USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 51
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for the united benefit of the church and the university. Since the resigna- tion of Reverend Stuart in 1858, worship has been conducted by John C. Ager, 1859; Rev. J. C. Eaton, 1860; George Nelson Smith, 1861 ; Charles Hardon and Rev. A. J. Bartels, 1862-63; Charles Hardon, ordained in 1864, regular minister from 1864 to 1866; Rev. J. M. Miller, 1866; Rev. E. A. Beauman, 1867; George Nelson Smith, ordained in 1868, regular minister in 1868 and 1869; Rev. Frank Sewall, 1870-1886; Rev. William H. May- hew, 1887-90; Rev. L. N. Tafel, 1892-94; Rev. John Whitehead, 1895-97; Rev. Russell Eaton, 1897-1917. Rev. Louis A. Dole is the present incum- bent.
In the later seventies the New church society had grown to such num- bers that the old church building became inadequate to accommodate the membership. In 1879 the society voted to give the university the old house of worship which was to be removed to the rear of the church lot and con- verted into a school for girls and a primary school. It was to be under the direction of the trustees of the university to which a perpetual lease of the rear part of the church lot was given for the purposes of the school. This was done in consideration of a sum being raised sufficient to warrant the beginning of a new church to be erected on the site of the old one. After these arrangements were all completed, the cutting and laying of the stone for the new edifice was begun, July 1, 1880. On July 30 the corner stone was solemnly laid under the direction of Rev. Frank Sewall. The building, which cost twelve thousand dollars, is constructed entirely of Springfield limestone from the quarry of Mr. A. Holcomb. The master builder was Thomas Allison, and the master mason, Mr. Laury. Since the edifice was planned by Reverend Sewall, its beauty of design and architectural symmetry stand a memorial to his devotion to his flock. After the new school building was completed for the use of the girls' and primary school of Urbana Univer- sity, it was formally opened and dedicated with religious service by Reverend Sewall on Sunday, September 12, 1880.
Close Alliance with Urbana University .- The close alliance of the New church society and Urbana University is a very happy arrangement, for as the university supplies the educational needs of the members the church min- isters to their spiritual needs. At preesnt the resident members of the church are not many, eighty-five, but this number is increased annually by additions to the faculty and students of the university. The church is glad each year to welcome these new ones, and in fact all who may desire her spiritual min- istrations.
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The present church officers are Rev. Louis A. Dole, pastor; W. F. Ring, treasurer; R. C. Horr, secretary; W. F. Ring, R. C. Horr, C. Davis Brown, J. H. Williams, and Dr. C. H. May, trustees.
MENNONITE CHURCH.
A few adherents of the Mennonite faith from Mifflin county, Pennsyl- vania, settled in Salem township in 1845. Among the families, who were prominent in the organization of the church here, were David Kauffman, Joseph Kauffman and Jacob Hooley. Other families represented were the Detwilers, Hartzlers and the Lantzes. By 1849, a sufficient number had come into the community to justify holding their first meeting at the home of Christopher Yoder. Services were held at the homes of the various mem- bers until the erection of the church in 1857 on a site adjoining the Hooley farm. In 1877, another edifice was erected one mile northwest of the first building. This building, which is occupied at the present time, was thor- oughly remodeled in 1915, and today is one of the very pretty country churches in the county.
The first minister to serve the congregation was Rev. Jacob Hartzler. He was a very strong minister of the gospel and his influence in the church during its infancy can never be overestimated. He was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Kauffman, and he by Rev. John Wary. John King was the next pastor, and continued to serve his people for several years. He was followed by Moses Stutzman, who was one of the strongest preachers the local church has had. After several years as pastor, he was succeeded by Rev. Rufus Yoder, who in turn was followed by Christian King. The next pastor was Rev. J. J. Warye, and he was succeeded by Rev. S. E. Allgyre, the present incumbent. Levi Hartzler is also one of the local pastors, but the oversight of the church is in the hands of Rev. Allgyre.
This church is perhaps one of the strongest of the country churches in the county, having a membership at the present time of nearly two hundred members. Services are held every Sunday, and the interest manifested is all that can be desired.
THE SHAKERS.
A peculiar religious sect, calling themselves the Shakers, gained a tem- porary foothold in the Cranston district, on Pleasant run, in Rush township, about the year 1828. Most of the meetings were held on the farm of Joseph Johnson, which in later years was known as the Enrique Miller farm.
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The mode of worship of the sect was very peculiar in that the members exercised both soul and body. After one of the elders preached on some doctrinal subject, a hymn was sung. The congregation, with the sexes oppo- site each other, formed themselves in a circle around a band of singers, to whose music they danced and made merry. A man named McNemo, who was leader and preacher, was assisted by one Burlinghame, a former Christ- ian minister. The latter married a girl of the neighborhood whose name was Burnham, and both of them were active workers in this religious movement.
Samuel Rice was among the earliest converts. At one time he was a notorious gambler, but later he reformed and united with the Christian church. He remained a member of that church until he arrived in the Crans- ton district; then he joined the Shakers. He was so enthusiastic about the new country and its religious influences, that he returned to his former eastern home and was successful in persuading several families to emigrate to this county.
As time advanced the Shakers grew in numbers, and an attempt was made to form a permanent organization, but it was unsuccessful. In time, most of the adherents to this sect returned to their former church homes.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
EDUCATION.
The history of rural education in Ohio has never been written, but it did not differ materially in the first half century of the state's development from that of other states of the Middle West. Like her sister state to the west, Ohio was content with what was called the subscription school until after the adoption of the constitution of 1852. The first schools in the state were found in the Connecticut Reserve along Lake Erie, and were introduced by the thrifty Yankees from the Nutmeg state. Only the more populous and progressive communities were blessed with any kind of schools at all during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The school houses were invariably rude log structures, devoid of any comforts; and the teacher was usually equipped as meagerly as the room in which he held forth. Teachers were very scarce, and often the teacher was some farmer in the community who offered to "keep school" for two or three months during the winter season. That these early schools were appreciated is shown by the fact that there were often from sixty to one hundred pupils enrolled under one teacher. The man who could handle such a number of children and teach them any- thing at all, must have been a person of unusual physical courage, if not of mental ability. With the aid supplied by the neighboring hickory groves, this pioneer teacher succeeded in keeping at least a semblance of discipline ; and in some mysterious manner he handled his juvenile army and actually taught them the rudiments of "readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic."
Until 1852 only four branches were required to be taught in Ohio schools, reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling. Male teachers were required to take examination in reading, writing and arithmetic, but not in spelling ; on the other hand, the female teachers, for some reason which the reader is left to imagine. were allowed to substitute spelling for arithmetic if they so desired. Evidence of proficiency in the above subjects was sufficient for applicants to secure certificates entitling them to teach from six to eighteen months. It is said that on more than one occasion the examiners were unable to read the papers of their applicants, and granted their certificates accord-
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ing to the amount of paper consumed in the examination. Be this as it may, there were many excellent teachers and the majority of them were masters of the four subjects which they taught.
GRADUAL GROWTH OF THE CURRICULUM.
After the adoption of the constitution of 1852 there was a decided improvement in the schools of the state. Grammar and geography were added to the curriculum, and, as may be imagined, there were many pro- tests against the innovation. A few years later, some of the courageous men in the state succeeded in getting the study of history introduced into the course of study; but the bravest act was that of the men who intro- duced physiology into the public schools. This latter subject aroused violent opposition on the part of many people, an opposition that may be compared with that which the study of eugenics has stirred up within the past few years. Additions to the curriculum have been made from time to time until now the common school teachers are required to pass an examination in eleven subjects. The latest subject to be added is agriculture : and, could our forefathers step into our modern school room in this county and see the boys and girls testing seed corn or determining the fertility of the soil, they would no doubt think that the teacher was a fit candidate for an insane asylum. What the pioneer of the twenties and thirties might have thought of teaching sewing in the public schools would be an interesting subject for contemplation for a vivid imagination, but such instruction is actually given in the school rooms of Champaign county today.
PASSING OF THE RURAL SCHOOL.
Between 1870 and 1880, improvement in the rural schools was directed along five main lines: the building of more school houses; the addition of teaching aids in the school rooms ( maps, books, etc. ) ; raising the educational requirements of teachers ; the payment of higher salaries to teachers, and com- pulsory attendance on the part of pupils. Between 1885 and 1890 the rural school reached its greatest efficiency and enjoyed its highest splendor of sentimental glory. No orator thought his speech complete without a ref- erence to the little red school house, and there are not lacking today spell- binders who appeal for votes on the ground that they are still in favor of this same little red school house.
But the day of the rural school of a dozen or two dozen pupils has
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gone from the state forever-the red school house of our forefathers has seen its day. By 1890 the exodus from the rural districts to the urban centers had begun to assume large proportions. Between 1890 and 1910, some rural districts in Ohio lost thirty-three per cent. of their population. Many a school in the state which boasted of an enrollment of fifty or sixty in the middle of the last century dwindled down to a paltry dozen, or even less, by 1900. Hundreds of rural schools have been abandoned within the past ten years, and hundreds more are doomed. So it came to pass that the rural schools and the system of rural education generally became a bur- den to the people, not only from a financial standpoint, but also because of their inefficiency. Farmers are now demanding that their children have as good educational advantages as those provided for the children of the city. So insistent has become this demand, that townships all over Ohio are abandoning their rural one-room buildings and erecting one large centralized building to accommodate all the children of the township.
CONSOLIDATION AND CENTRALIZATION.
Champaign county, within the past sixteen years, has taken the first step toward consolidation and centralization, and the success which has attended the efforts of the school officials thus far points to a new era in rural education in the county. The present condition of the schools of the county is discussed in detail farther on in this chapter. In the history of the respective townships of the county, mention is made of the first schools in each, together with the early teachers. The future of rural education is brighter than ever before: never have the people been so wide awake to the value of good schools; never has there been as much interest in practical education as at the present time. The boy of the future will not only be able to manipulate the "three Rs" with greater efficiency, but he will also leave the school room with a knowledge of many other things which will make of him a better and more useful citizen of the commonwealth. The girl of the future will know more about cooking, dressmaking and the domestic arts at the time she leaves school than her grandmother did when she died. The times have changed : the world is demanding things today that our fore- . fathers never dreamed of, and it is the glory of the American people that they are adjusting themselves to these conditions. In 2017 Champaign county will look back on 1917, even as we of today are harking back to 1817, and wondering that it took us so long to realize what kind of training we should give our children. May we citizens of 1917 leave nothing undone to make
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our schools a fitting agency whereby our children may have the best train- ing that modern thought can evolve. If we do not, we are derelict in our duty ; if we do, we may be assured that our children's children will arise and bless our names.
PRESENT SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The state constitution of 1912 made some very radical changes in the Ohio school system, which with subsequent statutory legislation, has prac- tically revolutionized things in the educational affairs of the state. It is not possible in this article to do more than give a brief survey of the schools as they are now managed. The office of county superintendent was created and given certain well-defined powers and duties. Provision was made for district superintendents in each county, who were to relieve the county superin- tendent of the cares of supervising all the schools of the county. There can be no question that the present school code is a distinct step in advance, and, with competent officials, the schools should become a more efficient factor in the life of the state.
The county superintendent is elected by the county board of education, the five members of which are selected by the presidents of the various boards of the county. The county superintendent has supervision of all the schools of the county, except those of Urbana, the city being a school district of itself. J. C. Neer, the present county superintendent, was the first person elected to that office and entered upon the duties of the same on August I, 1914. He is a man of varied experience in educational work, having taught in Concord township and in Urbana city, all of his labors having been per- formed in Champaign county. Since he was the first man to hold the office, he has, in a manner, had to blaze the trail. Champaign county has won special distinction and recognition from the state department of education for the manner in which it has installed the new system: and many encomi- ums have been passed upon the educational work which has been accomplished in the county during the past three years.
Under the original plan there were fifteen elementary school districts, or groups, in the county, each of which was under the supervision of a superin- tendent; but in June, 1915, the county board of education combined these fifteen groups of elementary schools into one district to meet the conditions of the Winans law. In addition to this large group of elementary schools, there are two others: one composed of first grade and the other, of second- grade high schools.
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The district superintendents, who have at least thirty teachers under their supervision, receive salaries ranging from one thousand to fifteen hun- dred dollars a year. High-school teachers receive from seventy-five to one hundred dollars a month; and the salaries of village school superintendents range from twelve to fifteen hundred dollars annually. Teachers in the rural schools receive salaries varying from fifty to seventy-five dollars a month. Each school district in the county receives state aid : thirty dollars a teacher, and two dollars for each enumerated child. There are now (1917) one hundred and fifty-two teachers outside of the Urbana schools. Including those in the Urbana system, there are one hundred and eighty-eight. All of the schools of the county have at least an eight-months term, and some of them have nine months.
NORMAL SCHOOL.
Recent legislation provided for at least one normal school in each of the eighty-eight counties of Ohio, and Champaign county established its first normal in the school at Kings Creek. This law for the training of teachers is in charge of the county superintendent, who is obligated by law to teach not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred hours a year of nine months. He is responsible for the teaching of school methods, management and law. The course covers only one year, and those finishing this in a satisfactory manner are granted a year's certificate to teach in the county. The first class was graduated in 1917 and consisted of the following members: Clarence Elliot. Ruth Essman, Leona Jernegan, Edith Mabry, Christine Rhoades, Rachel Steinberger and Sarah Tritt.
TEACHERS OF COUNTY, 1916-17.
The county teachers' institute is recognized by the new school code, but it is not mandatory that they be held in every county. In Champaign county it has been the custom to hold annual meetings of all the teachers under the direction of the county superintendent. The institute for 1916 was held on August 21-25, inclusive. The county board of education as now constituted is made up as follows: J. H. Snarr, president : H. H. Carr. vice-president : G. L. Freeman: J. C. Neer, superintendent; W. B. Crim, district superintendent, and Melvina K. Ellis, director normal school.
The teachers who had charge of the school work of the county during the school year 1916-17, by townships and towns, are as follow :
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Adams township-A. B. Buroker, Kathryn Gries, Mabel Stephenson, W. A. Gaver, Celia Evringham, Emma Pickering, Mabel Krigeor, Hazel Harmon and Harlena McNeil.
Concord township-Waldo Zerkle, E. A. LoLacheur, Hazel Fitzgerald, W. L. Pond, Alta Kizer, Katie Vaughan, Marie Kesler and Ruth Zea.
Jackson township-J. A. Caldwell, Mary Richardson, Roxie Gentis, Cleta Jenkins, Gladys Anderson, Freda Ford, Scott A. Mowen, Mabel Jenkins and Grace Gentis.
Christiansburg-A. W. Draper, Clara Wenger, Bertha Howell and Elsie Strouse.
Johnson township-Gertrude Conway, Bessie Dugan, Lelia Hamilton, Carey Barger, Alta Bodey, Hazel Neal and W. H. Brelsford.
Harrison township-Hugh Eleyet, Hazel Hill, Mildred Shanley, Leona Sidders, Lucile Pyle and Hazel Geuy.
Mad River township-J. R. Price, Ruth Cox, Alys Sinclair, H. W. Hess, W. W. Offenbacher, Dora Turner, Alice Kollefrath, J. R. Kite, Mckinley Nichols, J. M. Gard, Burnette Parmenter and Estella Neese.
Mechanicsburg and Goshen township-Bert Highlands, Edna Paschall, Martha Rowinsky, Ella Clemans, J. C. Woodward, W. Thompson, Zita Deveraux, Anne Dorsey, Ada Longbrake, Lena Morgan, Lottie Hunt, Blanche Messick, Donna Colwell, Ruth Vaughan, Rhea K. Sweeney, Blanche Smeltzer, W. H. Talbot and Bess Hunter.
North Lewisburg-C. O. Taylor, Florence Hunter, Edith Hick, R. M. Hunter, Hazel Overfield, Edna Cook, Margaret Barnes, Frances Wehe and Alice Freeman.
Salem township-D. O. Brelsford, W. H. Whiston, F. P. Blose, Hazel Petty, Iva Nichols, E. L. Blair, Jennie Lockwood, Beatrice Swisher, Sarah Ream, Louzetta Miller, Frank H. Thomas, Phyllis Gifford, Nelle Yoder, Chauncey Kauffman, Gladys Kite, Ruth Arrowsmith and Ruth Brown.
St. Paris-J. M. Turner, Blanche Lowther, Florence Wyman, Harvey Loudenback, Bertha McBeth, Tillie Kizer, Vera Klapp, Christena Nitchman, Glenn Colvin, Helen Frye and Florence Jones.
Union township-Howard Thornburg, W. F. Essman, Mary K. Cart- well, Wendell Graham, Margaret Emory, Imogene Gardner, Dorothy Lowe, Rachel Everett, Beatrice Wilson and Sarah Dorsey.
Urbana township-F. C. Bowers, Hiram Petty, Doris Coover, J. P. Houser, Ethel Thornburg, Clara Hayes, Ida Fuson and J. F. Blager.
Wayne township-Frank Nichols, Frederica Nichols, Cliffe Spain, R. G. Johnson, Dixie Braley, Ethel Clay and Ada W. Madden.
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Mingo-B. A. Aughinbaugh, Helen Kinnard, Arthur Curl, Mrs. Edna Mason and Lillian Miller.
Woodstock-R. D. Conrad, Eliza Allison, Mabel Briney, F. E. Pene- ton, Sarah Vogelgesong, Marjory Kimball, Ada Holycross, Sara Martin, Grace Reed, Harriett Smith and T. R. Davies.
Urbana (city)-I. N. Keyser, superintendent. High School-K. E. Whinnery, J. H. Williams, Dona Robertson, Nelson Thomas, J. M. Thorpe, Dasie C. Merriman, Mary Collins and Letitia P. Fell. South ward-Edgar G. Weller, Florence Dovell, Charlotte Harmstead, Letitia Fell, Mary Woods, Phyllis Ireland, Margaret Bixler, Cecil Buroker and Helen Lincoln. North ward-T. M. Wiant, Jennie L. Brown, Ola Turner, Elizabeth Fuson, Chris- tine Erickson and Eloise Everett ..
Only ten of the teachers, who began their work at the beginning of the school year 1916-17, failed to complete the year's work. Of this num- ber nine were women.
BEGINNING OF COMMON SCHOOL.
The school of a hundred years ago represented to an extent the com- munal interests of six or eight families. The site for the log school house, which was usually about twenty by twenty-eight feet, was deeded conditionally on its use for school purposes. The qualifications of the teachers were left to the householders, and the teacher's remuneration ranged from six to ten dollars a month, paid by the patrons on the basis of per capita attendance. The length of the term was three or four months.
In 1825, the General Assembly received so much complaint concern- ing the school legislation of 1821, that an attempt was made to remedy the existing conditions. A state fund for common-school purposes was ordered to be levied annually, boards of examiners were appointed, better trained teachers were employed, and school revenues were collected. In 1837, there were seven thousand seven hundred and forty-eight township districts in Ohio, with five officers to the district. This made for the state a total of thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and forty petty officials, of which Cham- paign county had for its quota a regiment of six hundred men.
FORM OF TEACHERS' CONTRACT.
The teachers' contract of a hundred years ago is vastly different from the one which he has to sign at the present time (1917). A contract such
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as was used at that time is here reproduced: "We, the subscribers, being desirous of having a school taught in Township, and
district for the term of ten weeks, agree to pay the sum of ten dollars and board for teaching said school, and we do further agree to pay our equal proportion of the above sum, and find our equal propor- tion of firewood according to the number of scholars we shall subscribe or send to school to be taught in the house formally occupied by-
EARLY STATISTICS.
The early accessible statistics, which throw any light on the early edu- cational conditions in Champaign county, are dated 1837. In fact, just eighty years ago there were only eighty-seven teachers in the county, and the school attendance was nine hundred and five. The amount of taxes for school purposes amounted only to three hundred and forty-one dollars, and the amount collected under the leases of sections 16, eight hundred and eleven dollars. During the next thirteen years, the influx of settlers into this county greatly increased the population and the school attendance. Thus in 1850 the attendance had jumped from nine hundred and five in 1837 to six thousand, and the number of teachers from eighty-seven to one hun- dred and one. In 1860 there were enrolled in the schools of the county six thousand six hundred and seventy-nine pupils with two hundred and six teachers, including one superintendent of schools, and two high school teach- ers. The attendance of the public schools of the county reached its maximum in 1876, when six thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine children were enrolled. The number of teachers at that time was two hundred and twenty- four, including three superintendents of schools, and four high-school teach- ers. The expense of operating the schools for that year was one hundred and eight thousand five hundred dollars. Since 1876 the attendance of the schools has steadily declined. Today there are one hundred and eighty- eight teachers employed, one hundred and fifty-two of whom are in the schools outside of Urbana-a number less, by thirty-nine, than in 1876 for the county.
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