USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Peterborough > History of the town of Peterborough, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire > Part 9
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
The new school-house, now the No. I in town, was built, no doubt, by a tax on the inhabitants in the diocese, with the exception of the town appropriation of $150, and the part appropriated for an academy by private contributions. We have no means of knowing anything more of the matter. The upper room was used as an academy for several years. We have heard of three teachers who were employed ; viz., Edmund Parker, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1803, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judge of Probate, Hillsborough County ; Reuben D. Musser, in 1804, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1803, who became a most distin- guished man; and in 1805, '06, the school was kept by Will- iam F. Morison, son of Rev. William Morison, of London- derry, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1806. After it ceased to be used for this purpose, it remained closed till the building was sold, and converted into a tenement house, and is the first building on Concord Street, on left-hand side from the bridge.
All these schools were in successful operation many years, and were of immense value to the town. Some of them were very large, numbering over ninety, and sometimes rising even to one hundred, scholars, especially the schools in the village and in the north-west districts.
In town-meeting, April 8, 1817, "Voted, That the select- men number the school-houses." The lines defining the limits of the school-districts in town were presented for the first time by a committee, through their chairman, Samuel Smith, at the annual town-meeting, 1824, who also reported that the districts be numbered from one to nine; "that the school-houses be built hereafter by the districts, according to their taxes, and according to a just valuation of the same." By the report, the limits of District No. 7, North Factory, were defined.
The brick school-house in No. I, now converted into a dwelling-house, was built near to Asa Evans' tavern-house, some years before the rest of the brick houses.
We have a distinct recollection of the old school-houses in 1824, all of them in a shabby, dilapidated condition, - shin-
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EDUCATION.
gles worn out, and roofs leaky; clapboards off, affording additional ventilation; of a dark wood-color, innocent of any paint, even the famous Spanish brown so common in those early times.
This year, 1824, seven new brick school-houses were built, all of which but four, viz., Nos. 2, 3, 7, and 8, are now dis- placed by wooden structures. The following vote was passed, April 8, 1828 : "Voted, That each school-district choose their prudential committees." It appears that for some years after this date a portion of the literary fund was appropriated to the smaller school-districts, and another portion to purchase books for the town library.
In 1833, the school in District No. I becoming very large, agreeable to the custom then, the only relief was division ; so a new district, No. II, was established, and another brick school-house built, just north of the Congregational (Unita- rian) Church.
In 1840 a new school-district, now known as No. 4, was established in the south-west part of the town, on the petition of Samuel Adams, Samuel Robbe, and others. No record of the proceedings of the town-meeting held Nov. 2, 1840, in which this petition was acted on, were ever made by the then town clerk, A. C. Blodgett.
In 1844 it was voted in town-meeting that Districts Nos. I and II be united under the name of No. I.
During this year the united districts purchased land in the centre of the village, and erected a large school-house contain- ing three commodious rooms, with a seat for each scholar, and divided the scholars into three classes, for the several rooms; and have conducted their school matters in a similar manner to the present time.
In 1845 John Barber, Samuel Carey, John W. Barber, and Elijah Washburn were set off into a district called No. 10. A district has since been set off in the west part of the town, near Barker's Mill, and a school-house built called No. II.
During the past years great changes have taken place in the school-districts in town. Those most distant from the
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
village have dwindled in numbers, while those in the vil- lages have greatly increased. The farms in many parts of the town, that were formerly very productive, and abounded in full houses, granaries, and barns, and generally large families, are now, by the deterioration of the soil, reduced to the lowest state of production, and begin to be abandoned for all purposes of tillage as fast as the buildings become untenantable. All the school-districts became more or less affected by these causes.
The policy of increasing the number of school-districts, and so further dividing the school money, has been errone- ously pursued here as elsewhere, as the only remedy for those badly situated in regard to schools. The consequence has been a great expense to these individuals, of erecting new school-houses, and ultimately receiving but little instruction, and that of the most immature and inexperienced kind. Per- sons thus situated were obliged to send their children to neighboring districts when in session, or be at the additional expense of private schools, to derive the ordinary advantages of our common schools. There are now eleven districts in town. It will not be long before many of these must be abandoned for want of scholars, and the school money con- centrated where it can be more usefully and economically expended. The experiment of small districts has been fully tried, and they have been found an insufficient remedy for the evils complained of.
PETERBOROUGH ACADEMY .- An act for the incorporation of an academy was obtained from the New Hampshire legis- lature, Dec 28, 1836, to be called the "Peterborough Acad- emy." A sufficient subscription having been obtained for the purpose, a neat brick school-house, 47 by 36, was erected in the village, in the summer of 1837, on a beautiful and con- venient site, presented by Gen. James Wilson for this pur- pose. The whole amount expended was $1,453.63. This sum included $ 100 appropriated to the purchase of philosoph- ical apparatus, to which $80 more, raised by subscription, were added.
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EDUCATION.
The opening services were held Aug. 21, 1837, and the academy commenced with a large number of pupils, under the instruction of Nathan Ballard, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1837, who remained but one year. The school was kept in operation many years with varied success, being more or less prosperous, according to the popularity or address of the teachers, until by a regular decadence it was reduced to two terms in a year, and still later to only one. In 1871, the house being needed for a high school, just then for the first time established in town, it was rented April 12, 1871, and is now occupied for this purpose. The property is yet in the hands of the corporation of the academy, a regular organiza- tion having been maintained through all the decline of the school.
HIGH SCHOOL .- The high school was established by the following vote of the town, at the annual March meeting, 1871 : On motion of Ezra Smith, " Voted, That we establish a high school in the town of Peterborough, and that all the school-districts in said town shall constitute said high-school district. The town shall annually choose a committee of three persons, who shall have the entire charge of said high- school district and school. There shall be a fall, winter, and spring term of school in said district each year. All persons offering themselves for admission to said school shall be examined by said committee, and if found to possess the qualifications required by the committee for admission, may be admitted to said school. The tuition shall be free to all those admitted, who are resident of said high-school district; and all others shall pay such a reasonable tuition as the com- mittee shall require." $1,200 of the school money was appro- priated for this purpose the first year. The school went into operation in August, 1871, under the instruction of Thomas P. Maryatt, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1871, with about fifty scholars. The same teacher continued with great suc- cess for four years. He was succeeded, 1875, by L. C. Corn- ish, A. B., graduate of Waterville College, Me. The school has thus far proved of great advantage to the young people of
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
Peterborough, and has been carefully improved by those who have been qualified to enter it.
The success of the high school has been greatly aided by a munificent donation of philosophical apparatus by Nathaniel H. Morison, LL. D., of Baltimore, Md. When he retired from his private school in Baltimore, over which he had pre- sided more than a quarter of a century, to accept the position of Provost of the Peabody Institute, he presented all his phil- osophical apparatus, after having had the same put in perfect repair, which had cost him over $2,000, as a gift to the high school of his native town.
CHAPTER XI.
LIBRARIES AND TOWN LIBRARY.
Social Library, 1811. - Another Started by Dr. Abbot. - Union and Phoenix Libraries. - Peterborough Ministerial Library. - Town Library Established in 1833. - Edwards' Definition of a Town Library. - Correspondence with Commissioner of Education. - The Claims of Salisbury, Ct., and Castine, Me., Considered. - First Pro_ ceedings of Town in Relation to its Library. - First Appropriation. - First Library Committee. - Appropriations made since 1833 .- Various Aids and. Donations. - A Fund of $1000 Raised by Rev. A. M. Pendleton. - Names of Donors of Money and Books. - Num- ber of Books, March 1, 1876.
WE cannot learn of any library previous to the establish- ment of the "Peterborough Social Library " in 1811. This consisted of one hundred volumes of exceedingly well-selected books, every one of which could be read with profit. The library was extensively used till 1830, when it was sold, having been for some time much neglected, and considered as old and out of date.
Another, library was gotten up about this time by the Rev. Abiel Abbot, D. D., which was very much used for many years ; but the conditions of membership requiring an annual payment of fifty cents, which not being paid in a certain time the share became forfeited, all the proprietors but two or three suffered the shares to be forfeited, and these proprietors made it over to the Ministerial Library, where it is now in safe keeping.
The Union and Phoenix Cotton Factories had each a small,
15
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
well-selected library for their operatives, which was much read and very useful. The Phoenix Library, consisting of two hundred and one volumes, was presented to the Town Library in 1860.
The Peterborough Ministerial Library, connected with the Congregational Society (Unitarian), and principally for the use of their minister, was founded by the sole efforts of Rev. Abiel Abbot, who commenced it with a large donation of books from his own library, and labored assiduously in its be- half for several years. An act of incorporation was obtained for the same in 1838. It now numbers from twelve to fifteen hundred volumes.
TOWN LIBRARY. - The Peterborough Town Library was established in 1833, and was, without doubt, the first free public library in the United States. Thanks to such men as Abiel Abbot, John H. Steele, James Walker, Timothy K. Ames, James Howe, William Scott, Henry F. Cogswell, and many others, for this inestimable boon to this generation. It was a step in advance of the times, -they builded better than they knew. No town or place in all our country had conceived the plan of furnishing free reading to the commu- nity at their sole expense, till some time after our project was in full and successful operation.
The Peterborough Town Library claims, First, That it was founded by the town with the deliberate purpose of creating a free, general library, and has always been owned by it. Sec- ond, It has been managed by the town, and every year since its foundation the town has appropriated money for its sup- port, has chosen a library committee to take care of the same, and has expended the yearly appropriation in books. Third, It is free to all citizens of the town, has books for all classes, and is, and always has been, in the widest sense, a free public town library.
Edwards, in his Memoirs of Libraries, an elaborate work, in two large volumes, octavo, page 214, says: "By town li- brary, I mean a library which is the property of the town itself and enjoyable by all the townspeople. Such a library
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LIBRARIES AND TOWN LIBRARY.
must be both freely, and of right, accessible and securely per- manent. It must unite direct responsibility of management with assured means of support. No such library existed in the United States until that of Boston was founded in 1848. Nor did any such library exist in the United Kingdom until after the passing of the 'Libraries Act,' in 1850."
In a correspondence with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Education, at Washington, D. C., he says, in a letter of Aug. 7, 1875 : "The first free public library supported or aided by taxation, of which this bureau has any account, was established at Wayland, Mass., and was opened to the public in August, 1850; the second, at New Bedford, Mass., was opened in March, 1853. If the Peterborough Town Library was free to the inhabitants of the town prior to August, 1850, whether supported by municipal taxation or by the income of invested bonds, it furnishes the first example of a free library, and we shall be glad to give it the credit." In another letter of Aug. 12, 1875 : "So far as any data are at present known to us, your library is the earliest of its kind. Should we obtain information of an earlier enterprise of the same kind, you will be duly informed."
The Department of Education, having obtained additional and important information on this subject, addressed us the following letter, of Jan. 1I, 1876: " It appears that a youth's free library was established in Salisbury, Conn., in 1803, and that for many years it was supported, and additions of books made, by means of a tax; thus making it the first free library supported by taxation of which we have any account." In the beginning of 1803, Caleb Bingham, of Boston (of Colum- bian Orator memory, etc.), a native of Salisbury, presented to the town a juvenile library, and himself appointed a board of trustees to manage it, these trustees having power to fill vacancies. It was called the " Bingham Library for Youth." We are not informed whether it was received by a formal vote of the town or not. At all events, the town never assumed the ownership or care of the library, or by its con- tributions had anything to do with its being a free library. We know not how often, or how much, the town contributed
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
to the library, - it was simply aided in its prosperous days, and in the end permitted to run down. Judge Samuel Church, in an address on the one hundredth anniversary of the first town-meeting, held in Salisbury, Oct. 20, 1841, in speaking of this library, says : "The books were sought after and read with avidity; the town, from time to time, by grants from its treasury, has contributed to its enlargement, and generous individuals, too, have made valuable additions." The town clerk of Salisbury, Daniel Pratt, Esq., informs me that this library has ceased to be used for the last thirty years or more ; probably the books were worn out, or dilapidated so as to be unfit for use, and never renewed. In no sense can this be considered a town library. It was simply a free library, to which the town afforded an occasional aid in its prosperous days.
One other case is found, nearer to the point of becoming a free library under municipal authority. In the year 1700, Rev. John Sharp bequeathed his library to New York City ยท for a municipal institution. Thirty years after, a second bequest came to it from an English clergyman, Dr. Welling- ton. But it fell into neglect, and it does not appear, so far as we can learn, that it received any support from the city. In 1754 a number of influential citizens added seven hundred volumes, and greatly improved its regulations. But the idea of a library owned and supported by the city, for the free use of its citizens, seems to have been entertained by almost no one save its founder. In 1772 it was avowedly converted into a proprietary library. In that year it was formally incorpo. rated as the Society Library of New York. It now prospers greatly as a proprietary library.
The school district libraries in New York, supported by taxation, and owned by the several districts, come the nearest to our town libraries of anything else known. But these were not established till 1835, and were only for the school district to which they belonged, -in no sense town libraries.
We were informed still later (June 10, 1876), by the Com- missioner of Education, that the Castine, Me., free public library antedates ours. By a letter from P. J. Hooke, librarian
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LIBRARIES AND TOWN LIBRARY.
of the same, we learn that this library went into effect March 5, 1855, by a vote of the town, twenty-two years after the beginning of the Peterborough library.
Thus giving all due credit for previous attempts to estab- lish free public libraries, we think the claim of Peterborough to be the first to have succeeded in it is indisputable. Any library in this country, founded and owned by a town, sup- ported by municipal taxation, maintained from its origin till now, and open to the free use of all its citizens, anterior to our own, is entirely unknown to us. We confidently claim the honor of being the pioneers in this enterprise, that our library is the first public free library supported at public expense in the United States .*
There has been more difficulty in ascertaining the history of the town library than we had anticipated. It being a matter of comparatively recent origin, it was thought that many persons living would remember about it, and be able to furnish all the requisite information ; but it so happened that those most prominent in the matter were at, or past, the middle age of life, and are all now deceased, with the excep- tion of Henry F. Cogswell, now residing in Buffalo, N. Y. The town records have been carefully examined, but they furnish poor and scanty materials for history ; they faithfully record votes, and the results of various transactions, but of those who made the motions, or advocated the measures, they are entirely reticent.
The following are the first proceedings of the town in rela- tion to the library, at a meeting held April 9, 1833 : -
"On motion, Voted, That out of the money to be raised the present year from the State Treasurer on account of the literary fund of the town, as to make the principal thereof amount to seven hundred and fifty dollars, to remain a permanent fund."
"Voted, that the remainder to be raised from the State Treasury, together with the interest of said fund, be appropriated the present year."
* In a letter of July 22, 1876, from John Eaton, LL.D., Commissioner of Education, Washing- ton, D. C., he says : "So far, then, as the Bureau is at present advised, Peterborough may rightly claim the honor of having established the first free town library in the United States."
3
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
"On motion, Voted, That the portion of the literary fund and the interest thereof be appropriated this year ; be divided among the small school-districts, and applied to the purchase of books for a town library." *
We have reason to believe that this important town meas- ure owed its origin in a great degree to the late Rev. Abiel Abbot, D. D., together with the earnest and hearty cooperation of Gov. John H. Steele, James Walker, Henry F. Cogswell, Wm. Scott, T. K. Ames, James Howe, and many others. The library has always been regarded with favor by the peo- ple, and has received more persistent support than almost any other voluntary institution in town.
In 1834 John H. Steele, Abiel Abbot, and Timothy Fox were chosen directors of the town library, which committee probably purchased the first books. The library started off this year with an appropriation, made in 1833, of $66.88 ; for the next two years, 1834, '35, $70, each, was appropriated. In 1836, $96.37 was appropriated, and in 1837, $75; 1838, $75; 1839, $89, and an addition, also, of $50; 1840, $70; 1841, $90; 1842, $50, and additional, also, $80; and then $45 for each year to 1865, except the year 1862, when no appropria_ tion was made. In 1865, $60 was appropriated; 1866, $75; 1867, $95; 1868, $75; 1869, $75; 1870, $150; 1871, $75 ; 1872, $75; 1873, $75; 1874, $75: 1875, $75. In 1835 the first appropriation, of $42.09, was made to William T. Smith for taking care of the library, and subsequently a certain sum, from $30 to $50, was paid annually to different persons, till the removal of the library, in 1874, to the south basement of Town Hall, and its great enlargement, when the salary of the librarian was increased to one hundred dollars a year. The money above appropriated was derived from the literary
* The wording of these votes seems very obscure. The fact intended to be conveyed was, no doubt, this : -
Ist, That of the money heretofore received by the town on account of the literary fund, with enough of this year's receipts to make $750, be formed into, and remain, a permanent fund, as it is at the present time.
2d, That what remains, after completing this fund, be appropriated, with the interest on said fund, the present year.
3d, Is a repetition of the last vote with the following, to be divided among the small school-dis- tricts, and applied to the purchase of books for a town library.
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LIBRARIES AND TOWN LIBRARY.
und, so-called, a state tax on banks, and distributed to the various towns, to be used for literary purposes.
The following are the various aids and donations in money, which have been extended to the town library, with the names of the individual donors. In 1868 one hundred dollars was subscribed, the following persons giving five dollars each, viz., M. L. Morrison, Jonas Livingston, C. H. Brooks, H. A. Marsh, John Gates, A. J. Aldrich, Joseph Noone, C. B. Ferry, A. M. Pendleton, S. N. Porter, Marshall Nay, George T. Wheeler, S. I. Vose, John R. Miller, E. M. Tubbs, R. B. Hatch, O. Felt, A. P. Morrison ; those giving two dollars each were Dr. Albert Smith, E. B. Dodge; and those giving one dollar each were William Lowe, E. R. Farnsworth, John Scott, John Wilder, Dr. J. F. Cutler, and P. McLaughlin. The above subscription was gotten up and collected by Rev. A. M. Pen- dleton.
In 1869 a levee was gotten up by Rev. A. M. Pendleton and Miss Catharine Smith for the purpose of procuring additional funds for the town library, and a committee, consisting of John R. Miller, Charles Scott, and Charles Wilder, were appointed to invite former residents and natives of the town to attend and partake of the festivities of the same. An agreeable response of $290.50 was generously made by the following persons, while $ 144.24 was realized from the levee, making a total of $434.74 :-
John Field, Arlington, Mass., $100; Wm. H. Smith, Alton, Ill., $50; Samuel May, Boston, $20; N. H. Morison, Balti- more, Md., $20 ; Mrs. S. W. Hogan, Woburn, Mass., $10; J. H. Morison, D. D., $10; Nathaniel Holmes, Cambridge, Mass., $10; K. C. Scott, Keene, $10; Geo. E. Forbush, Providence, R. I., $10; Perkins Bass, Chicago, Ill., $10; Mrs. Helen J. McCaine, St. Paul, Minn., $5 ; Albert B. Hannaford, Nor- walk, O., $5; William M. Smith, Lowell, Mass., $5; Albert Field, So. Market, $5; George Howe, Lynn, Mass., $5; a Friend in Lynn, Mass., $5; Charles M. Townsend, Springfield, Vt., $3; Jona. Felt, Jr., Newton Lower Falls, Mass., $2; Mrs. Sarah E. Cheney, Chicago, Ill., $2; Lau- rence Daly, Perkinsville, Vt., $1.50; Elias Boynton, New
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HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH.
volumes by Horace Morison, fifteen volumes by the American Unitarian Association ; in 1872, three volumes by S. N. Has- kell ; in 1873, eight volumes by Hon. A. C. Cragin.
The greatest benefactor to the town library has been the Rev. A. M. Pendleton. He served gratuitously eight years on the library committee, and labored in season and out of season for its welfare. It is to him, more than any other person, that we are indebted for the judicious selection of the books, the largest portion of which was bought while he was a member of the board; for the careful supervision and management of the library; the securing a convenient place for the same; for the raising, by subscrip- tion, such large sums of money for its advancement, and a still-continued interest in its behalf. He merits the lasting gratitude of the town, and of all those who are enjoying the fruits of his labor, in the excellent books he did so much to provide for them.
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