History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II, Part 53

Author: Sutton (Mass. : Town); Benedict, William Addison; Tracy, Hiram Averill; Dudley, John C., d. 1951
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: [Sutton, Mass.]
Number of Pages: 656


USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II > Part 53


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In 1844, the Lodge moved to new quarters in Wilkinsonville, where it re- mained for six years. "The hall in Sutton Centre became a bone of contention between the two owners, culminating in the sale of the Lodge's interest in Janu- ary 1851." The Lodge then returned to the hall in West Sutton.


Dates for the erection of other schools have not been found but it is probable that all the district schoolhouses were built early in the 1800s, if not before that time. The Eight Lots records a teacher in 1811.


The sites of thirteen district schools are shown on the Zephaniah Keech Map of 1831, a copy of which is in the first part of this book. The Manchaug School seems to be on Duval Road near the Douglas Line. The Torreyville schoolhouse was at its present location. (The Otto Peterson home.) Mrs. Almeda Fuller Donaldson, in 1876, went to a new building there, which would indicate that it replaced the former one. She completed the work of the grades in the school but could not attend high school because of lack of transportation. The Harback School was at the corner of Boston and Sibley Roads, its location before it was moved east on Boston Road. The floor in this building, in the early days, was also on an inclined plane and it is reported that captive apples, escaping from the rear desks, often rolled all the way down to the teacher's feet. The Wilkin- sonville School was at Hartness and Boston Roads, its site before it was changed to its present location on Boston Road.


The South Sutton Schoolhouse, repaired in 1843, which stood near the church, was destroyed by fire in 1875. A new building was erected the next year on the road to Manchaug. When this schoolhouse burned, a third was built in 1886 on Barnett Road, which was sold at auction in 1951.


The Union School was built in 1822 by Northbridge and Sutton. There was no legal authority at this time for such a combination, but it was formed. Details of the transaction are furnished by Attorney J. Fred Humes.


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The following deed was made August 21, 1822 and recorded March 20, 1863. "Luke Prentice to Inhabitants of School District No. 9 in Northbridge commonly called Luke Prentice's District and Inhabitants of School District No. 8 in Sutton commonly called John Burdon's District-a certain piece or parcel of land situ- ated in the easterly part of said Sutton containing four rods and is bounded as follows, to wit: Beginning at a stake and stones by the County road leading from Capt. Henry Chapin's to said Prentice's about seven rods from the corner made by said road and the road leading to Mr. Aaron Davenport's being on the East- erly side of the first mentioned road;


"To Have and to Hold etc. . . . upon the express condition that they the said Inhabitants shall within one year from the date of this deed erect a suitable and decent school house thereon and that they and their successors as inhabitants and members of said districts shall forever improve and occupy the same as dis- trict property, having no other buildings but a school house and such other build- ings as a majority of said districts may judge necessary for the convenience of said house thereon; and that whenever the aforesaid premises shall cease to have a school house thereon and to be improved as such and shall so continue for the space of one year, then the aforesaid premises are to revert to the said Prentice and his heirs, the aforesaid deed not withstanding. In covenants "being liable to revert back only in case as aforesaid.' " Deed acknowledged before Summer Bastow.


In 1834, a statute was enacted relating to Union or Regional Schools, which, it is believed, was the earliest Massachusetts law on the subject.


Massachusetts Laws 1834 Chap. 153.


AN ACT RESPECTING THE FORMATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS


"SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That, from and after the passing of this act, it shall be lawful, in cases where two or more contiguous school districts, in ad- joining towns, are each, in their opinion, too small profitably to sustain schools in each, for such districts to unite and form one district, having all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the requirements and liabilities, which now are, or may hereafter be created by law, in regard to school districts; provided, that in order to form such union of districts, at legal meetings called in each district for that purpose, a majority of the voters in the district, present and voting on the subject, shall determine to unite; and upon such votes being certified by the clerk, to the town clerk of each town, at legal town meetings called for the purpose, a majority of the voters in each town, present and voting, shall determine to permit such union. Provided, also, that whenever the numbers shall have increased in such united district, so that a majority of the voters, present at any legal meeting called for the purpose, and voting on the subject, shall deem it expedient to separate, and again form two or more districts, it shall be lawful for them so to do, first obtaining the con- sent of the respective towns, in the same manner as is required for uniting them as aforesaid.


SECTION 2. Be it further enacted, That the first meeting of such united district shall be called is such manner as may be agreed upon by the respective districts, at the time of forming the union; and at that meeting, the manner of calling future meetings shall be determined by a majority of the voters, present and voting on the subject, and shall con- tinue, until a different manner shall be prescribed by the district, at a legal meeting called for the purpose. And it shall be the duty of such district, at the first meeting, and annually thereafterwards, to choose a prudential committee, who shall receive and expend the money raised and appropriated for said district, in each town, and generally possess all the powers, and discharge all the duties prescribed by law to be possessed and discharged by prudential committees.


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MANCHAUG SCHOOL


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SECTION 3. Be it further enacted, That all monies which may be voted to be raised by such united district, pursuant to the provisions of the statutes of the Commonwealth, shall be assessed upon the polls and estate of the inhabitants of said district, and collected in the same manner that other taxes are assessed and collected. And it shall be the duty of the inhabitants of such district, at the time of voting to raise such monies, to determine what proportion shall be paid by the inhabitants of each town respectively, in proportion to their polls and estates; and the duty of the clerk of said district to certify such vote to the assessors of each town respectively.


SECTION 4. Be it further enacted, That the school committees of the towns from which such united district is formed, shall discharge the duties of school committees toward the same, in alternate years, commencing, from the time of union, with the most ancient town. Sections 5 and 6 follow.


Approved by Governor, March 29, 1834.


Sutton and Northbridge therefore anticipated this law by twelve years.


The management of the schools in the early years was under a prudential committee, its members chosen by the District. In 1826, an act was passed by the state legislature by which a school committee of three or more was appointed to take general superintendence of the schools, but the employment of teachers was in the hands of the prudential committee.


Under this District System, it was impossible to grade the schools or to intro- duce any kind of uniformity in methods of instruction. January first, 1882, the District System was brought to an end by an act of the legislature. At this time there had been but two grammar schools in town-that at the Center in connec- tion with the high school and one in Manchaug. While the system was in force, an account was kept of the committee's proceedings. It is remembered that one faithful recorder closed his report of each meeting with this form, "Meeting adjourned. Sign or dye."


The small rural school presented problems. One was a matter of expense. In 1880, in a school of eleven, the average cost per pupil was over nineteen dollars, while, in a school of 213, the cost was about a dollar and a half. Many of these schools could be kept open less than seven months a year and at times they were closed for a period of years. With small numbers there was lack of stimulus from little competition. In the schools, generally, supervision was needed, many teach- ers being inexperienced and untrained.


Evening schools were held in Manchaug and Wilkinsonville for several years in the 1880s. In 1884, free textbooks were furnished, as required by law, an action not favored by the School Board. By the law of 1890, every person was required to attend school between the ages of eight and fourteen. Years later, the age limit was raised to sixteen years.


Annual School Festivals were held from 1895 through 1903. A day in June was set apart for the pupils of all the schools and their parents to meet in the Sutton Town Hall where a program of musical numbers and recitations was given by the pupils with addresses by educators. The school work of the children was exhibited and included were collections of plants and minerals made by them. These festivals were occasions for pupils and parents from scattered dis- tricts to meet on common ground and were enthusiastic gatherings.


In 1897, complaints began to be heard about crowded conditions. The thirty year-old school at Manchaug could not accommodate its numbers and the Music Hall building was used, which, however, had no seats but settees. There were no


WILKINSONVILLE SCHOOL


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desks for the sub-primary grade which registered eighty children. Two years fol- lowing, the old building of three rooms was repaired and a new building of two rooms was annexed, Mr. Robert Knight giving the old school and the land to the Town for a nominal sum.


A law was passed, in 1902, requiring the school committee to employ a super- intendent of schools. Towns having a valuation less than two million five hun- dred thousand dollars, could form a union with another town. Sutton combined with Auburn, January 7, 1902, and this union lasted until 1951.


In 1902, there was a fire in the Manchaug School, only two rooms saved. The next year a new building was erected with repairs to the old part. The Harback School was moved to a new site, east, on Boston Road, where there was a good water supply. A half acre of playground was purchased for each of the Union and the Leland Hill Schools.


A School Physician was appointed in 1907; a School Nurse in 1922. In 1908, an assistant was engaged for the Union School, the enrollment at that date being fifty-two. In 1910, the Town terminated the joint ownership of this school with Northbridge by the payment of about four hundred fifty dollars.


In the Town Report of 1914, the School Board commented on the lack of water in the five schools, Eight Lots, South Sutton, Union, Leland Hill and Old Stone, the pupils having had to bring drinking water from their homes. This Report found its way to D.L.T. Chase of Quincy, Mass., who wrote a letter to the Board. He referred to his early association with the Old Stone, as a pupil, in 1847, at the age of five, and because of his affection for the school he offered to finance the drilling of a well on the grounds. The Board accepted his offer and the next year a good well supplied the school.


February 7, 1916, $10,000 was appropriated by the town for the building of an addition to the Wilkinsonville School. This construction was completed the following year and included the installation of up-to-date heating, lighting, ventilation and sanitary improvements. The dedication took place May 17, 1917.


To relieve the crowded conditions in the center buildings, in 1929, a room in the Town Hall (Grange Hall) was opened for pupils and, in 1948, two rooms in the Town Hall were equipped for the grammar grades.


Consolidation had been advocated for many years and, from time to time, two or more schools had been combined. Finally, the one-room buildings were closed permanently as follows: Torreyville, 1897; Old Stone, 1916; Eight Lots, 1918; Hathaway, Union and Leland Hill, 1932; Harback, 1941; Putnam Hill, 1942; West Sutton, 1943; South Sutton, 1950.


The Eight Lots building was purchased by the Eight Lots School Association, in 1928. Harback School was sold to the Dudley-Gendron Post of the American Legion in 1949. The Putnam Hill School was destroyed by fire, in 1952. The Torreyville, Hathaway, Union, Leland Hill, West Sutton and South Sutton Schoolhouses have been made into private homes.


When Memorial School was opened in 1950, there were created three centers of instruction, Sutton Center, Manchaug and Wilkinsonville.


The rural school was not without its advantages. It played a great part in the training of the young people of the town. Men, who, later, won distinction in many lines of activity, began their education in these district schools. Much credit


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goes to the splendid teachers, who spared no time or effort to help in the devel- opment of the individual pupil.


The District Schoolhouse was a community center and was used for local enter- tainments and religious meetings. The families showed a pride and an interest in the school and its equipment. The School Board in its reports commented on the work of a few of these local groups. At the Harback, the mothers secured a piano, furnished shades and had electricity installed. The South Sutton Com- munity provided modern improvements in the building and gave a teacher's desk and chair. At Putnam Hill, the pupils raised money for school equipment and, aided by agricultural students from the North High School of Worcester, painted and repaired the schoolhouse and landscaped the grounds.


Superintendent Morgan closed his 1951 report as follows: "The year 1950 was one of outstanding progress in the Schools of Sutton. It saw completed and occupied the new Sutton Memorial School. It marked more than just the building of a new school. It brought an era to an end, for on June 16, 1950, the South Sutton School was closed, the last of Sutton's many one-room schools. Thus, if June marked the close of one era, September conversely began another, the era of consolidation. Out of Sutton's one-room schools came many brilliant young men and women who later became outstanding men and women. Let us hope that the Sutton Memorial School will be as effective for the boys and girls of its time as were the one-room, rural schools of a bygone day."


THE HIGH SCHOOL


The first sessions of the public High School in Sutton were held in Wilkinson- ville, April 14, 1873, with Mr. Walter Wheeler as teacher. The fall term was at West Sutton and the winter term at Sutton Center. In 1874, it was voted to hold the high school in one place and Sutton Center was chosen, since the majority of pupils came from that district. The average number of students for the first three years was thirty-five.


Mr. Wheeler was an unusually fine teacher, held in great respect by his former students. "He had the rare faculty of imparting knowledge and the love of it." He was interested in the welfare of his pupils and, in one instance, began the study of Greek to better prepare a promising student who was entering college. He was very active in the village life, a practical man and a good executive.


In the 1880s, there were two courses of study, the Classical and the English Course. In the two courses, arithmetic was given one third year, algebra and geometry one year each. The English work consisted of grammar, rhetoric and composition, and literature the third and fourth years, alternating with general history. There was also a course in American history. In science, there were courses in chemistry or physics and botany or geology. It was difficult to arrange for the science classes. Three years of Latin were required in the Classical Course. The English Course differed little from the Classical, except in the omission of Latin. In some years, the latter Course could be completed in three years. In 1890, there was a High School in Manchaug, which was discontinued in 1892.


A number of principals succeeded Mr. Wheeler in the High School. In Sep- tember 1895, the School Committee were pleased to announce the appointment


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of Miss Sarah Elizabeth Wedge as principal. Miss Wedge was an excellent in- structor, following the steps of her father, Newell Wedge, a distinguished teach- er in the Sutton schools. She was well educated and had traveled in the United States and in Europe. With no assistant, she taught the many subjects required, a great accomplishment, considering the number in the curriculum. Her students, entering higher institutions, were proud of the thorough preparation she had given them. She is remembered with great appreciation and affection.


For thirty years the sessions of the High School were held on the second floor of the General Rufus Putnam building, the classes then being small enough to be accommodated. A cloakroom was used sometimes for supplementary work. In the main room, there were double desks and benches and the boys and girls sat on opposite sides of the room. A cabinet organ furnished music for singing with sometimes a violin and flute, provided a player was in the group. In 1895, the classes were proud to purchase a new organ with funds they had raised.


Many pupils lived from one to three miles from the Center and generally walked back and forth to school in fair weather, rain or snow. They had plenty of exercise, since on arrival home "chores" on the farm or household duties awaited them.


"Hill Dill" and baseball on the school ground and coasting in the winter were popular sports. Parties during the week were unusual. An education was valued in that day, possibly more than now, since attendance at school meant sacrifice of some kind for parent or pupil. Those who came usually wished to continue their studies.


Examinations for entrance to high school were held, in 1894, and the practice continued until 1900. An interesting series of lectures, in 1900-1902, sponsored by the principal and parents, provided funds for a good reference library in the school.


In 1899, arrangement was made for the teaching of a commercial subject. Two years only of high school work were given in 1903, but the year following, an assistant was employed and the four-year course was again offered with a special three-year arrangement to complete the four-year requirement. In 1906, by State law, every town having 500 families was required to have a high school. A legal high school must offer a four-year course to fit for Normal School, College or Technical School.


The new High School opened on Singletary Avenue, in 1908. The Town voted, in 1910, to appropriate $250 to equip a laboratory for the school. Two years before this, an entertainment was given and the proceeds used to buy an air pump. In 1912, the course of study was revised to follow the suggestions made by the State Board.


During 1914, an agricultural course was given in the high school, $800 having been appropriated by the town for that purpose. Two thirds of the salary of the teacher was borne by the State. The course called for home and public projects by the pupils, outside of regular classes. The school grounds and the Common were cared for and were greatly improved. Successful extension work for the community was also conducted by the instructor. The school's agricultural library was considered the best in the State.


The instructors in this course were unusually active. In one year, from March till January, 283 visits were made and 947 miles covered in the performance of


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the work. The Course ended in 1916 from lack of sufficient interest on the part of citizens and pupils. Fewer than ten students had elected the course.


A second assistant was appointed, in 1916. Transportation to the high school was provided this year and the enrollment rose from the twenties to forty-seven. Through the efforts of Mrs. Fred L. Batcheller, programs of community singing were directed by Mr. J. Edward Bouvier for several years about 1920, accumulat- ing a fund of $350. This, with a town appropriation, was used to purchase a new piano for the school.


During the depression in 1933, the Superintendent and the teachers refunded two full days' pay to the School Department. In 1937, a commercial course was introduced which twelve Juniors elected. There were one hundred eighteen pupils in the school, in 1940. An additional teacher was added the next year for com- mercial studies so the high school staff consisted of the principal and four as- sistants.


A regular music and art teacher was engaged, in 1946, for the high school and the grades. This course was discontinued in 1947, but two hours a week was given in 1949. Elementary art and music instruction was continued in the grades.


The program of sports, during the years, had been limited. In 1930, basket- ball for boys and girls was played in the Town Hall; previously the upper floor of the General Rufus Putnam School had been used for this practice. The school grounds and the athletic field served for baseball. The teachers had coached the teams in addition to their classroom duties.


September 18, 1950, the Sutton schools opened with twenty-two teachers, five hundred eighty-seven pupils and only three school buildings. Manchaug was re- duced from eight grades, five teachers and over two hundred pupils to six grades, five teachers and one hundred seventy-eight pupils. For the first time Grade I was a separate entity. Wilkinsonville had been changed from a school of four teachers, eight grades and one hundred forty-seven pupils to three teachers, six grades and ninety-two pupils. The new Sutton Memorial School had taken over the burden carried by the others. There were in it grades one through twelve, fourteen teachers and two hundred twenty-two children; somewhat over one hundred in the high school, about the same number in grades seven and eight, four rooms of grades one through six, which included another hundred.


The curriculum in the high school had been much improved by the introduc- tion of Industrial Art and Home Economics for all pupils, grades seven through twelve. These courses are compulsory for grades seven and eight. There are still four small sections of grades seven and eight, taught by three teachers. Approxi- mately two hundred forty-five pupils have a hot lunch daily in the new school at a cost to the children of twenty cents a day, made possible by a Federal subsidy. Five buses are needed for the transportation of the children.


The sports program of the high school was intensified with two or more men teachers and one woman as coaches. The auditorium-gymnasium is a great asset for physical training and sports as well as providing a place for school assemblies and student entertainments. The playground adjoining the building offers facili- ties for instruction and recreation. The choral work of the high school and the glee club received recognition in the town and at Festivals in Milford and Worcester.


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Many people have made contributions to the schools. Mr. W.W. Windle gave to the Memorial School a Hammond Electric Organ and a Spinet Piano. The Library with shelf space for twenty-five hundred volumes has had gifts of books from community organizations and individuals. In Manchaug, contributions amounting to hundreds of dollars have been made by the pupils, teachers and the village for equipment within the school, including visual aids, and for the playground.


There are three Courses in the High School: General, Commercial and Col- lege. A high school diploma requires sixteen units of credit. A unit is a full-year 'prepared" (homework) subject. A half-unit subject may be a half-year prepared subject or a full year, unprepared (no home study) subject such as typewriting.


Four years or three units of English are required in each course. The other requirements are as follows: College Course. Fifteen units, including two units of Latin or French or two units each of Latin and French, three units of Mathe- matics, one unit of, History and the remaining elective. General Course. One unit each of General Science, World History and United States History and the remaining from elective groups. Commercial Course. One unit each of General Mathematics, Bookkeeping, World History, Typewriting, Shorthand, Office Prac- tice and the remaining from elective groups.


A Bronze Memorial Tablet on which are inscribed the names of all service men from Sutton, in World War II, was placed in the vestibule of Memorial School, in 1952. It bears the inscription




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