USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine, Volume II, 1875-1900 > Part 9
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68
HISTORY OF BELFAST
in the Unity Club course at the Unitarian Church. The closing lecture in the club course was February 26, 1895, by Rev. Edwin Pond Parker, D.D., of Hartford, Connecticut, on "Truth and Fiction."
As a lecturer and public speaker, Miss Charlotte Thorndike Sibley, now Mrs. Henry Hoyt Hilton, acquired more than a local reputation. In 1895, she visited Palestine, and on her re- turn appeared before large audiences in many New England cities. "Over the Palestine Hills on Horseback," was the title of one of her most widely given lectures. At the Christian En- deavor Convention in Boston, her address was enthusiastically received.1
For the season of 1895-96, lectures were provided by the Peo- ple's Lecture Course, by the following: James Kay Applebee, on "Charles Dickens"; John De Witt Miller, on "The Stranger at Our Gates"; Robert Stuart McArthur, D.D., on "The Em- pire of the Czar - The Great Bear of the North"; Roberts Harper, on "Around the World in a Man-of-War"; and Rev. Edwin Pond Parker, D.D., on "Sydney Smith." The receipts from this course were $553.45; disbursements, $517.10; leaving a balance of $36.35 for the following year.
For 1896-97 the People's Course commenced with a concert by the Apollo Quartette, followed by lectures from John De Witt Miller, on "The Uses of Ugliness"; Dr. A. A. Willetts, on "Sunshine"; Colonel George W. Bain, on "Among the Masses"; Dr. P. S. Henson, on "Fools"; President Butler, of Colby Uni- versity, on "The Study of Literature"; the course closing with a concert by the "Lyceum Stars."
In the winter of 1897-98, among the entertainments provided by the People's Course were lectures from Dr. Lyman B. Sperry, of Oberlin, Ohio, on "Gumption and Grit"; Dr. James Hedley, on "What is a Man Worth?"; and Rev. A. S. Gumbart, of Bos- ton, on "A Tramp through London." There were two concerts.
No regular course was maintained during 1898 and 1899, but
1 The following are the titles of others of Miss Sibley's lectures: "The Brownings under Blue Italian Skies"; "The Development of the Higher Sym- pathies - Robert and Elizabeth Browning"; "Christ in Literature and Art in the Last Half of the Nineteenth Century "; "The Parliament of Religions "; "A Torch and a Task"; "Castles in the British Isles"; "Egypt in Starlight and Sunshine "; " Constantinople, the City of the Golden Horn "; "The Land of Song and Sculpture - Greece "; "Child Life and Schools in the Orient."
69
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY - LECTURES
lectures were given by General John B. Gordon, on "The Last Days of the Confederacy"; and by Dr. James Hedley, on "Wisdom's Jewelled Ring."
In November and December, 1899, lectures were delivered before the Belfast Teachers' Club by Rev. W. H. Woude, of Castine, on "John Ruskin and his Mission," and by Rev. James Monroe Leighton, on "Books and Their Uses."
In 1900-01, the teachers of the High School arranged a course of lectures at Memorial Hall, for the benefit of the school library, as follows: "The Fall of the Roman Empire in the West," by William MacDonald, Ph.D., of Bowdoin College; "Character- istics of Poetry," by H. M. Estabrooke, M.S., of the University of Maine; "The Age of Louis the Fourteenth," by A. N. Leonard, Ph.D., instructor in Bates College; "The Bible as Literature," by Professor A. J. Roberts, of Colby College; "The Acropolis and its Influence in the History of Greek Art," by John H. Huddilston, Ph.D., professor in the University of Maine.
CHAPTER XIV
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY - COLLEGE GRADUATES AND STUDENTS
College Students from Belfast - List of Graduates and Students at Colleges, Seminaries and Professional Schools - Persons who studied in Europe.
O F this chapter, the title only was found among Mr. William- son's papers. Its wording has made it possible for us to include four general classes of students, as follows: First, col- lege graduates and undergraduates, who were natives of Belfast, or attended Belfast schools; second, a few students, who, though never themselves actual residents of the town, or students there, are descended from old Belfast families; third, teachers and sup- erintendents of the Belfast schools, under whom the greater part of the students received their preparatory training, though the names of this third class are not counted in the summaries, unless they were connected with Belfast other than through their school positions; and fourth, to make the record still more com- plete, names have been included of persons who studied in Europe, whether at higher institutions of learning, secondary schools, or under private tuition.
From Volume I we find that, previous to 1874, 35 students, all men, graduated at 4 colleges, as follows: Bowdoin, 22; Harvard, 6; Waterville, now Colby, 5; Tufts, 2. The data of the present chapter show that from 1875 to 1900, 90 men have studied at 31 higher institutions of learning, as follows: Harvard, 19; Uni- versity of Maine, 16; Tufts, 11; Bowdoin, 10; Colby, 9; Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, 7; Bates, 5; New York University, 4; Boston University, 3; Columbia, 3; and 2 each at Dartmouth, Jefferson Medical College, Johns Hopkins Uni- versity, Philadelphia Dental College, University of Paris, Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester, Yale; and 1 each at Amherst, College of Charleston, Colorado College, Columbian (now George Washington) University, Dalhousie University, Kaiser Wilhelm University, Massachusetts College of Phar-
71
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY - COLLEGE GRADUATES
macy, Meadville Theological School, Princeton University, Royal Conservatory of Music, Leipsic, United States Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, and the University of Vermont. Of these 72 received degrees.
Previous to 1875, no women went to college from Belfast. In sharp contrast to which we find that during the period treated in this chapter, - from 1875 to 1900, - 26 women studied at 15 higher institutions of learning as follows: Wellesley College, 11; New England Conservatory of Music, 7; Cornell University, 2; Smith College, 2; and 1 each at Bryn Mawr, Columbia Univer- sity, Drexel Institute, Leland Stanford, Jr., University, Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Normal Art School, Radcliffe College, University of Wisconsin, Wesleyan University, Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, Yale University; while 3 studied in Europe. Of these, 11 received degrees. From the foregoing, it appears that during the first century and a quarter of her existence, i.e., up to 1900, Belfast has furnished 151 college students (26 women and 125 men) to 43 higher institutions of learning; and of this number, 118 (11 women and 107 men) received degrees. These institutions ex- tend from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Charleston, South Carolina, and from California to Europe.
The distinction of being the first college graduate from Belfast belongs to Judge Alfred Johnson. He was a sophomore at Bow- doin College when his father, the Rev. Alfred Johnson, A.B., Dartmouth, 1785, and later A.M., one of the founders and first overseers of Bowdoin College, settled in Belfast, in 1805. Judge Johnson's class of 1808, consisting of 6 members, was the third to graduate from the infant institution. Governor William George Crosby, who graduated in 1823, also at Bowdoin, was the first man born in Belfast to enter college.
Since their time, except for the few years preceding and during the Civil War, Belfast men have been entering college in steadily increasing numbers each year. Before 1846, the college attend- ance averaged about 2 students every three years; from 1846 to 1874 (excepting the period 1857-63) 1 nearly every year; and from 1874 to 1900, 3 students a year. Many influences have con- tributed to this increase, but two stand out as most important, namely, the change in the State school-system in 1846, and the wider range of opportunities offered by the founding of technical
72
HISTORY OF BELFAST
schools and women's colleges. In the promptness with which she took advantage of these increasing opportunities for the higher education of women, Belfast has a particularly creditable record. Three years after Wellesley became a college, Miss Isa- bella Gordon Poor matriculated there, and studied for one year; while Miss Charlotte Thorndike Sibley, who received the degree of A.B. from Wellesley in 1891, was the first Belfast woman to graduate from any college. For the nine years following that date to 1900, the number of women students have averaged about 2 each year. Of the 26 women students, 18 have become teachers, 3 musicians, 3 librarians, and 1 a physician, and 11 have received collegiate degrees.
That a number of the students of both sexes graduated with high honors, and that not a few are members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, is evident from data that have come to hand in the course of compiling this chapter; but as the facts covering all cases have not been ascertained, it has been thought best to omit entirely these distinctions.
Of the 107 men who received degrees, 22 became lawyers, 20 physicians and dentists, 4 clergymen, 3 pharmacists, and 1 a naval architect. Of the native-born students of the later period, 1875 to 1900, 3 have become professors, 3 others are college in- structors, and 1 each a judge, a graduate of Annapolis, and of West Point, and a composer of music, while one has founded a school that stands foremost in its particular branch of training. The number who have entered the learned professions since 1874 is proportionately less than that in the earlier period, and their choice of professions shows a relative change that is noteworthy. Before 1874, law outranked medicine by three to one; while since then, medicine has taken precedence over law, and the absolute number in the ministry during both periods has remained the same. That this tendency is not peculiar to Belfast, but is prevalent throughout the country, is indicated by the United States Census of 1910. Finally, it is worthy of note that the following list of students contains the names of many families who were prominent in the town during its early history, and enough of their records is given to indicate that the stand- ards of scholarship set by our ancestors have not been forgotten by their descendants in this generation.
73
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY - COLLEGE GRADUATES
1871.1 Winslow, William Henry, M.D. Jefferson Med. Coll .; M.D. Univ. of Penn., 1874; Ph.D., 1875.
1873. Kelley, Augustus Hill, A.B. Colby Coll .; A.M. 1876. (Principal of Belfast High School.)
1874. Rogers, Reuel Wilford, A.B. Bates Coll.
1875. Harriman, George Frank, A.B. Bowdoin Coll .; LL.B. Boston Univ., 1876.
1875. Sargent, Dudley Allen, A.B. Bowdoin Coll .; A.M. 1887; Sc. D. (Honorary), 1894; M.D. Yale Med. School, 1878.
1875. Thombs, Arthur Parker, A.B. Tufts Coll .; A.M. 1885.
1876. Evans, Osman C., A. B. Bowdoin Coll. (Superintendent of Bel- fast Schools.)
1876. Phipps, David Warren, S.B. Mass. Inst. of Tech .; LL.B. Boston Univ., 1883.
1876. Pilsbury, Edward Butler, S.B. Univ. of Maine.
1876-77. Poor, Isabella Gordon, Wellesley Coll. (Died 1886.)
1877. Eames, George Franklin, D.D.S., Phila. Dental Coll .; M.D. Jefferson Med. Coll., 1882.
1878-80. Stone, Ernest Joseph, Colby Coll .; Amherst Coll., 1880-81.
1879. Briggs, Frederick Melancthon, A.B. Harvard Univ. (Son of Richard and Frances (Towne) Briggs.)
1879-80. Kelsea, Norman Fay, Univ. of Maine.
1879-82. Mitchell, Nellie Maude, Wellesley Coll. (Died 1896.)
1881. Rich, John Frank, A.B. Wesleyan Univ .; A.M. 1884. (Principal of Belfast High School.)
1881. Stevens, Frederic Clement, A.B. Bowdoin Coll.
1881-82. Ross, Ellen Rosina, Smith Coll.
1881-82. Ross, William Todd, Univ. of Rochester; C.E. Yale Univ. (Sheffield Scientific School), 1885.
1881-84. Mclellan, Jane Angeline, Pensionnat von Prieser at Stutt- gart, Germany; Pensionnat Tavan at Geneva, Switzerland. Student, Paris and Blois, France, 1897 and 1904.
1881-84. Mclellan, William Henry, Pensionnat Rauscher at Stuttgart, Germany, Château de Lancy at Geneva, Switzerland; Harvard Law School, 1887-89.
1882. Bickford, Charles Swan, S.B. Univ. of Maine.
1882. Bullen, Henry Staples, A.B. Bates Coll.
1882. Crawford, William Campbell, A.B. Colby Coll .; A.M. 1886. 1882. Frye, Robie Gale, A.B. Colby Coll.
1882. Howard, William Russell, S.B. Univ. of Maine.
1882. Lothrop, Thomas Whittier, A.B. Tufts Coll .; A.M. 1883.
1882-83. Dickerson, Frederick William, Univ. of Maine; also, 1894-96. (Son of Judge Jonathan Garland Dickerson.)
1882-83. Starrett, Annie Atherton, Pensionnat von Prieser, Stutt- gart, Germany.
1882-83. Starrett, Francis James, Pensionnat Rauscher and Gym- nasium, Stuttgart, Germany.
1882-83. White, Perrin Ellis, Harvard Univ. (Son of Dr. James Clarke White.)
1882-84. Murphy, Nellie Frances, N.E. Conservatory of Music; also 1891-92; 1898-99.
1 In this list the date in the margin is that of the first degree conferred, or shows the period of college residence when no degree was received.
74
HISTORY OF BELFAST
1883. Woodcock, Frank Ross, A.B. Colby Coll.
1883-85. Harris, Mary Olivia, Wiesbadener Gewerbe Schule, Wies- baden, Germany; Pensionnat Amez-Droz, Neuchâtel, Switzer- land.
1883-87. Mayo, Florence, Radcliffe Coll .; M.D. Woman's Med. Coll. of Penn., 1890.
1884-85. Frye, Henry Wakefield, Dalhousie Univ .; A.B. Colby Coll., 1889; A.M. 1892; S.B. Johns Hopkins Univ., 1893.
1884-85. Thompson, Albert Wooster, Colorado Coll.
1884-87. Gammans, James Albert, Mass. Inst. of Tech.
1885. Mathews, Frank Bowdoin, A.B. Univ. of Rochester; Ph.G. Mass. Coll. of Pharmacy, 1888.
1885. White, McDonald Ellis, A.B. Harvard Univ. (Son of Dr. James Clarke White.)
1886. Crawford, Charles Everett, Ph.G. Coll. of Pharmacy of City of New York (Columbia Univ.).
1886. Dunton, John Riley, A.B. Bates Coll .; Harvard Summer School, 1889. (Superintendent of Belfast Schools.)
1887. Briggs, Richard, A.B. Harvard Univ. (Son of Richard and Frances (Towne) Briggs.)
1887. Chase, Frank Wallace, A.B. Bates Coll. (Principal of Belfast High School.)
1887. Gould, Edwin William, M.D. The Med. School of Maine (Bow- doin Coll.).
1888. Bailey, George Austin, A.B. Tufts Coll.
1888. Brick, Francis Stephen, S.B. Univ. of Maine; S.M. 1893. (Super- intendent of Belfast Schools.)
1888. Eames, Cora Abigail,grad. N.E. Conservatory of Music, Coll. of Oratory.
1888. Harris, William Hugh, M.D. Univ. of Vermont.
1888. Knowlton, Frank Adams, D.D.S. Boston Dental Coll. (Tufts Coll.).
1888. Williamson, Joseph, Jr., A.B. Bowdoin Coll .; A.M. 1892; Boston Univ. Law School, 1889-90.
1888-89. Hitchcock, John, Harvard Univ. (Grandson of Gov. Crosby.) 1889. French, Clarence Freeman, Ph.B. Tufts; Harvard Law School, 1888-89.
1889. Pratt, William Veazie, grad. U.S. Naval Acad .; commissioned Ensign in U.S. Navy.
1889. Robbins, Lilian Pamelia, Botany, Harvard Summer School.
1890. Gilmore, Frank Albert, A.B. Colby Coll .; A.M. 1894; S.T.B. Divinity School, Harvard Univ., 1894.
1890. Hayes, Augustus Daniel, B.C.E. Univ. of Maine.
1890. Kelley, Edward Havener, S.B. Univ. of Maine.
1890. Pendleton, Joseph Brooks, A.B. Bowdoin Coll.
1890. Wallace, Chester Jay, B.C.E. Univ. of Maine.
1890. White, Charles James, A.B. Harvard Univ .; M.D. Harvard Med. School, 1893. (Son of Dr. James Clarke White.)
1890. Wight, Ralph Holbrook, B.C.E. Univ. of Maine; C.E. 1894.
1891. Bean, Charles Pierce, M.D. (N.Y. Univ.) Bellevue Hospt. Med. Coll.
1891. Follett, Frank Edward, D.D.S. Boston Dental Coll. (Tufts Coll.).
1891. Gay, Frederick Clifford, M.D. N.Y. Univ. Med. Coll.
75
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY - COLLEGE GRADUATES
1891. Ilsley, Reuben Lowell, A.B. Colby Coll .; A.M. 1894. (Principal Belfast High School.)
1891. Knowlton, Herbert Eugene, M.D. Harvard Med. School.
1891. Sibley, Charlotte Thorndike, A.B. Wellesley Coll .; A.M. 1894; grad. student at Yale Univ., 1892-93.
1891-92. Gurney, Adelaide, N.E. Conservatory of Music; also summer, 1899.
1892. Alden, Carlos Coolidge, LL.B. N.Y. Univ .; LL.M. 1893; hon. J.D. 1904.
1892. Field, Herbert Tobey, A.B. Bowdoin Coll.
1892. French, Leon Howard, Ph.G. Coll. of Pharmacy of the City of New York (Columbia Univ.).
1892-93. French, Allen Evander, Tufts Coll.
1893. Sheldon, George Crosby, A.B. Colby Coll .; A.M. 1896. (Died 8 Nov. 1905.)
1893-97. Bird, Tyler Hanson, Univ. of Maine.
1893-95. Ferguson, Gertrude, Wellesley Coll .; also, 1899-1900.
1894. Field, Caroline Williams, A.B. Wellesley Coll .; Cornell Summer School, 1907.
1894. Harris, Hannah Margaret, Ph.B. Cornell Univ.
1894. Lane, Daniel Winn, A.B. Harvard Univ. (Grandson of John Lane.)
1894. Shepherd, Hovey Learned, M.B. Boston Univ. Med. School; M.D. 1895; Ph.B. Boston Univ. Coll. of Liberal Arts, 1895.
1894. Townsend, Ellen Dutton, A.B. Wellesley Coll. (Teacher in Bel- fast High School.)
1894-95. Poor, Nina Foster, N.E. Conservatory of Music; A.B. Welles- ley Coll. 1900; Leland Stanford, Jr., Univ., 1902-03.
1895. Harris, Isabella, Drexel Inst. (Graduate in Librarians' Course.)
1895. Johnson, Ralph Miller, A.B. Harvard Univ.
1895. Mclellan, Hugh Dean, A.B. Colby Coll .; LL.B. Columbia Univ. Law School, 1902.
1895. Pattee, Clifford James, B.C.E. Univ. of Maine.
1895. Springer, Rufus Franklin, A.B. Bates Coll.
1895-97. Fletcher, Sarah Holmes, Wellesley Coll.
1895-98. Merrill, Adelbert Samuel, Univ. of Maine; M.D. Tufts Coll. Med. School, 1908.
1896. Mason, Luther Smith, A.B. Bates Coll .; M.D. Univ. of Penn., 1900.
1896-97. Ellingwood, Edith Maud, Wellesley Coll.
1896-97. Hills, Cordelia, Mass. Normal Art School.
1896-97. Woodcock, Hartwell Leon, art student, Paris, France.
1897. Milliken, Seth Mellen, grad. U.S. Military Academy; commis- sioned Second Lieutenant, U.S.A.
1897. Pratt, Edgar Gilman, A.B. Bowdoin Coll .; LL.B. N.Y. Univ. Law School, 1900.
1898. Bailey, Fred Wesley, S.B. Univ. of Maine.
1898. Dinsmore, Susan Ethel, grad. N.E. Conservatory of Music.
1898. Gray, Clifton Merritt, grad. Meadville Theological School; Harvard Univ. Div. School, 1898-99; Coll. of Charleston, S.C., 1902-04.
1898. Johnson, Alfred, A.B. Harvard Univ .; Kaiser Wilhelm Univ., Berlin, 1897; Litt.D. Univ. of Paris, 1901.
76
HISTORY OF BELFAST
1898. Utter, Robert Palfrey, A.B. Harvard Univ .; Ph.D. 1906. (Prof. Utter is a son of Rev. David and Rebecca (Palfrey) Utter.)
1898-1901. Allyn, Philip Morton, Harvard Univ. (Sons of John and Anna Winter (Page) Allyn.)
1899. Allyn, Rufus Bradford, S.B., Harvard Univ.
1898-1900. Fletcher, Edward Holmes, student Colby Coll. 1898-1900; A.B. Harvard Univ. 1903; Harvard Med. School, 1903-04; Royal Conservatory of Music, Leipsic, Germany, 1905-08; student Leipsic, 1908-09.
1899. Barr, Annie Leonora, A.B. Wellesley Coll.
1899. Davidson, Maurice Evan, Columbia Coll. of Pharmacy, Ph.G .; Bates Coll. 1894-96.
1899. Frost, Charlotte Benson, A.B. Wesleyan Univ.
1899. Hazeltine, Benjamin Prescott, S.B. Mass. Institute of Tech.
1899. Hopkins, Neville Monroe, S.B. Columbian (now George Wash- ington) Univ .; S.M. 1900; Ph.D. 1902; grad. student Harvard Univ., 1901. (Great-grandson of Judge Alfred Johnson.)
1899. Johnson, Edward, S.B. Mass. Institute of Tech.
1899. Pattee, Sumner Chadbourne, A.B. Bowdoin Coll .; M.D. Univ. of Penn. Med. School, 1903.
1899-1900. Cooper, Ralph Leonard, Univ. of Maine.
1899-1900. Stowell, William Averill, Anglo-American Coll., Paris; A.B. Princeton Univ., 1904 ; grad. student Johns Hopkins Univ., 1904-06 and 1907-08, Ph.D .; Univ. of Paris, 1906-07. (Prof. Stowell is descended in the fifth generation from Col. William White.)
1900. Lombard, Ralph Gerrish, D.M.D. Tufts Med. and Dental School. 1900. Mason, Harold Weston, A.B. Harvard Univ .; grad. student, 1900-01; LL.B. Harvard Law School, 1904. (Son of D. Weston and Mary (Leighton) Mason.)
1900. Paul, Charles Edward, S.B. Mass. Institute of Tech.
1900. Redman, Arville C., S.B. Mass. Institute of Tech.
1900. Ross, John Alexander, Jr., S.B. Mass. Institute of Tech.
1900-1902. Poor, Frederick Rollo, Dartmouth Coll.
1901. Dunton, Helen Mabel, grad. N.E. Conservatory of Music.
1901. Hazeltine, Margaret Nickerson, A.B. Wellesley Coll.
1901. Sibley, Harold Thorndike, A.B. Dartmouth Coll .; grad. student, 1901-02.
1902. Haskell, Jessica Josephine, A.B. Wellesley Coll .; Columbia Univ., 1911-12.
1902. Wilson, Frank Palmer, LL.B. Univ. of Maine.
1903. Pratt, Harold Boswell, A.B. Bowdoin Coll .; appointed and com- missioned Second Lieutenant in U.S. Marine Corps, 1905.
1904. Hills, June Katherine, grad. N.E. Conservatory of Music.
1904. Burleigh, Clara Matilda, A.B. Smith Coll. (Granddaughter of Judge Jonathan Garland Dickerson.)
1905. Hubbard, Frances Johnson, A.B. Bryn Mawr Coll .; grad. stu- dent, Mass. Institute of Tech. 1908-09; Univ. of Wisconsin, 1910; studied music at Paris, France, 1912-13. (Great-grand- daughter of Judge Alfred Johnson.)
CHAPTER XV
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY -SCHOOLS
System, 1875-1894 - Sums raised for Schools - Mill Tax - Principals of Gram- mar Schools - Free Textbooks - Flags displayed from School-Houses - Abolition of School Districts - Valuation of School-Houses - Academy - School Committee - Osman C. Evans, Superintendent - Number of Scholars - First Public Conveyance of Scholars to Central Schools - First School-Board Report - Francis S. Brick chosen Superintendent - Grade System - Flag-Raisings - School-House Bells - Kindergarten - Amount raised for Education - John Riley Dunton chosen Superintendent - Be- quests of Mrs. Dana (Mary Emeline Simpson) Southworth and Mrs. Charles Woodbury (Emma Lena Peirce) Frederick - Teachers in 1900.
U NTIL 1894, Belfast was divided into fourteen school dis- tricts, the limits of which were fixed annually. The thickly settled portions constituted Districts 4 and 5, afterwards called the Central District. A school committee, and sometimes a supervisor, had the general superintendence of instruction, dis- cipline, and the like, while the more practical duties of expend- ing money, providing teachers, and caring for school-houses de- volved upon agents elected by each district. Towns were obliged to raise for the support of schools an annual sum of not less than eighty cents for every inhabitant, but any district might vote to increase this proportion. A tax of one mill per dollar upon all the property in the State, known as the "Mill Tax," was first authorized in 1872, the amount being distributed according to the number of scholars. Under this system, from 1875 to 1894, Belfast raised $5000 each year, and received about $3000 from the State. In 1894, the sum voted by taxation was increased $8300, and has not been diminished since.
School meetings, particularly in the Central District, were formerly well attended. In the choice of agents and in raising money, the contests and discussions resembled those of the old town meetings.
In 1876, examination papers from all the schools, drawings, compositions, and photographs of school-houses were contrib- uted to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, by request of the State Educational Department.
78
HISTORY OF BELFAST
1882. A census of the Central District, taken by Mr. Herbert Tobey Field, showed 845 pupils. In December the Waldo County Educational Association met here, under the charge of Nelson A. Luce, State Superintendent. Mr. John Riley Dunton, of Searsmont, was chosen principal of the Upper Grammar School in place of Mr. Stroud, resigned, and remained until succeeded by Mr. William Campbell Crawford, in 1884.
1885. Mr. Benjamin J. Hines, of Fairfield, was engaged as principal of the Upper Grammar School. During the year, a writing-school was opened by Professor A. R. Dunton, who gave similar instruction here in 1838.
1886. Mr. John W. Mitchell taught the Upper Grammar School. The following year, Mr. Frederick Wording Brown took his place.
1891. In conformity to a new law, the sum of $1500 was ex- pended by the school committee for free textbooks. This year, flags were raised with appropriate exercises over the High, Grammar, and both Primary school buildings. That for the South Primary was presented by Horatio Johnson Locke, Ho- ratio Palmer Thompson, and Charles Albert Pilsbury, in mem- ory of their old school days; Miss Annette White and others furnishing the staff.
In 1893, important changes in the state and municipal school laws took place. The district system was abolished, and towns assumed charge of all school-houses and other school property, paying for the same at an appraised value, and remitting such value to the taxpayers of each district. The valuation of the school buildings in our fourteen districts was $20,000; those in the Central District being appraised at $13,611. This was ex- clusive of the South Primary building, the title of which is in the trustees of the old Belfast Academy.
By a special act of the Legislature, Belfast was authorized to elect a school committee of two from each ward, who were re- quested to choose a superintendent with a fixed salary. The act was accepted by the city in January, 1894.
This year, Herbert Elisha Ellis taught the Upper Grammar School in place of Frederick Wording Brown. Musical instruc- tion in all the schools, under the direction of Mrs. Elbridge Sim- mons Pitcher, proved successful and satisfactory.
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