USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
In erecting the high school, the board of regents took into consideration the
OMAHA HIGH SCHOOL
287
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
future growth of the city. Consequently when it was completed there was much more room than was needed for the high school classes and for about fifteen years the board of education maintained in the building a graded school called the "Central School." In 1887 the board found it necessary to transfer two of the grades to other buildings. When the order to that effect was issued, it met with some opposition on the part of parents whose children were among those so transferred, but such a move on the part of the board was the only thing that could be done to accommodate the growing high school and it was finally accepted by the citizens. Many of them realized, however, that it was only a question of time until all the grades of the Central School would be crowded out. Some advocated a large addition to the high school building; others favored a separate building on the high school grounds, and still others wanted the board to purchase a new site in some convenient locality and erect a new building for the graded school. Thus the city, like ancient Gaul, was "divided into three parts."
Dr. S. R. Towne, in the fall of 1891, instituted a suit in mandamus to compel the vacation of the rooms occupied by the lower grades, claiming that the building was overcrowded, the number of pupils enrolled at that time being 1,066. Judge Irvine heard the case in the District Court and decided that the pupils of the lower grades had no legal right in the building, but that the testimony had failed to show that the high school was suffering any inconvenience or hardship from their presence there; or at least not enough to warranttheir ejection by order of the court. Doctor Towne's complaint set forth that the terms of the grant of the old capitol grounds by the state to the City of Omaha contemplated that the premises should be used only for high school purposes, but Judge Irvine held that this contention was not supported.
As the demand for more room was .. constantly becoming more urgent, the board adopted a resolution to erect a temporary building of four rooms on the high school grounds. The city council was opposed to such action and forestalled it by the passage of an ordinance extending the fire limits so as to take in the high school grounds, which made it unlawful to erect a frame building thereon. The board of education then adopted another resolution to erect a brick building-one that would comply with all the provisions of the new ordinance. The council then passed a resolution instructing George C. Whitlock, the building inspector, to refuse a building permit for the erection of "any building or buildings whatever upon the high school grounds," the council claiming that said grounds were ceeded to the city for high school purposes only. Lee S. Estelle, now one of the district judges, was then attorney for the board of education. He applied to the courts for a writ of mandamus to compel Mr. Whitlock to issue the building permit. Andrew J. Poppleton, then city attorney, was directed by the council to appear for Mr. Whitlock. The question was finally carried to the Supreme Court of the state, where the application for the writ was denied, the court holding that the grounds could be used only for high school purposes. Thus, after several years of controversy, the vexed question was settled.
Prohibited by the Supreme Court decision from erecting a building for a graded school upon the old capitol grounds, the board of education was forced to resort to some other method of providing accommodation for the children. At the election in November, 1891, a proposition to issue bonds to the amount of $385,000, for the purpose of purchasing sites and erecting buildings, was submitted
288
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
to the people and was carried by a large majority. A site was then purchased on the corner of Twenty-second and Dodge streets, opposite the southwest corner of the high school grounds, where the new Central School was established.
A manual training department was established in the high school in the '80s and is still one of the popular features of the institution. The course includes mechanical and architectural drawing, wood turning, joining, metal work, mould- ing, etc., for the boys, and a domestic science course for the girls. Early in the present century it became apparent that the old high school building was too small to accommodate the number of students and the present magnificent structure was erected. It was completed in 1911, at a cost of $848,045, and is one of the finest school buildings in the country. And the school taught within its walls is in keeping with the building. During the school year of 1915-16 nearly two thousand students were enrolled. Joseph G. Masters was then principal and eighty-three instructors were employed in the several departments. The cur- riculum embraces all the studies taught in the accredited high schools of the country.
The High School of Commerce, located on Leavenworth Street in Kountze & Ruth's addition, was established some years ago by the board of education for the purpose of giving the young people of Omaha instruction in such subjects as would be of practical benefit to them in a commercial or business way. The course of study in this school includes stenography and typewriting, telegraphy, book- keeping, commercial correspondence, arithmetic, commercial law, penmanship, etc. During the school year of 1915-16 nearly one thousand students were en- rolled in this school, which was then under the principalship of Karl F. Adams, assisted by thirty-two teachers. Some of the graduates of the school are now occupying positions in prominent business concerns of Omaha.
By the annexation of South Omaha in 1915 a third high school came under the jurisdiction of the city board of education. It is located on the corner of Twenty-third and J streets and is known as the South High School. Twenty- eight teachers were employed in this school during the school year ending in the spring of 1916, under the principalship of Samuel W. Moore.
GRADED SCHOOLS
According to the last published report of the board of education-for the year ending on December 31, 1914-there were then forty graded school buildings in the city. Including the two high schools, the value of school property, as shown in that report, was $1,004,257 for grounds and $2,658,314 for buildings, making a total valuation of $3,662,571. By the annexation of Dundee and South Omaha in 1915 fourteen buildings were added to the list. The value of these buildings and grounds is approximately three-fourths of a million dollars. If the value of furniture and apparatus be included in a general estimate, the City of Omaha has over five millions of dollars permanently invested for educational purposes. In addition to the fifty-four buildings now in use, the board of education owns eight sites, upon which schoolhouses are to be erected in the near future. From a little "Handbook of the Board of Education," issued in the spring of 1916, it is learned that 778 teachers were employed in the city schools during the preceding school year. Of these teachers 144 were in the three high schools and 634 in the graded
289
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
schools. The amount paid in teachers' salaries was about three-quarters of a mil- lion dollars. Such has been the educational development of the City of Omaha since Miss Goodwill taught her little flock of children in a room of the old state house in 1855.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
The names of the members of the first board of education, as established by the act of 1872, have already been given. Since that time the public school systen of Omaha has been fortunate in having upon the board representative citizens- men who gave to the office the same careful attention that distinguished them in the conduct of their personal business affairs. Among those who served on the board a quarter of a century or more ago, and who labored earnestly and con- scientiously for the educational interests of the city, may be mentioned: C. A. Baldwin, W. J. Broatch, H. E. Davis, Rev. W. E. Copeland, A. N. Ferguson, W. A. L. Gibbon, William A. Gwyer, Howard Kennedy, Henry Livesey, F. J. McShane, W. W. Marsh, Joseph W. Paddock, Clinton N. Powell, Samuel Rees and C. J. Smyth. H. E. Davis was one of the early teachers and Howard Ken- nedy and Alvin Saunders, early members of the board, have been honored by having public school buildings named for them.
In the spring of 1916 the board was composed of twelve members, to wit : Isaac W. Carpenter, president of the Carpenter Paper Company ; Robert Cowell, vice president of Thomas Kilpatrick & Company ; C. J. Ernst, assistant treasurer of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company ; W. A. Foster, attorney ; Thomas A. Fry, president of the Fry Shoe Company; Dr. E. Holovtchiner, physi- cian ; Rev. Daniel E. Jenkins, president of the University of Omaha ; W. E. Reed, manager Clay, Robinson & Company ; Arthur C. Wakeley, judge of the District Court ; C. V. Warfield, grocer ; R. F. Williams, business agent ; Frank H. Wood- land, attorney.
C. J. Ernst was then president of the board; Robert Cowell, vice president ; W. T. Bourke, secretary; William G. Ure, treasurer; C. E. Herring, attorney ; Ellis U. Graff, superintendent of instruction; Belle M. Ryan and N. M. Graham, assistant superintendents; Duncan Finlayson, superintendent of buildings; J. W. Maynard, custodian ; J. B. Carver and Paul S. McAulay, truant officers.
RURAL SCHOOLS
In the cities of Benson and Florence, the incorporated towns of Bennington, Elkhorn, Millard, Ralston, Valley and Waterloo, and the rural districts of the county there are sixty school districts under the supervision of the county super- intendent. Benson has three school buildings valued at $94,000 and employs thirty teachers. The school property of Florence is valued at $38,000 and thir- teen teachers are employed in the public schools. Bennington's school building is valued at $11,125 and the town has four teachers. Elkhorn has a graded school employing seven teachers, but the building is an old one. Its value is estimated by County Superintendent Yoder in his report for 1915 at $8,000. Millard has an $11,000 building and employs four teachers. Ralston has two buildings-one valued at $9,870 and the other at $1,800. Four teachers are employed. Valley Vol. 1-19
290
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
has one of the best public school buildings in the county outside of the City of Omaha. It is valued at $25,000 and ten teachers are employed. The value of Waterloo's public school building is $15,500 and the town employs eight teachers. Eight teachers are employed in the graded school at Ashland Park and sixty-five in the rural schools proper, making a total of 148 teachers under the county superintendent.
According to the report of W. A. Yoder, county superintendent, for the year ending in December, 1915, the valuation of all school buildings and grounds out- side of the City of Omaha was $309,835. The schools also reported apparatus, etc., listed as "personal property," valued at $47,366. Several of the country districts had no school during the year 1915-16, the tendency being to discontinue the small schools by consolidating them with others in the vicinity and employing vehicles to transport the children to and from school. By this method the cost of transportation rarely equals the cost of maintaining the small school, while by increasing the attendance in the consolidated school a greater interest can be awakened and more good accomplished.
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY
The following statement regarding this institution was prepared by a mem- ber of the faculty: "The Creighton University, founded in 1878, owes its origin to the generosity of Edward and John A. Creighton. Edward Creighton, one of the pioneers of the Middle West, had in his lifetime often expressed a desire to found a free college for young men. He died suddenly on November 5, 1874. intestate, his immense fortune passing to his wife, Mary Lucretia Creighton, who made provision in her will for a fund of $250,000 to found the college.
"Count John A. Creighton, who died on February 7, 1907, has been the university's largest benefactor and it is largely due to his generosity that the institution owes its present prosperity with an endowment of about three millions of dollars, available for the maintenance of the colleges of Law, Medicine, Den- tistry, Pharmacy, Arts and Sciences and the summer session.
"The College of Arts and Sciences was opened on September 2, 1878, thoughi for several years the work was elementary and no degrees were conferred until 1889. The College of Medicine was opened in 1892; the Colleges of Law and Pharmacy, in 1904; the College of Dentistry, in 1905, and the summer session, in 1913. The astronomical observatory was established in 1885. The enrollment for the year 1915-16 was as follows: High School, 368; College of Arts, 155; College of Medicine, 128; College of Law, 181 ; College of Dentistry, 121 ; Col- lege of Pharmacy, 71 ; Summer Session, 173, or a total enrollment of 1,197.
"Thanks to the Creighton endowment, no tuition is charged either for the four-year high school course or the four-year college course. The tuition in the professional schools is moderate. The alumni of the institution now number nearly two thousand. Each of the colleges maintained by the university belongs to its own national association and is registered by the New York regents. The diploma of the law school admits the holder to practice in the courts of Nebraska. The teaching staff numbers about one hundred and fifty and the work of the university is conducted in nine large buildings. A gymnasium costing $140,000 was built in 1916. The library numbers about forty thousand volumes."
inimo
COLLEGE OF ARTS, CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY
291
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
BROWNELL HALL
In 1863 Bishop Talbot of the Episcopal Church established a school for young women and girls at Saratoga, a little settlement about three miles north of the present business district of Omaha. When the Town of Saratoga was laid out by a company in 1858 it was thought that the mineral springs there would make the place popular as a health resort and the company erected a large building for a hotel. It was in this building that Brownell Hall was opened five years later. Rt. Rev. Robert H. Clarkson succeeded Bishop Talbot and in 1868 the school was incorporated by Bishop Clarkson, Champion S. Chase, J. M. Woolworth, George W. Doane, Dr. G. C. Monell, John I. Redick, Henry W. Yates and a few others and under the new management Rev. O. C. Dake was installed as principal. He was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Herman, who in turn was succeeded by Miss Elizabeth Butterfield in 1869.
In the meantime a large building was erected for the school on the corner of Sixteenth and Jones streets and at the opening of the school in the fall of 1868 the old hotel at Saratoga was vacated. In 1886 Herman Kountze donated to the trustees of Brownell Hall a new site, on Tenth Street near Worthington, and also gave liberally to the fund for the erection of a new building. On this site a large four-story building was erected. It is a substantial structure, constructed of brick, stone and iron, and consists of three parts, each 40 by 100 feet, arranged in the form of a capital letter H. 'This 'building is still standing and Brownell Hall is now conducted as a boarding and day school for young women and girls. During the school year of 1915-16 the institution was under the charge of Euphe- mia Johnson as principal. There is also a Brownell Hall Junior School located at No. 133 North Fortieth Street. .
Going back to the early history of this school,-the first class was graduated in 1868 and consisted of only two members-Miss Helen Ingalls and Miss Helen Hoyt. The former became the wife of Flemon Drake and the latter married Horace Burr. They were the first young women to graduate in a school of this kind in the State of Nebraska.
THE OMAHA SEMINARY
The plan to establish a Theological Seminary at Omaha was first laid before the Presbyterian General Assembly at its meeting in Detroit in 1891. It was indorsed by the assembly and the seminary was incorporated on February 17, 1891, by about forty ministers and laymen of the Presbyterian Church, repre- senting the synods of Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri. A board of directors was at that time chosen, which held its first meeting in April. when a constitution was adopted and arrangements made to open the institution in the following September.
Dr. George L. Miller generously offered to donate twenty-five acres of land from his estate at Seymour Park as a site for the seminary, upon condition that the directors would erect thereon a building, to cost not less than twenty thousand dollars within three years. Seymour Park is about five miles from the business center of Omaha, but Doctor Miller pointed out that two lines of railroad passed his place, which could be easily reached by suburban trains. The board
292
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
of directors accepted the offer, but, as the time was too short to erect a suitable building upon the premises, arrangements were made for opening the seminary in temporary quarters. Accordingly the school was opened in the fall of 1891 with nine students in the junior class, which was the only class organized. The recitations were conducted in the Second Presbyterian Church.
At the meeting of the directors in April, 1891, the following faculty was selected. Rev. William W. Harsha, D. D .. LL. D., didactic and polemic theology ; Rev. Stephen Phelps, D. D., ecclesiastical, homiletical and pastoral theology ; Rev. John Gordon, D. D., ecclesiastical history ; Rev. Matthew B. Lowrie, D. D., New Testament literature and exegesis; Rev. Charles G. Sterling, Ph. D., professor of Hebrew; Rev. Thomas L. Sexton, lecturer on home missions.
Early in 1892 work was commenced on the seminary building at Seymour Park. The stone for the structure was donated by the Evans quarries in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and it was transported to the site free of freight charges by the Chicago & Northwestern and the Burlington & Missouri River railroads. The cost of this building was about forty thousand dollars. A few years later the board of directors decided that the school was located too far from the city and took steps to secure a new site. About this time Mrs. William Thaw of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Thomas McDougall of Cincinnati, Ohio, purchased the old Cozzens House, on the corner of Ninth and Harney streets, and presented the building to the seminary. It was removed to its present site, on the two blocks bounded by Emmet, Spencer, Twentieth and Twenty-first streets, in what is known as Kountze Place. Charles E. Vanderburgh of Minneapolis, Minn., left a legacy to the institution and the money was expended in the erection of "Vanderburgh House," which is used as a residence by the members of the faculty.
According to the "Seminary Record," published in April, 1915, the faculty at that time was composed of the following professors : Rev. Albert B. Marshall, D. D., LL. D., president and professor of homiletics and pastoral theology ; Rev. Matthew B. Lowrie, D. D., professor emeritus of homiletics and pastoral theology; Rev. Joseph J. Lampe, Ph. D., D. D., Old Testament literature and exegesis ; Rev. Daniel E. Jenkins, Ph. D., D. D., didactic and polemic theology ; Rev. Charles A Mitchell, Ph. D., D. D., New Testament literature and exegesis ; Rev. Charles Herron, D. D., ecclesiastical history and missions.
UNIVERSITY OF OMAHA
The following historical statement is taken from the catalogue of the Univer- sity for the years 1915-16: "The University of Omaha owes its existence to a felt need for an institution of higher learning in Omaha. Such an institution could not well have its origin elsewhere than in the spirit of philanthropy and devotion to civic welfare. Actuated by this spirit and by the conviction that the time was ripe for action, a group of representative citizens, in the early summer of 1908, organized a board of trustees and began the active promotion of the movement for the founding of a university under Christian ideals and influences but, at the same time, free from ecclesiastical control. This board of trustees was incorporated on October 8, 1908. The articles of incorporation defined the object for which the university was founded in the following terms :
UNIVERSITY OF OMAHA
293
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
'The object of this corporation shall be to establish, endow, conduct and main- tain a University for the promotion of sound learning and education, such as is usually contemplated in colleges and universities, under such influences as will lead to the highest type of Christian character and citizenship, with the Bible as supreme authority.'"
The school was opened on November 14, 1909, at No. 3612 North Twenty- fourth Street, where it is still located. In the spring of 1916 the trustees secured an option on a tract of forty acres of land just west of the Douglas County Hos- pital grounds as a site for new university buildings. This site, known as the Dietz tract, is conveniently located, as shown by an interview with A. W. Carpen- ter, president of the board of trustees, at the time the option was taken. Mr. Carpenter said: "Of our 117 students, twenty-three live north of Evans Street, thirty south of Evans and north of Chicago, fifty south of the courthouse and north of Vinton Street, six in South Omaha, two in Council Bluffs and five in Dundee. This indicates there is nothing to the statement that the greater number of our students live in the immediate vicinity of the present buildings. Within a two-mile circuit of the new site are South Omaha, Dundee and Bemis Park. I might add that out of the membership of the Commercial Club, seventy-five per cent live within two miles of the university's new location."
Immediately after the acquisition of the new site a campaign was started for funds with which to erect buildings. George. A. Joslyn headed the subscrip- tion list with $25,000 and the people of Omaha generally responded liberally. The aim of the trustees is to expend $100,000 in the erection of two buildings, to which others may be added as the institution grows. in influence and the student body increases in numbers.
The catalogue of the university for 1915-16 shows an enrollment of 145 students, exclusive of those in the College of Law. The university is divided into the following departments: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Art, Home Economics, Law and Preparatory Medicine. In the first named the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences are conferred. Candidates holding these degrees may receive the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science upon completion of a year of approved post-graduate study at the university, or its equivalent. An account of the law department is given in the chapter on the Bench and Bar. Arrangements have been made with the Omaha Medical Col- lege (the medical school of the State University) so that the two years of college training necessary for entrance to the medical school may be taken in the Univer- sity of Omaha. The course of study in all departments embraces such subjects as are usually found in the curriculum of the established colleges and universities.
Two scholarships have been established by the Woman's Club. First, the Stoddard loan scholarship which consists of a loan of $200 for three years with- out interest and with interest at 6 per cent after three years. This loan is made by Mrs. Mary D. Stoddard of Omaha, through the Nebraska Federation of Women's Clubs to any young woman, a daughter of a member of the Omaha Woman's Club, who passes most satisfactorily a prescribed competitive examina- tion. Second, the University of Omaha scholarship, which gives free tuition for two years in the institution to the daughter of any Nebraska club woman who passes most satisfactorily the competitive examination.
Mrs. S. K. Spaulding, widow of the late Doctor Spaulding, has established a
294
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
fund of $1,500, the income from which is to be used in paying the tuition of a student each year, the beneficiary to be named by the faculty. This gift is a memorial for the late Doctor Spaulding on account of the great interest mani- fested by him in the work of the university during its early years.
At the beginning of the year 1916 the faculty of the University of Omaha was made up as follows : Daniel E. Jenkins, Ph. D., D. D., president and profes- sor of philosophy and logic; Walter N. Halsey, M. A., dean and professor of pedagogy; Vera C. Fink, B. A., secretary and professor of Germanic language and literature; Franklin P. Ramsey, Ph. D., ethics, sociology and sacred litera- ture; Selma Anderson, M. A., Greek language and literature; Leland Lewis, M. A., chemistry and physics; Pansy Z. Williams, B. S., household economics ; Alice Hogg, B. A., French language and literature; Kate A. McHugh, English language and literature. In addition to these regular chairs there are special lecturers on certain subjects and subordinate instructors in various branches of study.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.