USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Westminster > History of Westminster, Massachusetts (first named Narragansett no. 2) from the date of the original grant of the township to the present time, 1728-1893, with a biographic-genealogical register of its principal families > Part 31
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Division of School Money. The method or rule of dividing the money appropriated for school purposes among the several districts, until the opening of the present century, has been sufficiently indicated in foregoing paragraphs. At that date it was distributed in proportion to the number of families in each district separately considered. This practice continued till 1819, when the town voted "to divide the school money according to the number of scholars from four years to twenty one years of age." In 1820 and 1821 the old plan of dividing according to the number of families was restored. In 1822 it was divided equally, each district receiving the same amount. In 1823 the number of scholars between the ages of four and twenty-one was again made the basis of division, which plan prevailed till 1832, when $100 was reserved from the general distribution, to be used by the committee, as their judgment dictated, in aid of the smaller districts. In 1837 the sum left for discretionary use by the committee was increased to $150. This rule continued with slight variations till 1851, when, the amount of the appropriation being $1500, it was voted that $1000 be divided equally between the several schools, allowing three for the center district, and $500 according to the num- ber of scholars. With the exception that in 1858 and subse- quently the center district was credited with only two schools, the last method of division prevailed substantially till 1868, when, at an adjourned annual meeting held April 20th, the dis- trict system of the town was abolished, agreeably to the laws of the Commonwealth. Since that date the entire management of the schools, including the distribution of money, has been in the hands of the superintending school committee. The schoolhouses, which thereby came once more into the possession of the town, were duly appraised the following year, and their value credited to the inhabitants of the districts to which they severally belonged.
The first printed " Report" of the school committee was sub-
W. P. ALLEN, GARDNER, MASS.
CENTER SCHOOL HOUSE,
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NEW SYSTEM OF SUPERINTENDENCE.
mitted to the voters at the annual meeting in 1852, thus in- augurating a custom that has prevailed to the present day.
For a few years past, the town, in accordance with a recent law of the State, has been associated with several others in the vicinity in the employment of a special superintendent, whose office it is to have charge of the internal affairs of the schools, -suggesting methods, arranging classes, systematizing opera- tions, etc., in co-operation with and under the direction of the general committee. This plan relieves the official board of much responsibility in respect to the details of school work, and seems to have been attended thus far with most advantageous and happy results; promising, if continued, immense good to the educational interests of the community at large in the years and generations to come.
The school building now standing in the center of the town occupies the site of an old brick one erected some seventy-five years ago to supersede that located on the common in 1789. It was originally of one story, but was raised up, reconstructed, and fitted for its present uses soon after the destruction of the "Old Academy" in 1888. As now arranged and equipped, it accommodates not only the lower grades of school as formerly, but the high school also. It is a commodious, well proportioned, attractive structure -an ornament to the village, and an honor to the town. An admirable picture of it appears on the oppo- site page.
Appropriations. It is thought that the general progress of the town in relation to school matters, and the prevailing interest of its inhabitants in the subject of popular education may be sufficiently indicated by presenting, in condensed form, a statement of the amount of appropriation every fifth year from the date of incorporation, as follows :- 1760, £6; 1765, £13 6s. 8d .; 1770, £14; 1775, £35; 1780, £600 in depreci- ated currency and interest of proceeds of school lands sold; 1785, £50 and interest amounting to about £35; 1790, £60; 1795, £80; 1800, $400; 1805, $500; 1810, $520; 1815, $520; 1820, $520; 1825, $730; 1830, $700; 1835, $800; 1840, $1000; 1845, $1000; 1850, $1500; 1855, $1500; 1860, $1400; 1865, $1500; 1870, $2700; 1875, $2500; 1880, $2750; 1885, $3200; and in 1890, $3150.
The public schools of Westminster have always maintained a creditable standing in the general community, have trained a large number of persons who, with additional advantages, have gained a well-earned success as teachers at home and abroad, and have prepared many of the sons and daughters of the town for higher institutions of learning and for useful and honorable callings, professions, and positions in life. They have fully justified their existence as an important factor in promoting the prosperity and happiness of the people, and illustrated the utility and value of the educational system established by the
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IIISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
founders of New England, in its relation to the support and perpetuity of the institutions of civil and religious liberty in the land, and to the enduring welfare and glory of the American Republic. Long may they live and prosper, scattering bless- ings on all classes of people in the future as in the past, con- tributing in large measure, as the years go by, to make strong and sure the foundations of many generations.
WESTMINSTER ACADEMY.
The term Academy, derived from the Greek Academus, the name of a certain wise man who, several centuries B. C., estab- lished in the suburbs of Athens a school for teaching gymnas- tics and philosophy, has a two-fold signification in modern speech, representing in the first place an association of persons formed for the purpose of promoting a knowledge of the arts and sciences in general, or some specific branch of the same, and in the second, an institution or seminary of learning holding an intermediate rank between the university or college and the common school. In the latter sense it came to be used in New England during the period of the Revolution, when several educational enterprises of the grade and character indicated were founded and given a standing before the public by an "Act of Incorporation " from the State Legislature. The first of these was Phillips' Academy, Andover, incorporated 1780, though it had existed for two years under the title of Phillips' school. In 1782 the Dummer school, started at Byfield in 1756, was incorporated as "Dummer Academy"; and in 1784 Leices- ter Academy received similar honors from the General Court. Soon after came Westford Academy, and in 1793 Westfield Academy was established in the county of Hampden. These all have had a memorable history, and with the exception of the latter, which has been transformed into a public high school, are still extant and doing excellent educational work.
It seems that the citizens of Westminster were animated by something of the same zeal for sound learning that prevailed elsewhere as set forth, and that about the same time they had some aspirations for an institution in their midst similar to those just mentioned. At a meeting held Jan. 14, 1793, upon an article in the warrant "to see if the Town will Do anything to incourage the Building [an] Accedeminy in this Town and Support it when Built," the citizens
" L'oted, and granted one hundred pounds for the use of an Acedemy in this Town."
There was, however, strong opposition to this measure, which caused another meeting to be held on the 29th of the same month, when the above vote was reconsidered and the project abandoned, not to be urged again for more than thirty years.
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THE STORY OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY.
At length, in 1828 or 1829, Rev. Cyrus Mann, an old teacher and college tutor, much interested in the course of education generally, and desirous of having the opportunity of a higher range of study than the existing public schools afforded opened to the young people of the town, broached anew the subject of establishing an Academy in the place; not, however, as a public, but as a private enterprise. He found a goodly number of sympathizers, chiefly among his own people, who heartily co-operated with him in carrying the proposed undertaking into effect, the result of which was the erection in 1829, on the westerly brow of Meetinghouse Hill, of a two-story building sufficiently commodious and suitably arranged to further the purposes for which it was designed. It was located in the vicinity of the principal house of worship, so that it might serve in part as a vestry, or place of social religious meeting, and for other incidental uses connected with church work. This was thought by many people of the town to indicate a sectarian purpose on the part of those who had charge of the enterprise, and considerable opposition to it was developed on that ground. If there was any reason for this view at the out- set, as there may have been, it, after a few years, passed away, and the institution received at length the confidence and patron- age of all classes in the community.
The Academy building having been properly furnished and made ready for use in the spring of 1830, announcement of its opening on the 17th of May appeared in the Massachusetts Spy some time before that date. It was to be under the care of Franklin Jones of Royalston, a graduate of Amherst College. Tuition $3 per quarter, with small addition for those advanced in languages. Board in respectable families could be had for from $1 to $1.50 per week. This announcement was signed by Cyrus Mann and Flavel Cutting for the proprietors. A year later a similar notice was given to the public, with the additional statement that a female department would be established. Mr. Jones was still principal.
The successors of Mr. Jones during the decade 1830-1840, were Rev. William C. Jackson, afterwards missionary in Turkey; William C. Clark; Josiah Clark, who became a notable educator ; Hastings; James T. McCullum; Nathan Allen, a physician of note in Lowell, and a considerable writer upon health, hygiene, longevity, vital statistics, etc .; Robert S. Hitchcock; Samuel Taylor; and a Mr. Spofford. At different dates when an emergency arose by reason of failure to find the right man for the principal's chair, or of the illness or incompetency and consequent discharge of the incumbent, Rev. Mr. Mann came in as a temporary supply, serving with versatile skill and efficiency.
A good degree of success attended the school for some years after its opening. Rev. Charles Hudson, by no means an enthusiastic friend of the institution at the time, said in 1832,
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
"It has been as well sustained as academies in general, having an average of 35 or 40 pupils." It was about this date that Mr. Mann, who was tireless in his efforts for the school of which he was virtually the founder, wrote in his journal : "I have been making a great effort to procure some apparatus for our Academy and have succeeded beyond my expectations. I have been to Boston and obtained an air pump, electrical machine, chemical apparatus, microscope, magic lantern, etc., etc., and I have secured several hundred dollars for the bene- fit of the institution."
As the decade mentioned drew to its close there came a de- cline in the prosperity of the school, the number of pupils finally falling off to such an extent that it was deemed wise to suspend operations until more encouraging prospects should warrant their resumption. At this time, in the summer of 1840, when there was little to inspire hope among the friends of the enterprise, Abner Holden Merriam, A. B., a native of the place and a former pupil, who had recently graduated from Dartmouth College, resolved to see what he could do to rehabil- itate it and start it out anew in its career of usefulness and honor. He canvassed the town and its environs in order to obtain funds for putting the building in better condition, pro- curing additional apparatus and other appliances, etc., wherein he met with unexpected good fortune, which enabled him to carry his plans into early effect. In the autumn of the year designated he reopened the school with a gratifying number of students, and in a brief period under his charge it attained a degree of prosperity never known before in its history. This continued till the summer of 1847, when he retired from the position in which he had labored with unfaltering fidelity and zeal, gaining credit to himself and a multitude of grateful and kindly appreciative friends.
He was followed by another native of the town, J. R. Gaut, A. B., a graduate of Amherst, and an earnest and devoted teacher. He kept up the character and reputation of the insti- tution, and his six years' labors were crowned with a success worthy of much commendation. By his urgent solicitation and the confidence he inspired, means were obtained for enlarging the academy building during his term of office, and for enrich- ing its equipment for prosecuting the work it was intended to do. The thirteen years covered by the principalships of Messrs. Merriam and Gaut, from 1840 to 1853, constituted the halcyon period of the Academy's history, and are remembered with satisfaction and delight by many who shared their in- structions and the privileges connected therewith, and by those of the then existing citizens of the town who continue to this day.
Subsequently to the retirement of Mr. Gaut, the Academy was in charge successively of W. S. C. Abbot, James F. Clark,
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REUNION OF ACADEMY PUPILS.
C. D. Jeffords, Mr. Johnson, Henry Clark, W. K. Davy, W. B. Pond, Albert S. Ingalls, - - Nichols, Wilber F. Whitney, Wm. B. Adams, Francis A. Whitney, Alvin Sawyer, Timothy Holden, and perhaps others, none of them "to the manner born," whose terms of service were of varying length, whose labors were more or less successful and satisfactory, and whose honors and rewards the historian makes no attempt to estimate or classify and distribute.
During the incumbency of several if not all of these, it was written in the book of fate, and became apparent to clear-eyed observers, that the days of the Academy were numbered, and that the end of its existence was only a question of time. The establishment of public high schools in most of the neighbor- ing towns reduced very greatly the number of pupils from be- yond the town boundaries, and consequently the income derived from that source; while there were too few at home to furnish adequate support for a private institution of that sort. These considerations, added to the growing conviction in the commu- nity at large that the higher branches of the English tongue, including the elements of science, literature, art, and history, with rudimentary instruction in ancient and modern languages, should be provided for in the curriculum of the public school system, opened the way for, and hastened the coming of, the day when the Westminster Academy gave place and patronage to the Westminster High School, as elsewhere set forth. The final act in the drama of the life of the institution was the legal conveyance of the building, land, etc., constituting its salable property, from the corporate proprietors to the town, agreeably to a vote of the citizens passed in regular meeting on the 7th of November, 1871.
The Academy, though started in 1830, was not incorporated till 1833, when it received its first charter, clothing it with special rights, privileges, and immunities, agreeably to the laws of the Commonwealth, which were reaffirmed and enlarged by a second act of the Legislature, passed March 31, 1847, bear- ing the approving signature of the honored Governor, George N. Briggs.
The Reunion of 1884. A somewhat unique and in- tensely interesting event connected with the history of the Academy was the bringing together of a large number of its former pupils and patrons some twenty years after it had ceased to exist as an educational force in the community. The move- ment looking to this consummation was started at the "Old Folks' Picnic " of June 20, 1883, when several of the old stu- dents who were present consulted with each other upon the matter, and, after agreeing upon its desirability, set on foot ac- tivities which resulted in a meeting of as many interested per- sons as could easily be convened, including delegates from Wor- cester, Boston, etc., at the town hall, Feb. 12, 1884. At that
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
meeting an organization was effected under the name of the "Westminster Academy Memorial Association," with Hon. S. R. Heywood, president, and Henry M. Smith, secretary, both of Worcester, with such other officers, committees, etc., as were deemed necessary to carry the project into effect. These, hav- ing full power to act in the premises, proceeded to make ar- rangements for the contemplated gathering, fixing upon the 6th and 7th of the following August as the date thereof, and caus- ing notices to be given and circulars issued accordingly.
As provided for and duly announced, an informal meeting of as many as could well be accommodated was held in the Academy building on the evening of the first-named day, at which impromptu speeches, combining personal experience, reminiscence, incident, wit and wisdom, were made by P. P. Heywood of Chicago, who presided, Dr. Nathan Allen, A. Holden Merriam, Rev. William A. Mandell, S. A. Stevens, Dr. John H. White, Dea. Edward Kendall, Rev. Henry Cum- mings, Charles Hudson, Henry M. Smith, Rev. William S. Heywood, and others. The more formal exercises took place in the Congregational Church on the morning of the next day, beginning at 10.30 o'clock and continuing according to the following
PROGRAMME.
I. Music, by the South Gardner Band.
2. Address of Welcome, by Hon. S. R. Heywood of Worcester.
3. Address of the President of the Day, Ex-Governor Washburn of Greenfield.
4. Prayer, by Rev. Henry Cummings of Stafford, Vt.
5. Original Hymn to the tune of " America."
6. Oration, by Thomas H. Russell, Esq .. of Boston.
7. Music, by the Band.
S. Address, "The Old New England Academy," by Nathan Allen, M. D., of Lowell.
9. Song. "The Star Spangled Banner," by Mrs. F. P. Whitney of Boston.
IO. Poem, by Rev. William S. Heywood of Boston.
II. Hymn for the occasion, to the tune of " Auld Lang Syne."
12. Benediction.
A collation, free to all who had been associated with the academy as teachers or pupils, was served at 1.30 P. M., under a tent pitched in Mr. Charles T. Damon's field near by, at which about six hundred plates were laid and utilized. After the dinner, sentiments were given by H. M. Smith, toastmaster, and responded to as indicated : - I. "The Old Preceptors," response by Dr. Nathan Allen; 2. "The Founders of the Academy," Dea. Edward Kendall; 3. " A shining shield at that early day bore the name of Charles Hudson," Hon. William W. Ricc ; 4. "The Cushing Academy of Ashburnham," Principal Vose ; 5. "Leicester Academy," Hon. Charles A. Denny of Leicester ; 6. "The Worcester Technical School," Principal H. T. Fuller ; 7. "What I know about farming," William H.
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OTHER EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.
Earle; 8. "Westminster Academy and the learned professions," Rev. Quincy Whitney ; 9. "The Academy and the useful arts," Hon. John M. Moore ; 10. "Education in its higher aspects," Rev. William S. Heywood. A. Holden Merriam favored the audience with pleasant incidents of his long experience as prin- cipal of the Academy, and H. M. Smith responded to "The Press," an informal sentiment offered by a previous speaker.
The exercises closed with mutual greetings, congratulations, and farewells.
The occasion was an unqualified success -one of rare inter- est and of unexcelled satisfaction and delight. The attendance was unexpectedly large, about six hundred former members of the institution being present, and as many more outside partici- pants and observers. Not often is so much unalloyed happi- ness crowded into a single day. The fortunate issue of the undertaking was largely due to the unwearied labor of Mr. H. M. Smith of Worcester, and the hearty generosity of Mr. Wm. B. Wood of Boston.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
Other instrumentalities for promoting the cause of popular education and securing the great ends of intellectual and moral culture, beside those represented in the curriculum of the schools, have long been recognized by leading citizens of the town, who have used their influence and their money to bring within the reach of the community at large facilities for im- proving the mind and increasing the stores of useful knowledge not required by the statutes of the Commonwealth. They saw at an early day the importance and value of the public library as an educative power among the people, anticipating by two or three generations that widely extended conviction of later years which has resulted in the establishment, in almost every town and ham- let of the State, either by public appropriation or private muni- ficence, of one or more of these highly commendable institutions. Near the close of the last century, the exact date not being ascer- tainable, a social library, as it was termed, was started, which had a wide patronage and ran a long career of honor and usefulness. Little is known about it at this day ; no records or memoranda of its history having been found, save what exist in the memories of
some of the older inhabitants, in a few volumes from its shelves still extant, and in the provisions of certain testamentary papers left by here and there one of those having an interest in it. It seems to have been started by an association of joint stock pro- prietors whose investment was represented by certificates of shares of undefined monetary value. It was probably accessible to the general public upon the payment of a fixed annual fee. Where it was at first located, there have appeared no means of determining. It is understood that it was for a while housed at
17
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
the residence of Capt. Nathan Whitney, who was probably librarian at the time, whence it was transferred to the cabinet shop of Edward Kendall, Esq., where it remained through all the later years of its existence, Mr. Kendall having it in charge. Once a week, on Saturday afternoon, it was open for the draw- ing or exchanging of books, when its patrons gathered in goodly numbers from all parts of the town to replenish their stock of reading matter for the seven days or more to come. It contained some hundreds of volumes, comprising a generous variety of solid and useful literature, - travels, discoveries, histo- ries, biographies, etc., with a considerable percentage of moral and theological essays and expositions, which filled no small place in the general circulation. Persons still living acknowl- edge themselves to have been greatly benefited by that first library of the town, not only in the way of increasing their stock of valuable information, but of creating in them a love of reading which has contributed very essentially to the use- fulness and pleasure of life. It was no doubt of great service in the same behalf to many others and a blessing to the town. About the year 1835 it was decided to sell the books at public auction and dissolve the association, and this was accordingly done.
After the formation of the society of Universal Restoration- ists, as hereafter to be related, another social library was estab- lished, mostly, if not wholly, by persons belonging to that fel- lowship. It is understood to have been chiefly composed of moral, religious, and theological works, the latter relating prin- cipally to those principles and doctrines which the society claimed to represent. It was located for a time at Mr. Joseph Whitman's, and was open to its patrons on Sunday, being easily accessible from the church at which they generally worshiped. It was not of long continuance, having been after a few years, it is thought, merged in the library of the Universalist Sunday School.
Each of the other religious societies of the town had libra- ries of considerable size connected with their respective Sunday Schools, to the privileges of which both children and adults were admitted free of expense. These all have been maintained with varying degrees of prosperity until the present day, and while prized mainly on account of their moral and religious character and influence, have unquestionably done much to stimulate the intellectual life of the community and to promote that higher and broader culture of the people at large to which head and heart, reason and religion, pay united tribute, and of which they are, in any just conception of the meaning and phi- losophy of education, co-ordinate factors.
School Libraries. At the annual meeting of March 7, 1842, the town was asked, through the agency of some of its most intelligent citizens, "to provide a Library for the several
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