USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 25
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Peter Engelmann,
CHAPTER XXIV.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
BY AUGUSTUS J. ROGERS.
T HE educational history of Milwaukee prop- erly dates from 1835. For one hundred and fifty years previous to that date, Mil- waukee had been the home of numerous tribes of Indians and the temporary abode at different times of missionaries, trappers, traders and ad- venturers.
When Solomon Juneau came to Milwaukee in 1818, as a clerk to Mr. Vieau, there were several Canadian Frenchmen and half-breeds already in Milwaukee, who were accustomed to remain for the whole or a part of the year. Among those in Milwaukee upon the advent of Mr. Juneau, was Mr. J. B. Mirandeau, who had been a resident for twenty years or more and had a large family of children. Mr. Mirandeau is said by some, though it is questioned by others, to have been an edu- cated man and college bred. There seems, how- ever, to be no record as to the education he gave his children, or the manner in which they were educated, if educated at all.
It seems that a priest from Green Bay had spent a part of the year for several seasons in Milwau- kee, and it is not improbable that some instruction may have been given to children in the parish by him. After the death of Mirandeau in 1819, Juneau was the most important personage in Mil- waukee until the arrival of the first permanent white Anglo-Saxon settlers in 1833. He was chief among the chiefs and monopolized all business with the Indians. He and his family had had only Indian or half-breed associates as daily com- panions for fifteen years.
The advent of those anxious to make Milwau- kee their home, and who saw in its fertile soil and its fine timber a future which was in no way de- pendent upon its declining fur trade, was the real beginning of Milwaukee. Juneau now had a numerons and rapidly growing family, and it is not unlikely that he began to feel the necessity of preparing them to occupy honorable and useful positions in that new and rising civilization.
During the years 1835 and 1836 there was a large influx of permanent settlers. They were gener- ally of a strong and sturdy type and far superior to the average immigrant. They were business and professional men with their families, coming originally from New York and the New England states, and they brought their schools and churches with them.
*It is recorded that the first school-which was a private school-was opened in 1835 by a Mr. Heth, and in the following winter another was opened by David Worthington. Mr. Heth's school was located on the corner of East Water and Wiscon- sin streets, and Mr. Worthington's school was situated on West Water street near Huron street. Soon after a third school was started on the West side, "in the woods" on Third street, just north of Chestnut street, and was taught by Edward West. The number of pupils attending these schools did not exceed two dozen in all, which would seem to be an exceedingly small attendance. But it will be remembered that the first settlers were young men and very few had large families at that time, and the school population was small compared to the total population.
It is maintained that the first school under Mr. Heth was mainly for Mr. Juneau's children. It would seem, however, possible that the Anglo- Saxon settlers who had arrived may have had some influence in starting the first school. Juneau's first child was born in 1821, and by 1835 he had several children of school age. His eldest daughter, Theresa, had received some education at Green Bay, and could read and write well in English and French. Mr. Daniel Wells, Jr., says he frequently employed her services as interpreter in dealings with the Indians.
The first public school in Milwaukee-and in fact in +Wisconsin-was organized in the fall of
* The Western Historical Company 1881, and annual report of Milwaukee School Board for 1869.
+ Whitford, p. 20.
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
1836, under the old laws of Michigan territory. The Michigan law provided that as soon as twenty families had settled in a town they should elect their commissioners of cominon schools, who should continue in that office for three years, and who should lease the school lands and apply the proceeds to the establishing and maintaining of said schools. The amount realized from the school lands previous to 1840 was insignificant, and the West side School in the Second ward remained the only public school up to that year. There was practically no difference between the public and private schools in the manner of their support, as both had to be maintained by private subscrip- tions. From 1836 to 1846, but little progress seems to have been made in establishing a system of public education. It was a period, too, of hard struggle for 'mere existence and subsistence for several years following the panic of 1837. In 1845 we find an awakening on the part of the press and of the people toward doing something for the improvement of the village schools. The Daily Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Sentinel were active in pointing out the lack of educational opportunities and in urging that steps be taken, looking to the establishment of a system of high grade schools which might be worthy of and which would secure the patronage of the people.
"We find that on the evening of December 12, 1845, a public meeting was held for the purpose of taking steps toward the improvement of the schools. At this meeting L. W. Weeks was presi- dent and I. A. Lapham and A. W. Hatch were secretaries. Rufus King, from the Committee on Schools and School Systems, reported as follows:
"The whole number of school children between the ages of five and sixteen years in the town of Milwaukee is one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one. There are thirteen schools in operation within the corporation limits, viz .: four public schools and nine private schools. Actual attendance at the public schools, three hundred and fifty-six, or five hundred and eighty-four in all. There is no public school house in the East ward" east side of the river. "There is only a small-sized and inconvenient public school house in the West ward" west side of the river. "In the South ward" south of the Menomonee river, "there is a good public school house. There are upward of one
thousand children for whom no adequate provis- ion of school accommodation is made. There are but two public school houses, one of them hardly deserving the name."
In view of this report the meeting adjourned till December 17, 1845, and the committee, con- sisting of F. Randall, Rufus King, E. D. Smith, Richard Murphy and Moritz Schoeffler, was in- structed to report at the next meeting a general plan of revision. At the next meeting, December 17, 1845, the committee recommended that all of the common schools be placed under the control of a Board of Commissioners, elected or appointed annually from the several districts or wards, which should have full control of the public schools, employing the teachers, prescribing the text books, and determining rate bills to which recourse may be had for defraying a portion of the expenses. Lastly, the committee recommended, "that the School Board shall have the power to elect its presi- dent, who shall serve the board as its clerk, and who shall be required to make periodical examinations of the schools and report the results thereof to the board." This report was adopted, and became, in substance, the outline of that part of the first city charter which related to the public schools.
This was the first important step that had been taken to improve the schools, and was the first well defined plan of improvement that had been presented.
Milwaukee was incorporated as a city January 31, 1846. It now had a population of nearly ten thousand inhabitants, distributed in five wards. The First and Third were on the East side, the Sec- ond and Fourth on the West side and the Fifth on the South side. In this same year that Milwau- kee was granted a city charter, a Board of School Commissioners was appointed by the Common Council, three from each ward. The act of 1846 specified that in no year should the amount ex- pended for school purposes exceed that raised and appropriated in that year for school purposes. The aggregate amount of taxes levied for school pur- poses was not to exceed one-fourth of one per cent. annually, and tuition fees were not to exceed one dollar and a half per term of eleven weeks. These tuition rates were to be collected like other taxes. To be entitled to city school moneys, a school must have an average daily attendance of thirty pupils, and the English language must be taught as a branch of education.
*Donnelly, Milwaukee Public Schools, 18-, and Daily Sentinel, December, 1845.
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HISTORY OF EDUCATION AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The first years there were enrolled in the five wards six hundred and forty-eight pupils, and there was an average attendance of three hundred and fifty-five out of a school population of two thousand one hundred and twenty-eight. The imposing of a tax of one-fourth of one per cent. for the maintenance of the schools was now found to be entirely inadequate to meet the wants of the schools and to erect new buildings. School accommodations were very meagre. The First, Third and Fourth ward schools were in rented buildings, the Second and Fifth in buildings belong- ing to the city. The first School Board of Milwaukee was organized on the 14th day of April, 1846 ; and the first School Commissioners appointed under the charter were as follows: First ward, John H. Tweedy, Dr. James Johnson and Moritz Schoffler ; Second ward, D. Van Deren, J. B. Selby and J. A. Messinger ; Third ward, Levi Hubbell, Rufus King and Edward Hussly ; Fourth ward, Sidney L. Rood, A. W. Stowe and Henry G. Abbey ; Fifth ward, James Magone, W. W. Yale and Aaron Herriman. Rufus King was made president and A. G. Abbey, secretary. The first annual report of this board was made April 15, 1847. This report contained a complete account of the school work of the year and many facts which are of interest as showing the school work at that period. From the report we find that schools were opened on the first day of June in the First ward, under N. Searles, and in the Fifth ward, under Willis W. Yale; on the 8th of June in the Second ward under David Van Deren and in the Third ward, under Sidney S. Childs ; and on the 29th of June in the First ward under Morgan L. Skinner. These schools continued in successful operation until the first of September, and after a vacation of four weeks commenced again on the 5th of October. H. R. Wilcox succeeded Mr. Yale and Thomas Keogh was employed to teach a second school in the Third ward. These scltools continued until the third of the following April, with a vacation of ten days at the close of December. Two primary schools were added in February, one in the Second ward under Miss B. C. Hutchinson and one in the Fifth under Miss Ann Loomis.
The aggregate attendance during the months of February and March was seven hundred and fifty- three, and the average attendance five hundred and forty-five. There were also in operation four- teen select schools and academies during the same
period, with an aggregate attendance of four hundred and thirty-seven pupils. The census gave two thousand one hundred and twenty-eight children between the ages of five and sixteen. This is "a flattering contrast with the condition of things in January, 1846, when, out of eighteen hundred children residing in the city, less than six hundred were in attendance upon the public and private schools."
The amount of money at the disposal of the board was two thousand seven hundred and eight dollars and three cents, realized from an assess- ment of one-fifth of one per cent. on the taxable property. This amount was sufficient without resorting to rate bills for carrying on the schools. The amount expended during the school year for teachers' wages were one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four dollars and sixty-five cents. This included rent for rooms furnished by Mr. Keogh in the Third ward and Mr. Searles in the Fourth. All the teachers furnished their own fuel. Other expenses for the year, including the secretary's salary of one hundred dollars, was three hundred and four dollars and five cents, leaving a balance to the school fund of five hundred and one dollars and three cents. Reference is made in this report to the difficulty of maintaining uniformity of text books in the several wards, lack of interest in the schools on the part of the parents, and the want of suitable school rooms. There was but one good school building in the city under the control of the board, and that was in the Fifth ward. In this report also it is urged that the law authorizing the loan of fifteen thousand dollars for the erec- tion of school buildings, be approved and ratified by the people at a special election which was to be held for that purpose. It remained only for the common council to designate the day on which the election should be held.
In June and July of 1847, discussion became very heated over the proposition to borrow fifteen thou_ sand dollars for the erection of school buildings. The mayor took occasion at a meeting of the Common Council to say that Milwaukee "is much behind the times in the matter of her schools," and soon after, in 1848, by authorization from the state, the money was borrowed notwithstanding the fact that the city was heavily in debt, with outstanding orders amounting to nearly two mil- lion dollars. It was, however, not until the sum- mer of 1849 that the School Board perfected ar-
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
rangements for building a two-story and basement school house in each of the five wards. These buildings were to accommodate from three to four hundred pupils and to cost three thousand dollars each; but they were not completed until 1852. Mayor Upham in his address in April, 1849, ex- presses "surprise that in such a city as Milwau- kee, settled by people from New York and New England and adorned with so many fine churches and residences, the common schools should have been so long neglected."
During the year ending April 1, 1848, there were eight schools in operation as follows : First ward school on Main street-Broadway-north of Martin, Morgan L. Martin, teacher ; Second ward school, D. Van Deren, teacher; a school on Chest- nut near Third, Miss B. Hutchinson, teacher; Third ward school on Jackson street near Huron, Thomas Keogh, teacher ; school in basement of Baptist church, corner of Milwaukee and Wisconsin streets, S. Cleveland, teacher; Fourth ward school in the basement of the Methodist church on Spring street-Grand avenue-N. R. Wilcox, teacher ; Fifth ward school house, G. M. Sayles, teacher.
From a record of a meeting of the School Board held November 18, 1847, Mr. Rood, in behalf of the Committee on Text-books offered the following:
Resolved, That the following text-books be used in the public schools of this city, to the exclusion of all others: The Eclectic reader, numbers one, two, three, four and five; the Eclectic speller; Town's analysis; Davies' arithmetic, large and small; Bullion's grammar, large and small; Wil- son's history of the United States, large and small; Mitchell's geography, large and small; Mitchell's outline maps; Win- chester's writing books, one, two, three and four.
This resolution was adopted by the board.
*In the year 1850 the average public school at- tendance in Milwaukee county was twenty-five per cent. of the school population. which was next to the lowest of any county in the state. This low rate was attributed to the large number of private schools, to the lack of school accommoda- tions and to the excess of foreign population. According to the census of August, 1851, out of five thousand nine hundred and fourteen children between the ages of four and twenty years, only one thousand six hundred and sixty-eight were native Americans.
In 1850 the Board of School Commissioners made their fourth annual report, from which we find that the finances of the School Board were in good
condition; that the people had ratified by vote the school house loan and that the various buildings were in process of erection. The hope is expressed that when the schools in each ward are in success- ful operation in their new buildings, a noble edifice will thereupon be erected for a central high school. The text books adopted in 1847 are con- tinued with a change of Davies' arithmetics to Ray's Mental and Practical; Bullion's grammar is changed to Greene's, and Wilson's Universal history is added to the course. In the same re- port the employing of a city superintendent is advocated, who "should be well qualified by edu- cation and experience for the great work assigned him; a man of sound morals, well acquainted with human nature; a good and fluent speaker, not only skilled in the art of teaching, but deeply versed in all the sciences taught, and especially well qualified to give lessons and impart instruction in that least understood, but most desirable qualification of teacher, the art of governing a school without a resort to cor- poral punishment-indeed he should be a 'man of one work ' -- the improvement and perfection of our public schools ; then, and not until then may we expect to see our schools in the most im- proved and flourishing condition."
Previous to 1851 there had been no regular formal examination of candidates for positions in the public schools as teachers. In this year ex- aminations were held, with I. A. Lapham, George Day and Rufus King as the examining committee. The examination was oral, though in the follow- ing year it was both oral and written. Miss Nancy McWhorter-later Mrs. E. S. Stone-was among the number who passed the first examina- tion.
In 1852 the five new brick school houses, whichi had been projected several years before and au- thorized by the board in 1849, were completed. This improvement in material equipment was ac- companied by greater activity and interest in the public schools. Mr. James H. Rogers gave a set of astronomical outline maps and Mr. Day gave a ten-inch globe to the Fourth ward school. Books were supplied to indigent pupils, out of the pro- ceeds from the rental of the old Fifth ward school building, and the following year two hundred dollars was appropriated by the board for the same purpose. Additions to the school library were made, which contained nine hundred and
*Columbus Historical Education, page 24.
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HISTORY OF EDUCATION AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
forty volumes in the spring of 1853. Principals of the schools received four hundred and fifty dol- lars per annum, and were allowed ten dollars per quarter-afterward increased to eighteen dollars -for services in keeping the school buildings clean and in good order, as janitors were not yet employed. In 1854 salaries were increased and prin- cipals received six hundred and fifty dollars, which was again increased to seven hundred and fifty dollars in 1855, and again to eight hundred and fifty dollars in 1856.
In 1853 the secretary of the board received a regular salary of two hundred dollars, having previously obtained varying amounts voted him by the board.
In 1856 the board was increased to twenty-one members in consequence of the organization of the Sixth and Seventh wards, and when the Eighth and Ninth wards were organized in 1857, the board was increased to twenty-seven members.
In 1858 the salaries of principals were increased to one thousand dollars and assistants to three hundred and fifty dollars. The principal of the high school received fifteen hundred dollars, and the assistants, four hundred to five hundred dol- lars, and the teacher of German eight hundred dollars. At this time a school was established in Palmer's addition in the Fourth ward, and a school house on the dividing line of the Ninth ward came into possession of the city and was used for school purposes.
Following the panic of 1857, Milwaukee found her finances in a very embarassing condition. In 1858 school orders could not be cashed upon pre- sentation, and were sold at from twenty to twenty- five per cent. discount.
The Executive Committee of the School Board recommended, in view of the financial stress, that the schools be closed. The matter was referred to a special committee, who recommended that the report of the Executive Committee be rejected, that the board ask the council for the amount necessary to continue the schools, and that all school orders draw ten per cent. after presentation. The report was adopted by the board and the schools were permitted to continue without interruption.
Again, in 1859, complaint is made that there are no funds, and it is proposed to close the schools, but nothing is done until the spring of 1860, when an investigation is made into the accounts
of the board for the preceding three years. The investigation committee found that the expenses of the last year were two and one-third times what they had been for the two previous years. A detailed statement of the expenses of the board for the three preceding years was placed on file in the secretary's office for public inspection. From this report the following extracts are taken : "During a part of the first period, 1857-58, the school orders were nearly at par; but in the spring of 1858 they had become so much depreci- ated that the Board of School Commissioners thought fit to raise the salaries of the teachers about fifteen per cent. to make good the discount. In consequence, however, of the omission of the Common Council for two successive years to levy the amount certified by this board to be necessary for the maintenance of the public schools, the orders continued to fall in value until, during the past two or three months, teachers have found it difficult to realize over seventy-five per cent. upon the face thereof. The orders issued for fuel and contingent expenses have been at a still heavier discount, the result being that the board have been obliged to pay for all necessary supplies from twenty-five to forty per cent. more in orders than the same articles could have been purchased for cash. In short, had the Common Council provided the necessary means to redeem the school orders at par, the expenditures for the past two years would have been less by some eight or ten thou- sand dollars. That the number of teachers em- ployed by the board is not too large will be readily admitted when the fact is borne in mind that there are sixty-one scholars in regular attend- ance upon the public schools for every teacher employed therein."
At a special meeting of the board held May 4, 1860, a resolution was adopted to the effect that the schools shall be closed for two weeks, and that all persons in the employ of the board be discharged. During this interval the council voted twenty-five thousand dollars for the ensu- ing year which, with the state fund, amounted to thirty-two thousand dollars. In order to have this amount support the schools for a period of one year, the salaries of teachers and janitors were reduced, orders unpaid required new evi- dence to sustain the claims upon which they were made, and thereafter no orders were to bear interest.
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
On the morning of December 30, 1860, Cross's Block, in which the office of the board was lo- cated, was burned to the ground, and many of the papers of the board were destroyed; and thus the records are quite incomplete to that date. The records had probably not been very accu- rately and fully kept up to this time, and it was not until 1860 that the first annual report of the board was made to the mayor and Common Coun- cil.
By act of the legislature March 18, 1859, the management of the Milwaukee public schools was considerably changed. The powers of the board were somewhat abridged, so that they no longer had the power to contract debts nor to expend money in the purchase of school sites, buildings, repairs, etc. The members of the board-now two from each ward-were to hold office for two years instead of three as theretofore. Members were now required to take the official oath, and were subject to all the liabilities of the aldermen of the city. By this act the board was required to adopt uniform text-books in all the schools, and provide for uniformity of instruction as far as possible.
During the forties and fifties the matter of courses of study, and supervision generally, was left to the discretion of the individual principal or teacher, many of whom were men and women of sterling worth and character, while many others were quite incapable of giving intelligent instruction in the class room, and still less prepared to supervise and suggest the best methods of in- struction. By this same act the board was re- quired to appoint a superintendent of schools whose qualifications and duties were defined, and who was also to act as secretary of the board at a salary not to exceed two thousand dollars. Previous to 1859 the board had contained many of the most intelligent and public-spirited men of the city, and among them several who had been identified with the board since its first organiza- tion in 1846.
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