History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 33

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The contract for building the house appears to have been awarded to Elijah Coffren, at $1000, though the contract price is not mentioned in the district record. The building was nearly or quite completed in September; and at a district meeting held in the Presbyterian meeting-house, in Howell, on the 24th of that month, it was " voted that the sum of six hundred and seventy-eight dollars and seventy cents be raised the present year upon the taxable property of the district for the following purposes, to wit :

To pay E. Coffren on contract for building school-house .. $333.00 To make the payment due for site. 117.70

To inclose site and purchase a bell. 100.00

To pay accounts allowed, and for rent 48.00

For extras of school-house and steeple. 65.00

For stoves and pipe 15.00

Total $678.70

The last payment on Coffren's contract, and also the final payment on the school-house site, were

159

VILLAGE OF HOWELL.

provided for by a vote passed in the following year to raise the necessary amounts.

In 1849, a law was passed by the Legislature (approved March 31st), enacting that, "in districts containing more than one hundred scholars between the ages of four and eighteen years, the district board may be enlarged by adding thereto four trus- tees, provided the district determine to do so by a two-thirds vote at any annual meeting." And as this district contained more than that number of children prior to its annual meeting in September, 1849 (the last held before the occupation of the brick school-house), it was at that meeting "voted to elect a board of trustees agreeable to act No. 183, of the session laws of 1849;" and the meet- ing then proceeded to elect George W. Jewett, R. P. Bush, James Lawther, and William McPherson as the first Board of Trustees of the district.

At the same time a resolution was passed au- thorizing the district board " to offer Mr. John S. Dixon the sum of three hundred dollars for his services as teacher of the district school for one year." But it appears that Mr. Dixon did not accept the offer, for the board soon after employed Mr. Willis Wills, who assumed authority as the first teacher in the (then) new brick school-house. But he proved unsuccessful as a teacher, and is represented as having been incompetent and ex- ceedingly cruel. The result was that the school was broken up before the completion of his winter term of 1849-50.

It became apparent very soon after the first occu- pation of the new school-house that it was inade- quate to the needs of the district, and that it would perhaps, after all, have been better to build the " Castle" as at first proposed. At a district meet- ing, held Sept. 30, 1850, less than a year after Mr. Wills had opened school in the new building, it was

" Resolved, That the district board be authorized, in their dis- cretion, to rent another Room, and employ one or more Teachers in addition to the present number, for the Winter Schools."

A room was accordingly rented from Mrs. Frink, at $32.50 per annum, as appears from the record of bills allowed at the annual meeting in 1851. Again, in 1852, the board was authorized to procure ad- ditional room for the winter school, and the sum of $15 was allowed to Josiah Turner for room rent ; and at an adjourned meeting, held Oct. 3, 1853, a resolution passed "that seventy-five dollars be raised to procure and furnish necessary school- rooms for the ensuing year." The audited ac- counts of the district for the same year show that over $:80 was spent for repairs on the school-

house, and that Josiah Turner and Almon Whip- ple received $25 each for rent of school-room.

In September, 1854, at the annual meeting, a committee was appointed consisting of F. C. Whip- ple, N. G. Isbell, Elijah F. Burt, John H. Galloway, and W. A. Clark, "to report some feasible plan for enlarging the present school-house or building a new one;" and at a special meeting, convened on the 21st of April, 1855, for the purpose, this com- mittee presented their report :

" That there is immediate and pressing necessity for further school accommodations, and without these, it is impossible to carry out the plan of a Union School with success. Of this there can be but one opinion, and the only question is, how best to se- cure them, with due reference to economy, at the earliest practi- cable period."

They then proceeded to recommend the en- largement of the house

" by extending it south, in the same form and size of the present building, forty-eight feet, by taking out the south gable end of the present building, down to the bottom of the upper story ; the present school-room in that story can then be enlarged to any desirable extent, with room for one or two recitation-rooms at the south end. And the lower story of the proposed addition can be conveniently divided into two school-rooms of suitable size for small children. By carrying out this plan, ample accommodations will be afforded for all the scholars of the district for a long time to come. It is deemed of equal importance to the perfection of a Union School that the same, in all its departments, should be under the immedi- ate supervision and control of one principal teacher. This cannot well be done unless the departments are all under the same roof."

The cost of the proposed addition, including necessary furniture and fixtures, was estimated at $1000; which sum the committee recommended to have raised in the (then) present year, and that the building be contracted for and commenced with the least possible delay. The report was accepted, and, on motion of F. C. Whipple, was adopted " after an animated discussion by a num- ber of persons." The meeting then voted to raise the sum of $1000 to be placed at the disposal of the board, who were authorized and instructed to contract for the proposed enlargement of the school-house, to be completed on or before Dec. 1, 1855, at a cost not exceeding $1200.

The above proceedings and the remarks of the committee on the enlargement of the house are given more at length, because they have refer- ence to the inception of the project for establishing and maintaining a Union School,-an institution which has since been brought to a high degree of excellence in Howell, and of which the people of the village are now so justly proud.

The vote to raise $1000 for the enlargement of the school-house was afterwards (Sept. 24, 1855) reconsidered, and it was voted to raise, instead, the sum of $750 for the purpose, and the board was instructed to contract for the crection of the addi- Hosted by

160

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

tion to the building on the plan before adopted, the work to be completed and ready for occupancy by the Ist of October, 1856, and the whole to cost not exceeding $1500.

The contract to construct the building was given to John B. Kneeland, in whose favor orders were drawn in March, 1856, for the whole amount ($755) voted to be raised in 1855, viz., on Treasurer of Howell for $666.32, and on the Treasurer of Marion (in which a part of the district was embraced) for $83.68. The building was completed, ready for use, before the specified time, and then, for a few years, the people of the district experienced com- paratively little trouble for lack of accommodations for the schools.

But in less than ten years from the time when the old brick school-house was enlarged by an ad- dition considerably more extensive than the origi- nal building, it became evident that the erection of a large and commodious edifice could not be much longer delayed. The subject then began to be dis- cussed with a good deal of warmth, and although a strong opposition was elicited at first, this gradu- ally decreased, so that finally, at the annual dis- trict-meeting, held Sept. 3, 1866, when a resolution was offered by Hon. Sardis F. Hubbell " to author- ize the officers of said district, and to direct said officers, to issue bonds against said school district to the amount of fifteen thousand dollars, said bonds to bear an interest not exceeding seven per cent. per annum ; the funds so raised to be used for the purpose of erecting a school-house in said district, and that the sum of one thousand dollars be paid annually, with the interest, until the whole amount is paid," the measure was adopted by the meeting, by the decisive vote of 52 in the affirmative to only two votes in the negative. A building committee was then appointed, consisting of H. C. Briggs, Sardis F. Hubbell, Wm. McPher- son, Sr., J. I. Van Deusen, and Joseph M. Gilbert. Mr. Hubbell soon after resigned as a member of the committee, and John H. Galloway was ap- pointed in his place.

A year elapsed after the passage of this meas- ure without any further decisive action being taken; but at the annual meeting for 1867 (Sep- tember 2d) it was voted unanimously, " That there be raised on the taxable property of the district the sum of five thousand dollars as a building fund, to be raised at the rate of one thousand dollars in each year, with the interest; and the bonds to be issued in such sums as above stated, after the fifteen thousand dollars voted at the last annual meeting; said bonds to bear interest not exceeding ten per cent per annum." A finance committee was then appointed, consisting of Alex-

ander McPherson, L. D. Smith, and William Wil- liamson.

Proposals for building the house after a specified plan were advertised for and received; and on these being opened and compared on Feb. 29, 1868, the contract was awarded to B. B. Rice, of Detroit, to erect and complete the building in a thorough and workmanlike manner, according to the plans and specifications, for the sum of $15,650, with $700 in addition for finishing the third story, which last-named item had not been contemplated in the original plan. This contract price did not include the brick, stone, rough lum- ber, and some other building materials, which were furnished by the district. The unsuccessful com- petitors with Mr. Rice for the contract were Messrs. Kilmer, Coxburn & Ryan, of Jackson ; P. Marshall, of Holly ; Thomas Lunn & Son, of Pon- tiac; I. N. Bush, of Lansing ; Gassmere & Tooker, of Lansing; Palmer & Gee and Woodrow & Son, of Detroit. The old school-house was demolished and removed in the following March, and the work of erecting the new one was commenced with en- ergy. The contract called for the completion of the building on or before the Ist of November, 1868, but it was not entirely finished until about six months after the time specified, as is shown by the record of a special district-meeting, held on the 16th of April, 1869, "to take action respect- ing the raising of money to pay the outstanding indebtedness of said district, and to raise money for the necessary completion of the new Union School Building"; at which time it was voted to borrow $4000 for the purpose named. The build- ing was, however, occupied by the schools for the winter term of 1869.

Its total cost, including the materials furnished by the district, and all extra expenditures, was more than $31,000. It is an exceedingly solid and imposing edifice, being of brick, three stories high above the basement, with a French roof, and a tower one hundred feet in height. The house is divided into rooms by appropriate halls. The first story has two halls; one is fourteen feet in width and sixty-five feet in length, the other is eleven feet in width and thirty-five feet in length. There are three school-rooms, and each room is twenty- five feet by thirty-five ; two wardrobes each six feet by sixteen.

The second story has two halls, one fourteen feet in width and sixty-five in length, the other is eleven feet in width and thirty-five in length; three school-rooms, each twenty-five feet by thirty-five; one room, twelve feet square, for philosophical in- struments, and one recitation-room, the same size ; two wardrobes, each six feet by sixteen. le

161

VILLAGE OF HOWELL.

The third story has one hall, fourteen feet in width and sixty-five in length; one lecture-room, thirty-five feet by sixty-five; one school-room, twenty-five feet by thirty-five; one room for the director, twelve feet square; and one recitation- room, the same size. The first and second stories of the building are thirteen feet and two inches high in the clear. The third story is sixteen feet high in the clear.

The old brick school-house, from the time of its first occupation until its demolition, had been in use for a period of nearly nineteen years. Of the principal teachers who were employed within its walls during that period, it has been found im- practicable to make a list absolutely complete, be- cause the district records are defective in this particular, and the recollections of different per- sons, apparently equally reliable and well informed, who have been applied to for information, have proved to be entirely at variance with each other on the subject. A list, however, is given below, which is nearly complete for the first few years, and is believed to be entirely so for the remainder of the time. It is as follows: W. Wills,-first teacher in the school-house, as before stated,- term of 1849-50; John S. Dixon,-successor of Mr. Wills,-1850 to 1852; Seth Beden, term of 1853-54; J. S. Houston, term of 1855-56; W. F. Munson, 1857; L. Barnes, 1858-59. The school had previously been graded into primary, intermediate, and grammar departments. Mrs. Barnes, the wife of the professor and a graduate of Albion Female College, took charge of the intermediate department. D. Cramer, 1859-60; Prof. Charles W. Bowen, 1860 to 1862. The schools were regraded under Prof. Bowen. Ru- fus T. Bush, 1862-63. The first course of study for the high school, adopted by the board, was prepared by Mr. Bush. Mrs. Bush was also em- ployed as a teacher in the school. Michael Mc- Kernan, engaged July 11, 1863; resigned, by request, March 10, 1865. S. S. Babcock, 1865- 66; Joshua S. Lane, 1866-67; L. S. Montague, engaged Sept. 9, 1867, for a term of twenty weeks. At the close of Mr. Montague's term the old school- house was demolished to make room for the new building.

When the new house was first occupied by the schools, they were in charge of Prof. S. S. Babcock, who was employed as principal teacher, at a salary of $1500 per annum. Upon the expiration of the time for which he was employed, he demanded an increase of salary, which was not acceded to by the board, who then employed Prof. T. C. Garner, at the same salary. He remained in charge of the school

until 1873, when Prof. E. W. Schreeb was em- ployed as principal, at a salary of $1200. He in turn was succeeded, in 1874, by Prof. W. Cary Hill, who remained until 1877, when he was suc- ceeded by Prof. Elihu B. Fairfield, who has re- mained in charge until the present time.

The Howell public schools are organized in three departments, primary, grammar, and high school, each of four years, aggregating twelve years in the entire course.

The grades of the school culminate in the high school. Nearly every pupil who enters a primary or grammar grade expects, eventually, to become a pupil in the high school, and hopes to graduate therefrom. Its stimulating influence upon all the grades below is too wide-spread and deep-reaching to admit of computation ; nor is it any less difficult to estimate its influence upon the community which sustains it. The graduating exercises excite a larger influence among the people of Howell than any other educational event of the year.

The present teachers are Elihu B. Fairfield, B.S., Superintendent; Mrs. Jennie K. Hill, Preceptress ; Miss Jane E. Neely, Eighth Grade; Mrs. J. M. Clark, Seventh Grade; Miss Emma W. Lamb, Sixth Grade; Miss Mattie Kerns, Fifth Grade ; Miss Mary Parsons, Fourth Grade; Miss Jennie E. Naylor, Third Grade; Miss Mary Williamson, Second Grade; Miss Celia E. Sprague, First Grade.

The following are statistics of this school dis- trict for the year ending June 27, 1879:

Population of the district (estimated). 3000

Cash value of school property .. $35,000

Amount of money received from local taxation :

Two mill tax

$901.31

Voted on property

6,229.05

Amount received from interest on permanent funds. 296.16

Amount received from tuition fees. 383.33

Library fund. 18.19

Total receipts $7,828.04

Cost of superintendence and instruction

$4,030.00

Amount paid Principal ..

1,000.00

Cost of incidentals.

1,349.48

Amount paid for bonds and interest. 2,700.00

Amount paid for permanent improvements and building

119.55

Number of children in district between five and twenty years of age 617

Actual enrollment in each department, exclusive of those received by transfer :

281

Grammar Department

197

Received by transfer in Grammar Department.

Average daily attendance :

Primary Department

175

Grammar Department.

148

High School Department.

Total 352

Non-resident pupils :

Primary Department .... 7

Grammar Department. ......

High School Department ....... ostod ............

23 24

Primary Department.

High School Department 52

162

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

The school officers for 1879 are Edward P. Gregory, Director; Harry J. Haven, Moderator ; L. C: Smith, Treasurer. Board of Trustees, Harry J. Haven, term expires 1880; A. D. Waddell, term expires 1880; Mylo L. Gay, term expires 1881; Alexander McPherson, term expires 1881 ; Edward P. Gregory, term expires 1882; L. C. Smith, term expires 1882.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN HOWELL.

Various private institutions of learning have had their existence in Howell at different periods, but chiefly during the ten or twelve years immediately preceding the establishment of the graded system in the public schools of the village.

The earliest of these educational enterprises was the "Howell Select School," commenced in 1845 by Theodore Bridgman, who advertised that "par- ticular attention will be paid to those desirous of qualifying themselves for teaching, and no pains will be spared to render this school (so far as the teacher is concerned) both pleasant and profitable." The duration of this school has not been ascer- tained, but it was taught for a time in the old Presbyterian meeting-house, and was remarkable chiefly for the total failure of its principal to per- form any of the promises which he made at the time of its commencement.

In December of the same year in which Mr. Bridgman had commenced his school, a " Classical Select School" was opened in Howell by the Rev. G. F. McEwen. The principal was a gentleman of good ability and highly educated, but his school was neither long-lived nor very successful.

A select school was opened April 6, 1846, by Mrs. Maria L. Charles, " on Grand River Street, one door East of the Courier Printing-Office." It is said to have been a good school of its grade during the time of its continuance.

On the Ist of April, in the same year, William Pitt Glover opened a school which he named "The Howell Academy." Mr. Glover announced in his prospectus that he was prepared to teach orthog- raphy, reading, penmanship, arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, political economy, mineralogy, zoology, botany, physiology, geology, astronomy, chemistry, philosophy, algebra, optics, physics, rhetoric, criticism, logic, and the Greek and Latin languages. Also that

" Declamation and composition will be attended to. Lectures on different moral and scientific subjects will be given at proper intervals. Particular attention will be paid to the moral, as well as the intellectual culture of those committed to his care; and whilst the number to be admitted will not exceed the limits of a private academical family, subject to the rules of a well-ordered domestic economy, the circle and range of instruction, the subjects of study, and the progress to be made in them, will have no other

limits than the choice of the student, or his friends, and the meas- ure of time, capacity, and diligence which he can bring to their prosecution. . . . To persons desiring to pursue a collegiate course of education, or to prepare for the practical duties of life, he pledges his efforts to make this institution worthy of future confidence."

The institution, however, never became cele- brated, and after a brief and rather a languishing career it ceased to exist.

A number of private schools have had their day in Howell since those above mentioned. Among the most noticeable of these was the " Howell Select School" of Mrs. Rosina L. Dayfoot, which was in successful operation as early as 1857, and so continued for several years after that time. It was taught in the house now owned and occupied by Ira Preston, on Walnut Street, in the southwest part of the village. In 1861 this school was con- ducted by Mrs. Dayfoot as Principal ; Miss Fanny M. Lyon, Assistant Principal; and Mr. L. A. Westphal, Music Teacher. It is said to have been one of the best schools of its kind ever taught in Howell. After leaving here it was established in Fentonville, Genesee Co.

The " Howell Academy," a prospective institu- tion of learning (bearing the same name as Mr. W. P. Glover's school of 1846, but having no con- nection with it), was incorporated by act of Legis- lature, approved March 27, 1848, with an authorized capital of $10,000, in shares of $5 each ; the cor- porators named in the act being Josiah Turner, F. C. Whipple, Elijah F. Burt, Alvan Isbell, Gard- ner Wheeler, George W. Lee, John Kenyon, Jr., Almon Whipple, and Edward E. Gregory. Beyond the procurement of this act of incorporation, nothing was ever done in furtherance of the pro- ject.

LITERARY ASSOCIATIONS.

Several literary associations have existed in Howell at various times. The first of these was the "Howell Lyceum," which was organized as early as 1843, and in that year elected as its offi- cers George W. Jewett, President ; William Mc- Pherson, Vice-President; Owen W. Griffith, Sec- retary. The Lyceum was reorganized in November, 1857, with A. D. Waddell as President; John M. Clark, Vice-President ; F. W. Munson, Secretary ; H. C. Briggs, Treasurer. Besides the Lyceum, there have been the Ciceronians (a debating society ex- isting at least as early as 1860), the Young Men's Lecture and Library Association, the Ladies' Library Association (elsewhere mentioned), and others,-all aiming at literary improvement, and all accomplishing, in greater or less degree, the object for which they were formed. Ogle

LITTLE

FRANCIS MONROE

was one of the earliest settlers of Livingston County. He passed through what is now the village of Howell before a building had been erected there. His father, Lemuel Monroe, was one of the heroes of the Revolu- tion. He served through that memorable war ; partici- pated in the battle of Bunker Hill; was present at Burgoyne's surrender, and in many other engagements. He also served in the war of 1812. Was three times married, and was the father of eighteen children, sev- enteen of whom grew to maturity. In his old age he came to Howell and made his home with his son Fran- cis, at whose residence he died at the advanced age of ninety-seven years and two months.

Francis Monroe was the eldest of six children by the third wife of his father. She resided at Mendon, N. Y., when her husband was serving in the war of 1812, and for several years thereafter. There Francis was born Aug. 8, 1813. When a lad he was indentured until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he re- ceived the customary one hundred dollars and two suits of clothes. This important event occurred Aug. 8, 1834, and on the 18th day of September of that year he was married to Miss Luana Hicks, of Bristol, N. Y. Her father had died, and from his estate she received one hundred dollars upon her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Monroe then had a joint capital of two hundred dol- lars, and plans were soon matured for securing a home. They resolved to go to the then Territory of Michigan, and within a week Mr. Monroe started on a tour west- ward.

After prospecting through Eastern Michigan, he lo- cated on the southwest quarter of section 28, now the town of Howell. Returning to Bristol he worked by the month some two years, and in the spring of 1837, with his wife and two children, moved on to his land, and commenced the task of creating a home from the un- broken forest. With limited means and few neighbors, he was thrown upon his own resources to procure the necessaries of life. He worked out by the day. The

first fall after his arrival he went twelve miles to dig potatoes (for one La Grange, in Unadilla), receiving in payment a bushel of potatoes for a day's work ! Money was a thing almost unknown. To pay taxes and the twenty-five cents postage on a letter from the East, were grave questions to the pioneer. Wolves were plenty, and soon a bounty of seventeen dollars was offered for their scalps. This was most fortunate for Mr. Monroe, who gave them considerable attention ; he took as many as three in a week, which rendered him material finan- cial relief.

The progress of the pioneer under these adverse circumstances was necessarily slow; but after the log house was built, the clearing was continued. Year by year improvements were made and other lands added ; the small clearing expanded to broad and fertile fields, and the log house has long since given place to a large and commodious brick residence, with such surround- ings as indicate the thrifty farmer.

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History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 33

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 617

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 617