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The public school system was organized in Albemarle county by D. P. Powers, County Superintendent, during the winter of 1870-'71. Fifty-seven schools, 38 for whites and 19 for colored, were opened with an enrollment of 2,268, and an average attendance of 1,443 pupils. The cost was $9,258.15. The average length of the term 4.52 months, and the value of the school property then owned by the county was only $ 1.14.62.
In 1875 the number of schools had increased to 90, of which 57 were for whites and 33 for colored. The enrollment was 4,036, and the average attendance 2,136 pupils. The total cost was $21,061.70, and the average length of the term was 6.68 months. In 1880 there were IOI schools in opera- tion, 62 for whites and 39 for colored. Enrollment 4,155, and the average attendance 2,539 pupils. The total cost was $21,958.II, the average length of the term being but six months. In 1885 there were 124 schools open, 77 for whites and 47 for colored, for which there was expended $26,215.13. The enrollment was 5,228, and the average attendance 3, 169. The average length of the term was 6.32 months.
During the session just closed, 1887-'88, 81 schools for whites and 50 for colored, making a total of 131, were in
ALBEMARLE COUNTY. 65
operation. The enrollment was 5,541, and the average atten- dance was 3,207. Although the schools in several places were severely interfered with by measles, the average length of the term was 6.1 months. $27,165.34 was expended for the work, $17,682.34 by the State, $9,483 by the county.
The county now owns between sixty and seventy good school houses, and others are now in preparation for building. The value of the property has increased from $114.62 in 1871 to $25,000.
In the city of Charlottesville and the town of Scottsville there are good graded schools, and in the country districts there are a number of schools employing two teachers.
The average pay per month of male teachers is $34.50 while females receive on an average $27.50.
Every community possesses a public school, which is pat- ronized by all classes, the system deservedly increasing each year in popularity, as a consequence of the zeal and enthusi- asm of the estimable ladies and gentlemen who compose the corps of teachers. D. P. Powers.
Private Schools.
HE ASSERTION that no county of the State surpasses Albemarle in educational opportunities is safely made.
The necessity for good private schools was recognized by advanced and public-spirited men in the early days of the century. But the necessity for them was no greater then than now, when, in a larger sense than ever before, knowledge is power. With opportunities for correct training at every turn, parents and guardians can have no excuse, for send- ing young men and young women into the world inade- quately fitted for the duties which will be trying enough under the most fortunate conditions. An uneducated man may be strong and useful, but the chances are against his achieving as much as it would be his lot to accomplish with the advantages of thorough training.
.
66
ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
There have always been good private schools in Charlottes- ville. To speak only of matters easily within the memory of young men, Major Horace Jones conducted in this place an admirable high school for boys, at which many of our younger citizens received their early training. After Major Jones left Charlottesville there was what is usually described as a good opening for a private school of high grade. Whether it was this fact that led the Rev. Edgar Woods to establish the school at Pantops the writer cannot say ; it was probably one of those fortunate cases in which the need and the supply meet.
It was Wirt's opinion that Jefferson's intellectual activities were tinged with a sublime cast because of his exalted abode and the magnificence of the panoramic view that was con- stantly before him. It may, indeed, be more than a passing fancy ; if so, the elevated position of Pantops (from which the place derives its name) is worthy of attention. In one sense it has always claimed attention. The eminence which the school crowns is just across the Rivanna river from Monticello. The view from Monticello has been the subject of the highest and most graceful eulogies ; and yet in no particular does it surpass that always under the eye of the Pantopian. No section of Virginia can present a better record in the matter of equable climate and healthful surroundings. And Pantops is seated so high and dry in the midst of an en- chanting landscape that no thought of malaria ever intrudes. All the inestimable advantages of perfect natural drainage and of pure mountain air meet here in a manner unsurpassed. As to climate, the location is indeed practically perfect. Lifted above the malarial districts of the tidewater country, it is at the same time sheltered by the Blue Ridge toward the North and West, and so escapes the rigors which make the winters of the Valley of Virginia longer and more trying. The objec- tion sometimes urged against the location of schools for boys in town cannot apply here, for Pantops is two miles and a hal from the city.
Some years ago Prof. John R. Sampson succeeded Mr.
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
Woods in the management of the school. He had already distinguished himself in his deliberately chosen profession of teaching. Having accomplished thorough courses in the best schools and colleges in America, he went to Europe and spent four years in study at leading universities in Germany and France. While yet in Europe he was chosen professor of Latin and French in Davidson College, North Carolina. There he labored eight years, achieving a career of singular honor and usefulness. Learning that the school at Pantops would soon be discontinued and unwilling that the enviable reputation it had achieved should go for naught, he conceived the plan of purchasing the ample tract and making the school permanent. Resigning his professorship he returned to his native State, and went energetically to work to remodel the old building and put up new and substantial additions. He is now the sole principal of Pantops, and under his wise man. agement the school has deserved success, and is being abun- dantly rewarded. In the eleven years of its existence this academy has received students from twenty States and one Territory of the Union, and from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Siam.
It is safe to say that no school in Virginia surpasses Pan- tops in the matter of equipment, and that no teacher brings to his profession more genuine enthusiasm than Prof. Samp- son. Living near the University he gets the best of its grad- uates for his assistants, and the high rank taken at the Uni- versity and also in the colleges by those students prepared at Pantops, attests the thoroughness of the instruction and the high standard maintained.
The school building is heated throughout with steam, and the plan is such that every room has sunshine during the day Special attention has been given to light and ventilation. The institutions of the school are a Y. M. C. A., a reading- room, a well-equipped gymnasium, a base-ball club, a foot-ball association, and the "Pantops World," a paper edited by the boys. There is each year, in November, an athletic field-day.
There can be no surer proof of the excellency of a school
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
than the loyalty and devotion of its pupils. Pantops has been in large measures built up by the recommendations of its "old boys" and their friends. And after reaching manhood, memory but intensifies the warmth with which they speak of the kindness received in the home there, and every year but adds to the pride with which they bear the name of "Pan- topian."
FOR some years Prof. Brock, now a member of the faculty of Hampden-Sidney College, conducted a very successful school at the Midway building. When he accepted a profes- sorship in the college just named he was succeeded by Mr. B. Boaz, who had been his assistant. Mr. Boaz is an alumnus of the University of Virginia, where he received the master's de- gree. His success has been of the decided order. The school relies chiefly on home patronage, as no provision is made for boarders.
DR. J. M. PAGE, who has just returned from Leipsic with his Ph. D., and his brother, Thomas Walker Page, have opened a select private school for boys near Keswick. It is their plan to limit the number of pupils to fifteen, to give their personal attention to each, and, in a word, to afford an ideal home school. These gentlemen are in every respect well qualified to accomplish their undertaking.
There are many primary schools for small children through- out the county of which it is not necessary to speak.
THERE is a decided sentiment in all refined communities in favor of the thorough education of the girls, and in this city and neighborhood there has never been a disposition to evade this beneficent social exaction. . For this reason the female institutes of Charlottesville have always been generously patronized.
To notice the oldest first, for there exists no other reason for precedence, the Piedmont Institute has had an active career of thirty-five years, a fact which, taken alone, sufficiently attests the great excellence of the school. The Rev. R. K. Meade and Mrs. Meade live in a handsome residence on Market
-
69
ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
street, and there is the seat of the school of which they are the principals. The grounds are extensive and handsome, and well suited to the purposes of a large school. The prin- cipals are assisted by competent teachers, and the various courses of the school are conducted with so much ability and integrity that the pupil is hopelessly dull who does not derive the most positive benefits.
Another inevitable test of the merit of a school is the degree of popularity it attains. The Piedmont, proved by this standard, measures well up to the best schools in Virginia. Almost every year has witnessed an increase in the number of students until now the attendance is very large. It is a pleasure to commend a school so eminently deserving of praise and patronage.
THE Albemarle Female Institute is situated picturesquely on the suburbs of Charlottesville, and is well known far and wide as an excellent school for young ladies. The institute is one of the handsomest buildings for a young ladies school in Virginia, faces a splendid landscape of valley and hill, with a great range of mountains in the distance. It looks out upon historic ground and the associations are all elevating. Prof. Dickinson, who has charge of the school, has won and de- serves much credit for the ability with which he has conducted this academy for young ladies. Among his letters from for- mer patrons are to be found written testimony to the success of which mention is made above, for the praises of the school are sounded without stint.
Prof. Dickinson is assisted by the most competent teachers, while the boarding department, over which Mrs. Dickinson presides, is conducted on the Virginia plan of abundance, well prepared. Sickness is of rare occurrence, indeed ; but whenever a pupil falls ill the care bestowed on the patient is as unremitting as it is kindly.
The graduates of these schools should be in the widest sense " sweet girl graduates,". they are afforded every oppor- tunity and incentive to become accomplished and attractive,
70
ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
and if they do not, their failure is due to their own indiffer- ence and neglect.
It is a matter of congratulation that these schools propose and maintain honest and inflexible standards of scholarship. and deportment, and are not, as too many female colleges are, merely the resort of young ladies seeking to " finish," but not to accomplish their education. The young lady who is grad- uated from these schools or receives their highest honor, has not merely spent a certain period under instruction, but has accomplished all that the principals avouch that she has achieved.
The Miller Manual Labor School Of Albemarle.
AMUEL MILLER, the founder of the Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle, was born in the county of Albemarle, Va., June 30th, 1792. In early life he re- ceived a good common school education, and then for a few years taught school near Batesville in his native county. But he soon moved to Lynchburg, Va., where with his elder bro- ther, John, he went into mercantile business. He was a man of feeble constitution, was very dyspeptic and nervous, but he was careful in eating and drinking, and he attributed his long life to his having never used tobacco. About the year 1824, on account of ill health, he moved to his farın in Campbell county (five miles from Lynchburg), but he continued his mercantile business in Lynchburg in partnership with his bro- ther until 1841, at which time his brother died, leaving to him the bulk of all his fortune, which amounted to about $ 100,000. It was stated by Mr. Miller that it was a cherished idea of his brother and himself to amass a large sum of money for the purpose of establishing in their native county a charitable in- stitution for the education of poor children. After his broth- er's death, with their united fortunes, he moved on with a
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
steady, unwavering purpose, exhibiting rare sagacity and mer- cantile ability to the accomplishment of this cherished dream of their youth, until he became one of Virginia's greatest benefactors.
On the Ist day of April, 1859, Mr. Miller made his will, and by it established and richly endowed the Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle. He also added greatly to the munificent gifts with which he had already endowed the Lynchburg Female Orphan Asylum. He subsequently gave $ 100,000 to the University of Virginia. In addition to all these gifts to the cause of education, he provided liberally for his relatives and those who had cared for him and proven true to him through long years of friendship.
Mr. Miller died on the 27th of March, 1869, at his residence in Campbell county, Va., aged 76 years, eight months and three days, and was buried in the grounds of the Lynchburg Female Orphan Asylum, where a magnificent shaft marks the last resting place of the friend of the " poor orphan children " of his native county.
Soon after Mr. Miller's death, his sole surviving executor, Mr. N. M. Page, of Batesville, Albemarle county, Va., entered upon the discharge of his duties, which he performed with untiring energy and strict integrity through long years of vexatious law suits, where hundreds of thousands were neces- sarily sunk in order to save the will. These suits resulted in an act of compromise passed by the Virginia Legislature, ap- proved February 24th, 1874, to establish the Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle as provided for in the twenty-fifth clause of Mr. Miller's will. The executor, Mr. Page, turned over to the " Miller Fund," as denominated in the will, stocks and bonds amounting to over one million of dollars, the in- come and profits of which were for the establishment and perpetual support of the Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle.
THE BOARD OF TRUST .- This fund is held in trust by the Board of Education of Virginia.
The following is the present Board, viz: Gen. Fitzhugh Lee,
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
Governor of Virginia ; Dr. John L. Buchanan, Superintendent of Public Instruction ; Hon. Rufus A. Ayres, Attorney-Gen- eral of Virginia. Secretary of the Board .- Hon. Frank G. Ruffin, Second Auditor of Virginia.
It is the duty of the Board of Trust to hold the principal ; to invest all bonds when they mature; to sell all bonds that may be of doubtful solvency, and to reinvest the proceeds of such sales in good bonds ; to collect all interest when due ; to hold the same subject to proper draft from the County Court of Albemarle to meet the expenses of the school; to make an annual report of the condition of the fund each year, describing in full the character of the bonds in which the principal is invested, giving all changes made during the year in the investment of the principal, giving the amount received from all sources for the income of the fund, and reporting all amounts expended of the income. This report, made by the Second Auditor to the Governor, is laid before the Legisla- ture of Virginia, and is printed in two papers four times-one published in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the other in Rich- mond, Virginia.
The report for January Ist, 1888, makes the following exhibit :
Receipts on account of the income of the fund during the year 1887, $71,961 94 Balance in Treasury to the credit of the income Jan. I, 1887 . 30,765 72
Total to the credit of the income III,726 66 Disbursements by C. E. Vawter, Supt. of School, under orders of the County Court of Albemarle . $84,048 94 Disbursements for printing Reports, pay of Second Aud- itor, County Court Clerk, etc 982 00
Total disbursements 85,030 94
Balance to the credit of the income Jan. I, 1888 26,696 72
SECURITIES BELONGING TO THE MILLER FUND.
$909,200 00
Virginia registered 6 per cent. consul bonds
Virginia registered 6 per cent. " peeler " bonds . 60,368 49
Virginia registered bonds issued under act of March 28, 1870,dated January 1, 1879, bearing 3 per cent. per annum interest for ten years ; 4 for twenty, and 5 for ten years . 75,300 00 151,400 00
. Virginia registered 3 per ct. bonds issued under act of Feb.14, 1882 Richmond and Danville Railroad Company's 6 per cent. registered bonds due May 1, 1890 . 600 00
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
Richmond City 8 per cent. registered bonds, due January 1, 1907 .
2,000 00
U. S. 4 per ct. registered bonds, due July 1, 1907, .
Bank of Kentucky certificates for 410 shares of stock 41,000 00
Lynchburg City 6 per cent. registered bond 770 00
Making an amount of 1,301,638 49
On which an annual interest, including dividend on the Bank of Kentucky stock, estimated at $3,280, may be relied upon, amount- ing to .
70,937 30
The following securities belonging to the fund are of doubtful or of no value --- Shares of stock in the Lpnchburg and Danville Railroad Company (doubtful value) . .
$3,000 00
Orange and Alexandria R.R. Co.'s registered bonds (no value) 2,565 00
Shares of Merchants' Bank of Virginia stock (no value) 1,000 00
Shares of stock in the Southern Pacific R. R. Co (no value) 16,700 00
26,775 00
State of Indiana, Wabash & Erie Canal Co. 5 per ct. stock (no value) Richmond and York River R. R. Co.'s 8 per cent. coupon bonds (no value] . 47,000 00
Richmond and York River R. R. Co.'s certificate (no value) 5,400 00
The farm in Amherst County, Va., that belonged to the fund has been sold for $4,585.58. Bonds aggregating $4,127.01, payable in one, two and three years from September 6, 1884, given for purchase money after deducting cash payment are now held by the fund, on which there has been paid $467.67 on account of principal, and $24.78 on account of interest.
There is a house and lot in Harper's Ferry, W. Va., owned by the Fund, estimated to be worth . . $3,000.00
It will be seen by the statement of receipts and disbursements on account of income, that there is in the treasury to the credit of the fund in cash for the maintenance and support of the School, December 31, 1887 26,696 72
And to the credit of the fund in the State Bank of Virginia a bal- ance of principal of .
186 48
. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL.
The school is managed and controlled through the agency of the County Court of Albemarle. The Court appoints " annually, two intelligent, respectable, and well-educated gen- tlemen," whose duty it is to select and employ, whenever neces- sary, competent and suitable teachers for the school (subject to the approval of the County Court), and to visit the school quarterly, examine into its condition minutely, and make writ- ten report thereof to the Court.
Judge John L. Cochran, in 1874, assumed the duties which the law places upon the County Court of Albemarle. In July, 1874, he appointed as visitors, Col. Chas. S. Venable and Prof. Francis H. Smith, of the University of Virginia. Judge Hezekiah Taylor was elected to the office of County
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
Court Judge in January, 1880. In July, 1880, he appointed Col. Chas. S. Venable and Rev. John T. Randolph Visitors to the school. In July, 1883, Col. Venable resigned and Prof. Francis H. Smith was appointed in his place. In January, 1886, Judge John M. White, having been elected to the office of County Court Judge, assumed the duties of the same. He appointed at the following August term of the Court as Visi- tors, Prof. Francis H. Smith, of the University of Virginia, and Mr. Thomas S. Martin, of Scottsville, Va.
APPOINTMENT OF PUPILS.
The District School Trustees of the respective districts of the county of Albemarle, select and designate the children of the county who come under the requirements of Mr. Miller's will for admission into the school. From this list, made and revised by the School Trustees every six months, the Court appoints the pupils of the school. It is to be noted that only children who are residents of the county of Albemarle can be appointed to the school. Moreover, they must be se- lected as coming under the requirements of Mr. Miller's will by the School Board of the district in which they reside before the Court can appoint them to the school. These pupils when appointed to the school are clothed, fed, taught and cared for wholly at the expense of the school. In Octo- ber, 1878, the first pupils were admitted into the school. The school began with twenty pupils. It was then quite difficult to find children whose friends were willing to have them ap- pointed to the school.
In July, 1884, a paper in reference to the rights of girls to the benefits of Mr. Miller's gift was submitted by Prof. Francis H. Smith to the Visitors, and by them to the Court. After getting the opinion of some of the leading lawyers of the Albemarle bar, the Court at the August term, 1884, entered the following order-viz : " It appearing to the Court that the provision made in the twenty-fifth clause of Mr. Miller's will for the 'education and support of as many poor orphan and other white children of Albemarle county as the profits and income of the fund therein devised will admit of or compass,'
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
can be more effectually carried into operation by forming the school into two separate and distinct departments, and by the admission of children of both sexes ; therefore it is ordered that the District School Trustees of the county, from and after this date, shall make the selections for appointments to the school from both sexes having the required qualifications, regard being had to the numbers to be admitted each year of each sex, and for whom separate and necessary accommoda- tions have been previously prepared." In accordance with this order a department for the instruction of girls was organized under the authority and control of the Superintendent. Under this order the first girls were admitted in November, 1884. The following is a summary of the enrollment of pupils since the organization of the school-viz :
Entered.
Discharged.
Increase.
Total on Rolls during s e s- sion.
Session.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
First, 1878-'79 .
33
O
O
O
3.3
33
Second, 1879-'80 .
42
O
I
O
41
74
Third, 1880-'81 .
29
O
4
0
25
99
Fourth, 1881_'82 . .
22
0
20
0
2
IOI
Fifth, 1882-'83 . .
64
O
19
O
45
146
Sixth, 1883-'84 . .
44
O
26
0
18
164
Seventh, 1884_'85 . .
21
28
25
I
24
188
Eighth, 1885-'86 . .
25
23
28
O
19
208
Ninth, 1886_'87 . .
3I
0
31
O
O
207
Tenth, 1887-'89 .
54
23
17
O
60
267
Total
365
74 365
17I
I
I71
Total boys and girls
439
172
From the 267 enrolled during the term we deduct 22 boys and 3 girls withdrawn before the close of the session, which leaves our largest enrollment at any one time-242 pupils, July 1, 1888.
BUILDINGS.
Their Cost, Equipments and Uses .- The first work was begun upon the main building in 1874. The architect of
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY.
this building was Capt. A. M. Lybrock, of Richmond, Vir- ginia. The front part, with central wing for dining-room and chapel, was completed by September, 1878. The south wing was built in 1881, the north wing in 1883, thus completing the building according to the original design of the architect. This building cost $140,000. Its equipments cost $60,000. In it are lodged all the pupils with most of their teachers. In addition to the lodging rooms there are in this building the study halls, class rooms, chapel, dining-room and kitchens.
The machine shop building, completed July Ist, 1882, cost $30,000. It is used for instruction in mechanics. Its equip- ments cost $30,000. From it also goes the steam that runs the laundry, heats some of our buildings, and drives five en- gines used for various purposes in different buildings on the place. It also gives the light (Edison's incandescent electric) used in the buildings and on the lawns.
The infirmary No. I, cost $7,000, and is used for lodging for the employees. It is intended to be used as an infirmary only in cases of epidemics amongst the pupils. Such a thing has only occurred once in the history of the school. The infirmary No. 2, cost $5,000, and is used for the sick boys. In this building the chaplain and physician have their rooms. The laundry cost $6,000. Its equipments cost $2,000. In it is done all the washing and mending for the pupils. The sta- bles cost $6,000, and are used for quarters for 40 horses and 50 cows. The silos cost $3,000, and are used for ensilage. The conservatory cost $2,000. Its equipments cost $500. It is used for instruction in floriculture. The chemical labo- ratory cost $2,000. Its equipments cost $2,000. The private residences for the officers of the school cost $20,000. There are in addition to the buildings named above several residences for the use of employees of the school, which are worth about $4,000. The farm is worth $30,000. Its equipments are worth $7,000. The buildings are all in good condition and are worth to-day their original cost. They are heated by steam. Edison's incandescent light was placed in the build- ings in June, 1883. The cost of this plant was $10,000.
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