USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 1 > Part 47
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Early Schools .- The first school buildings that we know of in this sec- tion were the two that were ordered to be constructed in 1722. In 1723 another one was ordered, and in 1791 the town was divided into seven school districts. Again it is recorded there were nine school districts, which were gradually increased to fourteen. This number so continued until 1864, when the district school was set aside for the new régime; though there was a period, also, when private schools in the town out- numbered the district schools, the private schools themselves attaining a high plane of popularity.
Then, in 1848, appeared the first sign of radical change, with the estab- lishment of an evening school, and, a year later, the high school. Fourteen years afterwards, or in 1862, there was established a school for factory children, that being the year, too, when Fall River of Rhode Island was annexed, and a number of school buildings were thereby added to the city. Returning again to the district system, it was in 1832 that the building long known as the "green schoolhouse" was built on Franklin street. In 1834 the Congregational church building was remodelled for the use of the Anawan street school, which, nine years later, during the disastrous fire of 1843, was burned and the present structure was built. Until the Lincoln school was constructed, the old High street school, so called, that was opened in 1845, held sessions in a building on Franklin street. In 1849 the June street school was built, and in 1855 the Columbia street building was first occupied.
In 1865 we first hear of the appointment of a public school superin- tendent, Rev. Daniel W. Stevens, a Harvard graduate, being chosen for the position. The next year, 1866, the first truant officer was appointed, the truant school then being located at the almshouse, until, in 1890, the Union school was established.
A succession of modern schoolhouses was now on its way, for with the constructing of the Morgan school, in 1868, the first of the larger schools was built. Schools that were started towards construction in 1870 were the
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Brown school, on Bedford street; Robinson school, on Columbia street; Borden school, on Brownell street; from 1873 to 1876, the Davis, Slade and Davenport schools; from 1876 to 1880, the Tucker street, Border City, Pleasant street, Danforth street and Lindsey street schoolhouses. During the years 1882 to 1884, changes and enlargements were made in the Ferry Lane, Border City, Slade, Davis, Mount Hope avenue, Covel street and Brownell schools.
Malcolm W. Tewksbury succeeded Superintendent Stevens in 1866, and William Connell, who succeeded him as superintendent, remained in that office until June 23, 1894.
The high school, that was opened May 10, 1849, held its first sessions in the private school building of George B. Stone, on the south side of Franklin street, and Mr. Stone was the first principal. The Foster Hooper schoolhouse, built for a high school, was first thus occupied in 1852, in its upper story ; the lower room was not added for high school purposes until 1868, when the study of French was begun, and an English course of three years was inaugurated. For a while the first-year classes met in the Davenport building. It was in 1882 that Mrs. Mary B. Young proposed building the B. M. C. Durfee high school, whose story is related elsewhere.
Educational Improvement .- It is on record that Fall River was the first city in the Commonwealth to give school pupils free textbooks, that innovation starting soon after April 1, 1874, the State law itself going into effect in August of that year. A training school was established in the Robeson building in February, 1881, although a start had been made in that direction at high school as early as 1868, which was followed by the begin- ning of a normal course in the high school. When the Osborn building was constructed in 1891, the training school made its headquarters there. As the need for the establishment of new schools made itself evident, room was made for them. Then in their turn came such modern schools as these: In 1895, the Coughlin and William Connell buildings; in 1897, the James M. Aldrich and George B. Stone buildings; in 1898, the Fowler building; in 1899, the Brayton avenue school; in 1901, the Samuel Longfellow and Highland schools; in 1906, the Samuel Watson school. In 1889, the Davis prize medals were established from a fund that had been contributed by Hon. Robert T. Davis. Music and drawing had their special instructors in 1887, and sewing in 1896.
William C. Bates succeeded William Connell as superintendent of schools in 1894, and Everett B. Durfee was appointed to the position in 1909. The Samuel Watson school was completed in September, 1906, and the Lincoln school was completed and dedicated January 18, 1907, the former wooden building having been burned December 22, 1905. The Westall school was completed in 1908; the William S. Greene school in 1909.
There were fifty-two schools in this city in 1910, in which year the Grade Teachers' Club was instituted. George F. Pope was principal of the B. M. C. Durfee school. Samuel Watson, born in 1830, and in whose honor the Samuel Watson school had been named, died May 27, 1910. Miss Harriet E. Martin, a teacher in the Longfellow school, and whose teach- ing service had been from 1870 to 1910, died November 7, the latter year. Miss Julia A. Read resigned after a service of forty-three years in the Fall River schools. The John J. McDonough school, named in honor of Judge
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McDonough, was dedicated September 15, 1911, the school lot and building having cost $79,984.45. The Hugo A. Dubuque school, named in honor of Judge Dubuque, was opened Monday, October 30, the total cost of school and lot being $57,755. The William J. Wiley school, named in honor of William J. Wiley, president of the Board of Aldermen, was completed at a cost of $61,479, land and buildings; Mr. Wiley died March 13, 1911. Pre- liminary work was begun on the Technical High School building, May 1, that year. Miss Jemima A. Ricker, a teacher in the Davenport school, died March 6, 1911; she had been a teacher in Fall River schools from 1881 to 1911. Miss Mary A. Tripp, of the Westall school, with a teaching service from 1887 to 1911, died November 1, 1911. The class in cooking was started at the J. J. McDonough school, October 9, 1911.
Enrollment at the High School in 1912 had reached the record number of 1037. It was decided to continue the normal training school, when the class that entered in 1911 had graduated in 1913. A vocational training center was opened in the John J. McDonough school, John B. Diman, of Middletown, Rhode Island, offering to provide $2000 for the purpose of equipping and maintaining such a school for one year.
George F. Pope, principal of the B. M. C. Durfee high school since 1902, relinquished his position in 1912, and was made head of the depart- ment of mathematics, Frederick S. Plummer taking his place as principal of the school. George W. Locke resigned as principal of the Westall school, his teaching service having extended from 1856. Miss Emeline B. Orswell, a teacher in the public schools here since 1866, resigned her position in the N. B. Borden school.
Hector L. Belisle was appointed superintendent of schools in 1913. Under the minor's employment act of this year, the school department issued from September, 1913, to January 1, 1914, approximately eleven thou- sand new certificates. The total number of pupils in the public schools this year was 13,324. The Technical High School was completed, and the new Susan H. Wixon grammar school was opened in November, Jerome P. Farwell being the principal. The first steps for the organization of the classes for mental defectives were taken in May of this year. In 1914, there were more than three thousand more pupils in the schools than in the pre- ceding year. There were four special classes for children not capable of performing the regular primary grade work. The Technical High School. was opened to evening classes.
A survey of the school situation in 1917 was the most important event the department had known for years, the survey being made by Professor Ernest C. Moore, of the Harvard University Division of Education. A recommendation of the survey committee was to the effect that all standing committees be abolished, and that the school committee transact all its busi- ness as a board. The consolidation of the high schools was recommended at this time.
With the graduation of the class of 1917, and the closing of the school year in June, the Fall River Normal Training School passed into history. Established at a time when State normal schools were few and difficult of access, it was one of a group of training schools designed to prepare teach- ers for service in the local fields. The schools were now cooperating with the United States Government in the first campaign for food conservation.
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On account of the epidemic of 1918, the schools were ordered to be closed from September 27 to October 8, the Technical High School becoming a temporary hospital, fully equipped and with teachers serving as nurses and helpers. All cooperated with the Red Cross work, the school special com- mittee for that purpose being: Chairman, Harry Smalley; treasurer, Miss Catherine C. V. Sullivan; William E. Braley, Miss Josephine S. Louette, Margaret C. Lynch, Charles K. Moulton, of the high school department, and Miss Margaret Shove as a community representative. The Junior Red Cross was organized November 1, 1917. The total of thrift and war sav- ings stamps purchased by the schools amounted to more than $30,000.
The school year of 1918 opened with the two high school buildings operating, as a single institution, under one principal, Charles K. Moulton being selected for the position. Under the old arrangement, pupils had been restricted in their choice of studies; under the new system, they en- joyed the freedom of selecting from among all the subjects suited to their ages and capacities. Seniors and juniors were now housed in the B. M. C. Durfee building, and first-year pupils were quartered in the Technical building.
In the year 1919, Miss Margaret Flannagan was appointed special teacher for Americanization work in Fall River schools, and household arts were established in five of the schools. An epoch-making event of 1920 was the institution of continuation schools. Through a cooperative ar- rangement agreed upon by the school committee and the trustees of the Bradford Durfee Textile School, provision was made for housing in that building classes in carding, weaving, and spinning, and the N. B. Borden grammar school was utilized for the girls' classes.
There was an abnormal gain of eight per cent. in the elementary schools in 1921 over the preceding year, the total being eleven hundred. A chief factor in creating this increase was the statutory amendment making more severe the educational requirements on the part of fourteen-year-old minors desiring to enter wage-earning occupations, the law calling for the com- pletion of the sixth grade of study. At the various schools, every available bit of space was resorted to in order to accommodate the pupils. There went into effect this year the so-called "six-three-three" plan, that pro- vided that there should be six elementary school grades, three intermediate or junior high school grades, and three senior high school grades. Thus the regular high school course was reduced from four years to three, and the elementary course from eight years to six.
With the signing, in March, 1921, of the statutory act making available the sum of $1,500,000 for new schools, the school committee decided to plan for three junior high schools, to be located near North, South and Lafayette parks. In two years, up to 1921, the high school had grown from 1550 to 2030 pupils, a remarkable record.
Book learning and the practical matters of everyday life are now going hand in hand in the schools of Fall River, with the work of the extension courses increasing in numbers and in interest from year to year; with the successful reports from the continuation school; with the expanding plans for the junior high schools; with the getting-together of the teachers for mutual help, and with the recognition on the part of the public of the fact that school leaders are making a great effort to solve the recurring prob- lems of every year.
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Special Schools .- A high school that has no equal in this part of the State for its extensive and substantial foundation, progress, equipment and constituency, is the B. M. C. Durfee High School of Fall River, instituted and built by Mrs. Mary B. Young, in memory of her son, Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee, who during his lifetime had expressed the desire that a certain portion of his estate should be devoted to the advancement of higher education. How that wish was carried out, and how great and elevating have been the influences of the school, a succession of increasing classes in the school and the growing city has well proven. The school, begun in 1883, and dedicated June 15, 1887, has more than filled the place and mission of the old high school, not only for its beautiful situation in a healthful and sightly center of the city, but also because of the modern comprehensiveness of its curriculum and courses of study. The late Mr. Durfee's desire was that his native city should have its youth instructed especially in the chem- ical, physical and mechanical sciences that enter so largely into the indus- tries of the city. Through Mrs. Young's generosity, therefore, the school was built and thoroughly furnished. The granite structure stands upon a lot that is in the form of a parallelogram, and which contains about two hundred and forty square rods of land, three hundred and eighty-four feet above Mount Hope Bay. An observatory tower is surmounted with a dome, the frame of which is made of iron and steel, and is covered with copper; the dome is seventeen feet in diameter, and it contains an equa- torial telescope. In a south tower there is a large clock, and therein also a chime of bells. The institution was given an endowment of $50,000 by Mrs. Young. The school was dedicated June 15, 1887, the anniversary of the birth of the man for whom the school was named, the principal ad- dresses being by Hon. John Summerfield Brayton; President Roswell Dwight Hitchcock, D. D., of the Union Theological Seminary, New York; Governors Ames of Massachusetts and Wetmore of Rhode Island, and Leontine Lincoln. The principals of the old high school and the new have been as follows: George B. Stone, 1849-55; James B. Pearson, 1855-58;, Charles B. Goff, 1858-64; Albion K. Slade, 1864-74; William H. Lambert, 1874-79; W. T. Leonard, 1879-85; William H. Lambert, 1885-90; R. T. Leighton, 1890-92; Charles C. Ramsey, 1892-02; George F. Pope, 1902-12; Frederick W. Plummer, 1912-18; Charles K. Moulton, 1918 -.
Connected with the school is the B. M. C. Durfee High School Alumni Association, and the B. M. C. Durfee High School Athletic Association, which owns the alumni field. The latter has been supported by the alumni association, but it is a separate corporation.
One of the most thorough, practical, and scholastic institutions in New England is the Bradford Durfee School, a State institution, founded for the purpose of giving instruction in textile manufacturing. The follow- ing constitutes an outline of the history and work of the school: It was established under the provisions of Chapter 475, of the General Acts of Massachusetts, for the year 1895, and was incorporated in 1899, the gov- erning board consisting of twenty-four trustees, with power to fill vacancies in their number. In March, 1904, the school was opened for students. On July 1, 1918, the property was deeded by the trustees to the State, and the school became a strictly State institution, governed by eighteen trustees appointed by the Governor, three of the trustees being the commissioner
FALL RIVER-TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
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of education, the superintendent of schools, and the mayor of Fall River. The land upon which the school buildings stand, in the heart of the city, was formerly a part of the homestead of the late Bradford Durfee, and was given to the school by the late Miss Sarah S. Brayton, the school being named for Bradford Durfee, one of Fall River's earlier manufacturers, who died in 1843. The courses of the school are those of general cotton manu- facturing, designing and weaving, chemistry and dyeing, and engineering; and there are several scholarships available to the students. The Bradford Textile School Alumni Association was formed in 1918.
Fall River Teachers' Association .- The first meeting of Fall River teachers for the purpose of forming an association for mutual benefit was held at Durfee High School May 18, 1891, when William Connell was elected chairman, and S. P. H. Winslow secretary. Speakers on the occa- sion were Rev. John Brown and Mrs. Susan H. Nixon. A constitution was drawn up, and the Fall River Teachers' Association was formed, to promote fellowship among teachers, to discuss topics pertaining to the teachers' work, and to advance the standard of the schools. The first officers were: President, Dr. R. F. Leighton; vice-president, George W. Locke; secretary, S. P. H. Winslow; treasurer, Everett Durfee. Executive committee: High schools-George F. Pope, Mary Henry, Iram N. Smith; intermediate- Elizabeth Johnson, Mary A. Thompson; grammar-Charles J. McCreery, Candace Cook, E. A. Thayer; primary-Ruth Negus, Lucy Robertson, Georgianna Dillingham; and grade committees were appointed for grade meetings in grammar and high schools. The officers for 1892: President, Charles J. McCreery; vice-president, E. S. Thayer; secretary, S. P. H. Winslow; treasurer, Everett R. Durfee. Speakers during the year: Dr. May, of Boston, on "Education," and Dr. Emerson, of Boston School of Oratory, on "Reading." October 12, 1892, President Benjamin Andrews, of Brown University, on "Christopher Columbus"; April 21, 1893, Rev. Everett E. Hale, D. D. The same officers were elected in 1893.
Miss Candace Cook was elected treasurer in 1893. There was a pro- gramme of readings and music, and Robert C. Metcalf, supervisor of lan- guage, Boston, gave one in his series of lectures. On June 25, resolutions were passed upon the death of William Connell, superintendent of Fall River schools for twenty-two years. In January, 1895, George J. Aldrich, of Newton, gave five lectures on "Arithmetic." On May 24, Horace A. Benson was elected president, and an Old Folks concert was given. In November, Miss Sarah Arnold, supervisor of Boston schools, gave an address on "School Manage- ment." On February 14, 1896, Principal E. H. Russell, of Worcester, talked on "Child Study"; March 6, Charles R. Skinner, on "Needs of the Public Schools"; March 26, William C. Bates, on "Geography"; in April, Eugene D. Russell, of Lynn, vice-president of the Teachers' Annuity Guild, ex- plained the bylaws of that association. On April 16, 1896, the Teachers' Asso- ciation drew up resolutions asking for salaries of like amount paid to teachers in cities of the same size as Fall River. On May 15, there was an entertainment and the presentation of the cantata, "Violet in Fairyland." Miss Lucy Robertson was elected secretary. On November 13, E. H. Rus- sell was heard on "Methods of Child Study." On January 1, 1897, Superin- tendent William C. Bates lectured on "Henry Barnard." On February 25,
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State School Superintendent of Public Instruction, Nathan C. Schaeffer, talked on "Teaching Children to Think."
On March 23, 1897, Rev. Leslie Learned gave an address on "Rudyard Kipling"; April 20, Milton Reed on "Wordsworth." May 18, Charles C. Ramsey was elected president of the association; Edwin S. Thayer, vice- president; Mary M. Stewart, secretary; Everett B. Durfee, treasurer. De- cember 22, Miss Stewart resigned as secretary, and Clifford Whipple was appointed as her successor. Walter G. Page lectured on "Interior Decora- tion of School Buildings." January 20, 1898, Willard H. Burnham, of Clark University, talked upon "Studies of Fatigue in School Children." February 10, Dr. Walter Channing and Samuel T. Dutton, of Brookline, gave talks upon "The Relation of the School to the Community." February 23, Dr. Charles R. Eliot, of Harvard, talked on "Tendencies in American Educa- tion"; March 10, Superintendent George T. Aldrich, of Newton, on "A Bit of Experiences in Grammar School Enrichment." March 31 and April 21 there were round tables on methods of teaching various subjects. March 5, Hon. Henry Houck, Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Pennsylvania, on "A Glance Backward." May 27, Clifford Whipple was elected secretary, and that day Sam Walter Foss recited his verses. De- cember 15, Dr. E. E. White, of Columbus, Ohio, spoke on "Character"; January 12, 1899, Miss Harriet A. Sackett, of Brooklyn, New York, on "Sewing as a Form of Manual Training"; February 2, Dr. G. Stanley Hall, on "Critical Years of Youth"; March 2, Prof. A. E. Dolbear, of Tufts Col- lege, on "Scientific Teaching"; April 13, Rev. Charles F. Dole, on "Training for Citizenship."
In April, 1899, William M. Cole was elected secretary of the association. Miss Mary C. Dickerson, of the Rhode Island State Normal School, gave in November, six lessons in elementary science. Dr. Fred Gowing, principal of the State Normal School, Providence, Rhode Island, gave an address on "Professional Spirit and Professional Improvement Among Teachers." November 2, Professor William G. Ward, of Boston, talked on "The Train- ing of the Future Citizen"; December 4, Mrs. May Alden Ward on "The Situation in South Africa"; January 11, 1900, Mrs. Walter Stokes Irons, on "The Evolution of the Heroine in English Prose Fiction"; February 16, Miss Helen M. Cole, of Boston, on "The Bible as Literature"; March 29, Dr. Grace N. Kimball, of Vassar, on "Some Physical and Moral Considera- tions in Education"; April 26, President George Harris, of Amherst, on "Three Stages in the Evolution of the Public School."
On May 25, 1900, Edward B. Hawes was elected secretary of the asso- ciation, the membership at this time being 267. October 8, H. W. Tuel, superintendent of schools at Newport, spoke on "The Growth of the Teacher"; November 25, James P. Munroe, of Boston, on "Some Aspects of Education"; December 10, Professor George W. Pease, of the Bible Normal College, Springfield, on "Childhood"; January 3, 1901, Dr. Albert E. Winship, editor of "Journal of Education," on "The Teacher as Accom- panist."
February 7, 1901, Hon. Milton Reed, of Fall River, spoke on "William Cowper and His Times." March 7, Rev. John W. Wilson, of Fall River, on "Dante and His Times." April 25, Dr. John M. Tyler, of Amherst, on "The Teacher and the State." May 9, Miss Heloise E. Hersey, of Boston,
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on "My Educational Creed." May 24, the same officers were reelected October 3, President W. H. P. Faunce, of Brown University, on "The Moral Element in Education." November 21, Prof. Fred N. Scott of the University of Michigan, on "The Use of Pictures in Teaching English Composition." December 12, Prof. Richard E. Dodge of the Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University, N. Y., on "The Life-side of Geography." Janu- ary 23, 1902, Dr. Ray Greene Huling, of the English High School, Cam- bridge, on "An Essential Element of Every Teacher's Success in the Class- room." February 27, Miss Helen M. Cole, of Boston, on "The Nature Poetry of the Bible Compared with Nature Poetry in Other Literature." March 27, Prof. George E. Vincent, University of Chicago, on "The Social- izing of the School Curriculum." April 24, Dr. James H. Canfield of Co- lumbia University, on "Some Fundamental Reasons for Public Education.".
May 15, 1902, John A. Kerns was elected president and Louis P. Slade vice-president. October 23, William T. Tomlins, of New York, spoke upon "A New Force in Education." November 14, there was a social and entertainment by members of the association. January 16, 1903, David B. Pike, of Providence, spoke on "Yellowstone National Park." Febru- ary 5, Hon. Milton Reed on "The World's Events."
February 19, 1903, President Charles F. Thwing, of Western Reserve University, spoke on "The Teacher as a Force in Civilization." March 13; entertainment and social by members of the association. April 16, Thomas W. Bicknell, of Providence, on "Health and Work." May 22, Louis P. Slade was elected president, John P. Ferguson vice-president, and Harriet Mar- vel secretary. October 23, social gathering and song recital. December 4; lecture on "Old Scottish Music." January 22, 1904, Dr. William H. Drummond on "The French Canadian Habitant." February 26, Henry Turner Bailey on "The Central Shrines." March 18, William C. Bates, on "The Power of Our Expectation."
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