USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 56
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An effort was made at this time by the state superintendent to provide a uniform course of study for the schools; the effort, however, was unsuccessful. At this time there were in the entire state about 2,500 school districts and 300,000 children of school age, of whom only 125,000 were enrolled in the schools. It
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has been pointed out by competent students of the educational history of the state that the great defect in all of this legislation was the failure to provide for a direct tax on property for school purposes. Such a tax could be levied provided it received a two- thirds vote in the entire county. This pro- vision made it practically impossible to levy such a tax.
PROVISIONS OF 1874
Soon after the constitution was adopted for Missouri in 1865, it was found necessary to re- construct the sehool system which had fallen to pieees during the Civil war. An elaborate system was worked out and embodied in the constitution adopted in that year. This sys- tem, while commendable in many ways, had what was practically a fatal defect in that it did not put the responsibility for the con- duet of the schools and their support directly upon the people in the several districts. It was not until the year 1874 that the present system of Missouri schools was finally worked out. The legislature recognized the impor- tance of thrusting the responsibility of the schools upon the people themselves. The school district was made the unit and to the people in the district was committed the power to vote taxes and to carry on the schools. With some modifications this system survives to the present day. It has its de- fects and the time has possibly come when a larger unit than the present school distriet is both desirable and necessary.
GROWTH OF THE SYSTEM
Since 1875, when the system was outlined, there has been a very great change in the educational situation in Southeast Missouri. All territory has been organized into school districts and in practically every district a
school house has been built and a school is maintained for at least six months in every year. The people no longer depend upon subseription schools, the wealth of the entire community is taxed to support a school open to all the children of the district. The teachers are no longer selected in a haphazard way, but are required to seeure a license to teaeh from the state before being permitted to give instruetion in the public schools. The first great work of this period was the organi- zation and development of a system of ele- mentary schools all over this section of the state; the past fifteen years have seen the development of secondary education in a manner eommensurate with the growth of elementary sehools before that time. Up till about 1895, very little attention was paid in Southeast Missouri to public high schools; they were practically unknown here. Since that time high schools have been developed in all the larger towns, well equipped and pro- viding a good secondary education for those who attend them. Even the smaller towns are doing some high school work so that there is to be found scarcely a single community with a population of as many as 300 that does not carry on from one to three years of high school work. These high schools are exerting as great influence as almost any other single thing for the improvement of the graded schools. At the present time there are four- teen sehools in Southeast Missouri which have been classified as first class, and there are thirty-six other schools doing high school work.
In 1908 the general assembly passed two laws which are exerting a great influence upon the school system. One of these provided that in every county there should be elected a eounty superintendent of schools, to whom was to be given general supervision of the
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schools. No other step in the history of the schools has exerted a greater influence for their uplift than the provision for super- vision. Along with this law providing for county superintendents, was passed a law known as the compulsory attendance law, re- quiring children between the ages of eight and fourteen to attend school, unless excused by reason of ill health or other necessities. This law, while defective in some ways, has undoubtedly exerted an influence favorable to more uniform attendance in the schools.
As we have intimated, there is a feeling that we have outgrown the old form of organi- zation which makes the small district the unit of school work and certain provisions of amended school laws make it possible for dis- tricts to combine either for the support of an elementary and high school or simply for the purpose of supporting a central high school, the elementary schools in the district being retained as formerly. So far, this possibility of consolidating districts has not been made nse of in Southeast Missouri; it seems, how- ever, that before long a number of districts will make use of this authority and unite for the support of better schools.
One other thing in connection with the pub- lic school system that is worthy of note is the custom of graduating from the schools those students who complete eight years of common school work. It is believed that this graduation aids school attendance, and so far as it has been tried it bears out the promise which it made. In those counties where the graduating of eighth grade pupils is encour- aged and the exercises made interesting it becomes less and less difficult to keep the older students in the school. This movement seems to have been originated in Southeast Missouri and this part of the state is keeping
up with the rest of the state in this partic- ular matter. In 1910 there were graduated from the rural schools more than 1,000 pupils.
It is a far cry from the old subscription schools of early territorial Missouri with their lack of equipment, short terms, inadequate courses of study and usually incompetent teachers giving the poorest and most meagre instruction to a handful of students, to the great educational system of Southeast Mis- souri as it is today. In 1910, twenty counties in this part of the state kept in operation 1,305 schools, in which more than 90,000 pupils received instruction. These schools were conducted for the most part in fairly good houses with reasonable amount of equip- ment and by teachers whose experience is something of a warrant for their ability to instruct. Once the possibilities of education were confined to the favored few whose wealth and social position enabled them to procure such education as the times afforded, but now the door of the schools has been opened to practically every child in this part of the state and he may procure, at the state's expense, not only a primary education but a good secondary education. Generous pro- vision has been made for giving academic and professional training. Many problems in education are yet unsolved and perhaps unsolvable, yet it is clearly evident that the progress in these matters in the one hun- dred years of school history has been little short of marvelous. What further develop- ments may be made it is not possible to pre- dict. There seems an evident determination, however, on the part of the people to pro- vide such a system of education as makes it possible for every child to be instructed not only in common schools but also in secondary schools.
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SOUTHEAST MISSOURI TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION
Two agencies should be mentioned here which have contributed much to the rapid growth of schools and educational sentiment. These are the State Normal School at Cape Girardeau, and the Southeast Missouri Teachers' Association. The history of the former is given in another place and only a few words may be said regarding the latter. It was hoped that a complete account of its early history might be given. Owing to the unfortunate loss of its early records this is impossible. The association was organized in 1874 and owes its existence to the initiative of Rev. N. B. Henry, at that time a teacher in this part of the state. From the first it has held annual meetings and by its insist- ence on standards, its inspirational meetings, its forum for the exchange of ideas, has pro- moted the best interests of education in this part of the state. Its thirty-seventh annual meeting was held in Farmington in Novem- ber, 1911. More than 400 teachers were in attendance; and in enthusiasm, value of its program, and general uplift to those in attend- ance it equaled if it did not surpass any pre- vious meeting. This session was presided over by Supt. W. H. Hargrove of Bloomfield.
It is readily seen from a study of the actual schools that the various acts of the general assembly favoring education at pub- lic expense failed to establish actual schools. The great drawback through all these years was the lack of funds. Private schools and academies supplied about all the facilities for education given to the youth of this part of the state. In some sections these were want- ing so that no chance for schooling was af- forded.
FIRST SCHOOLS IN VARIOUS COUNTIES
Butler county seems to have had only a few scattered subscription schools until the establishment of the Black River Seminary, and the public schools system was not really put into operation till 1875.
In Carter county there were a few private schools before 1874. In that year it was re- ported to the state superintendent of public schools that there were in the county 531 children of school age, 99 of whom were in school; at the same time there were said to be 25 teachers who were working at an aver- age salary, for male teachers, of $16 a month and for female teachers for $10 a month. The report further disclosed the fact that there were three school houses in the entire county having a total valuation of $265, or an average of $53 each.
The public school system of Cape Girard- ean, which has now come to be recognized as the equal of any in the state, owes its exist- ence in its present form to the action of the city taken on the 24th of January, 1867. At that time there was a law in Missouri by which any city or town might organize for school purposes with certain special privi- leges. In order to avail themselves of the opportunity offered by this law a number of the leading citizens of Cape Girardeau issued a call for an election to determine whether the city should organize its schools in accord- ance with the terms of this act. The propo- sition was carried unanimously and a board of education was chosen. It consisted of George H. Cramer, H. G. Wilson, M. Ditt- linger, G. G. Kimmell, N. C. Harrison and J. M. Cluley. The board employed F. M. Grove, who was then county school commis-
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sioner, as the principal of the school, and Mrs. E. Wooden and H. Cluley as assistants. The first term was opened April 1, 1867, in the basement of the Presbyterian church. In the following September another room was rented on Good Hope street and four assist- ant teachers were employed; in the next year the number was increased to eight. The superintendent at that time was William C. Provines, who held the position until 1870, when he was succeeded by D. L. Morrison. The Lorimier school building was completed in September, 1872. It was erected by D. F .. Tiedeman at a cost of $15,000. This building was occupied by the public school and for a time by the normal school after the organi- zation of the latter. The superintendents, in addition to those mentioned, have been J. B. Scott. Mrs. Hope, J. Q. A. Kimmell, W. T. Carrington, James H. Van Amburg, A. V. Hamilton, T. E. Joyce, E. E. Mccullough, H. S. MeCleary, C. T. Goodale, F. L. Mac- Chesney, A. W. Lawson, John Laidlaw and G. H. Reavis. At the present time there are four schools besides the colored school. There has recently been organized a high school.
Private schools and the Arcadia high schools supplied the educational needs of Iron county prior to 1866. In that year an effort was begun to establish public schools.
The first school in Jefferson county was established in 1806 by Benjamin Thompson on Sandy Creek. School lands were sold in the county by the year 1821, but not in suffi- cient quantities to provide any real school funds. The townships were not organized into school districts until 1841, and the pub- lic schools were not really effective before the war.
The early schools of Madison county were all of the subscription variety except some parochial schools, one for girls and one for
boys, carried on by the Catholic church. It is said that the system of public schools was not really organized so as to be effective until 1880.
The earliest school in Mississippi county was taught on Mathews Prairie. It was called Indian Grove school. The first teacher was Hartford Hayes. Other teachers con- nected with this school were John C. Thomas and James L. Moore. The public school sys- tem was organized in 1871.
St. Francois county had one of the first schools in this section. It was taught by Mrs. Sarah Murphy, in the Murphy settle- ment, about 1800. It was of course a private school conducted by this noble woman be- cause she saw the great need of some school- ing for the children of the community. The first public school in the county was orga- nized at Farmington in 1870. At this time a two-story building was erected for the school.
Public schools in Jackson were established in 1867. The board of trustees was com- posed of Charles Welling, president; Jacob Kneibert, Jacob Tobler, James W. Cannon, Charles M. E. Slack and C. H. Friedrichs. The board employed James Alderson as the principal. The following year A. W. Milster was chosen principal, with Margaret A. Goode and Rev. Frederick Kies assistants. The academy building was used for the school until 1882 when the present brick building was erected. Among the early prin- cipals and superintendents were Rev. James Reid, A. S. Coker, A. R. Byrd, James A. Brooks and T. M. Wilson.
The public schools in Ste. Genevieve were not organized until 1856, though ten years previously a board of directors of common schools, consisting of Elroy S. LeCompte, Felix Valle, Francois C. Rozier, Eugene
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Guibord and Ichabod Sergeant, had been ap- pointed. When the school was first opened in 1856, it occupied what was known as the old Fort building. The first house was erected in 1860 and was afterward occupied by the colored schools. The present school house in Ste. Genevieve was erected in 1874, at a cost of $6.000. In the early days there was only one teacher, but the schools were graded in part soon after the war.
The public school system of Bloomfield was organized in 1871. The first board of direc- tors was composed of H. II. Bedford, Samuel Montgomery, George S. Pollard, William Litton, John E. Liles and John L. Buek. The first teacher employed in the public school was B. B. Allen. The school was tanght in the seminary building until 1886, when a frame house was erected, which has since
then been superseded by a substantial brick structure. The present system of schools is recognized as being a very good one.
The next public school organized in Stod- dard was that at Dexter. This was in 1874. Out of this early school has grown the fine system of the present day.
One of the first public schools in this part of the state was organized in Liberty town- ship, Washington county, in 1854. The pub- lie schools system was reorganized about 1870. The other counties in the district had similar experiences with their schools. It is not now possible to give the date of the organization of the first public school in all of them, but in no case does it precede those we have given and in all of them the date of the real foundation of the system is about 1870.
CHAPTER XXXIII
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
ST. MARY'S SEMINARY-ST. VINCENT'S COLLEGE-WILL MAYFIELD COLLEGE-ELMWOOD SEM- INARY-FARMINGTON COLLEGE-MARVIN COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE-CARLETON COLLEGE-AR- CADIA COLLEGE-THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT CAPE GIRARDEAU.
Efforts were made from time to time to provide educational institutions in the south- east equipped to do college work. These at- tempts were at best but partly successful in most instances. It was inevitable that such should be the case. The backward condition of the elementary and secondary schools made it difficult to secure sufficient students to support a college and there was exper- ienced great difficulty in securing funds for these schools from other sources. Some of the schools succeeded. In spite of discour- agement and obstacles those connected with them persevered and wrought work of the utmost value to this section.
ST. MARY'S SEMINARY
The earliest institution for higher learn- ing actually put on foot here, is St. Mary's Seminary at Perryville, in Perry county. This was an enterprise of the Catholic church and had behind it the wealth and compact organization of that church. Out of this ef- fort grew the St. Vincent's College at Cape Girardeau, which for many years, was the great college of this part of the state, and St. Mary's Seminary to this day is a great and flourishing theological school. We have
already given something of the early history and struggle of this seminary under Bishop Dubourg, its founder.
As we have noted, the seminary was open for the reception of students in 1818. At that time there was only a single log cabin, and Father Rosati has preserved for us, in his diary, a picture of the activities that went on within this single room. In one corner of it there was a kitchen, another part a laun- dry, in still another corner a sleeping apart- ment, while another part was given over to the students for their use in study and reci- tation. However, the seminary was not long confined to a single building. The necessity for such a school and the evident earnestness and ability of the men in charge of its work, resulted in the gathering of funds and the erection of other buildings. The second one of these was a large two-story log struc- ture in which the seminary found much more convenient and comfortable quarters. From time to time the equipment in buildings was added to as need was found in the growth of the institution itself. Here were educated not only those men who were being trained for the priesthood but others who desired to pursue a college education under the direc-
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tion of the church. The first students, as we have seen, were brought from Italy, coming with Bishop Dubourg, but other students were attracted to the institution and it soon found that all that could be accommodated were ready for the mission.
The first students of the college from Mis- souri were the sons of Joseph Pratte and Frederick Rozier, of Ste. Genevieve. Others came at various times from Kaskaskia, Ca- hokia, St. Louis, and Louisiana. Within a very short time the attendance had reached eighty students and in 1833 it was one hun- dred and thirty. The course of study covered a period of six years and included Latin, Greek. history, mathematics, chemistry, nat- ural philosophy, astronomy, geology, Eng- lish. French, German, Italian and Spanish. Christian doctrine and music were also taught and the last year of the course was devoted to the study of mental philosophy, embracing logic, metaphysics, cosmology, psychology, natural theology and ethics. This was the course required of college students, and in addition to it the theological students, who were candidates for the priesthood, were re- quired to pursue a three years' course in theology, scripture, canon-law, ecclesiastical history and other subjects fitted for the training of priests.
These courses of study were maintained at St. Mary's from its opening in 1818 until 1844. At that date St. Vincent's college was founded at Cape Girardeau and the classical or collegiate departments of St. Mary's were transferred there.
St. Mary's was supported in a very large party by the fee for board and tuition. This varied from two to three hundred dollars for each student during the year of ten months. The equipment for the college in laboratories and libraries was in part donated and in
part purchased by money given for the pur- pose. The library soon amounted to about 20,000 volumes and the laboratory equipment was good considering the time.
The professors and students were accus- tomed to do missionary work in the surround- ing country, and it was a member of the faculty, Father John Timon, as we have seen, who began work in Cape Girardeau.
Since the transfer of the collegiate depart- ment of St. Vincent's, St. Mary's has been conducted as a seminary for the education of priests. It has a large and well-equipped plant, in striking contrast to its first humble buildings, and is a well-conducted and power- ful institution.
ST. VINCENT'S COLLEGE
St. Vincent's had its beginning in a day school which was opened October 22, 1838, by Father Odin. He and another priest and a lay-brother conducted the school for two years. Sessions were held in buildings used for the church. In 1840, Father Odin was succeeded by Rev. Michael Domenech. At that time the day school was in a flourishing condition and Father Domenech determined to turn it into a college. The site for the col- lege had already been purchased, being in- cluded in the tract of forty acres bought from Robert Daugherty. The stone for the build- ing was quarried in 1842 and other prepar- ations made for its erection, which was begun in the spring of 1843.
On the 27th day of February, 1843, the general assembly incorporated St. Vincent's College under the title of the president and faculty of St. Vincent's College. The in- corporators, all of whom were priests of the Congregation of the Mission, were Revs. John Timon, John Brandt, H. Figari, Joseph Pa- quin, J. F. McGerry and John Odin. The
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college was granted the authority to confer degrees and literary honors such as were customarily granted by schools and colleges.
The corner-stone of the building was laid by Rev. John Timon, who had originated the work in Cape Girardeau, and who was after- ward bishop of Buffalo, N. Y. The site of the building is a beautiful one, standing back five hundred feet from the river bank on a gently rising slope of one hundred feet above low water mark. The building itself is of
soon added Messrs. Amat, Penco, O'Reilly, Knowd, Tierman, Burlando, McGinnes, Chandy, Verrina, Burke and Pasqual. Presi- dent Figari resigned in October, 1844, and was succeeded by Rev. Thaddeus Amat. In November. 1845, President Amat was made president of St. Mary's Seminary, and Rev. A. Penco became president oz St. Vincent's. He was very popular as president, and held the position for six years. He was succeeded by Rev. R. Hennessy, this was in 1851, and
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stone and brick, one hundred feet long and forty feet wide and three stories high. To this building there were added, in 1853, the south wing, of the same size as the original building.
In May, 1844, the collegiate department of St. Mary's was transferred to St. Vincent's. The first faculty of the college were: Rev. H. Figari, president ; Rev. M. Barbier, vice- president; Rev. J. F. MeGerry, prefect of discipline; Rev. H. Cercos, procurator, and Rev. J. Richini. To this faculty there were
President Hennessy died in 1853. The next president was Rev. H. Masnan, who served one year, and was followed by Rev. S. V. Ryan. Rev. Thomas J. Smith became the next president, on the resignation of Father Ryan in 1858. During the years 1858 and 1859, the archbishop of St. Louis, Rev. P. R. Kenrick, and the bishops of the province of St. Louis requested the Vincentian Fathers to open a seminary for the exclusive use of students for the priesthood. The proposition was made to the trustees of St. Vincent's
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College and accepted by them, and accord- ingly, in 1859, the college opened as a strictly ecclesiastical seminary. This brought about a change in the presidency, and Father Smith was succeeded by Father James McGill. Not much change was made in the curriculum of studies, except the addition of senior courses of philosophy and theology. The course was practically the same as that maintained at St. Mary's; it covered a space of six years and was concerned with practically the same studies. Great stress was laid upon the teaching of languages, both ancient and modern, and the commencement programs contained exercises, both original and selected, in Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German and English.
Some of the men who were connected with St. Vincent's in these early years won for themselves high standing, both as scholars and teachers. One of these was the Rev. James Knowd. For more than twenty years he was professor of higher mathematics at St. Vincent's. He was not only skilled in mathematics, but also in instruction. The mathematical course extended during the en- tire six years of the college work. Professor Knowd was a correspondent for the Smith- sonian Institution at Washington, and before the establishment of a weather bureau was accustomed to keep and transmit to the Smithsonian, weather observations.
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