USA > New York > Oswego County > History of Oswego County, New York, with illustrations and Biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 39
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The first public school on the east side of the river was taught by. Miss Philomela Robinson, in a hired room near the river, in the Second ward, about 1817. The location of the school was frequently changed ; the second one was near the cove; the third near where the Columbia mill now stands ; the fourth on the west side of First street, at the foot of Cayuga; the fifth in Mr. Elias Park's house, on the corner of Second and Seneca streets. Among the carly teachers of the school who succeeded Miss Robinson were Mr. Morton, Miss Daggert, Mr. Dwyer, Miss Ora Coate, Miss Lydia Miner, Richard Parsons, and Eliza Wells.
Some time in the fall of 1828, a school-meeting was called at the store of Milton Harmon. At this meeting were present James Sloan, Milton Harmon, and Joseph Turner. Being progressive and liberal-minded men, they voted that it was " absolutely necessary to have a school- house," and resolved that one be erected at onee, at a cost not exceeding one hundred dollars ! On the morrow a great breeze was raised about their ears by some of their more wealthy but parsimonious neighbors, who neglected to guard their pecuniary interests by being present at the meeting. They were severely rebuked for presuming to levy so heavy a tax on the district. They were warned that they would surely ruin the town by such oppressive taxes.
We have already told in the sketch of the city how the three persons present voted that a school should be built for a hundred dollars, how their neighbors afterwards opposed it, and how the latter finally yielded on condition that the greatest economy possible should be used. The contract was accordingly made with Mr. Luther Palmer to erect the house and put in all the furniture complete for one hundred dollars. It was a slab or plank house, about twenty-five by thirty feet, battened on the inside, adorned with neither paint nor mortar. The seats were of the same materials as the rest of the structure, with a board fastened around against the wall to serve as a writing-desk. This house
stood until about the year 1810, when it gave way to a very respectable one-story stone structure, with a hall, two school- rooms, and a basement. The building was consumed by the great fire of 1853, and the following year the present two- story brick building, with a hall and ten school-rooms, in- cluding two in the basement, aside from furnace-rooms and closets, arose from its ashes, under the auspices of the board of education. This house accommodates about five hun- dred pupils, and is filled to its utmost capacity.
In the year 1851 a wooden school-house was built on the corner of East Ninth and Seneca streets, designed for the younger children of this part of the district. This build- ing is now occupied by primary school No. 8. It appears to have been erected by Jas. II. Dow, for the sum of four hundred and sixty-five dollars. The cost of the lot was one hundred and eighty dollars.
About the year 1832, we are informed that Mrs. Wells taught a publie school in a room rented of Mr. O'Harra, on East Third street, near Oneida. As near as we can ascer- tain, this was the first public school taught in that part of the town. For the next two years the school was taught by R. P. Crossman. The territory south of Bridge street had been set off as a new distriet about 1830 or 1831.
For nine or ten years this school was taught in hired rooms, and in the old court-house for some time. It was not until 1841 that a new building was erected. This was a very respectable frame house, with two school-rooms, and was located on the site of the present elegant brick structure on East Fourth street, between Mohawk and Utica streets.
In the same year this district was divided by the county superintendent, in answer to a petition of the trustees, and all that portion of the village east of Sixth street and south of Bridge street constituted distriet No. 19. For sonie- thing more thau a year the school of this district was taught in a rented house belonging to James Cochran, on Oneida, below Tenth street. In 1842 a new house was erected, consisting of a single room, located on Tenth street, near Oneida. This house has since been twice enlarged by the board of education.
The old frame house on Fourth street was removed in 1857, and a three-story brick building was erected under the direction of the board of education. This was destroyed by fire in December, 1860, and the following year the present building, modeled after nearly the same plan as the other, but somewhat enlarged, was erected.
For several years a room was also rented of Mr. James Baker, on West First street, near the tannery, for the accommodation of the smaller children in this part of the town.
Desiring to dispose of this building, Mr. Baker kindly offered to ereet a small house for the accommodation of the school, and rent it until such time as the board could pur- chase the same.
The proposition was gladly accepted, and the house which now stands on East Fifth street, near Erie, was built, and rented until June 2, 1859, when it was bought by the board. It has since been enlarged to double its original capacity. Aside from the districts already enumerated, there were two joint school districts,-one up the river, on the west side, in the neighborhood of Mr. Sobieski Burt,
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
and the other in the west part of the town, in the neighbor- hood of Mr. Lewis A. Cole. As to the time of the forma- tion of these districts, we have been unable to gain any reliable data. By the act under which the schools were reorganized these districts were dissolved.
This brings down the history of the public schools to the time of their reorganization under a board of education. Before entering upon a consideration of this period of their history, it is proper that we should notiee a movement, in itself of comparatively little moment, but which, at the same time, had an important bearing on the organization of the present free-school system.
In the fall of 1848, a benevolent association was formed for the purpose of providing for the education of the poorer classes : such as from inability to pay the requisite rate-bill, to purchase school-books, or clothe their children properly, were practically shut out from the advantages of a common- school education. This was called the Orphan and Free School association. The movement enlisted the sympa- thies and co-operation of many of the best citizens. The ladies, through the aid of sewing-societies, prepared cloth- ing for the children. All the dwellings of the poor were visited, and those requiring assistance selected. A room was rented (the basement of what was called the old " Taber- nacle," on West Second street), books were provided, and the school was opened in the fall of the year above named. The prime mover of this enterprise was the present principal of the normal school, E. A. Sheldon, who acted as secretary of the society, solicited and collected the funds, visited the families of the poor, distributed the clothing, and taught the school.
The school opened with one hundred and twenty children, most of whom had rarely, if ever, seen the inside of a school- room before. It was continued for eighteen months, when it was proposed by some of those most actively interested in the school, to initiate a movement to make all the public schools of the city free, and thus, in a great measure, obviate the necessity of this free-school association.
After one or two meetings of the directors for consulta- tion in regard to the matter, it was resolved to call a meet- ing of citizens, to take into consideration the propriety of organizing a system of free graded schools. This was held in the fall of 1850, and a committee was appointed to pre- pare, and submit at a subsequent meeting, a plan for the reorganization of the schools. The plan presented was very similar in its main features to the present organization ; but meeting with warm opposition, the project was for the time being abandoned.
Another effort was made the succeeding winter, but with no better success. In the year 1853, through the hearty co- operation of the representatives at Albany, Hon. James Platt and Hon. D. C. Littlejohn, a local school act was se- cured, the one under which the schools are now working; and the first board was organized May 11, 1853, consisting of the following gentlemen :
First ward, Leander Babcock, D. S. Goldey ; Second ward, Win. F. Mason, John C. Churchill ; Third ward, Ab- ner C. Mattoon, Wm. H. Goit; Fourth ward, A. B. Coc, O. J. Ilarmon. A. B. Coe was elected as the first president of the board, and E. A. Sheldon as secretary.
At the time of the reorganization of the schools, there were, as stated in the first annual report of the board, " twelve school districts, including one joint district, the school-house of which was located within the city. Each distriet was a separate and distinct organization, and all the children who attended school at all were obliged to attend the school in their own district, or be subjected to an oner- ous tuition."
At that time there were in the employ of the board twenty-one teachers, with an average attendance of thirty- eight pupils each. The compensation paid was from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and twenty dollars, and in one instance two hundred and forty dollars per annum for ladies, and from three hundred to four hundred dollars, and in one instance six hundred dollars for gentlemen. There were also seventeen private schools, with an average attendance of six hundred and thirty pupils.
The following September the city was entirely redis- tricted and the schools completely graded. The city was first divided into eleven primary districts, then into five junior districts, bounded without reference to the primaries, then into three senior districts, the whole comprising one high-school district. As the scholars finish the course pre- scribed in each of the lower schools, they may progress up- ward into the higher.
The old academy building, the academy having long been discontinued, was purchased by the board and fitted up for a high school. That institution was kept there until 1867, when it was temporarily removed to the normal school building. In February, 1868, the academy or high school building was destroyed by fire. During the succeeding summer the board built a substantial brick structure for the use of the high school, on the same site, on Third street, between Cayuga and Seneca. It is eighty-eight by seventy- nine feet, will accommodate six hundred pupils, and cost twenty-two thousand two hundred and twenty-five dol- lars.
During the summer of 1870 the board of education purchased two lots, one in the Second ward, on the corner of Tenth and Mitchell streets, for the sum of fifteen hun- dred dollars, and the other in the Seventh ward, on Talman, between Third and Fifth streets, for the sum of nine hun- dred and ten dollars. The board also enlarged the site of school No. 7, on West Fourth, between Albany and Erie streets, by the purchase of the adjoining lot on the north, thirty-three by a hundred feet, for the sum of seven hun- dred dollars. The site of school-house No. 2, in the Fourth ward, was enlarged by the purchase, on the 6th of Novem- ber, 1875, of fifteen by a hundred feet on the north, for four hundred and fifty dollars.
In the summer of 1871 the board erected, on the lot in the Seventh ward, purchased the year before, a school-house of suitable size and construction to accommodate three hun- dred pupils, at a cost of ten thousand eight hundred dollars.
On the night of October 1, 1875, the brick school-house in the Fourth ward was destroyed by fire. On the 27th of the same month the contract for rebuilding it was executed, and it was completed ready for use by the 1st of April, 1876, costing the sum of eight thousand three hundred
B.B.BURT.
RES. OF B.B. BURT, OSWEGO, NEW YORK.
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
dollars. This is the fourth school house that has occupied the same site.
Having now sketched the changes of districts and build- ings up to the present time, it only remains to give the personnel of the administrative and educational staff. The following is the board of education for 1877:
First ward, Joseph Tremain, Robert Gordon ; Second ward, M. J. Wallace, Patrick M. Reynolds; Third ward, J. N. Collins, Frederick Earl; Fourth ward, Amos Waldt, J. M. Barrow ; Fifth ward, Daniel O'Connell, John Flynn ; Sixth ward, J. L. Me Whorter, Chas. W. Murdoch ; Seventh ward, Michael Dundon, Lawrence Robinson ; Eighth ward, John C. Bradt, Thomas Dewine.
The president is Daniel O'Connell, the secretary Virgil C. Douglass. The secretary is ex-officio superintendent of all the schools of the city. Mr. Douglass was appointed as assistant to Mr. Sheldon in 1866. He was appointed see- retary October 5, 1869. He and Mr. Sheldon have been the only secretaries since the board was organized. The following are the names and salaries of the present teachers:
High School .- Principal, Charles W. Richards, $1200; Preceptress, Tillie C. Staats, $595 ; Assistants, Eva S. Ed- wards, 8522.50 ; Julia B. Douglass, half-time, $250.
Senior School No. 1 .- Principal, Martha W. Stowell, $680; Assistants, Hattie M. Sperry, $475; Emily A. Comer, $427.50; Emily D. Coon, $427.50; Libbie M. Stearns, $427.50; Mrs. Carrie E. Tubbs, $475; Jane Gorman, $400; E. Jennie King, $400.
Senior School No. 2 .- Principal, Charles H. Treadwell, 81125 ; Assistants, Minnie A. Ross, 8475; Julia A. Wil- son, $475; Inez E. Wallace, $427.50 ; Kate A. Mattison, $400; Teresa E. Burns, $400.
Junior School No. 1 .- Principal, Rose Whitney, $522.50 ; Assistant, Sarah J. Walter, $403.75.
Junior School No. 2. - Principal, Lizzie Salmon, $522.50; Assistants, Lillie C. Marsh, $400; Mary A. Leonard, $403.75; Carrie L. Paddock, $400; Sarah E. Terry, $403.75; Addie V. Watkin, $400; Georgia A. Timerson, $403.75; Cora A. Brown, $400.
Junior School No. 3 .- Principal, Eliza II. Weed, $522.50; Assistants, Lizzie Kingsford, $403.75; Maggie A. Draper, $400.
Junior School No. 4 .- Principal, M. Augusta Barrow, $522.50.
Junior School No. 5 .- Principal, Helen M. Tubbs, $522.50; Assistants, J. A. Donnolley; $400; Celia L. Ormsby, 8400; Mary E. Leffin, $400.
Junior School No. 6 .- Principal, Anna E. Hamilton, $522.50; Assistants, Mary Cusick, $403.75; Mary J. Murphy, 8400 ; Emma E. Baker, $400.
Primary School No. 1 .- Principal, Eliza J. Nichols, $498.75 ; Assistant, Mary E. Bryan, $403.75.
Primary School No. 2 .- Principal, Martha A. Keeler, $498.75 ; Assistant, S. Ida Williams, $400.
Primary School No. 3 .- Principal, Maggie Jackson, $198.75 ; Assistant, Harriet E. Stevens, $400.
Primary School No. 4 .- Principal, Mrs. C. C. Wells, .$498.75 ; Assistants, Ada H. Inman, $403.75; Maggie A. Lyons, $400.
Primary School No. 5 .- Principal, Jeannette T. Morri-
son, $198.75; Assistants, Mary Hanen, $403.75; Emma S. Hunt, $400; Mary F. Aylesworth, $400.
Primary School No. 6 .- Principal, Maggie A. Kenific, $498.75 ; Assistants, May E. Gray, $400; M. Jennie Murray, $400.
Primary School No. 7 .- Principal, Nelly A. Riggs, $498.75; Assistant, Ella II. Maxwell, $403.75.
Primary School No. 8 .- Principal, Ellen M. Bruce, $498.75; Assistant, Lizzie II. Dimmore, $100.
Primary School No. 9 .- Principal, Minnie E. Doran, $498.75 ; Assistant, Minnie E. Burgoyne, $400.
Primary School No. 10 .- Principal, Maggie C. Staats, $498.75 ; Assistant, Mrs. H. Amelia Lyons, $403.75.
Primary School No. 11 .- Principal, Rose B. Williams, $498.75 ; Assistant, Ella A. Dempsey, $400.
Primary School No. 12 .- Principal, B. Manning, $498.75.
Unclassified School .- Principal, John M. Moore, $850; Assistant, Mrs. G. M. Gardenier, $475.
Music Teacher .- James N. Baker, $680.
OSWEGO CITY LIBRARY.
For some years it had been in the mind of Gerrit Smith, in consequence of the large property he owned in Oswego, and the great benefits he had derived therefrom, to make a special benefaction for the permanent advantage of the city. In pursuance of this purpose he addressed the following letter to eight of his friends, prominent citizens of the place :
" PETERBORO', July 17, 1853.
" ALVIN BRONSON, JAMES PLATT, GEO. II. McWHOR- TER, HENRY FITZHUGH, EDWIN W. CLARK, JOHN B. EDWARDS, JAMES BROWN, DE WITT C. LITTLE- JOHN.
"Gentlemen : As some of you are aware, I have for years entertained the idea of founding a public library in the city of Oswego. The time has now arrived for me to act upon that idea.
" I appropriate to this object the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), and I wish you to be at the pains of expending it. You can draw for it as follows: 1st March, 1854, for $5000; 1st June, 1854, for $5000; 1st August, 1854, for $5000; 1st October, 1854, for $5000; 1st December, 1854, for $5000.
" It strikes me that it might be well for you to pur- chase a lot and ereet upon it a building which would serve for other purposes as well as for the library. The lot and the building might cost, say fifteen to twenty thousand. The balance of the twenty-five thousand you could then expend in books, and the rents of that portion of the library not devoted to the library would furnish means for adding books from year to year. But all this I leave to your better judgment.
" As I have always had more to do with property on the east than on the west side of the river, and as that part of the city has suffered exceedingly from the late fire, and, moreover, as much less has been done for the inhabitants of that part of the city than for the inhabitants of the other side, I enjoin that the library be on the east side of the river. My only other injunction is that the privileges
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
and benefits of the library shall be always as acceptable to the one as to the other, and that no person-on account of their race, or complexion, or condition-shall be shut out from the privileges and benefits, or in any degree curtailed of them.
" As to the character of the library, I have only to say that my warm wish is that no book unfriendly to truth and purity may ever find a place in the library.
" I leave it with you to take such legal steps as are neces- sary for the maintenance of my own rights and the rights of the public in respect to the library.
" With great regard,
" Your friend,
" GERRIT SMITHI."
The gentlemen referred to accepted the trust and organ- ized the library.
April 15, 1854, the institution was incorporated by the legislature by the name and style of the " Trustees of the Oswego City Library." Mr. Smith declined to have the library called by his own name, hoping that the citizens would take an interest in the matter and aid it with their contributions. Later, Mr. Smith gave about five thousand dollars more to the library, making the whole sum donated by him nearly thirty thousand dollars.
The board of trustees, in 1853, purchased the lot, corner of Oneida and Second streets, East Oswego, and erected thereon the edifice which has been occupied by it ever since. The board also appointed George C. McWhorter catalogian, and he, in pursuance of such authority, compiled the library and purchased the books. In the early years of the library one of the original trustees, Mr. Brown, died, and his place was filled by the election of Mr. Murray. Sub- sequently Mr. Mc Whorter died, and was succeeded by his son, George C. Mc Whorter. Afterwards Mr. Murray and Mr. Platt died, and Mr. Fitzhugh removed from town. Their places were filled by Mr. Mollison, Mr. Irwin, and Mr. Kingsford. Four of the original trustees, Messrs. Bronson, Clark, Edwards, and Littlejohn, survive. Mr. Bronson was chosen first president of the board, and held the position eighteen years, when, in consequence of his great age, he declined a re-election, and was succeeded by Mr. Mc Whorter.
The present board of trustees are as follows, viz .: Presi- dent, George C. McWhorter ; Trustees, Alvin Bronson, Edwin W. Clark, Jolın B. Edwards, George C. Mc Whor- ter, Dewitt C. Littlejohn, Gilbert Mollison, Theodore Irwin, Thomson Kingsford ; Secretary, Edwin W. Clark ; Treas- urer, John B. Edwards ; Librarian, Benjamin Stocks.
The library now contains about six thousand volumes, exclusive of those received from the United States and the State of New York, which are not entered iu the printed catalogue.
The library is departmented, and every department of literature and learning is represented as far as may be. The tone of the library is high, the aim having been to bring the taste of the community up to the standard of a good library, rather than-by the admission of useless, ephem- eral, and often unhealthy current literature-to lower the library to the level of those who prefer passing amusement to mental improvement.
There are a few rare and curious books in the collection, and some rare and valuable, especially on the subject of American history and biography. The reference depart- ment is ample and excellent.
The citizens of Oswego may be congratulated on having so valuable a library, and nothing probably will so much conduce to perpetuate the memory of Gerrit Smith as the library which he wisely and generously founded.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
A description of the primitive methods in use for extin- guishing fires forty or fifty years ago has been given in the general sketch of the village and city of Oswego a short dis- tance back.
On the 12th day of April, 1855, the Oswego fire depart- ment was incorporated, and the following-named persons designated as fire wardens: John Dynan, Matthew Soulon, Richard Tobin, Lawrence Johnson, John C. Hugunin, John Comes, James Ryan, James Malone, Volney K. Burr, Syl- vester G. Abbott, Nathan Robbins, and William Stewart.
This organization remained in operation until 1876.
Under act of May 20, 1876, Bradley B. Burt, Thomas Dobbie, Edward Mitchell, and David M. Gorsline were fire commissioners, with power to " organize fire companies, and appoint a sufficient number of able-bodied men, and re- putable inhabitants of the city of Oswego, firemen." At the first meeting of the board B. B. Burt was chosen chair- man, and H. M. Harmon clerk pro tem. J. C. Cooley, Jr., was appointed clerk, who officiated three months, and was succeeded by George Noyes Burt, the present clerk.
The first appointees were as follows, viz .: George W. Warsop, chief engineer; P. M. Cunningham, J. Mitchell, assistant engineers.
Steamer No. 1 .- William H. Young, foreman ; A. Sal- ladin, Jr., assistant foreman ; Charles B. Chase, engineer ; N. L. Rowlson, stoker ; J. T. Cunningham, W. J. Garra- han, Frank M. Fairtile, Henry Sands, C. H. Bryan, Z. H. Smith, J. W. Roach, Frank Cusick, firemen.
Steamer No. 2 .- John Dillou, foreman ; Michael Gor- man, assistant foreman ; Timothy Cotter, engineer; John Brennan, stoker ; John Clark, Norman Belger, Henry Net- tles, John Naccy, William Daley, Samuel Garrahan, Eugene O'Ncil, firemen.
Steamer No. 3 .- Richard C. Cullivin, foreman ; F. J. O'Brien, assistant foreman ; F. C. Hammond, Frank Gad- wood, Peter Bartholomew, James Pidgeon, John Turner, Louis Dulack, W. H. Kiefer, John Kelly, firemen.
Hook and Ladder No. 1 .- William M. Williams, fore- man ; C. R. Carrier, assistant foreman ; Michael Dempsey, Dennis Redmond, Michael Looney, John Galvin, John Phillips, Orrin O. Williams, John Fitzsimmons, firemen.
THE WATER-WORKS.
The movement for supplying Oswego with water from the river was inaugurated in May, 1868, and in November following the works were completed and in operation. The water is' taken from the river at a distance of about two miles south of the city, and forced into two large reservoirs of fifteen million gallons' capacity, one located on the east and the other ou the west side of the river. There are
MRS. ORVILLE ROBINSON.
ORVILLE ROBINSON
RESIDENCE OF ORVILLE ROBINSON, OSWEGO , N. Y.
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
twenty-five miles of pipe in operation, and one hundred and seventy-five fire-hydrants. The water is supplied to the city through a filter, and the daily consumption is one million gallons.
Hon. Win. J. MeAlpine was chief engineer of the works; John McNair, resident and construeting engineer; and James McDonald builder.
The stockholders were as follows, viz. : Thomas Kings- ford, Thompson Kingsford, Penfield, Lyon & Co., Irwin & Sloan, D. G. Fort, and Delos De Wolf. Delos De Wolf, president ; D. G. Fort, secretary ; and David Mannering, treasurer. Capital, two hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
This enterprise has proved to be a success, and not too much praise can be bestowed upon its public-spirited pro- genitors for their efforts in furnishing Oswego with an abundant supply of pure water.
OSWEGO ORPHAN ASYLUM.
This institution was incorporated February 11, 1852, and the certificate of incorporation was executed by the following-named persons: Gilbert Mollison, W. Lewis, S. II. Reynolds, Simeon Bates, Geo. Fisher, J. I. Fort, R. F. Child, J. Brown, J. C. Hugunin, R. Perkins, Luther Wright, Daniel H. Marsh, A. P. Grant, H. Littlefield, S. II. Lathrop, Jas. Bickford, M. P. Hatch, L. B. Crocker, Delos De Wolf, Henry Eagle, Sardis Allen, William Brown, and Pertius F. Parsons.
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