USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > History of Augusta County, Virginia > Part 32
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Within recent years, Staunton has been connected with the east and west by railways, and lying midway between the Atlantic and Ohio, occu- pies a good commercial position.
The corporation consists of a mayor, who exercises the powers of a jus- tice of the peace, twelve councilmen, six justices of the peace, a consta- ble, four policemen, a treasurer, recorder, town clerk, an attorney, a com- missioner of the revenue, &c. The mayors, since 1802, have been-
JOHN MCDOWELL, JACOB SWOOPE,
L. L. STEVENSON, JOHN EAGAN,
JACOB KINNEY,
K. HARPER,
CHESLEY KINNEY,
JEFF. KINNEY,
CHAPMAN JOHNSON, MICHAEL GARBER,
R. S. BROOKE,
WILLIAM RUFF,
JOHN H. PEYTON,
T. P. ESKRIDGE,
ERAS. STRIBLING,
N. K. TROUT,
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258
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
SAMUEL CLARK, JAMES CRAWFORD,
W. M. ALLEN,
R. G. BICKLE,
WILLIAM KINNEY,
WM. L. BALTHIS,
J. A. COCHRAN.
The charter of the town was amended by act of the Legislature Feb. 20, 1833.
The climate of Staunton is dry, mild and healthy.
The churches of the town are, for the whites-One Methodist Episcopal, which accommodates 900 persons ; one Episcopal (Protestant) 800 ; two Presbyterian, 1,300; one Baptist, 600; one Lutheran, 400 ; one Roman Catholic, 400; and for the colored population-One Methodist Episcopal, 700 ; one African Methodist Episcopal, 1,000; two Baptist, 1,300.
No town possesses greater educational advantages than Staunton, whether we consider its public or private schools.
" Its graded or public schools," says Maj. Hotchkiss, "offering complete facilities for a common or high school education or for a preparation for entering college, are free to all between the ages of five and twenty-one ; its select school for boys provides intermediate or academic instruction at a moderate charge to those preferring private preparatory schools ; its four denominational but not sectarian female colleges, Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian, are among the most thorough and prosperous in the country, as is evidenced by the hundreds of young ladies in attendance upon their classes from more than half the States of the Union. Besides, it is less than two hours by rail from the celebrated University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, with its unrivalled facilities for academic or professional training, and its free academic tuition to the young men of Virginia, on the one hand, and only thirty-six miles (now by stage but soon by rail over a railway in progress), to Washington and Lee Uni- versity, at Lexington, an incorporated institution, conducted upon much the same plan as the University of Virginia, or the Virginia Military Insti- tute, the West Point of Virginia, with free State cadets, on the other hand.
The Free Public Schools of Staunton were organized in 1870, cotempo- raneously with their organization in Virginia, and during the school year 1870-71 ten schools, 8 for white children and 2 for colored, were taught by 14 teachers, for 5.81 months, with an average attendance of 277 white and 103 colored children. At that time there was a joint Superintendent for the public schools of the county and city. In 1873 the free publie schools of the city were reorganized with four grades of schools for the whites and two for the blacks, and all put in charge of a City Superintendent of Schools, the city having been most efficiently aided in this work from the Peabody Education Fund and by Dr. Barnas Sears, a citizen of Staunton, the learned General Agent of that fund. During the school year 1873-4 . there were 13 grades or schools, 9 for whites and 4 for blacks, with 14 teachers, taught for 7 months, with an average attendance of 390 whites and 160 blacks. Since 1873 the same organization has been continued and under the same Superintendent.
During the school year 1876-7, the last reported, there were 15 schools, 12 for whites and 3 for blacks, taught by 17 teachers, 2 males and 15 fe-
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
males, for 10 months, with an average daily attendance of 422 white and 133 black children, 555 in all. These returns show that 30 per cent. of the white and 27 per cent. of the black school population of the city,-all those between the ages of 5 and 21-were, on an average, in daily attend- ance in the free public schools during the annual session of ten scholastic months of this year. The enrollment for attendance during the year was 576 whites and 250 blacks, a total of 826, which was 42 per cent. of the white and 50 per cent. of the black school population. One hundred of the white pupils were studying the higher branches. The average monthly enrollment to each teacher was 38, and the average age of the pupils 9.6 years.
The average salaries paid to the male teachers were $120.33 a month and to the female teachers $38.62. There were paid during the year, for teachers' wages, $8,653, for other purposes, rent, fuel, &c., $2,632.93, or a total of $11,285.93. The funds were derived, from the State $1,208.35, from city appropriation $7,992.61, from tuition for those from without the corporation $274.50, and from other sources, including $2,000 from the Peabody Education Fund, $2,486.03, aggregating $11,961.49.
At this time, May 1878, there are in operation, for whites, 12 schools, in 5 grades, with 12 teachers; and for blacks, 4 schools, in 2 grades, with 4 teachers. The grades are: First and Second Primary, Intermediate, Grammar School and High School.
The only requirement for the admission of any one between the ages of 5 and 21, living in Staunton, to its public schools of any grade, is the pro- duction of a certificate of vaccination from a city physician on application for enrollment.
Those living beyond the corporate limits of the city may attend its schools by paying tuition at the rate of $1 a month in the primary, $1.50 in the intermediate, $2 in the grammar, and $2.50 in the high schools. The county free schools are open, quite near the city limits, without charge to those living without the corporation.
The aim of the public schools is to give a thorough training in the com- mon English branches to all the pupils, teaching each one to think for himself, thus laying the foundation for intellectual improvement while im- parting skill in the application of principles in the affairs of life. Vocal music is taught in all the schools by a teacher having no other duty, and all are drilled in singing and the reading of music.
The City Superintendent of Public Schools has supervision of and duly visits all the schools and investigates not only the study work, but all cases of misdemeanors and punishments. He devotes all his time to the schools. The teachers are appointed by the Board of Education of the city, after they have obtained a certificate of qualification, based on an examination by the Superintendent. They are required to meet every Saturday for normal drill and consultation, and in this way the efficiency and unity of the system is preserved.
The discipline maintained requires a prompt and willing obedience from the pupils and the exercise of a firm but kind and parental authority on the part of the teachers. Parents are consulted and their cooperation sought, and corporal punishment is resorted to only in extreme cases, but good order is strictly insisted upon and enforced, and no town can furnish a more orderly and well-behaved set of children and youths.
Separate and wholly distinct schools are, by law, provided for whites and blacks, but equal facilities are furnished to each race.
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
There are several private schools,-one, St. Francis, under the supervi- sion of the Sisters of Charity, attached to the Roman Catholic Church,- and two for boys, one conducted by Capt. H. L. Hoover, and the other by G. M. Murray.
There are four ladies' colleges in Staunton, where over five hundred young girls from almost every part of the Union are annually instructed and encouraged in everything virtuous and laudable. In all of these schools the course of study is extensive and thorough, and the graduates turned out from them are celebrated for the graces of their hearts, the ele- gance of their manners, and the improvement of their understandings. The social and religious influences of Staunton are unsurpassed, and special efforts are made to inspire the young ladies of these seminaries with true ideas; to rouse them from a vacant and insipid life, into one of usefulness and laudable exertion ; to recall them from visionary novels and romances into solid reading and reflection, and from the criminal absurdities of fashion to the simplicity of nature and the dignity of virtue. The first established of these seats of learning was the Augusta Female Seminary, founded in 1842. It is under the general control of the members of the Presbyterian Church. The course of instruction is modeled after that of the University of Virginia, and it issues certificates of proficiency in each school, and a diploma is conferred upon full graduates-graduates in seven schools. The sessions begin in September and end in June. The expense per session ranges between $260 and $350, without music and the ancient and modern languages, for which an extra charge is made. For nearly twenty years this school has been under the judicious and enlightened control of Miss Mary J. Baldwin, who has a staff of between twenty and thirty assistants, and enjoys great prosperity.
The Virginia Female Institute was established in 1844, and belongs to the Council of the Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Vir- ginia. The course of instruction is similar to that in the Augusta Female Seminary. The sessions begin and end about the same time, and the ex- penses are about the same. The school has recently come under the con- trol of Mrs. J. E. B. Stuart, who has a large staff of assistants, and is in- creasing in public favor.
The third seminary is the Wesleyan Female Institute, founded in 1846 by the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The course of instruction, the period of the session, and the expenses, are similar to those of the other schools. The school has been for nearly fifteen years under the Presidency of Rev. Wm. A. Harris. It has a corps of . over twenty assistants, and is highly prosperous.
The fourth great school is the Staunton Female Seminary, under the general auspices of the Lutheran Church. It was established in 1870, and is, as to the course of studies, expenses, &c., similar to the previous three
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
mentioned. Until within a recent period, it was under Rev. J. I. Miller as Principal. Since his late resignation, Rev. Jas. Willis has been appointed and has taken charge of the institution. He comes with the best of recom- mendations, and will, no doubt, maintain the high reputation acquired by the Seminary in the past.
These ladies' colleges are all of them commodious and elegant brick edifices, with the necessary offices, &c., and are replete with the modern improvements,-gas, heating apparatus, ventilation, bath-rooms, &c. The grounds are prettily and highly improved, ornamented with trees, flowers, fountains, jets d'eau, etc.
Staunton is the seat of two great State charities,-the first, the Institu- tion for the education of the Deaf, Dumb, and of the Blind,-the second, the Western Lunatic Asylum. On both the State has expended hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in their respective spheres they are invaluable. The buildings are grand and imposing. In the Deaf and Dumb and Blind Institution, the pupils receive a good common school education, and are taught some trade or art by which they may, after leaving, maintain them- selves. All indigent deaf and blind children are here taught, lodged, boarded and clothed at the public expense. The present principal is Dr. W. R. Vaughn.
In 1851, the writer was the youngest member of the Board of Directors of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institution, and as such, in accordance with a custom of the Directory, was requested to write the report for that year to the General Assembly. He performed this duty, and in the course of that paper, said : " The Board respectfully suggests to the General Assem- bly that owing, no doubt, to the healthfulness of our climate, too little re- gard has been had in the construction of the buildings to hospital pur- poses. It is indispensable to the comfort, accommodation, and proper nursing of the sick in so large an establishment, that a separate suite of apartments should be appropriated to their exclusive use. The Institution is now filled to its utmost capacity, and in the event of an epidemic or contagious disease, every inmate would be endangered, and the operations of the Institution probably suspended."
[These suggestions in regard to a hospital for the Institution suggest the want of a hospital for the town and county-a want severely felt during the recent prevalence of small-pox. It is hoped that ere long the town and county may unite in the purchase of a suitable piece of ground in the vicinity of the city and the erection of a substantial building, to be used as a hospital for the sick and disabled-strangers and travelers, as well as residents. A special department might be devoted to fever and small-pox cases, to which might be advantageously added a ward for convalescents. The site of such a charity should be where there is plenty of fresh and pure air, not too far from town, and entirely isolated by being in an open
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
field, susceptible of good drainage. The buildings should be constructed after a plan which would insure ventilation, warmth and light, and where an unlimited supply of water could be had for culinary purposes, for bath- rooms, closets, &c. In connection with it there should be a kitchen, laun- dry, dispensary, and a disinfecting chamber, where heat could be applied to clothes and bedding for the destruction of the germs of disease. A separate building, or a wing, might be fitted up for the use of those able to pay for such accommodations.]
The other great State charity is the Western Lunatic Asylum, situated in the eastern suburbs of Staunton. It is one of the largest establishments of the kind in the United States, accommodating about six hundred pa- tients, and has been eminently successful in the treatment of the insane. The grounds are extensive,-about 230 acres of land belong to and are surrounding the buildings, and have been handsomely and expensively improved. The present Superintendent is Dr. R. S. Hamilton.
THE COUNTY BUILDINGS.
As all of the county buildings of any importance are situated within the limits of Staunton, we have deferred till now any particular allusion to them. About the year 1836-'37, the county undertook, and in the course of a year erected, the present handsome brick court-house with two wings. The east wing is used as the clerk's office of the Circuit Court, and the west is the office of the county clerk. Both have fire-proof vaults for the preservation of the records. These vaults were constructed during the year 1881, at a cost of about $6,000. The building occupies the same site, or very nearly so, of the first court-house, and all others which have been built since 1745, up to the present time. The court room is embellished with portraits of some of our distinguished lawyers, and if all of our worthies were hung around its walls it would form a gallery of no small interest, excite the emulation of the young, and improve the taste of all. The room above the circuit clerk's office is used for the sessions of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, and that over the county office by the su- pervisors. Those above the court-room are used as jury-rooms, for which they are admirably adapted.
On the square south and opposite the court-house the county built, about 1847-'48, the present massive stone prison, on the site of the former brick jail. It is a handsome two-story building. The prisoners are con- fined in the rear rooms. The front ones furnish good accommodations to the jailor and his family. The present turnkey is George Harlan.
Near the village of Arbor Hill there is a county poor-house, with a farm of about three hundred acres. Here the paupers of the county are kept by the superintendent, at present G. W. Fauber, who is appointed by the court. The Overseer of the Poor is elected every four years by the people. The poor-house has few inmates, and these, for the most part, persons unable,
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
from age or bodily disability, to work. There is a distinction between the town and county poor. The town or city supports its own poor, and it is done at moderate expense through the efficient overseer, John Kurtz. There is no city alms-house, and the object is secured by a system of out- door relief. It is the general opinion that it might be done at less expense and more conveniently by the erection, in the suburbs, of a suitable asy- lum, for those who are reduced to want and dependence. We have no statistics of either the town or county pauperism, but Augusta is believed to have as few poor, in proportion to her population, as any county in the State. She stands equally high as to crime. The criminal courts have little business, and within the last thirty years few persons have been sent to the penitentiary and fewer still have felt the halter draw. During a residence of nearly forty years in the county, the writer only remembers to have seen four executions, and he believes only five have occurred during that long period. The first three hung were William B. Johnson and two negro accomplices in the crime of rape. They were hung in Sandy Hol- low, north of Staunton, in the year 1845. The other was Hemphill Trayer, who was hung Friday, 6th of January, 1854, for the murder of an old man named William Coleman. Shortly after the war, a man by name of Hodges was accused of horse stealing, and was taken from the county jail by a disguised band during the night, carried two miles south of Staunton, on the Lexington road, and there executed. This is the only instance of lynch law which has occurred in the county, and was much regretted by the cool and dispassionate part of the community.
There are three weekly papers published in Staunton-the " Spectator," the "Vindicator," and the " Valley Virginian." They are all handsome and prosperous. The "Goodson Gazette " is a neat and sprightly weekly, published by the pupils of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind Institu- tion, from a fund dedicated to this purpose by a wealthy and benevolent gentleman, Mr. John J. Goodson, of Norfolk. The " Virginias" is a hand- somely printed mining, industrial and. scientific monthly, ably edited by Maj. Jed. Hotchkiss.
There are two large hotels in Staunton, the Virginia and the American, and many boarding-houses, notably the Mozart House, the Miller House, the Peyton House and Kalorama.
There are two banks, the National Valley, with a capital of $200,000, and the Augusta National, with a capital of $100,000.
An iron foundry and machine shop, called the Staunton Iron Works, is also in successful operation.
There are three military companies-the West Augusta Guards, the Staun- ton Artillery, and a colored company. There is also a fine band, called the " Stonewall Band," which was organized in 1855, and during the civil war belonged to the brigade of the famous Stonewall Jackson.
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264
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
The Baldwin Augusta Fair has, as we have seen, extensive and beauti- ful grounds near the city, with race track, ornamental water, &c.
The population of Staunton, in 1882, is estimated at 8,000, with about 2,000 in the suburbs, but beyond the city limits.
The following is a correct list of the officers of the city in 1882 :
J. W. GREEN SMITH Judge of Hustings Court.
NEWTON ARGENBRIGHT . Clerk of Hustings Court.
EDWARD ECHOLS . Attorney for Commonwealth.
W. D. RUNNELS . Sergeant.
GEORGE HARLAN,
JOHN R. KURTZ, Deputy Sergeants.
J. A. COCHRAN . . Mayor.
JOHN M. CARROLL Treasurer.
E. M. CUSHING . Deputy Treasurer.
GEORGE H. HUDSON . Commissioner Revenue.
CHARLES E. HUDSON. Assistant Commissioner Revenue.
JOHN R. KURTZ . . Overseer of Poor.
JAMES H. WATERS . . Chief of Police.
M. HOUNIHAN,
J. A. NEWMAN,
Police Officers.
WM. M. SIMPSON,
E. W. HARMAN . Superintendent Water Works.
SCHOOL BOARD.
JOHN W. TODD .
President.
WILLIAM J. NELSON
Clerk.
WILLIAM A. BOWLES
Superintendent Schools.
I. WITZ,
WILLIAM WHOLEY,
. Trustees.
JOSEPH B. WOODWARD,
JOHN M. CARROLL,
CITY COUNCIL.
Robert W. Burke . President.
Newton Argenbright Clerk. John W. Todd . Chairman Committee on Finance. James C. Marquis . . Chair'n Com'tee on Streets and Retrnch't. Isaac Witz . Chairman Committee on Water.
J. D. Crowle . Chair'n Com'e on Street Lights and Printing.
John Burns. .
Chairman Committee on Fire Department.
Dr. N. Wayt . Chairman Committee on Health.
G. M. Cochran, Jr . . Chair'n Com'e on Ordinances and Schools.
G. G. Gooch . Chairman Committee on Police.
F. B. Berkeley Chairman Committee on Safety.
John W. Alby . Chairman Committee on Poor and Public Grounds and Buildings.
P. H. Trout . . Chairman Auditing Committee. John R. Kurtz . . Messenger of Council.
Dr. J. H. Fultz City Physician. William M. Matheny Weighmaster. W. G. Paxton . Sealer Weights and Measures. W. W. Fretwell . Janitor City Hall.
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HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
MAGISTRATES.
William B. Kayser,
George D. Pearman, . Ward No. I.
W. D. Anderson,
W. Calvin Straughan,
. Ward No. 2.
B. F. Terry,
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Thomas J. Crowder . . Chief Engineer. .
M. Cox Captain Augusta Fire Company.
R. A. Hamilton Captain Newtown Hose Company.
John M. Hardy Captain Hook and Ladder Company.
By act of the General Assembly, passed March 16, 1838, it was provided that a turnpike road should be constructed from Staunton to Parkersburg. Under this act the road was located by Col. Claude Crozet and con- structed, and has added much to the prosperity of the town and to the country through which it passes. The superintendent of this road, in 1882, is Major William H. Peyton, of Augusta County. The act for its establishment is in these words :
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the Board of Public Works be, and they are hereby authorized and directed, to cause to be constructed, a turnpike road from Staunton, through the Dry Branch gap, to Parkersburg. The said board shall possess and may exercise all the powers, and shall be subject to all the duties and restrictions in relation to the road herein provided for, as are given to and imposed upon the presi- dent and directors of the N. W. turnpike road, except so far as is herein otherwise specially directed.
The said road shall be commenced and completed as speedily as the same can be done consistently with a due regard to the interest of the State. Itshall no where exceed a grade of four degrees, nor shall it be more than twenty feet wide, nor less than fifteen feet, exclusive of side ditches, &c.
2. That in order to defray the expense of constructing said road, the said Board of Public Works be and they are hereby empowered to borrow on the credit of the State, from time to time, such sums of money not ex- ceeding in the aggregate $150,000, as may be necessary therefor, agreea- bly to such provision as may be contained in any general act authorizing loans for purposes of internal improvement, passed at the present session of the General Assembly. But if no such act be passed, then the said loan shall be effected upon the terms and conditions prescribed by the act of March 19, 1831, for the construction of the Northwestern Turnpike Road. In force from its passage.
During the session of 1837, the General Assembly passed an act to in- corporate the Staunton and Covington turnpike, and ordered books to be opened at Staunton for receiving subscriptions to the same, under John H. Peyton, Benjamin Crawford, Thomas J. Michie, J. C. Sowers and William Kinney.
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266
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
On the 30th of March, 1837, the Harrisonburg and Staunton Turnpike Company was incorporated, and books for receiving subscriptions were ordered to be opened at Staunton and other places.
At the same session an act was passed to revive an act incorporating the Staunton and Jenning's Gap Turnpike Company, passed February, 1837.
At the same session an act was passed incorporating the Staunton and Iron Works Turnpike Company, for constructing a road from Staunton to or near Miller's, now Forrer's, Iron Works.
Also an act to incorporate the Dry Branch Gap Turnpike Company for constructing a road from Buffalo Gap to some point on the Harrisonburg and Warm Springs turnpike road. Also an act to incorporate the Staun- ton and Little Kanawha road ; also an act to incorporate the Staunton and Potomac railroad. Acts for the incorporation of other roads were passed, but the terms of the acts were never complied with, and it is not necessary to enumerate them.
In 1838, the Valley Turnpike Company was incorporated, the road loca- ted, graded and macadamized.
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