USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dover > Narrative history : a history of Dover, Massachusetts, as a precinct, parish, district, and town > Part 14
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These field-stones in time gave place to slate, which were followed by marble slabs. Later towering marble monuments were erected, which in later years have given place to more solid granite monuments.
HUB ENG.CO. BOSTON.
CEMETERY.
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There are few quaint inscriptions on the gravestones, but there are many original epitaphs which speak of the faith, the hope, the trust of succeeding generations ; and, of course, that quaint epitaph which, in slightly varied forms, has attracted the eye and not irreverently amused the mind of many visitors to both European and American cemeteries, appears in this one. It is found on the gravestone of Samuel Metcalf, who died in 1772, and adds another to the almost endless varia- tion showed in expressing the same sentiment : -
"Stop here, my Friend, and Cast an Eye as you are now so Once was I. as I am now so you must be Prepare for Death and follow me."
The burial-place has been gradually developed in the course of a century and a half from a little neglected spot, overgrown with grass, weeds, and brush, into an attractive cemetery, which is under the watchful super- vising interest of the inhabitants generally and the particular care of a board of cemetery commissioners. The enclosure has been named Highland Cemetery.
In all of the one hundred and sixty-five years of its existence the old burying-ground has never been en- croached upon, or the last resting-place of the fathers disturbed. It is believed that, in excavations that have been made in the vicinity, no mortuary relics have ever been brought to view. Neglected it often has been ; and, perhaps, in the early time, like English churchyards, it was used for pasture purposes, but desecrated never. No record has been kept of the number of burials in the enclosure; and it must be
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found " in the register of God, not in the record of man." Shall we not cherish the spot where, one by one, at the call of the grim messenger, have been buried the young and the old, the loveliest, the hum- blest, and the proudest of those who have dwelt within the confines of what we call home ?
For more than a century the first settlers have been but' a memory. The grave even of the first minister is unknown to many of the merry children who pass it daily on their way to school. Until within a very brief period the graves of Revolutionary officers and privates, as well as soldiers in the second war with Great Britain and in the late Rebellion, were alike unmarked. But now on each recurring Memorial Day the members of the Grand Army of the Republic place flowers over the silent dust of both the makers and defenders of the nation. In the years that have passed, " on how many hundred hearts has fallen the sound of the dropping clay upon the coffin-lid ! What floods of parental tears have moistened that soil, for babes torn away from supporting arms, or sons and daughters cut off in youth's bright hour of promise ! Parents lamented, lovers parted, wives and husbands sundered,- all the sad possibilities of grief and separation have hundreds of times been experienced within those narrow precincts."
CHAPTER XVI.
SCHOOLS.
FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE - DAME SCHOOL - APPROPRIATION FOR SCHOOLS - FIRST WOMAN TEACHER -NEW ENGLAND PRIMER - REQUIRED STUDIES - NEW SCHOOLHOUSE - SCHOOL COMMITTEE - SUPERINTENDENT - FIRST FREE BOOK - CENTER SCHOOL - SANGER SCHOOL - ORGANI- ZATION OF HIGH SCHOOL - EAST SCHOOL - WEST SCHOOL -THE SOUTH DISTRICT - NORTH SCHOOL - SCHOOL LIBRARIES - COLLEGE GRADUATES.
Still sits the schoolhouse by the road, A ragged beggar sunning ; Around it still the sumachs grow, And blackberry vines are running. - WHITTIER.
Dedham was perhaps the first colonial town to estab- lish a free school supported by general taxation. In 1644 the town set up a free school, built a schoolhouse, and supported the school by a general tax. Other schools had been established in Massachusetts, but none were wholly supported by taxation. The Dedham school was practical from the start, and gave elementary instruction in English, writing, and arithmetic. The instruction in penmanship was thorough, and included the art of making and mending quill-pens.
After the first settlers had passed away, the cause of education languished for a time ; but a thorough study of the town records shows that this period was not of long duration. It is impossible to determine just when
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the first school was opened in the Springfield Parish. Before even the precinct was formed, the scattered settlers demanded school privileges for their children.
There was a genuine dame school located on Main Street, near the residence of H. R. Stevens, which may have been the first school. These early dame schools are of interest, where the dame, busy with sewing, knit- ting, or weaving, taught the little children their letters and told them stories from the Bible.
" Her room is small, they cannot widely stray ; Her threshold high, they cannot run away. With bands of yarn she keeps offenders in, And to her gown the sturdiest rogue can pin."
The dame school appeals to our imagination, and shows the earliest of many steps from which the present school system has been evolved.
The demand for schools was met by the town for many years in the " moving school," which was kept by "a master for a few weeks in different parts of the town, as appointed by the selectmen. Small schoolhouses were sometimes erected by individuals. The earliest Dover records show the existence of such a schoolhouse, which was situated on Haven Street, not far from the house of George Ellis Chickering. It was a peculiarity of these early schools that the boys were obliged to furnish the wood in winter ; and, if the parents sent logs too large to be used in the open fireplaces, the boys had to cut them up.
The first separate appropriation for schools in the Springfield Precinct was made by the town of Dedham in 1726, when it appropriated five pounds to support
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a school in the " westerly part of Dedham." Eleazer Ellis and Nathaniel Chickering were appointed to see that the money was properly expended. The first schoolhouse was probably in existence at this time. The precinct made the repairs to the building, although owned by individuals, as Timothy Ellis was paid "7s. 4d." for mending the windows in 1758. In 1738 one eighth of the appropriation for schools in Ded- ham was given to the Springfield Precinct, amounting to ten pounds. An equal appropriation was made in 1743. Little is known of the early schoolmasters, as their names are not given in the parish records. They were probably for the most part Harvard students, many of whom were capable of impressing their person- ality on the lives of their pupils. In this age of progress, when we have come to recognize the worth and work of woman, it is gratifying to know that the first woman teacher paid by the town of Dedham for teaching was Miss Mary Green, who taught in the Springfield Precinct in 1757. The first teacher of whom we have any record was William Symmes. Closing his engagement here, he became a tutor at Harvard College. Mr. Symmes taught here during the winter of 1754-55.
The New England primer, which was in universal use at this time, may be contrasted with our beautifully illustrated and graded primers of to-day. It is thus described by George H. Martin, who has made the early schools of Massachusetts a careful study. It began with the alphabet, large and small, the vowels and consonants, and combinations of these. Then followed lists of words for spelling,-first of two syllables, then
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of three, then of four, then of five, ending with " abomi- nation," " justification," etc. Then followed some moral injunctions : " Pray to God," " Hate Lies"; then some Bible questions and answers, "Who was the first man?" then selections from the Proverbs, arranged alphabetically, "A wise son," etc .; then the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, Watts's Cradle Hymn ; then miscellaneous hymns, "Now I lay me," etc. Proper names of men and women for spelling followed ; then Agur's Prayer, "Give me neither poverty nor riches"; last, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, so- called.
Each edition had a series of cuts illustrating promi- nent Bible scenes, each with a couplet condensing the narrative, as : -
" In Adam's fall We sinned all."
The practical selections and pictures varied in differ- ent editions. The front picture in some was a child repeating his evening prayer at his mother's knee, in others several children standing before the mother, while still another represented a school,-a dame school.
Arithmetic, the English language, and orthography were made compulsory studies in 1789. Geography was not made a required study until 1827.
As a disciplinary study arithmetic was made very prominent in the early schools. The solutions of prob- lems were carefully written out in blank-books. Some carefully preserved manuscript copies show great ability in solving intricate problems, fine penmanship, and a degree of neatness which it would be hard to excel.
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The "Rule of Three" was made very prominent. Among the different subjects were "Fellowship," " Barter," "Tare," and "Tret." Girls were not ex- pected to cipher much beyond the four fundamental rules. Many rules were given in the arithmetic of this period, but no reasons for any of the processes. The pupils followed their rules, and performed their problems as if by magic. A new era in teaching was introduced in the publication of Warren Colburn's " First Lessons," which called for the exercise of reason in solving prob- lems. In 1761 the parish had completed its meeting- house, and was now anxious to gain better school facili- ties by placing the schoolhouse in a more central position. The warrant for the March meeting in 1761 contained an article to see if the precinct would move the schoolhouse to a more convenient place, near the meeting-house. In case the proprietors refused to allow the schoolhouse to be moved, the precinct was to consider the proposition to build a new schoolhouse and to choose a committee for the same. Some of the proprietors refused to give their consent, and at the March meeting in 1762 it was voted to build a new schoolhouse next to the meeting-house. There seems to have been some difficulty in locating the building, as the spot was not designated ; and at the annual March meeting in 1763 the precinct was asked to locate the spot, and at an adjourned meeting held March 21, 1763, it voted to build a new schoolhouse opposite to " ye north side of ye meeting-house." The school- house was built on a lot of land four rods square, which was given for the purpose by Dea. Joshua Ellis, who thus defines the bounds : "The southerly line of ye said
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square to bound south on the highway that leads by the north side of the meeting-house."
Daniel Chickering, Asa Mason, and Jonathan Whit- ing, Jr., were chosen a committee to prepare material and gain authority from the General Court to build a schoolhouse. Col. John Jones, Daniel Chickering, and Hezekiah Allen, Jr., were chosen a committee to ar- range with the town of Dedham for the proportion of school money which belonged to the Springfield Pre- cinct, and to appropriate the sum towards the building of a new schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was com- pleted and accepted by the precinct January 20, 1764. It cost £54, 6s., 4d.
In 1766 it was voted to divide the school money, the different sections of the precinct to draw their propor- tional part. The precinct seems to have been divided into four distinct districts,- the Center, the East, the West, and the Southwest. This division into school districts was some years in advance of State legislation, which sanctioned such a division in 1789, but did not give the school district the power to tax until 1800. In this year districts were authorized to hold meetings, to choose a clerk to decide upon schoolhouse sites, to raise money by taxation, to pay for land and building, furnish- ing, or repairing schoolhouses. In 1817 the school dis- trict was made a corporation, and in 1827 was required to choose a prudential committee, who had the care of school property in the district and the selection and employment of the teacher. The school district now became a political institution and worthy of careful consideration in the study of civil government.
The teacher, although employed by the prudential
SANGER SCHOOLHOUSE.
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committee-man, must present a certificate of qualifica- tion from the town committee before opening the school. All the money for school purposes was still raised by the town, the district being responsible only for its expenditure. The division of school money was often a perplexing question. Sometimes the district drew its proportional part of the school money by the scholar, but for the most part it was divided in propor- tion as each district paid taxes for the support of schools.
In 1818 it was voted "that, after deducting the money paid for children who attend other schools, the Center District shall have three-sevenths, and the East and West Schools four-sevenths, of the money remain- ing." In the development of the school system, the itinerant schoolmaster and the dame school was fol- lowed by a school year divided into two terms,- a long winter term, and a short summer term which continued into August. The school year of twenty-eight weeks was divided into three terms in 1869. The school year has been gradually increased until now it consists of thirty-eight weeks.
The frugality of the people is illustrated in the selec- tion of sites for the schoolhouses. The Center District kept its schoolhouse for many years on the public com- mon. The West schoolhouse was set on a worthless knoll near the geographical center of the district, while the Union schoolhouse was built at the junction of several roads, on a little piece of worthless land.
In March, 1774, the precinct voted to build three new schoolhouses at an expense of fifty-five pounds ; but in April of the same year the vote was rescinded, probably on account of the times, which were very
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threatening and promised war. The precinct in 1781 again considered the subject of providing schoolhouses for the outside districts, but voted to postpone the building of new schoolhouses. We do not wonder at this, as they had been so heavily taxed to meet the expenses of the Revolutionary War. The only gift of money which has ever come to the schools was made in 1789 by Dea. Joseph Haven, who presented the parish with £13, 6s., 8d. Instead of making it a fund the parish voted to take five pounds a year until it was spent. The district desired to have charge of its school buildings, and in 1790 voted to take possession of all its schoolhouses.
The district voted in 1807 to choose a committee to define the limits of the school districts. The Tisdales and Simeon Cheney were permitted to send their chil- dren to the westerly part of Dedham; Israel Loring, Samuel Perry, and Jacob Marshall, to the First School in Natick ; and Eleazer Allen and Jesse Newell, to the North School in Medfield.
In 1825, to meet the requirements of law, the district voted "that a committee of freeholders be chosen in each school district annually. Said committee with the clergyman of the town shall assemble as often as they shall think necessary, to counsel on the best methods of instruction for each particular school, to provide a suit- able instructor, and to examine and recommend such books and regulations as they may from time to time think proper."
The first board of school committee was chosen in 1826, and consisted of the Rev. Ralph Sanger, Noah Fiske, and Dea. Ephraim Wilson. The first school
2II
SCHOOLS
report was made to the town in 1844. The school report was printed for the first time in 1851, and has been printed annually since with but one exception.
In April, 1865, the town voted to place the schools in charge of a superintendent, to be chosen by the school committee, at a salary of twenty-two dollars a year. The plan worked so well that since that time the schools have been in charge of a superintendent. In the date of its appointment Dover was among the first of the smaller towns in the Commonwealth to elect a superintendent of schools. The first free books seem to have been furnished in 1828, when the Rev. Dr. Sanger was paid three dollars and seventy-three cents for books furnished to pupils. It was voted in 1865 to furnish school-books at cost, the town paying an agent ten dollars a year for supplying the pupils. This cus- tom was continued until the introduction of free text- books in 1884.
The children were trained to work in school, and both the boys and girls were taught to sew, and some to braid straw. The introduction, therefore, of sewing into schools is nothing new, but really a very old custom.
The location of the Center schoolhouse was thought to endanger the new meeting-house, so a committee was chosen in 1811 to move the schoolhouse; and it was voted "that the house should stand on the district land near the southwest corner of the land of John Williams, to stand so as to have the south side of said building in a range with the fence on the south line of said Williams's land." There was an effort made in 1817 to have the district build a new schoolhouse at the Center ; but this troublesome question was settled by
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the vote " that each school district shall build or repair its own schoolhouses."
In 1824 the district was anxious to displace its old and dilapidated schoolhouse with a new one, not only of larger proportions, but two stories in height, the second story to be used for hall purposes ; and a vote to build such a schoolhouse was passed by the district. Later this vote was reconsidered, and it was voted to build a schoolhouse one story high. The committee did not proceed to build ; and in 1825 a committee chosen to consider the matter recommended that a schoolhouse one story in height be built, "that if individuals will propose and agree to add a second story of eight feet in height at their own cost and expense, by their being possessed of the exclusive right of improvements, of rents and profits of the same, etc., we likewise rec- ommend that they may have liberty so to build said second story." No propositions having been received from individuals, the old building was occupied until a new one was built, in 1827. The district petitioned in 1824 for the improvement of a piece of common land containing a quarter of an acre, "for the purpose of erecting a schoolhouse with sufficient yard room."
This request was granted by the district of Dover, and bounds were established as follows : "to stand on land now owned by Aaron Whiting, at or near the turn of his fence, a few rods southeast from land owned by the Center School district, and adjoining land or near the west end of land owned by the heirs of Samuel Fisher."
The new schoolhouse was thirty-one and one-half feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and nine feet high. In
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winter it often accommodated ninety scholars. In this building the old-time fireplace gave way to a Franklin stove, which was considered a great improvement. The seats were arranged in long rows across the room in terraces, and those in the back seats overlooked all in front.
In 1855 the district voted to move the schoolhouse to the common ; and there it remained until 1873, when the town purchased the property adjoining the southeast side of the common on Center Street, and the school- house was moved to the newly purchased lot. The building was somewhat improved at this time, and was occupied until January, 1888.
School districts were abolished by the General Court in 1869. The school property in Dover was appraised by Solomon Flagg, of Wellesley ; Thomas Phillips, of Natick ; and Nathan Phillips, of Dedham. The East District had the most valuable property, which was appraised at seven hundred and twenty-seven dollars.
The school property at this time was in a bad condi- tion, the aggregate valuation amounting to only two thousand three hundred and fifty dollars.
The first public graduating exercises were held in 1876. A class of four girls received diplomas, which were presented by the Rev. Warren H. Cudworth, of Boston, with exercises in the First Parish church.
Singing was introduced into the schools with a special teacher in 1887, followed by the introduction of drawing in 1896.
The Sanger schoolhouse was built after plans fur- nished by Messrs. Allen & Kenway, of Boston. The building in the main is modelled after plans issued
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by the United States government as a model country schoolhouse.
While its architectural proportions are good, it is unusually well-adapted to school work, being exception- ally well lighted, heated, and ventilated. The building was named the " Sanger School " in memory of the Rev. Ralph Sanger, D.D., who had charge of the Dover schools for so many years. At the distance of more than a half century we may turn back and read Dr. Sanger's words in reference to his long labors for the cause of public-school education : -
I have earnestly desired that our schools might be so improved that every child in our highly favored country may have, an oppor- tunity of learning, in these invaluable seminaries, all the ele- ments of useful knowledge, and thus be prepared to discharge incumbent duties with propriety, satisfaction, and honor. Persons thus instructed in our common schools will be enabled, and it may be hoped, disposed, when they leave school, to carry on the work of education still further, to read, study, examine, judge, decide, and act for themselves.
There would then be a community of intelligent, well-informed members. And, if such persons should at the same time have suitable attention paid to their moral and religious education, then the community would consist of virtuous as well as of in- telligent members. A virtuous and intelligent community would rightly understand, appreciate, improve, and transmit the precious privileges which an indulgent Providence has made it our happy lot to enjoy. I have earnestly wished that our common schools might be so improved as to do their part towards accomplishing this desirable purpose, that thus, according to the beautiful language of the Psalmist, "Our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace." Oh, who would not be willing to labor and toil for such a glorious object? And labor and toil are in no small degree required for this purpose.
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But what good can ever be gained without labor and pains ? This is the condition upon which all improvement is made. This is the condition upon which all good is procured. This is the price which must be paid for it. We must be willing to pay the price, or we cannot expect to gain the good. I have, therefore, most readily and with great pleasure, done what little I could to encourage our schools, and in any suitable way and by any suitable means to promote the cause of good education here and in all places by exciting a taste for reading and intellectual improvement.
Dr. Sanger early saw that a perfect system of public- school education - beginning in the elementary school - must culminate with the free public library. Con- cerning this he said : -
I have considered it very desirable to encourage in the com- munity around me a love of useful reading. For this purpose I have lent books of my own, for this purpose I have encouraged and taken care of a library, consisting now of more than seven hundred volumes, some of them works of standard merit.
The Sanger schoolhouse was dedicated on Wednes- day,. January 25, 1888. The report of the building- committee was made by Eben Higgins. The keys were presented by the Rev. A. E. Battelle and accepted by Frank Smith, superintendent of schools.
Addresses were made by the Hon. George P. Sanger, of Boston, and George H. Walton, of Newton, who represented the State Board of Education. The dedi- catory prayer was by the Rev. A. M. Rice, and the benediction by the Rev. T. S. Norton.
Repeated efforts were made from time to time to have the town pay the tuition of pupils in surround- ing high schools, but the proposition always failed. In
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the division of the Sanger School in 1888 a high- school course was introduced, which has since been maintained, giving the boys and the girls of the town an opportunity to take an English high-school course or fit at home for the Massachusetts Agricultural College and the several State normal schools.
The East School was formed and schoolhouse built by vote of the district of Dover, April 6, 1785. An appro- priation of twenty-five pounds was made, and it was voted "that, if this sum is not sufficient to erect the schoolhouse, the balance must be raised by the school district." The schoolhouse was located nearly opposite the house of John Cummings.
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