USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I > Part 61
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The annual cost of instruction per pupil in the high school in 1843-4 was about $14. From that it rose gradually. until in 1870 it was $26. In 1878 it was $37.
The high school began to be crowded as early as 1869. Addi- tional rooms were opened and filled up. A new high school building. after being under discussion for several years, was actually begun in March, 1877, and completed during that and the following year.
The public schools of Providence have long been the pride of the citizens, and the high standard which they have maintained has given them a well merited reputation. The city has been liberal in their support, and the benefits of the schools to the community have well repaid the expenditures for their establishment and mainten- ance. The largely increased attendance, due considerably within a year or two to the effects of the truant law, has been provided for in a great measure by the erection of new school buildings, and the ap- propriations therefor have been liberally made. The number of boys of school age at the enumeration of 1888 was 11,444; the mimber of girls 11,610; making a total number of children between the ages of five and sixteen years of 23,054 residing in the city. Of these there were 14,634 attending the public schools, 3,299 attending Ro- man Catholic schools, and 688 attending select schools. Thus 18,621 were reported as attending school somewhere. There are now em- ployed in the schools of the city 23 male teachers and 337 female teachers. The number of months of service by male teachers per- formed during the year was 209, and that of service by female teach- ers aggregated 3,480. The aggregate annual salaries of male teach- ers was $33,800; that of female teachers $186,118.37; making the total amount paid for teachers' salaries $219,918.37. The cost per capita of pupils enrolled was $12.15. There are at present in the city 57
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school buildings, the aggregate valuation of which, with their sites and appurtenances, amounts to $1,041,249. The state appropriations to the city for school purposes for the year was $28,529.69. The city appropriations additional amount to $228,000. The office of superin - tendent of the city schools, since its creation, has been occupied by the following persons: Nathan Bishop, August, 1839, to 1851; Samuel S. Greene, 1851 to 1855; Reverend Daniel Leach, February 15th, 1855, to 1884; Horace S. Tarbell, September 1st, 1884, to the present time.
The public school buildings of the city at the present time may be ·described as follows: The Thayer Street grammar school house was built of brick, in 1866-7, is three stories high, with French roof. The lot was purchased of Allen O. Peck, in 1866, and John L. Calder, in 1869, and cost $11,920. The cost of the building was $96,290.83. The Arnold Street school house was built of brick, in 1839-40, is three stories high, and accommodates 550 pupils. The lot measures 183 feet on Arnold street and 96 feet on Brook street, and was purchased of Samuel Dexter and others in 1839. East Street school house was built in 1841, is a frame building, and is three stories high. It is used for intermediate and primary schools. The plat measures 98 feet on East street and 100 feet on Transit street, and was purchased of Wil- liams Thayer in 1840, and of Harriot Brown in 1848. The Manning Street school house was built of wood, one story, for intermediate and primary schools. It was erected in 1875-6, at a cost for land and building of $13.417. The lots were bought of Edwin M. Snow in 1875. All the foregoing are in the First school district.
The Second school district contains the following buildings: Doyle Avenue grammar school house, built of brick, three stories high, will accommodate 490 pupils. It was erected in 1875-6 on land leased of the Dexter Donation, and cost, finished and ready for occu- pancy, $52,793.63. A play ground and entrance from Bacon street was purchased in 1873, of Amos N. Beckwith, Paris Winsor and Wil- liam Schroeder. The Benefit Street school house was built in 1839- 40, of brick, is three stories high, and accommodates 550 pupils. It stands on a corner lot, measuring 145 feet on Benefit street and 175 feet on Halsey street. The estate was conveyed by Joseph Whipple to the proprietors of a new school house in January, 1768, for the use ·of a school, and for no other use forever. These proprietors con- veyed it to the town in August, 1799. Other lots were purchased --- one of Ann P. Townsend, widow, in 1825; one of Thomas L. Halsey and others in January, 1840, and one of Ann E. Pratt and Samuel W. Peckham, guardian, in November, 1851. The Camp Street school house, a frame building, two stories high, was built in 1884-5, for in- termediate and primary schools. It is located on the west side of Camp street, on the corner of Cypress street. The lot is known as the Sessions land, and the cost of the building, furnished, was $13,- 107.95. The Graham Street school house is built of brick, two stories
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high, and is used for intermediate and primary schools. It occupies two lots; one of them was purchased from Horace A. Brown in Oc- tober, the other from John A. Taft in November, 1854. The Meeting Street school house, a two story brick building, stands on a lot hav- ing 52 feet front on the street named, and extending back 127 feet to South Court street, on which it measures 64 feet. The estate was con- veyed to the town in 1776 by Ambrose Page, for the erection of a school house, and for no other purpose. The school house was soon after erected upon it. The Thayer Street school house, on the corner of Thayer and Meeting streets, a frame building, two stories high, was erected in 1866, for intermediate and grammar schools. The es- tate was purchased of James Tillinghast, trustee, in 1867. The cost of building and land was $10,500. A lot on Slater avenue was bought of Henry L. Aldrich, December 26th, 1887, for school purposes, and cost $2,500. It is located on the easterly side of and having a frontage of 100 feet on the avenue, between Lloyd and Irving avenues, and extending back 250 feet.
In the Third school district we find the following buildings and grounds: State Street school house, a wooden building, three stories high, is used for intermediate and primary schools. The lot extends from State street back to the railroad. A portion of it was purchased of Martha Howell, in 1843, and the remainder of Edward P. Knowles. in 1858. The Walling Street school house, a two story wooden build- ing. for intermediate and primary schools, stands on a lot 72 by 100 feet, which was purchased of Daniel E. Carpenter, in 1857. The estimated value of the property is now about $5,000. The Candace Street grammar school house, was built in 1876, of brick, two stories. with French roof, and cost, furnished, $41,000. The land was pur- chased of Candace C. Carrington and Anne A. Ives, in 1875. It measures 146 feet on Goddard, 145 feet on Orms, and 176 feet on Candace street. Branch Avenue grammar school house, a wooden building, two stories high, was received from the town of North Providence in the annexation of the Tenth ward in 1874. The lot fronts on Branch avenue and Luna street, and adjoins the "town house lot," so called. Chalkstone avenue school house, a two story, wooden building, for intermediate and primary schools, was also re- ceived from the town of North Providence in 1874. The lot measures 108 feet on the avenue, and runs back about 150 feet to Wayne street. The lot and building are worth about $15,000. A lot on Veazie street, measuring 111 feet front and extending back 164 feet on the south side, and 212 feet on the north side, was bought of the Wans- kuck company June 14th, 1887, for school purposes, and cost $1.500. A wooden school house, containing six rooms, is now in process of erection upon it.
The school buildings in the Fourth district are as follows: The Fountain Street school house, a two-story brick building, was erected
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
in 1839-40. It is occupied in part for ward room purposes, and by the state for a deaf and dumb school. The lot measures 113 feet on Sabin street, 165 on Fountain, and 101 on Beverly. It was purchased in different lots, at different times and of different persons, as fol- lows: four lots from Pardon Taber, Ethan Tourtellot and Thomas Brown, in October, 1838; two lots from Martha Mauran. John Eddy and others, in 1853, and a part of a private street from Marshall B. Mead and others, in October, 1854. The present value of the prop- erty is probably about $70,000. On the north part of the same lot stands the two-story wooden building, known as the Sabin Street school house, which is occupied by intermediate and primary schools. Two lots on Atwell's avenue, measuring 90 feet on that street and 164 feet on Bourn street, were bought for school purposes in 1870, of Joseph Knowles and the heirs of Bradford Allen. Their present value is about $16,000. Beacon Street school house is a wooden building, two stories high, used for intermediate and primary schools. The lot measures 58 by 100 feet, and was purchased of George W. and Charles J. Wheeler, in November, 1843. The property is at present worth about $12,000.
The school buildings in the Fifth school district are as follows: The Point Street grammar school house was built in 1873-4, of Dan- vers pressed brick, and is two stories high, with a French roof. The lot was bought in 1871-2, of H. C. Mathewson and others, at a cost of $67,131.71. The cost of the building was $133.668.48. This is one of the finest school buildings in the city. It is 131 feet by 86 feet on the ground and 63 feet high. The rear end is increased in width to 109 feet by extensions and towers at the corners. In the center of the rear is the bell tower which is surmounted by a spire, the top of which is 110 feet from the ground. The foundation of the building is of Westerly granite. The lower floor is supported by brick arches, the floors above by iron pillars, and the roof by 18 substantial trusses. The face walls are ornamented by galvanized iron cornices, jets, dormer windows, balustrades, etc. A large corridor from the main entrance extends into the building 86 feet, where it joins another which runs crosswise of the building and connecting with side entrances in the corner towers. The first and second floors contain six rooms each. Broad staircases in the front and rear lead to the rooms above. The school rooms are 31 by 33 feet, with am- ple wardrobes for each room. Each room is furnished with 49 sin- gle desks and seats. The building is supplied with all the modern improvements, heated by steam, all the rooms connected by electric bells with the principal's desk. play rooms in the basement and two assembly halls in the third story, one 78 by 82 feet, and the other 78 by 40 feet, both of which can be thrown together by opening partition doors. The architect of the building was Clifton A. Hall, and the building commissioners Cyrus B. Manchester, Joseph F.
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Gilmore and Spencer B. Read. The Elm Street intermediate and primary school house was built of brick, in 1839-40. The lot meas- ures 122 feet on Elm, and 50 feet on Elbow street, its depth being 230 feet. It was purchased of Pardon Clark and Horatio Bassett, in 1838. The present value of the lot and building is probably about $32,000. The Richmond Street school house, a three-story brick building, for intermediate and primary schools, occupies a lot near Ship street, having a front of 104 feet and an average depth of 100 feet. The land was purchased of Stephen Waterman, in 1825. Building and lot are now valued at about $25,000. The' Hospital Street school house is a brick building, of three stories, occupied by intermediate and primary schools. It stands on a corner lot, measuring 90 feet on Hospital, and 51 feet on Borden street. The lot was purchased of Ferdinand Barber, in 1846. The Somerset Street school house, for intermediate and primary schools, is a wooden building, erected in 1886, at a cost, when furnished, of $14,007.04. The lot was bought of Henry G. Russell and wife, in 1885. Friendship Street school house is a brick building, two stories high, for intermediate and primary schools. It occupies a corner lot fronting 80 feet on Friendship and 190 feet on Portland street, and extending back to West Clifford street. The lot was purchased of Cyrus Butler and William H. Hoyt, in 1847.
We come now to notice the school buildings of the Sixth school district. The Oxford Street grammar school building is the finest one in the district. It is three stories high and built of brick. It was completed in 1877 and cost, when finished and furnished, $48,158. The plat on which it stands fronts 135 feet on Oxford street, and has a depth of 176 feet. Four lots were received from the town of Crans- ton in 1867, and two others were purchased of Ebenezer Hirons, in 1875, and of Smith Potter and wife, in 1876. The Public Street school house, a wooden building, two stories, for intermediate and primary schools, occupies a plat 80 feet wide on public street, and 200 feet deep. The land was purchased of Elkanah Ingalls, by the Fourth school district of the town of Cranston, in 1854, and came into pos- session of the city of Providence with the annexation of part of that town to the city. The estate may be valued at about $12,000. The Eddy Street school house, a two-story frame structure, is used for intermediate and primary schools. The plot has a frontage of 104 feet, and was purchased of Sylvester R. Jackson by the Fourth school district of the town of Cranston, in 1865. The Thurber Avenue school house was built in 1872-3. It is of briek, two stories, and is occupied by intermediate and primary schools. The lot measures 343 feet on Plane street and 100 feet on Thurber avenue. A part of this land was received from the town of Cranston in 1867, and parts were pur- chased of Thomas Davis in 1871, 1872 and 1873. The property is worth about $36,000. Chester Avenue school house for intermediate
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
and primary schools, was built of wood, in 1880-1, at a cost of $9,343.26, including cost of outbuildings and improvements on the lot. The land was bought of Susan P. Dart, in 1880. Aldrich Street primary school house, a wooden building, was erected in 1876, and when completed and furnished had cost $4,814.78. The lots on which it stands were purchased of Francis M. Andrews in 1875, and are val- ued at about equal with the building. The Harriet Street school house, for intermediate and primary schools, was built in 1884-5. It is a wooden building, and its cost, including improvements on the lot and furniture inside the building, $12,299.69. The lot was bought of James P. Arnold, in 1884, its cost being $3,840. It contains an area of 12,800 square feet. Plane Street school house, for intermediate and primary schools, a frame building, was erected in 1884-5. With the appurtenances its cost was $12,400. The lot on which it stands was purchased of Hiram K. Stevens, in 1884, at a cost of $4,000. The lot is the same size as the Harriet street lot. A lot on Peace and Plenty streets was bought of D. F. Longstreet, May 7th, 1887, for $8,000. This lot measures 120 feet on Peace street, and extends through to Plenty street, a depth of 198 feet. A grammar school building is now in process of construction upon it. This is building of brick, and will contain 12 rooms.
In the Seventh school district we find six school buildings, some of which are worthy a more extended notice than our limited space will allow. The Warren.Street school house is a two-story wooden building, for intermediate and primary schools. It stands on a lot fronting 95 feet on Fuller and 100 on Warren street. The lot was , bought of Charles Blackmar in 1866 and Holden O. Hill in 1868. The property is estimated to be worth $20,000. The Jackson Aventie school house, for intermediate and primary schools, is a brick build- ing, two stories high. It has two school rooms 27 by 36 feet in each story, and each room having seats for 80 scholars. Ample recitation rooms are connected with each room. The building is heated by furnaces and provided with approved means of ventilation. The cost of the building was $17,405.64, to which was added an expense of $2,814.42 for furniture, heating, fencing, apparatus and the like. It was built in 1874, on land bought of Melinda J. Sheldon in 1873. Bellevue Avenue school house, for intermediate and primary schools, is a two-story wooden building, and was erected in 1886 at a cost of $12,868.98, including furniture, etc. The land on which it stands was bought in 1885 of W. M. and E. S. Greene and Jackson Institution for Savings. Elmwood grammar school house was built in 1882-3. It is a handsome building, the foundation being of granite and trim- mings of freestone, while the main walls are of brick. It is two stories high, with a hall, and will accommodate 450 pupils. The cost of building, furniture, heating apparatus, grading, out-buildings and the like was $51,128.63. The lot was purchased of the Union Sav-
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
ings Bank, Harriet N. Guile and Stephen Colvin in 1881, for $8,444, and contains 27,600 square feet. Greenwich Street school house is a frame structure, two stories high, and is used for intermediate and primary schools. The lot occupies the corner of Greenwich street and Potter's aventie, and contains 30,626 square feet. It was received from the town of Cranston in 1865. The lot and building are esti- mated to be worth about $25,000. Potter's Avenue school house, a two-story brick building, was erected in 1869 at a cost of $12,000. The lot measures 200 feet on the avenue by 160 feet on Brattle street, and extends back to Jessamine street. It was deeded to the Tenth school district of the town of Cranston by Thomas Goodacre in 1865.
In the Eighth school district the most conspicuous and important building in the system of public schools of the city is located. This is the high school building on Summer street. This stands upon a lot which measures 197 feet on Pond street and 209 feet on Summer street. The land was purchased in different parcels, of different per- sons at different times; of Henry Mathewson in 1828, of J. K. and Amy Angell in 1839, of Elisha Durfee in 1848, of S. B. Briggs in 1867, of S. B. Briggs, Harriet Cornell, Jabez Harris and E. H. Bab- cock in 1874, of Jesse P. Eddy in 1875, and of Alexander P. Niger in 1877. Part of the lot had been occupied by the old Summer Street school house before the erection of this building. The original price paid for that part of the lot was $2,000, and the cost of land bought for its enlargement was $56,974.63. The building was erected in 1877-8 at a cost of $159,938.22, including the appurtenances. The building is 152 by 129 feet, and three stories in height, the stories be- ing 15 feet each. The building fronts on three streets, having entrances for girls from Summer street, for boys from Spring street, and for teachers and visitors from Pond street. The foundations are of granite and the walls are of brick, with trimmings of Ohio stone. The first floor is traversed by corridors crossing each other at right angles, and there are four school rooms, each one 34 by 42 feet, and furnished with seventy single desks. Ample recitation rooms and wardrobes are connected with each school room. On either side of the corridor opening from Pond street is a reception room, where visitors may wait while a call is being answered for an interview with any person in the building. There is a philosophical lecture room on the main floor and a chemical laboratory in the basement. The second floor has school rooms the same as the first floor, and one additional over the philosophical lecture room. Staircases are located at each end of the building. The third floor contains the general assembly hall, which is 64 by 108 feet in floor area, and is calculated to seat 1,400 persons. On the south side of this floor are three additional school rooms. The building has accommodations for 900 pupils. The school committee, in their latest report, say con-
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cerning it: " The time is near at hand when our high school building will no longer accommodate the pupils seeking admission toit. The increase in the attendance at the high school since the present build- ing was first occupied has kept pace with the increase in school popu- lation. The school has deservedly grown in favor with all classes. It has been the principal source from which the teachers for our pub- lic schools have been drawn, and has thus rendered to the public a valuable, we might almost say an adequate, return for the expense of its maintenance. It is the avenue by which the aspiring young in the humbler walks of life find it possible to reach the higher ranks. Sixty-three per centum of those who have entered the gradu- ating classes of the grammar schools during the last five years have entered the high school."
Also in the Eighth school district we find the following schools. The Summer Street school house is at the corner of Summer and Pond streets. It accommodates intermediate and primary schools. It is a brick structure, built in 1875, at a cost, when finished and fur- nished, of $30,000. The lot measure's 100 by 120 feet, and was pur- chased of Rosina Angell and George R. A. Olney in 1819. Bridgham grammar school house is a handsome brick building, three stories high, containing twelve rooms and a hall. It stands on Bridgham street, on a lot having 150 feet front and extending back 175 feet to Dodge street. The lot was purchased of John N. Francis, Amos Lee and Henry Gilbert in 1856, and with the building upon it is valued at about $90,000. The Hammond Street school house is a brick build- ing, three stories high, for intermediate and primary schools. The lot, 100 by 150 feet, is leased of the commissioners of the Dexter Donation. The building is estimated to be worth about $6.000. The Messer Street school house, for intermediate and primary schools, is a brick building, erected in 1874 5. It is two stories high, and occu- pies a lot fronting 153 feet on Messer street and 115 feet on Willow street, the lot being bought of Rufus Waterman, trustee, in 1868. The cost of the building, finished and furnished, was $35,000. The main body of the house is 63 by 70 feet, with a projection 40 by 12 feet at each end. It has granite foundations, and trimmings of alternate granite and North River flagging. It has desk room for 392 pupils. It is heated by furnaces in the basement, and is sup- plied with improved means of ventilation.
In the Ninth school district the Federal Street grammar school house is the largest and most important school building. It was erected in 1869-70 on land purchased of Stephen Rawson in Septem- ber. 1841, and of Barney Devlin, John P. Hazard, and Mary A. Kain, in June, 1868. It is situated on a high point of land, and has prob- ably the best point of view of the city to be obtained anywhere. The house measures 773 feet on Federal street by 97 feet on Dean street, is four stories high, and is built in the Romanesque style, of Danvers
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pressed brick, laid in white mortar, double walls, eight inches thick, with an air chamber between to equalize the temperature. The foun- dation is of red Oneco granite, overlaid with a water table of Con- necticut freestone. From the ground to the highest point of the roof the measure is 88 feet, and to the top of the bell tower 104 feet. The basement is divided into four large rooms, each containing a Lawson furnace. On the first three floors there are twelve school rooms. each 31 by 33 feet in size, and furnished with desks for 56 pupils. making an aggregate seating capacity amounting to 672 in the whole building. The fourth story is a hall, 73 feet square, with walls 22 feet high, and large ante-rooms. The cost of the building was $96 .- 137.02. The old Federal Street school house, a two-story wooden building, standing on the westerly part of the same lot, was built in 1842, and is used for intermediate and primary schools. The Carpen- ter Street school house, for intermediate and primary schools, is a two-story brick building, standing on a lot fronting 124 feet on Car- penter and 120 feet on Pallas street. The land was purchased of Dexter Pierce in 1850, and a small strip additional of William E. Richmond in 1867. The estate is probably worth about $20,000. The Harris Avenue school house is a two-story frame building, used for primary and intermediate schools, occupies a lot which was pur- chased of William C. Snow in June, 1855. The Ring Street school house is a brick building, used for the same grades as the last men- tioned. The lot, which has a front of 120 feet, was purchased of Thurston E. Phetteplace in June, 1855. The value of the property is. about $16,000. Africa Street school house was built in 1880-81, at a cost of $9,540.65, including furniture and appurtenances. The new Atwell's Avenue school house, a handsome brick building, contain- ing six school rooms, was completed in 1888, and was occupied in the spring of 1889 for the first time. It stands on the north side of the avenue, near Dean street, on a lot bought of James McNally and others in 1886, at a cost of $15,000.
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