USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Columbus, Ohio: its history, resources, and progress : with numerous illustrations > Part 23
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
Accordingly, at the regular meeting of the board, held July 12, 1871, the committee on salaries made the following report, which was adopted :
"Resolved, That the city be divided into three school depart- ments, each to be composed of sub-districts, as follows :
" The first department shall be composed of sub-districts num- bers one and seven, containing the Park and Spring Street schools, and the suburban schools in the northern part of the city.
" The second department shall be composed of sub-districts numbers two and three, containing the Sullivant school, the Mid- dle building, and the suburban schools of Franklinton and Mid- dletown.
" The third department shall be composed of sub-districts num- bers four, five, six, and eight, containing the schools in the South building, all the German-English schools, and the suburban schools in the eastern and southern parts of the city.
"Resolved, That there shall be elected by the board one male principal for each department; one male principal for the high school ; one male principal for the Loving (colored) school, and one female principal for each sub-district, whose duties shall be defined by the rules and regulations of the board of education."
The schools were organized in accordance with the foregoing programme. The superintendent, at the close of the first year under the new regime, July, 1872, reported that the experiment of putting women at the head of all the schools below the high school had, so far as the results of that year were concerned, proved a success. The vigilance of the lady teachers, their de- votion to the work, and competency to teach and govern, kept the schools in good order and in a high state of efficiency.
A new classification of the schools was adopted, together with a new course of study. The old course occupied a period of nine years in the primary and grammar schools, being divided into five grades-lower and higher primary ; lower and higher secondary ; lower and higher intermediate; and A, B, and C
279
EDUCATIONAL.
grammar. The new course for the English schools reduced the time from nine to eight years, having the following distinct grades : A, B, C, and D primary, and A, B, C, and D grammar.
The principal feature in the new course is the introduction in the grammar-school grades of "Natural Science," instead of the disconnected lessons upon every variety of subjects, known as " Object Lessons." Botany is made the basis of oral lessons in the C and D grammar, and physics in the A and B. By means of a small appropriation for the purchase of a few simple pieces of apparatus, the pupils receiving lessons in physics are enabled, under the eyes of their teachers, to perform many simple but instructive experiments. Notwithstanding the many difficulties encountered, there were no subjects upon which the average standing of the pupils at the last annual examination was so high. The teachers almost universally reported deep interest on the part of the pupils.
SCHOOL SITES AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
It has been said that substantial and costly school and church edifices are the best manifestations of the enterprise, intelligence, and morality of any people. If this be true, Columbus may justly lay claim for her citizens to the possession of these very desirable qualities. No city in the West has provided more lib- erally for the accommodation of her children of school age and for their esthetic culture. Great care has been taken to secure ample grounds, and in convenient and healthy localities. Much wis- dom and foresight were exercised by the city board of educa- tion which secured the sites now occupied by school buildings when property was cheap, and it was possible to obtain them. The inconveniences which other cities experience on account of the smallness of the lots for buildings and play-grounds are not found in Columbus. The grounds of all the buildings are large enough to afford abundant room for outdoor exercise.
The following is the size of the lots of the principal buildings:
High School, 124 feet by 201; Sullivant School, 163 feet by 212; Park Street School, 150 feet by 200; Spring Street School, 150 feet by 284; Third and Mound Street School, 156 feet by 187 ; Third and Rich Street School, 146 feet by 188; German-
280
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
English and Grammar School, 120 feet by 187; Third Street German-English School, 102 feet by 180; South Street German- English School, 187 feet by 150; Loving (colored) School, 187 feet by 150; Fieser School, 150 feet by 187.
The purchase of two large lots-one in the northern. and the other in the southern part of the city-in the spring of last year, was an exercise of that foresight which was characteristic of former boards. The rapid growth of the city in these two sec- tions will require at an early day the improvement of the lots, by the erection of buildings, each containing at least twelve rooms. The pressing need of more school-room in the northern part of city will be partially supplied by the temporary house now in process of erection.
THE SULLIVANT SCHOOL BUILDING.
The Sullivant School building on State street, was first occu- pied in September, 1871. It is 119 feet front by 84 deep, and three stories high. It contains seventeen school-rooms, one reception-room, a principal's office, and will accommodate nearly one thousand pupils. The basement contains, besides the coal and furnace-rooms, two large play-rooms-one for the boys and one for the girls, which may be used in inclement weather. The cloak-rooms are roomy, and so arranged that they are accessible only to the children of the respective rooms to which they be- long. The halls and cloak-rooms are supplied with water. The following apparatus, with one clock, for marking the time in each school-room, and for purposes of communication with all the rooms from the office of the principal, was constructed under the superintendence of T. C. Mendenhall :
The apparatus combines in itself a system of clock-signals and a system of telegraphic communication connecting each room in the building with all of the others. The motive power consists of a dozen or more cells of Hill's battery, which are placed in the basement immediately underneath the principal's office, with which they communicate by means of a couple of tolerably heavy copper wires. From this room wires are carried to every room in the building, being connected in each with a bell-magnet and a simple key for closing the circuit. The bell-
281
EDUCATIONAL.
magnets were manufactured to order by Messrs. L. G. Tillotson & Co., of New York city, from whom also were obtained the battery elements. These signal-bells are very simple in their con- struction, easily adjusted, and not liable to get out of order. The battery is easy to manage, requiring very little attention, and when once in operation is maintained at a merely nominal cost. In order to secure the communication of time throughout the building, one of Estell's "Programme Clocks" is thrown into the circuit, being placed in one of the rooms, and a mechan- ical attachment made which makes the closing of the circuit, and consequently the simultaneous striking of all the bells in the house, coincident with the striking of the clock itself. A system of numerical signals has been devised, which makes it the work of but an instant to communicate any ordinary request or order from one room to any or all of the others. The apparatus having been in use only during the latter part of the last year, has hardly had a chance to prove its usefulness. As the teachers, however, have become familiar with its manipulation, it has demonstrated to them its great convenience and utility to such an extent that they would experience much difficulty were they deprived of its use. Costing about the same as a set of poor clocks, it is a much more accurate time-keeper, and a valuable time-saver. Where a programme of exercises can be arranged for an entire set of schools, it may be struck by the programme clock, and communicated instantly and accurately to every room in the building. Should the superintendent or other school officer, or any visitor, desire to see any teacher in the building, he has but to step into the office on the first floor, and by touch- ing the key he makes known his want, and is attended to at once. In case of fire, or any other disaster requiring the imme- diate and prompt dismissal of all of the school, this apparatus would prove invaluable, as by means of it the dismissal could be secured in the least possible time, and without alarming the pupils in any way whatever.
282
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
THE HIGH SCHOOL.
The Columbus High School is a just source of pride to our citizens. There can hardly be found, in any school of a similar grade, a more competent and devoted corps of instructors than there is in our high school. Neither show nor sham finds any quarter. To make sound, thorough scholars and thinkers, is the tendency of all the instruction and discipline given in this school. The fact that boys who have completed the high- school course of study, have been able to enter the best colleges in the East and the national schools at West Point and Annap- olis, with a higher standard of scholarship than that required, is alike creditable to the school and the teachers.
THE HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING.
The High-school building, on the southeast corner of Broad and Sixth streets, was opened for the reception of pupils on Monday, September 8, 1862, being the day for the commence- ment of the fall term of the public schools. This edifice is one of the finest school buildings in the United States, and one of the chief architectural ornaments to our city. It is Romanesque in style. It is built of red brick, with cut Waverly stoLs dress- ings, galvanized iron cornices, and slate roof.
The main building is one hundred feet long by sixty broad, with a central transept twenty feet wide, projecting twelve feet on each side. There is a beautiful tower at the northwest corner, rising about one hundred and fifty feet above the pave- ment. Wide halls run through the building, and the stairways are spacious and of easy access.
At the intersection of the corridors in the center of the build- ing, there is an octagonal bay which runs up through the two stories of recitation rooms, and the arrangement is such that . the principal can have every department under his observation and within his call from the gallery surrounding this bay or "well-hole" in the second story. There is a capacity in the different rooms for the accommodation of two hundred and fifty pupils.
On the first floor are the superintendent's room in the tower,
283
EDUCATIONAL.
three large school-rooms, and a laboratory and apparatus-room. The second floor has three school-rooms, and a commodious library and reading-room. The third floor is appropriated to form one large hall for general exercises, public exhibitions, lectures, etc. This hall is elegantly finished, and is one of the finest audience-rooms in the city.
The pupils enter the school-rooms through small ante-cham- bers used for cloak-rooms. In an upper room of the tower is a large tank supplied with water from the roof. This water, by means of pipes, is carried all over the building, and there is a lavatory in each cloak-room. All parts of the building are sup- plied with gas.
The arrangements for warmth and ventilation are all but perfect. The furniture in the school-rooms is of the latest and most approved forms. The entire cost of the building, at the time of its completion, was set down at twenty-five thousand dollars.
FINANCIAL.
For the year ending September 1, 1872, the total receipts for the public schools were $162,543.50, including $6,070.20 State tax and $148,793.31 district tax. The disbursements for the same period "ere $150,016.10, including $68,453.05 for superintendents' and teachers' salaries, and $32,452.81 for buildings erected.
INDEBTEDNESS.
The permanent or funded debt of the board consists of $50,000 in bonds, dated August 1, 1870, and redeemable $10,000 each year, commencing on the 1st of August, 1874, and bearing eight per cent. interest. These bonds were issued in conformity with a special act of the legislature, passed in March, 1870, for the purpose of erecting the Sullivant building on State street, and the Central German-English Grammar school, and are payable ten thousand dollars each year, commencing the 1st of August, 1874, and bear eight per cent. interest.
COST OF NEW BUILDINGS.
State Street (Sullivant) school-house, $68,992.27 ; Fourth Street school-house, $17,981.14; Middletown school-house, $10,900; Long Street (Loving) Colored school-house, $6,361.
284
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
VALUE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY.
Total value of school sites, $123,550; total value of school buildings, $269,650; total value of school furniture, $15,841; total value of school property, $409,041.
MEMBERS BOARD OF EDUCATION.
The following comprises a complete list of all the members of the board, and officers of the same, since 1846, at which time the city of Columbus was made a special school district :
1847-48-Wm. Long, president; S. E. Wright, secretary ; H. F. Huntington, treasurer ; P. B. Wilcox, J. B. Thompson, James Cherry.
1848-49-Wm. Long, president; S. E. Wright, Secretary ; H. F. Huntington, treasurer ; P. B. Wilcox, J. B. Thompson, A. F. Perry.
1849-50-Wm. Long, president; J. L. Bates, secretary ; H. F. Huntington, treasurer ; J. B. Thompson, S. E. Wright, J. W. Baldwin.
1850-51-J. B. Thompson, president ; J. L. Bates, secretary ; H. F. Huntington, treasurer ; Wm. Long, S. E. Wright, J. W. Baldwin
1851-52-J. B. Thompson, president; J. L. Bates, secretary ; H. F. Huntington, treasurer; Wm. Long, S. E. Wright, J. Sulli- vant.
1852-53-J. B. Thompson, president; J. L. Bates, secretary ; H. F. Huntington, treasurer ; S. E. Wright, J. Sullivant, Thos. Sparrow.
1853-54-Jos. Sullivant, president; Thomas Sparrow, treas- urer; S. E. Wright; secretary ; H. F. Huntington, J. K. Linnel, James L. Bates.
1854-55-Jos. Sullivant, president; Thomas Sparrow, treas- urer; S. E. Wright, secretary ; J. K. Linnel, J. J. Janney, J. L. Bates.
1855-56-Jos. Sullivant, president; J. J. Janney, treasurer ; S. E. Wright, secretary; J. K. Linnel, A. B. Buttles, A. S. Decker.
RICHES, COLUMBUS
HIGH SCHOOL.
285
EDUCATIONAL.
1856-57-Jos. Sullivant, president ; J. J. Janney, treasurer ; S. E. Wright, secretary ; J. G. Miller, A. B. Buttles.
1857-58-Jos. Sullivant, president; S. E. Wright, treasurer ; A. B. Buttles, secretary ; A. G. Thurman, J. G. Miller, A. S. Decker.
1858-59-Jos. Sullivant, president; Thomas Sparrow, treas- urer ; A. G. Thurman, secretary ; J. G. Miller, William Trevitt, George Gere.
1859-60-Jos. Sullivant, president; Francis Collins, secretary ; Thomas Sparrow, treasurer; A. G. Thurman, Dr. Eels, J. H. Smith.
1860-61-Jos. Sullivant, president ; John Greiner, secretary ; Thomas Sparrow, treasurer; A. G. Thurman, J. H. Smith, George Gere.
1861-62-Jos. Sullivant, president; Thomas Sparrow, treas- urer ; Otto Dresel, secretary ; George Gere, J. H. Smith, Starling Loving.
1862-63-William Trevitt, president; Thomas Sparrow, treas- urer ; Otto Dresel, secretary ; George Gere, Starling Loving, R. Walkup.
1863-64-William Trevitt, president; R. Walkup, treasurer ; Otto Dresel, secretary ; Starling Loving, E. F. Bingham, S. S. Rickly.
1864-65-Frederick Fieser, president ; E. F. Bingham, treas- urer ; H. T. Chittenden, secretary ; T. Lough, C. P. L. Butler, K. Mees, H. Kneydel, S. W. Andrews, J. H. Coulter.
1865-66-Jos. Sullivant, president; Frederick Fieser, treas- urer; S. W. Andrews, secretary ; E. F. Bingham, H. Kneydel, J. H. Coulter, K. Mees, T. Lough, H. T. Chittenden.
1866-67-Jos. Sullivant, president; Frederick Fieser, treas- urer ; Peter Johnson, secretary ; E. F. Bingham, K. Mees, Isaac Aston, Starling Loving, S. W. Andrews, T. Lough.
1867-68-Jos. Sullivant, president; Frederick Fieser, treas- urer; Peter Johnson, secretary ; E. F. Bingham, K. Mees, Isaac Aston, Starling Loving, S. W. Andrews, T. Lough.
1868-69-Frederick Fieser, president; Peter Johnson, secre- tary ; Joseph Sullivant, Otto Dresel, T. Lough, Starling Loving, K. Mees, S. W. Andrews, C. P. L. Butler.
286
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
1869-70-Frederick Fieser, president; R. C. Hull, secretary ; C. P. L. Butler, Starling Loving, Otto Dresel, Daniel Carmichael, K. Mees, R. M. Denig, Louis Hoster.
1870-71-Frederick Fieser, president; R. C. Hull, secretary ; C. P. L. Butler, Starling Loving, C. L. Clark, Daniel Carmichael, K. Mees, R. M. Denig, Louis Hoster.
1871-72-Frederick Fieser, president ; R. M. Denig, secretary ; Starling Loving, C. L. Clark, K. Mees, S. W. Andrews, Louis Hoster, C. P. L. Butler, C. T. Mann.
1872-73-Frederick Fieser, president ; R. M. Denig, secretary ; Starling Loving, K. Mees, E. F. Bingham, S. W. Andrews, Alex. Neil, Louis Hoster, Val. Pausch, T. J. Critchfield, L. D. Myers.
SUPERINTENDENTS.
The following named gentlemen have acted as superintendents of the public schools of this city :
1852-56-Asa D. Lord; 1856-65-E. D. Kingsley ; 1865-71- William Mitchell; 1871-73-R. W. Stephenson.
RICHES
SPRING STREET SCHOOL BUILDING.
287
EDUCATIONAL.
HOLY CROSS CHURCH SCHOOLS.
The new school building connected with the above-named church is very creditable to the energy of the pastor and the congregation. The old stone church, remodeled, proving entirely inadequate for the rapid increase of pupils desirous of attend- ing the school, the new building, after a plan made by Charles Woelfel, was erected, under the care of the Very Rev. J. B. Hemsteger, V. G., at a cost of $11,800; M. Harding, contractor. It is three stories high, and contains seven rooms, each 27 by 32 feet, and 13 feet in the clear. It has also a beautiful hall, 32 by 54 feet, 15 feet in the clear, used for meetings of the congrega- tion and the several societies connected with the church. Three of the upper rooms are used for the female departments, under the care of the Sisters of Notre Dame, with 177 pupils. Three of the lower rooms are the male department, in care of Brothers Peter, William, and Charles, the pupils numbering 149. Total number of pupils attending school, 326.
ST. PATRICK'S SCHOOL.
The school building, erected in 1854, by Rev. James Meagher, north of St. Patrick's Church, and constituting the north wing of the present school edifice, proving to be inadequate for the purpose intended, was enlarged and remodeled, in 1862, by Rev. Edward Fitzgerald. It is located on the corner of Seventh street and Mount Vernon avenue, and will accommodate about 500 pupils. It has a front of 672 feet, and a depth of 60 feet. It is two stories high, and contains eight rooms, with a hall run- ning through the middle of the building.
The four upper rooms constitute the female department of the school, in charge of the Sisters of Notre Dame. There are 280 pupils in this department. The four lower rooms are occu- pied by the male department, in charge of Miss Kate Milay, as- sisted by Misses Ellen McGarr, Emma Burns, and Sarah Cain. The number of pupils in this department is 250. The value of the school property is $12,000.
COLUMBUS BUSINESS COLLEGE
Was founded by Professor E. K. Bryan, in 1866. It embraces book-keeping, English grammar, correspondence, law, and banking. The attendance during 1872 numbered 220.
288
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
FRANKLIN BUSINESS AND TELEGRAPHIC INSTITUTE
Was founded by Prof. J. A. Peasley, the present proprietor, Sep- tember 5, 1870. It embraces a business, telegraphic, normal, academical, and an intermediate department. The enrollment of scholars for 1872 numbered 171. There are employed in the institute six teachers.
THE STATE LIBRARY.
It is a noble and enduring memorial of Governor Thomas Worthington that he founded, in 1817, the Ohio State Library. While on a visit to Philadelphia in the summer of that year, the governor purchased, from his contingent fund, a small col- lection of valuable books, which formed the basis of our present State Library. He deposited the books in a room fitted up for the purpose over the auditor's office, in the state-office building, on High street, north of the old state-house. The next legis- lature not only indorsed what the governor had done, but ap- propriated a thousand dollars for the purchase of additional books. Rules were adopted for the regulation of the library, placing it in the care of the governor, and authorizing the gov- ernor, secretary, and treasurer, and auditor of state, the judges of the supreme court, the members of the general assembly and their respective clerks, to take books out of the library, to be returned within a limited time.
The library was kept open only during the session of the leg- islature. The governor intrusted the care of it to John L. Harper, who was, therefore, the first state librarian. He re- ceived two dollars a day during the session.
The first donation of books to the library was made by the celebrated Jeremy Bentham and Robert Owen, through John Quincy Adams, minister to England. The number of volumes in the library was gradually increased, and in 1824 it was 1,717.
FIRST LIBRARY LAW .- On the first day of the session of the legislature for 1823-24, Zachariah Mills was appointed librarian in joint convention of the two Houses. At the same session, in January, a bill was passed for the management and enlargemen
289
LIBRARIES.
of the library. It provided for the appointment of a librarian, by the legislature, for the term of three years ; fixed his salary at two hundred dollars a year ; and required him to give bond in two thousand dollars for the faithful discharge of his duties. It also appropriated three hundred and fifty dollars a year for the purchase of books.
From 1824 to 1844, appropriations, varying from three hun- dred and fifty dollars to one thousand dollars, were annually made for the library. In 1844, the number of volumes had in- creased to 8,172.
LIBRARY COMMISSIONERS .- On the 6th of March, 1845, a law was passed placing the library in charge of the governor, the secretary of state, and the librarian, who were to make rules and regulations, superintend all expenditures, and report annually to the legislature. All persons were permitted to visit the library and examine and read the books. Members and ex- members of the legislature, judges of the supreme court, and State officers were allowed to take out books under the rules, but not to give any other person an order for books.
The law fixed no term of office, nor any amount of salary for the librarian. He was, however, paid four hundred dollars for 1845, and the next year his compensation was raised to five hundred.
The appropriations to the library during ten years-1842 to 1852-amounted to five thousand six hundred dollars. The number of volumes had increased, in 1844, to 13,640.
GENERAL LIBRARY LAW .- The legislature, on the 27th of January, 1853, passed a library act, repealing the previous ones. It limited the term of the librarian to two years, fixed his bond at ten thousand dollars, and required him to make an annual report to the governor. These were the principal changes made in the law as it stood at the time the act was passed. In 1854, an act was passed requiring the librarian to cause to be bound, in a substantial manner, all newspapers, periodicals, and pam- phlets received at, or furnished to the State library. His annual salary was fixed by law, in March, 1866, at fifteen hundred dollars.
REMOVALS .- In May, 1856, the library was removed from its location, in the ancient building on High street, to the two rooms
290
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
in the State-house, opposite the treasury department, where it remained till January, 1858, when it was removed to the spacious library-room in the State-house, which it now occupies.
LIBRARIANS .- The following are the names of the several State librarians with the date of appointment : John L. Harper, 1817; John McElvain, 1818; David S. Brodrick, 1820; Zach- ariah Mills, 1824; Thomas Kennedy, 1842; John Greiner, 1845 ; Elijah Hayward, 1851; James W. Taylor, 1854; W. T. Cogge- shall, 1856; S. G. Harbaugh, the present efficient and obliging librarian, 1862.
NUMBER OF VOLUMES .- The report of the commissioners of the library for 1872 showed that there were in the general de- partment 31,984 volumes, and in the law department 5,418. The additions made in 1872 were, in the general library, 959 ; and the law library, 276, making the number of volumes added to both departments 1,235.
DISBURSEMENTS .- The following are the disbursements out of the appropriations to the library for 1872: For books, maga- zines, and papers, $2,152.60 ; for books for law library, $1,335.24 ; for clerk of library, on salary, $950; for contingent expenses, $456.54; making a total disbursement of $4,894.43.
MANUSCRIPT DEPARTMENT .- There is a manuscript depart- ment to the State library, which, it is expected, will be hereafter greatly enlarged. It contains, at present, papers of Governors R. J. Meigs, Thomas Worthington, and Ethan Allen Brown ; miscellaneous papers, and the celebrated St. Clair Papers, pur- chased by authority of the legislature, containing the corre- spondence, messages, documents, and manuscripts generally, of Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory for four- teen years, from 1788 to 1802.
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.