USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > Rock County, Wisconsin; a new history of its cities, villages, towns, citizens and varied interests, from the earliest times, up to date, Vol. I > Part 24
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ton, D. C.). He was assisted in the third room by Miss Nancy Brown, of Framingham, Mass., and her sister, Mary C. Brown (now Mrs. J. H. Blodgett), was principal of the second room.
During those early '50s Beloit had also in the old Beloit House, which had been moved to the southeast corner of Public avenue and State street, a female seminary, conducted by Rev. S. Beane and wife. Some of the teachers there were Almira D. White, Miss Cunningham (now Mrs. Edward H. Hobart), Miss Ander- son and Miss Mary Davenport (Mrs. J. W. Strong), who after- wards became the very able assistant of Mr. Tewskbury, principal of our east side high school of those days.
That No. 2 school house of cut stone, built about 1855, a few rods north of where the Parker school now stands, was a com- modious and imposing structure of two stories and basement and faced east with a bell tower at the east end. There were four rooms in the basement, in one of which taught Miss Mary Murray, Miss Mandana HI. Bennett, Miss Gertrude Spencer and others, and on each of the other floors was a large school room with two recitation rooms. When B. C. Rogers was superintendent he hired, for the sake of economy, a Methodist minister, Rev. Mr. Cooley, and his wife, both of whom were deficient in scholarship. One Friday evening, in the middle of the winter term, Mr. and Mrs. Cooley reported to the superintendent that they could not take the scholars any farther, and the next Monday morning their places were occupied by Alexander Kerr and Mrs. Kerr, with her sister, Miss Mary Brown (Mrs. Moses Hinman). Mr. Kerr, first principal of our city high school in 1868, was called later to be Professor of Greek at Wisconsin University, and is still connected with that institution as Professor Emeritus.
Other prominent teachers of No. 2 were George L. Montague (later first lieutenant Company G, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry) with Miss Maria A. Parry, assistant, and Charles W. Buckley, afterwards a member of congress from Alabama.
The history of our present city school system, inaugurated about forty years ago, is presented in the following paper by our esteemed clerk of the school board, Dr. Ernest C. Helm.
Beloit City School District.
Chapter 76, Laws of 1868, State of Wisconsin, is entitled, "An act to consolidate Union School District No. 1 in the City of Beloit, joint with the towns of Beloit and Turtle and Union
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School District No. 2, joint with the Town of Beloit and for the formation of the 'Beloit City School District.' "'
The above entitled act was passed by the legislature of Wis- consin early in 1868 and was published March 19, 1868. The boundaries are the entire City of Beloit, Wis .. and four square miles in the towns of Beloit and Turtle adjacent thereto. Since that date the Beloit city school district has been acting under this special charter and the arrangements, though so old, have thus far worked very smoothly and satisfactorily.
The only duties of Union School District No. 1 and 2 are rigidly prescribed by the special charter and are :
1. For the purpose of erecting. keeping in repair and insur- ing all school buildings (except high school) within the limits of said district.
2. For payment of debts now or hereafter contracted and the interest thereon.
3. For the purchase of school sites, election of officers and taking the annual school census.
On the first Monday in July is held the annual meeting of each district, at which each elects one member of their district board for three years, thus making each district board consist of three members.
The boards of No. 1 and No. 2 meet on the first Monday in August, with the mayor and city clerk. The mayor presides and votes only in case of a tie; the city clerk keeps the record. This meeting is for the purpose of electing a city superintendent of schools, who also is the president of the board; and this is the only meeting where the mayor or city clerk are officially present. The Beloit city school board, comprising the members of district No. 1 and No. 2, and the superintendent is at all times a distinct body, entirely independent of the common council, or board of public works, and all except the superintendent are elected direct- ly by the electors.
The Beloit city school board has general management and supervision of all the public schools within its district. It has entire charge of the high school, of the entire teaching and janitor force and of the truant officer. It levies taxes, purchases sup- plies and exercises all the powers conferred upon district school boards that are not explicitly reserved for districts No. 1 and No. 2.
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No part of the general charter has been adopted by the dis- triet, therefore the entire management of the public schools of Beloit, including the erection, maintenance of high school, em- ployment of teachers, curriculum (subject to state supervision) and taxation (subject to statute limitations), is under control of the Beloit city school board. After the publication of the before mentioned law, on March 19, 1868, the two districts promptly met on the 27th of March, 1868, and elected L. W. Davis superintendent and J. C. Converse clerk pro tem. The members present were: L. N. Davis, superintendent ; J. C. Con- verse. T. L. Wright, Sr., J. A. Chapman, F. F. Cox and Joseph Britton; absent, A. P. Waterman. Their first act was the appoint- ment of one member from each district, to secure options for the new high school site, and to secure a map of the territory of Beloit city school district. The selection of a high school site caused much discussion, as each side of the river wanted the high school. So great was the public feeling regarding the site for the high school that the special charter explicitly provided how it should be selected. The west side was finally victorious and the present high school site was selected. It is on a hill overlooking Rock river and is one of the most beautiful school grounds in the state.
As the school board had been unable to agree on a site two referees were chosen. They were O. J. Dearborn, of Janesville, and Rev. Roswell Park, of Chicago. They, on August 27, 1868, wisely decided on the present site.
Names of members of Beloit city school board in the order of their appointment. Many have served a number of terms, but their names will appear only once: T. L. Wright, Sr., J. C. Con- verse, J. A. Chapman, A. P. Waterman, F. F. Cox, Joseph Brittan, William Alexander, R. H. Mills, George H. Stocking, S. T. Merrill, Fayette Royce, H. P. Strong, S. J. Todd, T. C. Chamberlin, W. H. Aldrich, C. P. Whitford, B. C. Rogers, G. A. Houston, J. H. French, M. S. Hinman, R. J. Burdge, T. B. Bailey, E. K. Felt, J. B. Peet, W. T. Hall, A. N. Bort, R. D. Salsbury, C. B. Salmon, B. M. Malone, Samuel Bell, L. H. Parker, R. J. Dowd, A. J. Gas- ton, G. L. Cole, James Croft, T. L. Wright, Jr., E. C. Helm, J. A. Cunningham, W. H. Grinell, L. F. Bennett, C. A. Smith, E. J. Adams, L. E. Cunningham, S. Florey, O. T. Thompson.
The school superintendents, in order of election, were: L. N.
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY
Davis, 1868; Rufus King, 1868-1869; J. C. Converse, 1869; Will- iam Alexander, 1869; T. L. Wright, Sr., 1870-1874, 1875-1880 ; Fayette Royce, 1874-1875, 1883-1886; T. C. Chamberlain, 1880- 1881; B. M. Malone, 1881-1883; R. D. Salsbury, 1886-1887 ; T. A. Smith, 1887-1890; W. S. Axtell, 1890-1891; C. W. Merriman, 1891- 1898; F. E. Converse, 1898 to date.
Principals of high school in order of appointment : Alexander Kerr, 1868-1870; T. D. Christie, 1871-1872; Charles F. Eastman, 1872-1874; C. Paine, 1874-1875; W. H. Beach, 1875-1884; U. W. Lawton, 1884-1885; C. W. Merriman, 1885-1887; C. A. Hutchins, 1887-1889; W. S. Axtell, 1889-1891; A. F. Rote, 1891-1896; C. H. Gordon, 1896-1897; F. E. Converse, 1897-1902; W. H. Partridge, 1902-1903; J. C. Pierson, 1903 to date.
The first four superintendents were little more than presidents of the board and only served two years altogether. T. L. Wright, Sr., was the first president elected under the special charter to serve the district for any considerable length of time. In two periods he served eight years. Dr. C. W. Merriman was superintendent seven years, and Superintendent F. E. Converse is now in his eleventh year of consecutive service.
Professor Alexander Kerr, who was our first high school principal, went in 1870 to the chair of Greek in the Wisconsin State University and is now entitled to a life pension from the Carnegie foundation fund for his more than twenty-five years' work (over thirty-five years) as an instructor in that university.
The first class to graduate was in 1870 and consisted of twelve girls and eight boys. There were seventeen teachers. School census gave about 1,600 children of school age in the district, and the total cost was about $18,000 a year. The high school (not including the present year-when the class numbers about fifty) has graduated 676. Of this number about three-fourths were girls-521 girls and 175 boys. Had there been a manual training school it is certain that the proportion of boys would have been far greater. In 1890 the board appointed City Marshal C. F. North as truant officer and bought a few tools for training in carpentry. This manual training department amounted to nothing owing to lack of funds, and the truant officer's duties were merely nominal. Public kindergartens were started in 1892 and by 1896 were so crowded as to require double sessions. The present system of naming the school buildings
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after prominent deceased citizens of Beloit was adopted in 1865. In 1896 the University of Wisconsin placed the Beloit high school on its aceredited list. In 1896 the department of drawing was formed and an efficient teacher selected to teach the rudiments in all the schools. Two years later musie was placed on the same basis. Beloit early established a system of fire drills which without disorder can empty any school building in from one to two minutes. All doors open out. The High and Wright schools have outside iron fire escapes, and in the fire drills pupils are sometimes sent out of one entrance and at other times out of other or all entrances. Free text books were provided for all the grade schools in 1899. Prior to that the average annual cost to the grade scholars for text books had been $2 per year, while since that date the annual eost to the district has been 44 cents per scholar. No free text books are furnished the high school pupils nor in the kindergartens. In 1903, in accordance with the new state law, W. C. Cowles was appointed truant officer, and he is still serving satisfactorily in that capacity. The effect of the law has been to increase the percentage of attendance. The present superintendent, F. E. Converse, has been in charge of the schools eleven years, and during that time there has been a very large inerease in the number of scholars, and the efficiency of the public schools has increased very markedly. The board early adopted the plan of giving a large measure of control into the hands of the superintendent, holding him responsible for the efficiency of the teaching force and for the general condition of the schools. To this and to the unswervering loyalty of the people of Beloit to their schools, a faith, loyalty and generosity that is unbounded, can be attributed the high position that is now held by Beloit in publie education. Our publie kinder- gartens were among the first, if not the first, to be in separate buildings. We now have five separate kindergarten buildings; four of them were especially constructed for kindergarten pur- poses and they are models of this kind. There is one new ten- room grade building, and four eight-room grade buildings, two of which are new, and two new four-room buildings.
? There are in 1908 eighty teachers. The school census shows 4,400 children of school age in the district, and the total expenses are about $70,000. F. E. Converse is supervisor of schools and J. C. Pierson is principal of the high school. The present board
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are : L. F. Bennett, L. E. Cunningham, O. T. Thompson, A. N. Bort, C. A. Smith, E. C. Helm, clerk. A. N. Bort has served continuously on the board for twenty-four years and most of that time was clerk of the board.
The high school building is too small and is greatly over- crowded. January 1, 1909, the fine new $130,000 high school addition will be completed, when Beloit will have an unusually fine high school building, thoroughly equipped in all depart- ments, including gymnasium, manual training and domestic science. The total value of the school property of the district, including the high school building in process of construction, exceeds $400,000.
It would be unjust to close this article without words of appreciation for the large list of members of the board who have for forty years served the district well and faithfully, and that with no compensation other than that of work well done. Too much can scarcely be said in praise of the superintendents, prin- cipals and teachers who have labored so faithfully, efficiently and incessantly for public education in Beloit. The school board and the teachers alike would have accomplished little had not they always had the loving, hearty co-operation of the electors and taxpayers of Beloit; and to these loyal citizens is given the credit for the magnificent system of public schools of which Beloit is justly proud.
E. C. HELM, Secretary Beloit City School Board.
Among the principals of our city high school, the fifth in line, William H. Beach, who served from 1875 to 1884, became princi- pal of the high school at Madison, Wis., and superintendent of schools for that city, 1884 to 1891; in the latter year he was made head of the department of history and civics at the high school in Milwaukee, Wis., and served as acting principal of the east side high school for several different periods. He is now living, retired from school life, on his farm in New York. In regard to him, the G. A. R. post commander for Wisconsin, Colonel J. A. Watrous, when visiting the East Division high school, Milwaukee, some seventeen years ago, told the pupils the following story, which one of them repeated to me :
During the battle at Winchester, Va., under Sheridan, Sep- tember 19, 1864, General Averill, commanding the cavalry, was
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very anxious to capture two of the enemy's guns, which were so placed as to do us much damage. He called for volunteers for that hazardous service, and at once enough men offered them- selves and a young lieutenant. At first the general said, "You can't do it, boys." He let them go, however, with orders to dis- mount, leave a few men to guard their horses, and work their way up as near to the guns as possible before charging. They did so and then that little band, led by the young lieutenant, dashed across an intervening field and won the coveted prize. A rein- forcement of cavalry promptly following secured what they had gained and covered their return to their horses and to the cheers of their comrades. "And that young lieutenant," said Watrous, "was your instructor, William H. Beach." The girls clapped their hands and the boys all shouted, Hurrah! Hurrah! Beach ! Speech ! But what his speech was, or whether he gave one, this pupil did not distinctly remember. If my remembrance is cor- rect our Mr. Beach. though a capable speaker, was not much of a fighter-with his mouth.
In 1839 the entire assessed valuation of Rock county was $21,792.45, and the county treasurer collected for the first year about $1,200. In 1907 the assessment of Beloit school district alone was $8,775,000, producing a revenue of over $150,000, of which about eighty thousand dollars was raised for school pur- poses.
The growth during the last twenty-eight years has been espec- ially remarkable. Between 1868 and 1879 the levy for school purposes averaged not quite $9,860 per year. In 1879 Principal W. H. Beach reported: "Scholars enrolled, 1,052; average at- tendance, 712; amount paid teachers, $9,270; received from out- side scholars, $605; net cost per capita of enrolled scholars, $8.23; of those actually in attendance, $12.17." In 1880 (according to F. F. Livermore, "Daily News," April 7th, 1908) Beloit had three school buildings with seventeen teachers, pay roll $7,900 and total expenditures of about thirteen thousand dollars for sixteen hun- dred children of school age, with land and buildings valued at about one hundred thousand dollars. In December, 1907, we had thirteen buildings, eighty-one teachers, a pay roll of $46,720, the total concurrent expense being $65,505, besides $20,000 paid on bonds and interest for new buildings, and a school census of 4,383. (The census for July, 1908, gives us 4,432. Of this number, dur-
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY
ing 1907, 3,300 were enrolled and 2,700 in daily attendance.) We have established three commodious kindergartens in connection with the Parker, Hackett and Strong schools, and, with the Gaston and Merrill new buildings and the Noble high school building, now (1908) being completed, possess a city school prop- erty which is estimated to be worth about half a million dollars.
XII.
HISTORY OF THE JANESVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
By H. C. Buell (1907).
The earliest settlers of Janesville pitched their camp and erected their first log cabin in October, 1835, opposite the "big rock" near the southern end of the bridge connecting Monterey with the Spring Brook portion of the city. The first school was established in 1838 in the log schoolhouse on the property of Mr. Abram C. Bailey, near this first log house, on the south side of the bend of the river. The first teacher was Hiram H. Brown, who later lived in Green county. This was probably the first school opened in Rock county, if not in the entire Wisconsin portion of the Rock River valley. This primitive schoolhouse was of the rudest construction. Its chinked walls were of rough hewn logs and the seats were basswood slabs. Thus at the "big ford" of the Rock river, within a few rods of the "big rock," from whose flat summit Mucketay Muckekawkaik (Black Hawk) harangued his braves, was founded in 1838 the first educational institution in Rock county and the Rock River valley. This log schoolhouse was used until 1843, when another log house was occupied by the school until the erection of the red frame school- house of the joint districts of Rock and La Prairie in 1844, a full half-mile east of the first log house. Daniel Nurse taught the school in the winter of 1841-42 and Mr. Benedict in 1842-43. Orrin Guernsey was the first teacher to wield the birch rod in the new frame building during the winter of 1843-44. Mr. Guern- sey in 1856 wrote the first history of Rock county, a work of 350 pages, published under the auspices of the Rock County Agri- cultural Society and Mechanics' Institute.
While school matters were well under way in the Spring Brook region the settlement near the Janes tavern and ferry also established a school. This school was opened in a log house
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY
in the woods near North Main street three rods north of East Milwaukee street. Miss Cornelia Sheldon (later Mrs. Isaac Woodle) taught the first term of school in the summer of 1840. She was succeeded the following winter by Rev. G. W. Lawrence, who established the first debating society in 1841. Other in- struetors in the village school were Messrs. Little, Bennett, Ar- nold, Wood and White. The records and names of the women who taught the summer terms of the school are Miss Wingate, Miss True, Miss Bennett and Mrs. Catlin.
In 1845 a brick building was erected on Division street which was regarded as a model of comfort and convenience in the early '40s and '50s.
The Janesville Academy.
Before the days of the free high school private academies were established throughout the Middle West. In 1843 a char- ter was granted to A. Hyatt Smith, E. V. Whiton, J. B. Doe, Charles Stevens and W. H. Bailey for the establishment of the Janesville Academy. A stone building was erected on High street near Milwaukee street, on the site of the present Lincoln school, and in 1844 the academy was opened with Rev. Thomas J. Ruger, an Episcopal clergyman, as principal. Many of the business men of that generation received their education at this old stone academy on High street. Mr. Ruger was succeeded by Mr. Alden and he by Messrs. Woodard, Webb, Spicer and Gorton. In the early '50s the school was known as the Janesville Col- legiate Institution. It was purchased by the city in 1855 and became known as the Janesville Free Academy. It was used for public school purposes until 1876, when it was superseded by the present Lincoln school.
The Public School System.
Few states in the Union have made such liberal provision for free education as has Wisconsin.
The delegates sent from Janesville to the convention as- sembled in 1845-47-48 to draft a state constitution were Hon. E. V. Whiton and Hon. A. Hyatt Smith. After a notable parti- san controversy the present constitution was adopted in 1848. Therein provision was made for a school fund of more than $5,000,000, only the accrued interest of the sum to be expended.
For nearly ten years under the village charter, Janesville
,
PETER MYERS.
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JANESVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
maintained her district schools, but these were crude in methods and, as the population increased, a higher grade of culture was demanded. A few enterprising citizens with wise forethought determined upon thorough organization and gradation of the schools. Among those who were enthusiastic promoters of this achievement were Hon. J. J. R. Pease, Dr. Lyman J. Barrows, Hon. W. A. Lawrence, Hon. James Sutherland, Judge M. S. Prichard and Hon. B. B. Eldredge. In April, 1855, the present system of schools was adopted, although it was not in practical operation until the schools were thoroughly graded in 1856.
At this time a record of educational and literary institutions of the city embraced a central high school, eight schools of lower grade, three select schools and the state institution for the blind, also the Janesville Lyceum and Mechanics Institute, the latter society assembling for improvement in arts and sciences.
The following is a list of educators who have successively had charge of the public schools in Janesville during their organiza- tion : O. N. Gorton, 1854-56; Levi M. Cass, 1856-61; J. G. Mc- Kindley, 1861-62; S. T. Loekwood, 1862-64; C. A. Hutchins, 1864- 1866; O. R. Smith, 1866-70; Dr. Brewster, 1870 (one term) ; W. D. Parker, 1870-75; R. W. Burton, 1875-85; C. H. Keyes, 1885-89; I. N. Stewart, 1889-90; F. W. Cooley, 1890-93; D. D. Mayne, 1893- 1901; H. C. Buell, 1901-, superintendent at the present time.
April 4, 1854, James Sutherland was elected nominal super- intendent of the Janesville schools, with O. N. Gorton as prin- cipal. December 9 of the same year, C. P. King was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Sutherland. G. S. Dodge succeeded C. P. King. On March 29, 1855, an act of the legislature amended the city charter by which the constable, assessors, school commissioners and superintendent of schools were elected by the common council. April 14, 1855, the follow- ing school commissioners were appointed: James Sutherland, Shubael Smith, M. C. Smith and Andrew Palmer.
Since the amendment of the charter, approved March 17, 1859, school commissioners have been elected at the annual char- ter election and have held their office for two years.
The following is the enrolment of the Board of Education since 1856. Many having served more than one term, names are arranged in accordance with date of first term of office: Hiram Foote, G. W. Lawrence, H. Collins, W. McIntyre, Isaac Woodle,
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY
Alexander Graham, B. B. Eldredge, Hiram Bowen, James Arm- strong, Henry Palmer, H. A. Patterson, W. B. Strong, E. F. Spaulding, W. A. Lawrence, H. N. Comstock, O. J. Dearborn, C. R. Gibbs, A. S. Jones, B. F. Pendleton, C. L. Thompson, S. Hold- redge, G. R. Curtis, E. G. Fifield, L. F. Patton, J. B. Whiting, L. J. Barrows, O. R. Smith, L. Hunt, G. C. McLean, J. Sherer, S. C. Burnham, M. M. Conant, J. W. St. John, Thomas T. Croft, W. D. Hastings, B. J. Daly, Stanley B. Smith, C. L. Valentine, Isaac Farnsworth, C. E. Bowles, W. Ruger, A. O. Wilson, A. H. Shel- don, Charles Atwood, Thomas Madden, M. L. Richardson, Cyrus Miner, L. Holloway, T. Judd, J. M. Nelson, J. C. Metcalf, Q. O. Sutherland, J. Kneff, F. F. Stevens, C. C. McLean, Ogden Fethers, Horace McElroy, V. P. Richardson, T. W. Goldin, John Slightam, John Lynch, A. G. Anderson, M. M. Phelps, P. J. Mouat, John Weisend, John Cunningham, F. Clemons, F. C. Burpee, Silas Hay- ner, J. M. Thayer, C. K. Miltimore, S. M. Smith, George King, W. S. Jeffris, H. C. Cunningham, Paul Rudolph, Alva Hemmens, E. B. Heimstreet, Dr. S. B. Buckmaster, Mrs. Janet B. Day, Arthur Fisher, William Kuhlow, Francis Grant.
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