USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > History of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska : with brief historical sketches of the state and of Lancaster County > Part 21
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"Oh, I won't shoot you," replied the deputy; "I will just cut your heart out."
Bohanan probably believed it, for he made no further attempt at escaping.
Elder, who was also one of the mutineers, went to Kansas City after his term expired. "I was sitting in a hotel at Kansas City one day," says Mr. Nobes, " when somebody tapped me on the shoulder and spoke to me. I looked up, and before me stood Elder, arrayed in the height of fashion and sporting a pair of eye-glasses and a shiny silk hat. He asked me if I had been to breakfast. I told him that I had, and he said he would see me after he had breakfasted. When he came out he asked me to take a walk with him. He took me down town to a good office building, and following him up stairs, I found myself in an elegantly-furnished room, the windows of which pro- elaimed that it belonged to 'Dr. Elder.' He was working a patent- medicine fake, and was making plenty of money and flying high. He asked me not to give him away, and as I had no particular reason for doing so, I left him to practice his improved style of villainy undis- turbed."
In March, 1875, L. F. Wyman was made warden, and he served until October, 1877, when he was succeeded by Henry C. Dawson, who acted in that capacity until September 7, 1880.
C. J. Nobes was the next warden, and under his management, which continued for six and one-half years, affairs moved very smoothly ; the discipline of the prison was greatly improved and its sanitary con- dition carefully looked after.
Mr. Nobes was succeeded in 1887 by R. W. Hyers, who held the office until January 1, 1889, when he resigned, his place being filled by the appointment of Dan Hopkins, who is the present warden. Mr. Hopkins seems to be especially fitted for the place he holds, as is evidenced by the continued good order prevalent at the penitentiary and by the respect with which he is treated and the esteem in which he is held by the prisoners. Mr. Hopkins is a man of just a little over forty-three years of age, having been born August 30, 1846, in Rushford, Alleghaney county, N. Y. His parents both came from Vermont. Mr. Hopkins's early life was passed quietly, without spe- cial incident worthy of note. He lived in Alleghaney county until he was twelve years old, when his parents moved to Cataraugus county,
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N. Y., where he finally resided until 1871, or until Dan, as he is fa- miliarly called, was twenty-five. On September 23, 1863, Mr. Hop- kins being then under the age required, enlisted in the service of his country, to help fight her battles and throttle the treason that seemed for a time to have a death grip on the nation's throat. He enlisted in the Ninth New York Cavalry, Col. Nicholls commanding. This reg- iment was assigned to duty in the Shenandoah valley, in the Second Brigade of the Cavalry Corps of the First Division, under command of Gen. Merritt. Gen. Deven was in command of the division, the offi- cer of Company I, Hopkins's company, being Capt. Putnam. Mr. Hopkins prides himself upon the fact that he is one of the very few re- maining high privates who now survive the years and ravages of dis- ease. When he went into the service he weighed only ninety pounds, and, of course, being only seventeen, had to stretch the truth one year to be allowed to enlist; but like a good many other boys whose patri- otism rose with danger, this little prevarication was counted as nothing. What he wanted was to get a shot at a traitor, and the end justified the means.
Mr. Hopkins's battle experiences are those of every soldier who fought and skirmished with the enemy up and down the beautiful Shenandoah valley from 1863 to 1865. If these experiences were rightly written they would make a volume of rare interest-war, tragedy, love, adventure, defeat, and victory, all mixed together in one grand plot. He was, of course, in Sheridan's command, but was not permitted to be present at Lee's surrender, as his horse had been con- demned and he, together with hundreds of others, had been ordered back to Remount camp, below Harper's Ferry, as a guard for prison- ers taken during the campaign, and to get a fresh mount. After the remount he went back to the valley, where his division did patrol duty to the end of the war. He was mustered out of the service at Winchester, on June 1, 1865, having staid in the service without a wound or accident until the close of the war.
Returning home at the close of the war, he engaged in farming and stock buying until March 16, 1871, when he married, and with his bride started for the West. Mrs. Hopkins's maiden name was Mor- rill -Miss Jennie Morrill-closely connected with the family of Senator Morrill, of Vermont, on her father's side, and on her mother's side with that of Secretary Seward. Mr. Hopkins proceeded directly
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to Lone Tree, now Central City, where he took a homestead six miles southwest of the village, perfecting his homestead right in the usual manner. In August, 1873, during the trying grasshopper times, he temporarily abandoned farming, (as did many Nebraska farmers, of necessity,) and went to Wyoming in the employ of the Union Pacific railway. He remained in the employ of this company, holding a re- sponsible position, until December, 1875, when, with his family, he went back to New York, where he remained only a year; but that was long enough to give him a disastrous experience in the oil country. In December, 1876, he came back to Nebraska, a wiser if not a sad- der man. He went on his farm, but only stayed there a short time, moving soon into Central City, where he was appointed Deputy Sher- iff of Merrick county in 1877, which place he held for two years. In 1879 he was elected Sheriff, and again, in 1881, was chosen by the peo- ple for the same position. In 1883, on retiring from office, he engaged in the implement business in Central City, and continued that two years. But at the end of that time he accepted a flattering offer from the Great Northwestern Stage Company, and in February, 1886, went to Denver, the company's headquarters, as Superintendent of that company's lines in Wyoming and Colorado, spending a considerable portion of his time traveling over the routes and inspecting the lines.
Until March 15, 1887, Mr. Hopkins remained with this company, when he resigned on information received of his appointment by Gov- ernor Thayer as deputy warden. With his family he arrived in
Lincoln April 1, 1887, and immediately entered upon the discharge of his duties. This place he filled in a most satisfactory manner until the resignation of Warden Hyers, on January 1, 1889, when Mr. Hop- kins assumed the duties of warden, on appointment of Gov. Thayer. Mr. Hopkins has dispensed with the office of deputy warden, V. U. Heiner acting as principal keeper. Elder P. M. Howe is the chaplain.
The position of warden in the Nebraska penitentiary is a difficult one to fill. In fact, the duties of warden of any prison require great care, judgment, a knowledge of human nature, firmness, and yet kind- ness. It is a trying place, but Mr. Hopkins has shown himself pos- sessed of these qualifications in a large degree, and the result is seen in the smoothness with which affairs within the walls move.
Mr. Hopkins's family consists of a wife and one daughter, Miss Inez,, now in her sixteenth year.
By the act providing for the sale of the unsold lots and bloeks in
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
Lincoln, and the erection of the State University, the Commissioners were directed to locate, on or near the site of said town, a site for a State Lunatic Asylum, and from the proceeds of such sales the sum of $50,000 was appropriated and directed to be expended, under the su- pervision of the Commissioners, in the erection, upon such plan as they should adopt, of the necessary building. Accordingly, a site containing abont 160 acres, and situated about two miles south west of the site of the old town of Lancaster, was set apart for that purpose; and after hav- ing issued the notices required by law, and having adopted the plan of Prof. D. Winchell, an architect from Chicago, the contract for the construction of the building was let, on the 15th day of August, 1869, to Joseph Ward, also formerly of Chicago, who stipulated for its com- pletion on or before the first day of December, 1870, the contract price for the work being $128,000. On December 22, 1870, the asylum was opened for the reception of patients. A little while before this it was set on fire, near the roof, but the flames were extinguished before much damage was done. Dr. Larsh, of Nebraska City, was appointed the first Superintendent, and had twenty-six patients when he took charge. On the night of April 18, 1871, the building was burned to the ground. Whether set on fire, or ignited by a defective flue, has not been determined. Two or three of the insane persons at the time in the building were burned to death. The city of Lincoln made tem- porary arrangements to accommodate the patients thus rendered home- less, advancing $4,500 for that purpose. This sum was afterward repaid by the State.
The burned asylum building had been insured for $96,000. The insurance companies took their option and rebuilt the building, the contract price being $71,999.98. William H. Foster, of Des Moines, lowa, was the architect of the second building, and R. D. Silvers the contractor for the erection of the main building and one wing. The contract called for a facing of limestone ashlar, rough finish, but this was changed later on to Carroll county (Missouri) sandstone, with rubble-work finish and rustic joints. It was finished on October 2, 1872.
The building was crowded as soon as completed, and the Legisla- ture of 1875 appropriated $25,000 for an additional wing, which was at once erected, under the supervision of the trustees. Three more wings have been added since that time, which, with kitchen, boiler- house, and other improvements, have cost in the aggregate $196,618,
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and the plant had cost, on January 1, 1889, as estimated by the Sec- retary of State, the sum of $272,413. The asylum is credited with additional property valued at $70,668.05.
On February 5, 1889, one of the boilers in the boiler-house of the asylum exploded, killing one engineer and two patients, and wrecking the boiler-house. The Legislature was then in session, and an inves- tigation indicated incompetency in the engineers. An appropriation was made at once for rebuilding the boiler-house, and the work has been completed.
The present number of patients is nearly 400, and the average weekly expense of their maintenance was $4.66 per capita during 1887 and the first eleven months of 1888.
The institution is now under the management of Superintendent W. M. Knapp, M. D., with Dr. J. T. Hay as first and Dr. Miss Helen B. Odelson as second assistant physician. Mr. J. Dan. Lauer is the steward, to whose management is due much of the financial suc- cess of the institution, and Mrs. Mary Magoon, the matron.
The State Legislature, by an act of February 28, 1881, established a Home for the Friendless, to be controlled by the Board of Lands and Buildings, at or near the town making the largest donation for the Home. Lincoln contributed $2,050, and secured the institution, and the State expended the $5,000 appropriation in buildings and grounds. The Legislature of 1883 appropriated $2,000, that of 1885 $10,000, and the session of 1887 $11,895.30, making the cost of the plant, to date, $28,895.30. The Home has other property valued at $5,988.80.
The Home is supported in part by benevolent contributions from generous people, and is managed by the Society for the Home for the Friendless, a band of women organized about fifteen years ago, and sinee incorporated under the laws of the State and subjeet to a general control of the State Board of Lands and Buildings. This is one of the most commendable charities in the State, and the ladies at its head de- serve the highest praise for their practical work in the cause of hu- manity.
The Home now maintains about 100 children, some of them infants but a few days old. Good homes with families are found for these children as fast as possible. The Home is now under the immediate management of Mrs. A. B. Slaughter, Superintendent; Miss Alice Huff, Physician ; and Mrs. Elizabeth Moore, Matron.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
CHAPTER XVII.
LINCOLN'S EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS-HER PUBLIC SCHOOLS-EARLY TIMES-THE WONDERFUL GROWTH NOTICED -THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND TEACHERS, AND THE ANNUAL COST OF CON- DUCTING THE WORK -TIE HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING - OTHER SCHOOLS.
The schools of Nebraska have closely followed the earliest settle- ment of the State. This was true of Lancaster, which became Lin- coln. In fact, Elder Young's Lancaster Seminary Association came to this region for the very purpose of founding a school, and a female seminary at that.
The "Lancaster Colony" laid out "District No. 1" in the latter part of 1864, the same year that Lancaster was platted. This dis- triet was six miles square. The first board of directors were Jacob. Dawson, John M. Young, and Milton Langdon. The following year, 1865, District No. 2 was organized at Yankee Hill, with John Cad- man, W. R. Field, and W. T. Donovan, as directors. In this district, in the dugout home of John Cadman, not far from where the Insane. Asylum now is, one of the first schools in this vicinity, and probably in the county, was taught, in the winter of 1865-6, by Robert F. Thurston, with about fifteen scholars in attendance. Judge A. W. Field and his sister, Mrs. J. E. Philpott, four of Cadman's children, three of Donovan's, and others, were pupils in this school. It is probable that a school was in progress at the same time at Saltillo. Probably late in 1866 the Stone Seminary was so far completed in Lancaster that it was decided to open a school in one room in this building, which occupied the ground on the northeast corner of Ninth and P streets, where the State Journal block how stands. The in- terior of the building was not finished by any means. In fact, but one room was in condition to use, and carpets and other cloths had to be hung up to keep the wind out and make the place tenable. There was no floor except the ground, and the partitions were merely lathed up. Here, however, Mr. H. W. Merrill condneted the first school in
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Lancaster, in the latter part of 1866. The term concluded with an "exhibition." About thirty pupils attended this school of twenty- three years ago. Early in 1867 Mrs. H. W. Merrill taught a term of school in the stone seminary. She was a lady of a good deal of culture, being possessed of a good academic education and could sing well besides. The directors were anxious to find a teacher, and urged Mrs. Merrill to take the school. She said it would be impossible, as she had a baby only about a year old. The directors told her to take it to school with her, and to this arrangement she finally consented. So Mrs. Merrill labored with the youth of Lancaster with a baby in her arms part of the time. She lived in one end of the building, and John Montieth had a shoe shop in another part. Rooms were scarce in those days. During her term, just after an old-fashioned spelling school, the stone seminary caught fire from a misconstructed flue, and the woodwork of the building burned to the ground. That was the last of the stone seminary as an educational institution. The walls stood there until the fall of 1867, when John Cadman rebuilt the woodwork and opened the "Cadman House."
In the fall of 1867, soon after the first sale of lots, the directors of the district caused a small stone school house to be erected near the northeast corner of Q and Eleventh streets. In this, during the fall of 1867, Mr. George W. Peck taught the first school in the town after it became Lincoln. Mr. Peck still resides in the city. His average attendance was about thirty-five pupils. In the winter of 1868-9 school was continued in the stone school house, with Prof. James as teacher. The attendance had grown to about sixty- five, and the directors then bought the Methodist church, at the southwest corner of Q and Tenth streets, and divided the school, and instruction was begun on May 5, 1869, in both places, with T. L. Catlin teacher in the church. Both schools were well attended. The stone school house became a town jail about 1873, and the old Meth-' odist church continued a school house until the present summer of 1889, being known first as the South School House, and for years past as the "J Street School." It stood near the northeast corner of Eighth and J streets, and was removed during the present summer.
During the spring of 1869, Miss Griswold, afterward Mrs. S. B. Galey, taught a select school. In 1870 the schools had grown to three, and the following spring the question of bonding the district
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
for $50,000 of ten per cent bonds, to build a "high-school building," began to be disenssed. Finally, on the 17th day of June, 1871, an election was held at the " White School House" to vote on the bond question. At this election Messrs. C. M. Parker, W. A. Colman, and B. W. Ballard, were judges, and 211 voters were out, of which 151 were for bonding the district and sixty against. We find on the polling list of this election such familiar names as R. E. Moore, C. M. Parker, R. P. Beecher, Geo. B. Skinner, T. H. Hyde, W. J. Hyatt, J. E. Philpott, L. E. Cropsey, H. J. Walsh, John McConnell, P. Way, T. P. Quick, Amasa Cobb, D. B. Cropsey, D. L. Peckham, A. Humphrey, P. H. Cooper, C. M. Leighton, A. M. Davis, G. Ensign, John MeManigal, J. H. Ames, and J. P. Hebard.
On August 19th an election was held to determine the location of the proposed $50,000 high-school building. There were three sites before the election from which to choose. One was block sixty-three, where the high school now is, between streets Fifteenth and Sixteenth, and M and N; another was block 155, bounded by F and G and Fif- teenth and Sixteenth ; and the third was block 120, bounded by J and K and Eleventh and Twelfth. There were 235 votes cast, of which 185 votes were cast for block sixty-three, thirty-two votes were cast for block 155, and eighteen votes for block 120. So block sixty-three won the location. The board this year was composed of Philetus Peck, Moderator ;. S. J. Tuttle, A. L. Palmer, John Lamb, A. L. Pound, and W. T. Donovan. Palmer or Tuttle acted as secretary of the meetings for several years after this.
On September 9th the board held a meeting, and " Elder Lamb was authorized to answer the Citizens' Bank at Sidney, Ohio, that they could have twenty thousand dollars in bonds at 90 cents on the dollar." The same meeting records that Mr. Lamb was appointed " to procure a strip of breaking for shade trees and to save the build- ing from fire." Some of those shade trees can now be seen around the high school block, and it would be difficult for a prairie fire to get at the building at the present time. Mr. Palmer also records that the board ordered a " Webster's Unabridged Dietionary and Lippincott's Gazette," probably meaning Gazetteer.
On December 23, 1871, the board adopted the plans and specifica- tions for the new school house offered by Roberts & Boulanger, at a cost of $1,300, the architects to superintend the work. On February
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15, 1872, the board decided to advertise for bids on the construction of the high-school building, to be completed by September 1, 1872. On March 11th the bid of Moore & Krone for doing all the brick, stone, iron, and masonry work on the house, was accepted. Also Mr. Parcell's bid to do the carpenter work for $12,300 was approved. Parcell was of the firm of Parcell & Dehart. The stone, brick work, ete., were to cost $30,760, or the building, finished, $43,060. The contractors were to give bond on or before March 18th. On the 1st of April, 1872, S. J. Tuttle was reelected to the board and J. M. Jamison in place of A. L. Pound, after a hot fight to prevent Jam- ison & Stout from getting the school-house contract.
On June 11, 1872, J. W. Cassell was employed as Superintendent of the city schools for the ensuing year, at a salary of $1,400 per year. . Probably a corps of seven teachers served with him, at "the Stone School House," the stone church, at the northwest corner of Twelfth and J streets, the "South School House," and the new high-school building, during 1872-3.
On September 26 the board authorized the erection of "a suitable number of lightning rods" on the new building. But the carpenters working on the structure dragged along, and it was not completed until the first of January, 1873. Then, on January 9th, arrangements were made by the board to occupy the new school house, and abandon the old stone school house near Eleventh and Q.
From this time the real prosperity of the city schools dates. New maps and charts were ordered. The German language was ordered taught in the new building, on January 9, 1873. The school had a bell, a janitor, and Prof. Leland was employed to teach music at a salary of $10 per month.
On February 6, 1873, we find the board allowing the following bills to teachers for one month past :
Miss E. P. Rockwood $65 00
Miss Jennie Roberts. 60 00
Miss S. G. Lamb. 60 00
Mrs. A. S. Newcomer 60 00
M. A. Whyman 26 25
Mrs. E. Mollie Powers. 55 00
Miss Hortense D. Street. 55 00
Miss Em-ma Williams 41 25
Miss May Bostater 55 00
Miss Priscilla Nicholson $50 00
Miss Mary Sessions. 50 00
Alice Roberts 37 50
Supt. J. W. Cassell 140 00
Geo. B. Holmes. 41 25
J. Holdegroff. 33 75
In September, 1874, Prof. W. W. W. Jones . took charge of the
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schools as superintendent, and occupied that position until about the close of the year of 1880, when Prof. S. R. Thompson became superin- tendent, with a corps of over twenty teachers. He was followed by Prof. J. M. Scott, who held the place until June, 1883. District No. 1, Lancaster county, had, some time before this, become the School District of Lincoln.
Of late years the schools have made rapid strides in every respect, as the subjoined exhibit of facts and figures showing the status of the schools of to-day will demonstrate. In brief, the schools of Lincoln exhibit superior development for a city so young. A most wonderful growth has taken place in the last ten years, and the methods of work have kept even pace with the growth in numbers. To Supt. E. T. Hartley, who has had charge of the schools for the past seven years, is due very much of the splendid condition in which they are to-day. Prof. Hartley is a man of wonderful energy, great tact, thorough busi- ness methods, and liberal education, and these qualifications, to which must be added his great love for the work, make him a man peculiarly qualified for the place he holds.
The number of school buildings has grown to sixteen, with rooms for ninety schools, and possessing a seating capacity for 5,000 pupils. The total enrollment for the past year was 4,748, of whom 2,375 were boys, and 2,373 were girls. It required over eighty teachers to instruct these five regiments of pupils. The total amount of money paid out for the support of the city public schools for the year ending July 8, 1889, was $98,451, of which sum $43,175 was disbursed for teachers' salaries.
The elementary schools cover eight years of work, and have been arranged in sixteen grades. All the common-school branches are con- pleted in the eight years, including United States history, an eight years' course in music and drawing, temperance hygiene, and four years oral instruction in English language preparatory to the syste- matic study of grammar.
The high school curriculum comprises four parallel courses of three years each, the English, the Latin, the German, and the Classical. These courses include instruction in algebra, book-keeping, geometry, botany, human physiology, physical geography, chemistry, physics, geology, English composition, word analysis, technical grammar, or- thoepy, elocution, history and development of English literature, rhet-
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oric, political economy, civil government, elements of commercial law, general history, three years each in Latin, Greek, and German. It will be seen that the public schools furnish a good practical educa- tion, well rounded out, even if the pupils do not go to college, and if they expect to enter a higher institution, they are prepared to do so.
The work of the High School is arranged in departments, and em- ploys nine instructors. Special reference libraries are supplied for the departments nf history and English literature, and a working lab- oratory in chemistry and physics is provided, enabling pupils to per- form their own experiments. The department of physiology is well equipped with fine skeletons and a series of plaster and papier-maché models. In addition to the general reference library, each department has a special library. A feature of the Lincoln schools is a circulat- ing library, from which the pupils made 35,510 loans last year, a re- markable record considering the other public and private libraries of the city.
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