Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties, Part 14

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 820

USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 14
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 14
USA > Nebraska > Hall County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 14
USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 14

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general government made for the education of the people of the State, and were far more liberal than the donations made for the same purpose to Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and other States, to which Section 16 only, in each township, was donated.

The sources from whence come the perpetual funds for common school purposes, of which the annual interest or income only can be appropriated, are: 1. Such per centum as has been or may be granted by Congress on the sale of lands within the State. 2. Moneys arising from the sale or leasing of Sections 16 and 36 in each township. 3. The proceeds of all lands granted to the State, not other- wise appropriated by the terms of the grant. 4. The net proceeds of escheats, forfeitures, or from unclaimed dividends or distributive shares of the estates of deceased persons. 5. All moneys, stocks, bonds, lands and other property already belong- ing to the common school fund. 6. All the rents on unsold school lands, and the interest on deferred payments on school lands sold. All fines, penal- ties and license moneys arising under the general laws of the State, shall belong to the counties where the same is levied. All such moneys arising under the ordinances of cities, villages or towns, shall be- long to the same respectively.

All of these funds are principals of a perpetual fund which can never legally be diminished, but which will continue to increase. That arising from the sale of lands will increase until the last acre shall have been sold, and the last dollar of the pro- ceeds belonging to the fund paid into the treasury; then it will become a fixed and permanent amount, to be diminished only by insufficient securities. That arising from escheats, forfeitures, fines, penal- ties, etc., will contine to increase as long as men continue to die and leave estates, or forfeit bonds, or commit erimes.

The amount of the perpetual school fund derived from the foregoing sources, and belonging to the State, November 30, 1888, as shown by the last pub- lished report of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, was 85,947,724.30, being an increase over the amount belonging to the State two years prior thereto of $1,043.605.09. The increase from 1884 to 1886 was $92,602.40. Thus it is seen that

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

this fund is rapidly increasing. There are about two and one-half millions of acres of the common school lands in the State yet unsold. From the sale of these lands, all of which will eventually be sold, and from the other sources of income, the perpetual fund is destined to reach an enormons snm, perhaps larger than that of the school fund of any other State in the Union. The interest of the perpetual school funds, and the rents and profits of the unsold school lands, are collected annually and appropriated to the support of the common schools.

The school law of the State provides for the free instruction in the common schools of all persons be- tween the ages of five and twenty-one years, and that no sectarian instruction shall be allowed in any school or institution supported wholly, or partially, by the public funds set apart for educational pur- poses. Every organized county is divided into school districts, and each corporate city of 1,500 or more inhabitants constitutes one school district. Unless otherwise specified, twenty days constitutes a school month, and the minimum length of the school year is three months. In all schools under State control, instruction must be given, in addition to the other branches taught, in physiology and hy- giene, with special reference to the effects of alcoholic drinks and other stimulants and narcotics upon the human system. For the support of the free schools, in addition to the income from the permanent school fund, an annual tax is levied, not to exceed one and one-half mills upon the dollar valuation of all the taxable property of the State. The income thus de- rived is apportioned semi-annually by the State su- perintendent to the several counties in the State, in proportion to the last enumeration of school children.

The law also provides that the voters of any school district may annually level a local tax for school purposes, not exceeding 25 mills on the dol- lar, 10 mills of which may be used for the building, purchase, or lease of school houses. For the bene- fit of persons desiring to teach in the common schools, a State Normal School, and State and county normal institutes, are maintained. The law also provides for a county superintendent of schools and district school boards. The State Normal School and State University, both of which belong

to the common school system, are treated of else- where in this work under the head of State Institu- tions.

To show the condition of the schools, and the workings of Nebraska's educational system since the State was organized, the following statistical facts are inserted, giving the figures for 1870, 1880 and 1888, the latter date being the last for which an official report has been published. It will be inter- esting also to compare the figures for 1870, with those giving the condition of the schools in 1861, as stated on a former page:

Number of counties organized in 1870, 31; in 1880, 64; in 1888, 80. Number of school districts in 1870, 797; in 1880, 3,132; in 1888, 5,664. Number of school houses in 1870, 298; in 1880, 2,701; in 1888, 5,187. Children of school age in 1870, 32,789; in 1880, 142,348; in 1888, 298,006. Average number in each district in 1870, 41; in 1880, 44; in 1888,52. Number of children attend- ing school in 1870, 12,791; in 1880, 92,549; in 1888, 215,889. Per cent of attendance in 1870, 39; in 1880, 65; in 1888, 73. Number of male teachers in 1870, 267; in 1880, 1,670; in 1888, 2,752. Number of female teachers in 1870, 269; in 1880, 2,430; in 1888, 7,134. Number of graded schools in 1870, - ; in 1880, 70; in 1888, 343. Total wages paid male teachers in 1870, $26,650; in 1880, $242,334; in 1888, $557,113.87. Total wages paid female teachers in 1870, $31,088; in 1880, $306,805; in 1888, $1,142,670.74. Average wages per month, males, in 1870, $28.10; in 1880, $36.12. Average wages per month, females, in 1870, $33.72; in 1880, $31.92. Value of all school property in 1870, $178,604.34; in 1880, $2,064,- 768; in 1888, $5,123,179.81. Total receipts in 1870, $167,597.95; in 1880, $1,294,137; in 1888, $3,550,488.78. Total expenditures in 1870, $163,- 931.84; in 1880, $1,249,793; in 1888, $3,238,- 241.89. Total indebtedness in 1870, $31,657.09; in 1880, $1,008,799; in 1888, $2,069,598.92.

These facts, in addition to the information per- taining to the common schools, serve to show how the State has developed; how the counties, school districts and school children have increased. A notable feature is the increase in the per cent of

IHISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

school children that attended the free schools, it be- ing seventy-three in the year 1888, which is higher than that found in several of the older States. An- other interesting feature is that showing the increase of female over male teachers employed. The table is especially valuable to persons interested in educa- tional matters. It shows the gigantic achievements of the young and enterprising State in regard to education.

The statutes of Nebraska designate the twenty- second day of April as Arbor Day. This day was originated in Nebraska in 1872, and since that date there has been planted within the State, as shown by statistics, the enormous number of 355,560, 000 forest, shade and fruit trees. In no part of the country is it of more importance than in this prairie State to plant trees. By inducing the children to observe Arbor Day, they can be taught to observe and study the growth and habits of trees. Many of our native American trees, in twenty years after be- ing transplanted, will attain a diameter of twenty inches. In consequence of the observance of Arbor Day, many a citizen of the State, when he shall have grown old, will point with satisfactory pride to the majestic tree that his hands set out when he was a school boy.

Brownell Hall was begun as a school for girls by the Rt. Rev. Joseph Talbot, missionary bishop of the Northwest, in 1865, at a place called Saratoga, a couple of miles north of the city of Omaha. In the year 1868 it was moved into the city to a site on the corner of Sixteenth and Jones Streets, and incorporated as a seminary by the Rt. Rev. Robert H. Clarkson, bishop of Nebraska, and others under the title of the Board of Trustees of Brownell Hall. It was named in honor of Bishop Brownell, who was then the bishop of the Protestant Episcopal

Church in the United States. Bishop Clarkson was rector of the school from 1868 until 1876, when the present rector, Rt. Rev. Robert Doherty, S. J. D. , was elected. The first site chosen in the eity was contracted and . unsuitable, consisting of only one hundred feet frontage, and on a hillside so steep as to be of unsafe approach by carriage. The build- ing was of wood, old and dilapidated, and the whole value of the property was less than the debt.

The present buildings were erected in the year 1886, on a site donated by Mr. Herman Kountze, mainly by contributions from citizens of Omaha. Their cost thus far, including furniture-the south wing yet unfinished-is about $100,000. The chapel, St. Matthias Church, was completed this year, 1890, at an additional cost of $41.000. The buildings are of stone, brick and iron; the inside of wood polished. The site is a beautiful eminence on Tenth Street, overlooking the whole city and com- manding a view of the river and wooded terraces of Iowa and Nebraska for several miles. The faculty is large and able, and the course of instruction is thorough. The school is prosperous in numerical attendance, is out of debt, and is paying its run- ning expenses. It maintains a reputation generally for doing good, thorough, honest educational work.

The Bellevue College, at Bellevne, Neb., nine miles south of Omaha, on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, has a location of historic interest, of delightful view, and of commanding advantage. It is controlled by the Presbyterian Synod of Ne- braska, with its property rights vested in an incor- porated board of trustees. It was established by the generosity of the Hon. H. J. Clarke, now of Omaha. His gifts were 264 acres of land, the ele- gant three-story brick college building, Clarke Hall, and large donations to the salaries of the professors and other necessities during the first year of the in- stitution. The college opened with fourteen stu- dents on September 10, 1883; it has now a large attendance, and its outlook for the future brightens more and more.

Creighton College. - It was the dying request of Edward Creighton, one of Omaha's early settlers, that his wife, the late Mrs. Mary Creighton, should endow a free college in Omaha for the education of youth without regard to ereed or color. His wish was complied with, and Creighton College was the result. It was erected in 1877, and was incorpo- rated by an act of the Legislature February 27, 1879, with power to " confer such degrees as are usually conferred by colleges and universities in the United States," and in the same year it was en- trusted, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop James O'Connor, D. D., to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, by

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

whom it is conducted. In religious training the Catholic religion alone is taught; but non-Catholic students are welcome, and their religious opinions are studiously respected. No students are admitted under twelve years of age, and none for a less term than ten months. The tuition is entirely free. The attendance for the last year was 195, an increase of twenty over the previous year. The college campus is extensive. The library contains 6,500 volumes. The scientific laboratory is the most complete in the West.

The college building is large and commodious. Its left wing was erected in 1889, at a cost of about $25,000, largely owing to Mr. John A. Creighton, brother of the founder. r. In connection with the col- lege, as its chapel, is St. John's Collegiate Church, a beautiful stone building, not fully completed at this writing. The college faculty consists of eleven pro- fessors and instructors, with Rev. Thomas S. Fitz- gerald, S. J., as president. The course of study is complete and the instruction exhaustive.

Doane College, located at Crete, in Saline County, was established by the Congregational Churches of Nebraska in June, 1872, and is therefore the oldest existing college in the State. " Its growth has been steady and healthful. From a dozen students and one teacher the first year, it has advanced to an annual attendance of 200 students and a corps of ten teachers. There are two full college courses, classical and scientific, each of four years. The preparatory course is for three years. There is a normal department for those wishing to prepare themselves for the teacher's profession." A con- servatory of music is connected with the college. Boswell observatory, built in 1883, is the central station of the Nebraska weather service. The col- lege cabinet contains about fourteen hundred species of animals from all parts of the world; an herbarium of between two and three thousand species of plants, mostly from the United States and Europe, and good collections of minerals, rocks and fossils. There are also zoological and anatomical collections.

Fairfield College, located at Fairfield, in Clay County, was founded in 1884 as the result of an action of the State Missionary Society of the Chris-

tian Church, the object being to furnish opportuni- ties to both sexes for higher education. The officers of the board of trustees were J. P. Nixon, president; Ira Titus, treasurer, and W. J. Newcomb, financial agent and secretary. The presidents of the institu- tion have been C. W. Henry from 1884 to 1887, W. P. Aylsworth from 1887 to 1889, O. C. Hubble from 1889 to the present (1890). In 1889 the in- stitution was re-incorporated as Fairfield College, the original name failing longer to indicate the scope of the work, while the management was placed in the hands of a board more local in its nature. The property of the institution consists of several hun- dred acres of fine land adjoining the city, much of which lies within the corporate limits.

In 1886 a fine brick structure was erected at a cost of upward of $100,000. It stands on a com- manding site east of the city in the College addi- tion. The courses of study are the classical, philo- sophical, biblical, normal and business, with an ex- cellent musical department under the management of Prof. E. R. Gaylord. The last catalogue shows an enrollment of 112 pupils, with eight professors and instructors. The high moral atmosphere of the city, the absence of saloons and other places of vice, and its favorable location at the junction of the St. Joseph & Grand Island and the Kansas City & Omaha Railroads, all conspire to a suitable place for such an institution.

The Hastings College was founded in 1879, un- der the care and control of the Kearney Presbytery, Hastings being then in that district. The citizens of Hastings contributed $50, 000 in money and lands, to aid the enterprise. J. H. Hanson donated the twenty acres known as the College Campus, and the citizens purchased and donated seventy-five acres more. The whole amount, ninety-five acres, com- prises the college addition to the city; thirty-five acres are reserved in the campus, and the balance is laid out into city lots. The first building-McCor- mick Hall-was built in 1883, at a cost of $14,700, and named in honor of the late Cyrus H. McCor- mick, who made the first donation, $5,000, to aid the college. The second building was erected in 1884, at a cost of abont $20,000, which was sub- scribed by the citizens of Hastings, Mr. James B.

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

Hartwell alone contributing $11.000. The site of the college is in the eastern part of the city. Thou- sands of trees have been set out on the grounds, and the buildings and the campus constitute a scene of beauty. The college is open to both sexes, has a large patronage, and is well sustained. The faculty is able and thorough work is being done. Board and rooms are furnished in the institution. There is no better location for a college than Hastings.

The Nebraska Wesleyan University was founded by the Methodists of the State, under a plan of uni- fication, by which it is the only university possible to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Nebraska. All schools or colleges which are now or may here- after become the property of the church are incor- porated as departments of the nniversity, and none are permitted to teach beyond the sophomore year of the university courses. This institution of learn- ing is situated in University Place, originally platted as a suburb of the city of Lincoln, and which has been incorporated as a village, thus avoiding en- croachments of saloons and limiting local taxation. It is about three miles from, and overlooks the capi- tal city. Street cars and telephone lines connect it with all parts of the city. The property of the

university consists of the campus, a beautiful pleateau containing forty-four acres. The build- ing, 168x72 feet in size, and four stories in height, costing $75,000, is one of the most substan- tial and beautiful structures in the West; 500 lots adjacent are estimated worth $150,000. An en- dowment fund has been secured. The first year of school in the university began September 11, 1889, and the first commencement will be held June 25, 1890. Being supported by all the Methodists of the State, its future, great success is assured.

The institutions mentioned are the leading de- nominational colleges of the State. The University of Nebraska, the State Normal School and the State Industrial School, are mentioned in this work with the State Institutions. There are many other col- leges of less note throughout the State, among which may be mentioned Gates College, at Neligh, on the main line of the Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Rail- road, a Congregational School, first opened in Sep- tember, 1882; the Sisters of Visitation Academy at Hastings, founded in 1889, and others. There are also good commercial colleges and schools of music at Omaha, Lincoln and other leading cities of the State.

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

CHAPTER XI.

STATE INSTITUTIONS-ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTY OF BUILDINGS-CONVENIENCE OF CONSTRUCTION-THE CAPITOL EDIFICE-HISTORY OF ERECTION-APPROPRIATIONS-UNIVERSITY-BLIND INSTITUTE-NORMAL SCHOOL- INSANE ASYLUMS-DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTIONS-STATE PENITENTIARY-NEBRASKA AN AGRICUL- TURAL STATE-PRODUCTIONS-VALUATION-CLIMATIC FEATURES-MANUFACTURING INTER- ESTS-OFFICIAL DIRECTORY-ABSTRACT OF VOTES-ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

Heaven forming each on other to depend, Bids each on other for assistance call .- Pope.

OTWITHSTANDING Ne- braska is one of the young- est- States of the Union, it is justly entitled to the pride it shows in its State institutions. Its State House has but few equals in the country, its asylums for those unfortunate wards of the State, the insane, the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the feeble-minded, are models in their way, its penal institutions well constructed and managed, and lastly its magnificent State Univer- sity towers above all similar institu- tions in the West, as the crowning achievement of nearly a quarter of a century of Statehood. It is emi- nently proper that a few pages of this work be de- voted to a history of these institutions. All of them have a history intimately associated with the history of the State, and doubtless, if their walls of stone could be made to speak, the store of material for a State history would be measurably increased.

Nebraska's first State House was not an impos- ing structure, and yet when it was finished it was regarded by the pioneer settlers of the new Territory as a marvel of architectural grandeur. It was

erected in the city of Omaha, on Ninth Street, be- tween Farnham and Douglass Streets, by the Ne- braska Ferry Company, and by that organization leased to the Territorial officers. It was a two-story brick structure and cost about $3,000. In this humble edifice assembled the first Territorial Legis- lature. Later, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the erection of a capitol building, to which sum the citizens of Omaha added $60,000. The new edifice was much more in keeping with the dignity and growing importance of the Territory. But even this more imposing and modern structure was soon to be outgrown. Nebraska was admitted into the Union of States on March 1, 1867, and the Legislature at a special session soon after that date decided to move the State capital from Omaha to some point in the interior of the State. A commission was appointed, consisting of Gov. Butler, Secretary of State Kennard and State Auditor Gillespie, to select a site for the new capital city. Lincoln was selected and the work of building a State House at once commenced. The first contract for the State House was let to Joseph Ward, of Chicago, ou January 11, 1868, for the sum of $49,000. The building was constructed from magnesian limestone obtained from extensive quarries in Gage County. It was finished in December of the same year. On the third of that month Gov. Butler ordered the archives of State

IHISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

transferred from Omaha to the new building. This was the original State capitol. It stood upon the site now occupied by the present edifice, but not a stone is left of the old building. It served its pur- pose for ten years, at the end of which time work was commenced upon the present structure.

There were a number of causes which contributed to the sentiment in favor of a new capitol. Chief among these was the very evident unfitness of the building for the permanent home of the offices of the State. The walls were badly constructed, and soon gave signs of disintegration. The outer courses of stone were effected by the weather, and began flaking off. The State officers soon began to be afraid to stay in the building during high winds, and each succeeding Legislature met under the shaky roof with an increased trepidation. Then the advocates of removing the capitol commenced an agitation which struck terror and dismay to the hearts of the citizens of Lincoln. That city, at that time, depended almost entirely upon the capitol for its future, and the agitation for removal had a de- pressing effect upon values and the growth of the place. In October, 1878, the north wall of the building was condemned. The board of public lands and buildings had it rebuilt, and in January, 1879, Gov. Garber, in his message to the Legislature, re- commended that a new State House be erected, and suggested that a levy be made for a capitol building fund. After a bitter strugle, $100,000 was appro- priated for the erection of the west wing of the new capitol. Work was commenced upon the new build- ing as soon as possible, but it was not until Novem- ber, 1881, that the wing was ready for occupancy. It was built by W. H. B. Stout, of Lincoln, who undertook the contract for the sum of $63,400. In 1881 the Legislature appropriated $100,000 for the erection of the east wing. The contract for the erection of this wing was let to W. H. B. Stont for the sum of $96,800. In February, 1883, the Legislature provided for the demolition of the old building, and the erection of the main or central part of the present capitol, and on July 9, of the same year, the contract was let to W. H. B. Stout for $439, 187.25. The foundation walls were laid in the fall of 1883, and on July 15, 1884, the corner-

stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies. From that date the work progressed rapidly, and by Janu- ary 1, 1889, had been completed.

The capitol is a credit to the State. The follow- ing description of the noble building, written by a visitor on the day it was formally turned over to the State, will give the reader a clear idea of the edi- fice:

The style is the Italian renaissance. There is no superfluous ornamentation, either on exterior or interior. Quiet elegance and dignity are the charac- teristics of the design. The main elevations of the structure face the north and the south. The fronts are uniform in appearance. The main building, without the wings, is 85 feet in width and 168 feet in depth, exclusive of the two porticoes, which are each 12 feet wide. The wings are 85 feet wide and 114 feet long. The structure would be cruciform if the main building had been extended about 50 feet farther north and south. The extreme length east and west is 313 feet, and the breadth is 192 feet. The basement is 10 feet in height, the first story 14 feet, the second 15 feet, and the third 14 feet. The dome is 45 feet square at the base, and the lantern is 200 feet from the grade line.

The west wing for the past nine years has housed the treasurer, the State auditor, the commissioner of public lands and buildings, and the secretary of State on the first floor. All have had large and well furnished suites of rooms, with all the conveniences usually found around buildings of this class. At the west end of the second floor is the Senate cham- ber, 85 feet long, 55 feet wide, and with a ceiling 40 feet above the floor. The chamber is handsomely carpeted, and the walls are deeorated with l'incrusta walton and heavy papers. On the second floor near the entrance to the Senate chamber, the governor and attorney-general have had their offiees. On the third floor are the offices of the adjutant-general and the board of live stock agents. The east wing has been the temporary home of the State library and the supreme court. The superintendent of public instruction also has a pleasant suite of offices on the second floor. The second and third floors are taken up mostly with representative hall and cloak and committee rooms. The board of transportation has

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Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 820

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 820