7, 1874, addresses were delivered by the President of the Board, Hon. John Sutherland, and by Govs. Hendricks, Bigler and Pollock. Yvon's celebrated painting, the "Great Republic," was unveiled with great ceremony, and many distinguished guests were present to witness it.

The exhibition of 1875 showed that the plate glass from the southern part of the State was equal to the finest French plate; that the force-blowers made in the eastern part of the State was of & world-wide reputation; that the State has within its bounds the largest wagon manufactory in the world; that in other parts of the State there were all sorts and sizes of manufactories, including roll- ing mills and blast furnaces, and in the western part coal was mined and shipped at the rate of 2,500 tons a day from one vicinity; and many other facts, which "would astonish the citizens of Indiana themselves even more than the rest of the world."

INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

This society was organized in 1842, thus taking the lead in the West. At this time Henry Ward Beecher was a resident of Indian- apolis, engaged not only as a minister but also as editor of the Indiana Farmer and Gardener, and his influence was very exten- sive in the interests of horticulture, floriculture and farming. Prominent among his pioneer co-laborers were Judge Coburn,

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Aaron Aldridge, Capt. James Sigarson, D. V. Culley, Reuben Ragan, Stephen Hampton, Cornelius Ratliff, Joshua Lindley, Abner Pope and many others. In the autumn of this year the society held an exhibition, probably the first in the State, if not in the West, in the hall of the new State house. The only pre- mium offered was a set of silver teaspoons for the best seedling apple, which was won by Reuben Ragan, of Putnam county, for an apple christened on this occasion the "Osceola."

The society gave great encouragement to the introduction of new varieties of fruit, especially of the pear, as the soil and cli- mate of Indiana were well adapted to this fruit. But the bright horizon which seemed to be at this time looming up all around the field of the young society's operations was suddenly and thoroughly darkened by the swarm of noxious insects, diseases, blasts of win- ter and the great distance to market. The prospects of the cause scarcely justified a continuation of the expense of assembling from remote parts of the State, and the meetings of the society therefore soon dwindled away until the organization itself became quite extinct.

But when, in 1852 and afterward, railroads began to traverse the State in all directions, the Legislature provided for the organization of a State Board of Agriculture, whose scope was not only agri- culture but also horticulture and the mechanic and household arts. The rapid growth of the State soon necessitated a differentiation of this body, and in the autumn of 1860, at Indianapolis, there was organized the

INDIANA POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

October 18, Reuben Ragan was elected President and Wm H. Loomis, of Marion county, Secretary. The constitution adopted provided for biennial meetings in January, at Indianapolis. At the first regular meeting, Jan. 9, 1861, a committee-man for each congressional district was appointed, all of them together to be known as the "State Fruit Committee," and twenty-five members were enrolled during this session. At the regular meeting in 1863 the constitution was so amended as to provide for annual sessions, and the address of the newly elected President, Hon. I. G. D. Nel- son, of Allen county, urged the establishment of an agricultural college. He continued in the good cause until his work was .crowned with success.

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In 1864 there was but little done on account of the exhaust- ive demands of the great war; and the descent of mercury 60° in. eighteen hours did so much mischief as to increase the discourage- ment to the verge of despair. The title of the society was at this. meeting, Jan., 1864 changed to that of the Indiana Horticultural Society.

The first several meetings of the society were mostly devoted to. revision of fruit lists; and although the good work, from its vast- ness and complication, became somewhat monotonous, it has been no exception in this respect to the law that all the greatest and most productive labors of mankind require perseverance and toil.

In 1866, George M. Beeler, who had so indefatigably served as secretary for several years, saw himself hastening to his grave, and showed his love for the cause of fruit culture by bequeathing to the society the sum of $1,000. This year also the State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction was induced to take a copy of the Society's transactions for each of the township libraries in the State, and this enabled the Society to bind its volume of proceedings in a substantial manner.

At the meeting in 1867 many valuable and interesting papers: were presented, the office of corresponding secretary was created, and the subject of Legislative aid was discussed. The State Board of Agriculture placed the management of the horticultural depart- ment of the State fair in the care of the Society.

The report for 1868 shows for the first time a balance on hand,. after paying expenses, the balance being $61.55. Up to this time the Society had to take care of itself,-meeting current expenses, do- ing its own printing and binding, "boarding and clothing itself," and diffusing annually an amount of knowledge utterly incalcu- lable. During the year called meetings were held at Salem, in the. peach and grape season, and evenings during the State fair, which was held in Terre Haute the previous fall. The State now assumed the cost of printing and binding, but the volume of transactions. was not quite so valuable as that of the former year.

: In 1870 8160 was given to this Society by the State Board of Agriculture, to be distributed as prizes for essays, which object was faithfully carried out. The practice has since then been con- tinued.

In 1871 the Horticultural Society brought out the best volume. of papers and proceedings it ever has had published.

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In 1872 the office of corresponding secretary was discontinued; the appropriation by the State Board of Agriculture diverted to the payment of premiums on small fruits given at a show held the previous summer; results of the exhibition not entirely satisfac- tory.

In 1873 the State officials refused to publish the discussions of the members of the Horticultural Society, and the Legislature appropriated $500 for the purpose for each of the ensuing two years.

In 1875 the Legislature enacted a law requiring that one of the ' trustees of Purdue University shall be selected by the Horticultu- ral Society.

The aggregate annual membership of this society from its organ- ization in 1860 to 1875 was 1,225.

EDUCATION.

The subject of education has been referred to in almost every . gubernatorial message from the organization of the Territory to the present time. It is indeed the most favorite enterprise of the Hoosier State. In the first survey of Western lands, Congress set apart a section of land in every township, generally the 16th, for school purposes, the disposition of the land to be in hands of the residents of the respective townships. Besides this, to this State were given two entire townships for the use of a State Seminary, to be under the control of the Legislature. Also, the State con- stitution provides that all fines for the breach of law and all com- mutations for militia service be appropriated to the use of county seminaries. In 1825 the common-school lands amounted to 680,207 acres, estimated at $2 an acre, and valued therefore at $1,216,044. At this time the seminary at Bloomington, supported in part by one of these township grants, was very flourishing. The common schools, however, were in rather a poor condition.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

In 1852 the free-school system was fully established, which has resulted in placing Indiana in the lead of this great nation. Al- though this is a pleasant subject, it is a very large one to treat in a condensed notice, as this has to be.

The free-school system of Indiana first became practically oper- ative the first Monday of April, 1853, when the township trustees . . .

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for school purposes were elected through the State. The law com- mitted to them the charge of all the educational affairs in their respective townships. As it was feared by the opponents of the law that it would not be possible to select men in all the town- ships capable of executing the school laws satisfactorily, the people were thereby awakened to the necessity of electing their very best men; and although, of course, many blunders have been made by trustees, the operation of the law has tended to elevate the adult population as well as the youth; and Indiana still adheres to the policy of appointing its best men to educational positions. The result is a grand surprise to all old fogies, who indeed scarcely dare to appear such any longer.

To instruct the people in the new law and set the educational machinery going, a pamphlet of over 60 pages, embracing the law, with notes and explanations, was issued from the office of a super- intendent of public instruction, and distributed freely throughout the State. The first duty of the Board of Trustees was to establish and conveniently locate a sufficient number of schools for the edu- cation of all the children of their township. But where were the school-houses, and what were they? Previously they had been erected by single districts, but under this law districts were abol- ished, their lines obliterated, and houses previously built by dis- tricts became the property of the township, and all the houses were to be built at the expense of the township by an appropriation of township funds by the trustees. In some townships there was not a single school-house of any kind, and in others there were a few old, leaky, dilapidated log cabins, wholly unfit for use even in sum- mer, and in " winter worse than nothing." Before the people could be tolerably accommodated with schools at least 3,500 school-houses had to be erected in the State.

By a general law, enacted in conformity to the constitution of 1852, each township was made a municipal corporation, and every voter in the township a member of the corporation; the Board of Trustees constituted the township legislature as well as the execu- tive body, the whole body of voters, however, exercising direct con- trol through frequent meetings called by the trustees. Special taxes and every other matter of importance were directly voted upon.

Some tax-payers, who were opposed to special townships' taxes, retarded the progress of schools by refusing to pay their 888888- ment. Contracts for building school-houses were given up, houses

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half finished were abandoned, and in many townships all school operations were suspended. In some of them, indeed, a rumor was circulated by the enemies of the law that the entire school law from beginning to end had been declared by the Supreme Court uncon- stitutional and void; and the Trustees, believing this, actually dis- missed their schools and considered themselves out of office. Hon. W. C. Larrabee, the (first) Superintendent of Public Instruction, corrected this error as soon as possible.

But while the voting of special taxes was doubted on a constitu- tional point, it became evident that it was weak in a practical point; for in many townships the opponents of the system voted down every proposition for the erection of school-houses.

Another serious obstacle was the great deficiency in the number of qualified teachers. To meet the newly created want, the law authorized the appointment of deputies in each county to examine and license persons to teach, leaving it in their judgment to lower the standard of qualification sufficiently to enable them to license as many as were needed to supply all the schools. It was therefore found necessary to employ many " unqualified " teachers, especially in the remote rural districts. But the progress of the times enabled the Legislature of 1853 to erect a standard of qualifica- tion and give to the county commissioners the authority to license teachers; and in order to supply every school with a teacher, while there might not be a sufficient number of properly qualified teach- ers, the commissioners were authorized to grant temporary licenses to take charge of particular schools not needing a high grade of teachers.

In 1854 the available common-school fund consisted of the con- gressional township fund, the surplus revenue fund, the saline fund, the bank tax fund and miscellaneous fund, amounting in all to 82,460,600. This amount, from many sources, was subsequently increased to a very great extent. The common-school fund was intrusted to the several counties of the State, which were held responsible for the preservation thereof and for the payment of the annual interest thereon. The fund was managed by the auditors and treasurers of the several counties, for which these officers were allowed one-tenth of the income. It was loaned out to the citizens of the county in sums not exceeding $300, on real estate security. The common-school fund was thus consolidated and the proceeds equally distributed each year to all the townships, cities and towns

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of the State, in proportion to the number of children. This phase of the law met with considerable opposition in 1854.

The provisions of the law for the establishment of township libraries was promptly carried into effect, and much time, labor and thought were devoted to the selection of books, special atten- tion being paid to historical works.

The greatest need in 1854 was for qualified teachers; but never- theless the progress of public education during this and following years was very great. School-houses were erected, many of them being fine structures, well furnished, and the libraries were consid- erably enlarged.

The city school system of Indiana received a heavy set-back in 1858, by a decision of the Supreme Court of the State, that the law authorizing cities and townships to levy a tax additional to the State tax was not in conformity with that clause in the Constitu- tion which required uniformity in taxation. The schools were stopped for want of adequate funds. For a few weeks in each year thereafter the feeble " uniform " supply from the State fund en- abled the people to open the schools, but considering the returns the public realizes for so small an outlay in educational matters, this proved more expensive than ever. Private schools increased, but the attendance was small. Thus the interests of popular edu- cation languished for years. But since the revival of the free schools, the State fund has grown to vast proportions, and the schools of this intelligent and enterprising commonwealth compare favorably with those of any other portion of the United States.

There is no occasion to present all the statistics of school prog-' ress in this State from the first to the present time, but some interest will be taken in the latest statistics, which we take from the 9th Biennial Report (for 1877-'8) by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Hon. James H. Smart. This report, by the way, is a volume of 480 octavo pages, and is free to all who desire a copy.

The rapid, substantial and permanent increase which Indiana enjoys in her school interests is thus set forth in the above report.

Total Am't Paid

Year.

Length of School in Days.

No. of Teachers.

Attendance at School.

School Enumeration.

Teachers.

1855

4,016

206,994

445,791

$ 239,924

1860

7,649

303,744

495,019

481,020

1865

.66

9,493

402,813

557,092

1,020,440

1670.

11,826

462,527

619.627

1,810,866

1875

180

13,133

502,362

667,736

2,880,747

1878

129

13,676

512,585

699,153

3,065,968

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The increase of school population during the past ten years has been as follows:

Total in 1868, 592,805.

Increase for year ending

Sept. 1, 1869.

17,699

May 1, 1874.

13,922

1, 1870.

9,063

1, 1875.

13,372

₦ 1, 1871.

3,101

₩ 1, 1876

11,494

« 1, 1872.

8,811

1, 1877.

15,476

May 1, 1873 (8 months)

8,908

1, 1878 4,447

Total, 1878.

699,153

No. of white males

354,271; females

333,033

.687,304

" colored "

5,987; 4

5,912. 11,849

699,153.

Twenty-nine per cent. of the above are in the 49 cities and 212 incorporated towns, and 71 per cent. in the 1,011 townships.

The number of white males enrolled in the schools in 1878 was 267,315, and of white females, 237,739; total, 505,054; of colored males, 3,794; females, 3,687; total, 7,481; grand total, 512,535.

The average number enrolled in each district varies from 51 to 56, and the average daily attendance from 32 to 35; but many children reported as absent attend parochial or private schools. Seventy- three per cent. of the white children and 63 per cent. of the colored, in the State, are enrolled in the schools.

The number of days taught vary materially in the different town- ships, and on this point State Superintendent Smart iterates: " As long as the schools of some of our townships are kept open but 60 days and others 220 days, we do not have a uniform system,-such as was contemplated by the constitution. The school law requires the trustee of a township to maintain each of the schools in his corporation an equal length of time. This provision cannot be so easily applied to the various counties of the State, for the reason that there is a variation in the density of the population, in the wealth of the people, and the amount of the township funds. I . think, however, there is scarcely a township trustee in the State who cannot, under the present law, if he chooses to do so, bring his schools up to an average of six months. I think it would be wise. to require each township trustee to levy a sufficient local tax to maintain the schools at least six months of the year, provided this. can be done without increasing the local tax beyond the amount now permitted by law. This would tend to bring the poorer schools up to the standard of the best, and would thus unify the system, and make it indeed a common-school system."

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The State, however, averages six and a half months school per year to each district.

The number of school districts in the State in 1878 was 9,880, in all but 34 of which school was taught during that year. There are 396 district and 151 township graded schools. Number of white male teachers, 7,977, and of female, 5,699; colored, male, 62, and female, 43; grand total, 13,781. For the ten years ending with 1878 there was an increase of 409 male teachers and 811 female teachers. All these teachers, except about 200, attend normal institutes,-a showing which probably surpasses that of any other State in this respect.

The average daily compensation of teachers throughout the State in 1878 was as follows: In townships, males, $1.90; females, $1.70: in towns, males, $3.09; females, $1.81; in cities, males, $4.06; females, $2.29.

In 1878 there were 89 stone school-houses, 1,724 brick, 7,608 frame, and 124 log; total, 9,545, valued at $11,536,647.39.

And lastly, and best of all, we are happy to state that Indiana has a larger school fund than any other State in the Union. In 1872, according to the statistics before us, it was larger than that of any other State by $2,000,000! the figures being as follows:

Indiana

$8,437,593.47

Michigan. $2,500,214.91

Ohio.

6,614,816.50

Missouri.

2,525,252.52

Illinois.

6,348,598.32

Minnesota

2,471,199.31

New York.

2,880,017.01

Wisconsin 2,237,414.37

Connecticut.

2,809,770.70

Massachusetts. 2,210,864.09

Iowa

4,274,581.93

Arkansas. 2,000,000.00

Nearly all the rest of the States have less than a million dollars in their school fund.

In 1872 the common-school fund of Indiana consisted of the following:

Non-negotiable bonds .. .. . $3,591,816.15

Escheated estates.

17,866.55

Common-school fund, .... 1,666,824.50

Sinking fund, last distrib- ution ...

67,008.78

Congressional township

Sinking fund undistrib-

100,165.92 uted.

Value of unsold Congres-

Swamp land fund

42,418.40

sional township lands .. 94,245.00

Saline fund. 5,727.66

Bank tax fund

1,744.94

In 1878 the grand total was 88,974,455.55.

The origin of the respective school funds of Indiana is as follows:

1. The "Congressional township" fund is derived from the proceeds of the 16th sections of the townships. Almost all of these

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$8,497,598 47

Sinking fund, at 8 per cent 569,139.94

fund ... 2,281,076.69

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HISTORY OF INDIANA.

have been sold and the money put out at interest. The amount of this fund in 1877 was $2,452,936.82.

2. The "saline " fund consists of the proceeds of the sale of salt springs, and the land adjoining necessary for working them to the amount of 36 entire sections, authorized by the original act of Congress. By authority of the same act the Legislature has made. these proceeds a part of the permanent school fund.

3. The " surplus revenue " fund. Under the administration of President Jackson, the national debt, contracted by the Revolutionary war and the purchase of Louisiana, was entirely discharged, and a large surplus remained in the treasury. In June, 1836, Congress distributed this money among the States in the ratio of their repre- sentation in Congress, subject to recall, and Indiana's share was $860,254. The Legislature subsequently set apart $573,502.96 of this amount to be a part of the school fund. It is not probable that the general Government will ever recall this money.

4. " Bank tax " fund. The Legislature of 1834 chartered a State Bank, of which a part of the stock was owned by the State and a part by individuals. Section 15 of the charter required an annual deduction from the dividends, equal to 124 cents on each share not held by the State, to be set apart for common-school education. This tax finally amounted to $80,000, which now bears interest in favor of education.

5. "Sinking" fund. In order to set the State bank under good headway, the State at first borrowed $1,300,000, and out of the unapplied balances a fund was created, increased by unapplied balances also of the principal, interest and dividends of the amount. lent to the individual holders of stock, for the purpose of sinking the debt of the bank; hence the name sinking fund. The 114th section of the charter provided that after the full payment of the bank's indebtedness, principal, interest and incidental expenses, the residue of said fund should be a permanent fund, appropriated to the cause of education. As the charter extended through a period of 25 years, this fund ultimately reached the handsome amount of $5,000,000.

The foregoing are all interest-bearing funds; the following are additional school funds, but not productive:

6. "Seminary " fund. By order of the Legislature in 1852, all county seminaries were sold, and the net proceeds placed in the. common-school fund.

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7. All fines for the violation of the penal laws of the State are placed to the credit of the common-school fand

8. All recognizances of witnesses and parties indicted for crime, when forfeited, are collectible by law and made a part of the school fund. These are reported to the office of the State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction annually. For the five years ending with 1872, they averaged about $34,000 a year.

9. Escheats. These amount to $17,865.55, which was still in the State treasury in 1872 and unapplied.

10. The "swamp-land " fund arises from the sale of certain Congressional land grants, not devoted to any particular purpose by the terms of the grant. In 1872 there was $42,418.40 of this money, subject to call by the school interests.

11. Taxes on corporations are to some extent devoted by the Constitution to school purposes, but the clause on this subject is somewhat obscure, and no funds as yet have been realized from this source. It is supposed that several large sums of money are due the common-school fund from the corporations.

Constitutionally, any of the above funds may be increased, but never diminished.

INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY.

So early as 1802 the U. S. Congress granted lands and a charter to the people of that portion of the Northwestern Territory resid- ing at Vincennes, for the erection and maintenance of a seminary of learning in that early settled district; and five years afterward an act incorporating the Vincennes University asked the Legisla- ture to appoint a Board of Trustees for the institution and order the sale of a single township in Gibson county, granted by Congress in 1802, so that the proceeds might be at once devoted to the objects of education. On this Board the following gentlemen were ap- pointed to act in the interests of the institution: William H. Har- rison, John Gibson, Thomas H. Davis, Henry Vanderburgh, Wal- ler Taylor, Benjamin Parke, Peter Jones, James Johnson, John Rice Jones, George Wallace, William Bullitt, Elias McNamee, John Badolett, Henry Hurst, Gen. W. Johnston, Francis Vigo, Jacob Knykendall, Samuel McKee, Nathaniel Ewing, George Leech, Luke Decker, Samuel Gwathmey and John Johnson.

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History of Jackson County, Indiana, Part 19

Author: Brant & Fuller Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Number of Pages: 759

Author: Brant & Fuller
Publication date: 1886
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 759