USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Memoirs of the Miami valley > Part 13
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A second cause of delay was the unusual form of tenure by which the lands were to be held. When equally good lands could be readily obtained for a few dollars per acre to which he would be given a title in fee simple, the settler who had any means pre- ferred to take up such lands. Instead of the prospect of a univer- sity drawing a desirable class of citizens to the college lands, they were taken up principally by persons who did not have the small sum necessary to purchase government lands or the squatter who bid in a tract, made a few rude improvements, sold off so much of the timber as he could market, obtained his living from the soil until he could dispose of his title for a small cash sum or was ejected for non-payment of taxes. Even today prospective buyers from the outside frequently decline to complete a purchase when they learn the nature of the title, while the rate of interest on mortgage loans is in advance of that which prevails in adjoining townships by reason of the fact that the insurance companies refuse to place loans on the college lands.
A further hindrance to the steady consummation of the plans for building the university was the failure of the Browne mission.
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In 1811, Rev. John W. Browne, a Congregational clergyman from England, who with his son owned and edited The Liberty Hall of Cincinnati, was sent east to secure money for erecting and equip- ping a college building. Visiting Washington, Baltimore, and Albany he arrived in Boston in February, 1812. Here was his Water- loo. Encouraged to expect great things by the cordial commenda- tion which he received from the clergy, his solicitations were met with positive refusals by the politicians who were "principled against encouraging any state in league with the southern states." Disappointed in his expectations and disheartened by his failure at this point, he determined to await a more propitious period, and di- rected his course homeward, arriving at Cincinnati twelve days be- fore Hull's surrender of Detroit. The total amount of money col- lected was $2,566.75, but after paying the expenses of the trip and making certain deductions, the mission netted to the university only $713.38 in cash, somewhat more than a thousand volumes of books and a set of globes. It failed to secure the amount necessary to erect a college building which would have greatly enhanced the value and expedited the sale of the college lands. It was now neces- sary to defer the opening of the university until sufficient funds could be accumulated from the revenues from the lands to erect and equip the buildings.
Still another hindrance was experienced in the contention that arose relative to the seat of the university. It has been noted that the college township as finally located lay without the Symmes purchase rather than within as originally provided. Where should the university itself be located ? At a suitable spot most convenient to the mouth of the Licking river; at a point central to the whole Miami country, or within the college township? Cincinnati, Leb- anon, Dayton and Yellow Springs were among the places that were suggested. The matter of site was referred to a committee con- sisting of U. S. Senator Alexander Campbell, James Kilborne, who was then serving as district surveyor, and Robert G. Wilson, D. D. The last, however, failed to be present when the other members having visited the several places proposed for the location of the university, decided on "a site in the county of Warren on the west- ern side of the town of Lebanon, on the land of Ichabod Corwin, at a white oak tree marked with the letters, 'M. U. V.'" However, due to the absence of Dr. Wilson, the legislature refused to accept the report of the committee and passed a bill, introduced by Mr. Cooper of Dayton, which provided: "That the Trustees of the Miami university shall cause a town to be laid off on such part of the land described in said acts, as they may think proper, to be known by the name of Oxford. That the said university is hereby established on said land, on such place thereof as the trustees may think proper; and that they are authorized and directed to cause such building or buildings to be erected, as they shall deem neces- sary for the accommodation of the president, professors, tutors, pupils and servants of said university, and also to procure the neces- sary books for the said university." This action was far from pleasing to the citizens of Cincinnati who felt, with some reason, that the institution should be closer to that place.
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The original provision was that the university site should be within the college township which as specified should be the first complete township opposite the mouth of the Licking river. This would have placed the institution so convenient to the city as to be readily accessible, whereas the site actually chosen was so re- mote as to be of little immediate advantage.
Founding of Cincinnati College. However, the citizens of Cin- cinnati were determined upon having a college in their midst. Dr. Drake tells us that: "In the year 1806, a school association was formed in this place, and in 1807 it was incorporated. Its endow- ments were not exactly correspondent to its elevated title (Cincin- nati university), consisting only of moderate contributions ; and an application was made to the legislature for permission to raise money by a lottery, which was granted. A scheme was formed and a great part of the tickets sold; but they have, however, not been drawn, and but little of the money which they brought ($6,000) re- funded. On Sunday, the 28th of May, 1809, the schoolhouse erected by the corporation was blown down; since which it has become ex- tinct."
Until near the close of the second war with Great Britain, in- terest in education naturally was at low ebb. In 1814, when the agitation began, that resulted in the founding of the Cincinnati Lancastrian school, a movement was started to secure the removal of Miami university to Cincinnati. Failing in this, Cincinnati col- lege was founded in 1819, as the senior department of the Lancaster seminary. Fifty thousand dollars in money and land was con- tributed toward the maintenance of the institution. The Rev. Elijah Slack was chosen as the first president but gave place in 1821, to Rev. Philander Chase, first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Ohio and later founder of Kenyon college. Be- ing in straitened financial circumstances the college authorities pre- sented a memorial to the legislature of Ohio at the opening of its session in 1822, proposing to transfer the grounds and buildings of Cincinnati college together with certain other properties, the value of which was scheduled at $20,000, to the state of Ohio, provided she would make certain financial provision for the same. On Jan- uary 10th of the same year, Mr. Williams of Hamilton county pre- sented to the Ohio house of representatives a memorial from the president and trustees of Cincinnati college proposing to convey certain property to the Miami university upon condition that the said university be removed to Cincinnati; which was read and laid on the table, the previous notice not having been given. One week later Mr. Williams reported a bill to the house which in substance was as follows: (a) The removal of Miami university from Oxford and the appointment of a commission to locate the same within the Symmes purchase at such a point as should be most conducive to the great ends of education. In making their choice the commis- sion should take into consideration donations which may be offered and the permanent interests of education. (b) That an academy known as Oxford academy should be established as a branch of said university under direction of a board of seven trustees to be ap- pointed by the university corporation, which should appropriate
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the one-eighth part of the funds arising or which may arise from the lands vested in the said university to the use and support of said academy, which was also to receive the buildings and ten acres of ground for its use and accommodation. (c) It was further pro- vided that any leaseholder who felt aggrieved by the removal of the university might surrender his lease, have the value of the improve- ments he had made appraised, and retain the use of the property, free of rent until the rentals equaled the appraised value of his im- provements. This bill provoked a lengthy discussion. Mr. Shields of Butler county opposed the bill on the ground (a) that the bill was the same in substance as the memorial from Cincinnati college which had been rejected by the house, (b) that it would be unjust to the people who had located upon and improved the college lands, (c) that Cincinnati was an unsuitable place at which to locate an institution for the training of young men. Mr. Williams then de- fended his bill in a speech which is given in full in the Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette for February 20, 1822. His arguments were : (a) The university belongs to the Symmes purchase and can never be of any advantage where it now stands to the present day and generation. Congress to encourage the settlement of the Symmes purchase offered certain inducements, among these being the grant of a college township which was to be located near the center of the tract of land and within which the educational institu- tion was to be established. If necessity required the location of the college lands without the bounds of the purchase, this did not re- quire the location of the college outside the purchase, as is shown where schools are in part supported by the income from school sec- tions located outside the bounds of the township. (b) Congress granted to the Ohio legislature one township in lieu of the township already granted and for the same purpose, viz., for the benefit of the settlers within the Symmes purchase. The act of the legislature in removing the university from Lebanon to Oxford was void because it transcended the authorization of Congress and was entirely owing to a log-rolling scheme, that grew out of the contest for removing the seat of government. The people of the Symmes purchase have the same right to the college township that the inhabitants of each township have to their school section No. 16. (c) The school at Oxford has not succeeded, at the most contained but twenty-two boys and cannot assist in the education of the present generation. (d) If the citizens of Oxford took their leases on the grounds that the college was to be fixed in the township * * * the people of the purchase bought their lands under the inducement that they should have the benefit of a college located among them. To take the col- lege from the settlers on the college lands is not so unjust as to withhold it from those to whom it rightfully belongs, as the former will be compensated for their financial losses and be provided with an academy which will meet their needs for years to come. The dis- cussion was continued by Messrs. Anderson, Fitzpatrick, Biggar, Harper, Whittlesey, Collins and Shields, and was ended by the pass- ing of a motion to strike out the first section of the bill. The feel- ing prevailed that due previous notice had not been given of the in- troduction of the bill.
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The introduction and discussion of the bill led the friends of the university as then located to rally to its support. A public meet- ing was held at Oxford, March 23, 1822, when a committee was ap- pointed to examine the bill and speech of Mr. Williams and to pub- lish a reply to the same, and also an address to the inhabitants of the Symmes purchase. A memorial address to the legislature, bear- ing date of October 17, 1822, was prepared by the members of the university corporation and forwarded to that body. Moreover James McBride was elected to a seat in the house of representa- tives and prepared the above speech that it might be in readiness should the friends of Cincinnati college revive the question of re- moving Miami university. This they did not deem wise to do, and so the speech was not delivered. It contains the best account of the Miami college lands that is extant.
Grammar School of Miami University. Undaunted by these many hindrances, Miami university was steadily, if slowly, evolving into a real college. In 1811, the board of trustees of the university made an appropriation and ordered that there should be erected on the university square in the town of Oxford, a house or building for the use of the school. There was erected a hewed log building 20x30 feet at a cost of $297. In December, 1812, James M. Dor- sey, a schoolmaster from Baltimore, opened a select school for the benefit of the youth of the college township. Due to the unsettled condition of the frontier during the years 1812-15, this school had only a limited number of pupils.
By the fall of 1818, a brick building had been erected which cost $6,167. This building served as both recitation hall and dormitory. The building above described was remodeled and fitted for the use of the principal whose compensation was $500 salary, one-half of the tuition of $5 per quarter, and the use of a house and garden free of rent.
The person selected for this position was James Hughes, a Presbyterian clergyman who had pursued his literary and theologi- cal studies under Rev. Joseph Smith and John McMillan and is said to have been the first person to be ordained to the ministerial office west of the Alleghenies.
An account of the opening of this school that appeared in The Weekly Recorder of Chillicothe, Ohio, for December 18, 1818, reads as follows :
On the 3rd ult. agreeably to an ordinance of the president and trustees, the Miami university was opened for the reception of students, under the care of the Rev. James Hughes, who commenced teaching on the day following with six students. At this time the number increased to 21, who are all studying the Latin language. A number more have applied to come in a short time. In the col- lege edifice are twelve large rooms, sufficient for the comfortable accommodations of 50 students, and materials are prepared for an addition of the same size. Boarding may be had convenient to the college, at from $1.50 to $2.00 per week. The price of tuition is $5 per session.
Mr. Nahum Meyers of the Tribe of Levi, a converted Jew lately from Prussia, is at present living with Mr. Hughes, and pro-
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poses to teach the Hebrew language to any who may be disposed to attend for that purpose. Hebrew is his native language.
The attention of the friends of literature and the public in gen- eral is invited to this institution. It is expected that it will be a place very favorable for learning ; though in the midst of a populous and very fertile country, yet in a favorable retreat from the tumult and various avocations and temptations, so prejudicial to youth, which abound in large mercantile towns and cities. The site of the university and of the town of Oxford is peculiarly pleasant, being on a very elevated tract of land, with a beautiful declivity on its borders from every side, affording a very pleasing prospect of the adjoining country in every direction.
Six years were yet to elapse before the college of liberal arts was to become operative.
The same year in which Cincinnati college was founded saw the establishment of the medical college of Ohio. The founder of this institution was Daniel Drake, who for a time had served as a mem- ber of the faculty of the Transylvania Medical college at Lexing- ton, Ky. The other members of the faculty were Jesse Smith, pro- fessor of surgery ; and Elijah Slack, president of Cincinnati college, who taught chemistry. The fortunes of this institution are set forth by Drake in The Rise and Fall of the Medical College of Ohio. This was not only the first medical college in the Miami valley, but the first northwest of the Ohio river.
Another indication of the cultural interest of that area at that early time was the establishment at Cincinnati of a school of litera- ture and arts. Dr. Drake gives the following account of this so- ciety.
This is an association for literary and scientific improvement, composed chiefly of young men who formed themselves into a so- ciety in 1813 and elected Josiah Meigs, an accomplished scholar, their first president. Their constitution provided for frequent meet- ings, at which the exercises are of these kinds: A lecture from the president, an essay from one of the members, and a poetical recita- tion from another. On the 23rd of November, 1814, the school held its first anniversary meeting, at which an oration was delivered by appointment. From this discourse, it appears that many interesting lectures and essays have been delivered, and that this infant institu- tion is probably the germ of a permanent and respectable society.
While therefore the Miami valley did not at the close of the second decade of the 18th century possess a well articulated system of public instruction, she at least had a large number of schools, certain of which were taught by persons of more than ordinary ability, several excellent academies or grammar schools and the only college and medical school northwest of the Ohio river that were actually operative as such at that time. Moreover a number of library associations had been formed to further the educational interests of the valley. Among these were the mercantile library association of Cincinnati, the Dayton library and the Paddy's Run library, which dates from as early as 1817. If the educational situa- tion of the valley was at that time not all that could have been desired, if some of its school buildings were inferior in quality and
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some of its teachers of mediocre ability, it would appear on the whole to have been not without certain effective institutions of learn- ing nor without teachers of a high order of intelligence and effi- ciency. In view of the interest manifested in educational matters, the efforts put forth and the results achieved, it may be questioned whether the Miami valley was at all inferior in educational idealism to the other cultural areas of Ohio. Indeed it may be questioned whether any had, during the same period of time, made as much progress as had she.
Educational Development. As throughout the country in gen- eral, so in the Miami valley, the period, 1820 to 1837, was one of marked educational development.
It was during this period that Ohio in common with a number of other states, established a state system of public instruction. In common with the Ohio company's purchase, the Symmes purchase received from the federal government a grant of section 16 of each township, the income from which was to be used for the maintenance of a school system. Much was hoped for from these grants, but little was realized. The leasing of the lands was first tried but was found to be unprofitable. Finally in 1827, provision was made that they be sold and the receipts loaned to the state to constitute a fund on which the state agree to pay 6% per annum into the school funds of the state.
Two years previous to this during the administration of Gov. Morrow, one of the distinguished pioneers of the Ohio valley, a law was passed making obligatory the levying of a tax for the sup- port of Ohio schools. Among the most effective advocates of this measure was Mr. Nathan Guilford of Cincinnati, one of the most broadminded and farsighted advocates of education of that period, as is evidenced by the following statement from him: "Nothing but free schools has ever succeeded in diffusing education among the most of the people who cultivate the soil. The system scatters schools in every neighborhood, is within the reach of every farmer, and freely offers to the poor tenants of every cabin the means of in- struction. The yeomanry of every country constitutes its sinew and strength, and it is among them that those wholesome, honest, and homebred principles are preserved, which constitute the safety and honor of a nation." It thus appears that his opinion of the value of the elementary schools is not behind that of the leading educators of today.
The effects of this law was shortly to be seen throughout this as other sections of the state. Though several provisions for the education of poor children had been made by philanthropic citizens of Cincinnati, objection had been made to such schools. This arose from the heavy tax payers, those interested in private academies, and those who objected to sending their children to schools where certain of the pupils were charity.
In 1829, a public school system was organized and the city divided into ten districts, each of which was to have a two-room schoolhouse. For building and operating these schools, a tax of two mills was levied. The salaries provided ranged from $200 to $500, the teachers being mostly men.
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Of the state of the Cincinnati public schools in 1837, Atwater in his History of the State of Ohio gives us this interesting account :
At the present time, Cincinnati has within its corporate limits, more and better means of affording instruction, than any other place in this state. Its medical school may be said to be the only one, in the state, of the kind; and if any one seeks to acquire a thorough knowledge of the modern languages, Cincinnati possesses the amplest means of affording such instruction.
And if any young man wishes to acquire a knowledge of any one of the learned professions, Cincinnati is certainly the best place of obtaining it, in the valley of the Mississippi. And if any one wishes to learn any mechanical art, Cincinnati is the very place to learn it. The field is larger and better cultivated, too, than any other, in Ohio, in which the arts grow and flourish. And this will necessarily continue to be the best place in the west, for a long time, in which to acquire knowledge. Perhaps we might except female instruction, to which Columbus, Dayton, Chillicothe, Zanes- ville, and Circleville, have paid great attention.
Public common schools are under the government of trustees and visitors, who are Peyton S. Symmes, president ; George Graham, jr., Elam P. Langdon, James R. Baldridge, William Wood.
These visitors examine and employ the teachers, carefully in- spect the schools, adopt rules for their government, and finally, do every other act proper and necessary to be done, in execution of their high trust. Thus far they have acted wisely and efficiently in the management of these noble institutions.
The city council has a board of education, whose business it is to raise the funds wherewith to build schoolhouses, pay the teachers, and keep the buildings in repair. They have erected ten large edifices, at an expense of about one hundred thousand dollars. This sum includes the cost of the lots on which these splendid buildings are erected. Each of these buildings is divided into four rooms, thirty-six feet in breadth by thirty-eight feet in length, two in each story, besides the basement rooms. The building is two lofty stories in height, above the basement story. In these build- ings forty schools are taught, by about eighty instructors. The number of schools for males and females is equal, in which, about two thousand five hundred children are instructed during the whole year, except two vacations of two weeks each. The wages of the teachers are seven hundred dollars annually for principals, and three hundred for assistant male teachers; and only two hundred and fifty dollars for female principals, and two hundred for assist- ant female teachers. All these sums are paid by the city, for the instruction of the children who have no parents, or those whose parents are poor.
So much we can say, for the benevolence, wisdom and charity of Cincinnati.
The instructors of these public schools are all well educated. The principals of the male schools are graduates of eastern col- leges, and the female teachers are educated in the best manner. The teachers in their departments are perfect gentlemen and ladies. Their constant examples before their pupils, the moral as well as
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literary instruction, which they convey to their schools, are pro- ductive of the happiest effects. Pupils are admitted when six years old, and they can be instructed until they are fourteen years old, and all this instruction costs nothing to them, or their parents and guardians.
Among the teachers in the higher department of females, Mrs. Wing and Miss Eustis, are preeminent for their education and polite accomplishments. We mean no disparagement to other teachers, because they are all good, and deserve higher wages than they now obtain.
The number of scholars in the Woodward college, is nearly two hundred. Its income from all sources amounts to four thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars annually. In seven years, the funds of this institution will produce from six to eight thousand dollars annually. It originated in the enlightened benevolence of William Woodward, of Cincinnati.
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