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Page 12 text:
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Otir First Hundred Years When we glance casually each day at the million dollar building that houses our present high school, we can scarcely believe that edu- cation in Mount Vernon began in 1808 in a log cabin on the Public Square under the instruction of one teacher for all grades and subjects. This history is intended to cover just the part the high school has played in our educa- tional system, but we must give a little of the background of county and city schools in order to understand our present secondary school system. Although Mount Vernon was laid out in 1805, it was not established as a county seat until 1808. The people who settled the community felt the need of educating their children, so a one- room log cabin was built on the south west corner of the Public Square where Heckler ' s Drug Store now stands. This room was four- teen by sixteen feet square and was heated only by a large fireplace. The building contained a teacher ' s desk and slab benches facing crude wooden shelves at- tached to the wall which served as desks. The pupils faced the wall and sat with their backs to the teacher. For the privilege of receiving this education, the pupils paid a small tuition fee to defray the expenses of the teacher ' s salary and fuel for the fireplace. The first teacher whose name has been re- corded was Thomas Irving in 1811. This little building gradually deteriorated and a market place was built in its place. As the population increased, it became im- perative to build a school; and a committee was appointed by the citizens to collect volunteer contributions to purchase a school site. Two lots on the north east corner of North Mulberry and West High Streets were purchased from John Williamson of Lancaster, August 23, 1817, and a small two story building was erected on them. Because the Masonic Order had been instru- mental in raising funds for the new structure, they insisted on occupying the second story of the building as a lodge room. Again just one room was used for school purposes. When this building was finished, no money was left for plastering or furnishing it, so once more the slab benches and wall desks were used. Joseph Chapman was the only teacher employed. On Sunday the room was used by various religious groups who had no churches of their own. Finally Henry Curtis, Esquire, was successful in raising enough money for furnishing the little building. This was the first free school in Mount Ver- non, and it was not very popular; consequently, a number of private schools were started. By an act of Legislature in 1845, Mount Vernon was incorporated and divided into five separate wards or school districts. The mayor and the councilmen from each ward acted as the school board, and the members of this first council were James Smith, Jr., Jon- ston Elliott, Job Evans, Rollin Hurd, Henry B. Curtis, Esquire, and Charles Cooper. The board agreed to pay the teacher the sum of twenty-two dollars a month and furnish the school room with desks, chairs, and fuel. Some members of council were impressed with the Akron system of operating schools and adopted a similar one for Mount Vernon. A petition signed by 333 voters was brought to council asking to appoint a regular school board which would provide better school facili- t ies for the fast-growing city of Mount Vernon. This was done and C. P. Buckingham, Abel Hart, Job Evans, Jonathan Burr, James Young, Henry B. Curtis, and Samuel Israel were ap- pointed school directors in 1849. This board petitioned council to levy a tax for the purpose of building schools including a Grand Central one for the teaching of higher branches of learning. The people of Knox County became alarmed at the anticipation of such high taxes, and in 1850 an act was passed exempting the town of Mount Vernon from Knox County. The school board was dissolved and the management of schools again reverted to the mayor and councilmen. The amount of $2,879.58 which had been collected for schools was distributed by council to wards. Each ward held meetings and with approximately s$500 in each treasury, decided to
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Page 13 text:
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levy taxes for the building of a school house in each district. Petitions were now brought to council asking that they provide facilities for teaching high school subjects, and an ordinance was passed to provide for appointment and election of a board of education consisting of six members. The first meeting of this regular board of education was held in April, 1856, and those present were Walter Smith, Samuel Israel, Henry Warden, Mark Curtis, Levi Ward, and Jacob Lybrand. From this time until the present day school administration passed forever out of the hands of council. The board elected to spend $10,000 for the erection of a central school building, and they paid George True 84,500 for eight lots on the west side of North Mulberry Street between West Hamtramck and West Burgess Streets. They also agreed to pay a maximum salary of $40 a month to male teachers and $25 for female instructors. This was considered quite a raise over the S22 formerly paid. On May 4, 1857, the Board resolved: As the sense of this Board, that it is expedient to erect a school edifice sufficiently large to accommodate all the scholars of the city, should it hereafter be thought for the interest of the city to con- centrate the entire system in one building . . . Auld and Miller, architects, designed a plan for a Union Central Building and bids were opened October, 1857. The bid of Henry Huller and Joseph Gardner was accepted, and the school was to be completed before August, 1859. The cost of the building including the lots and furniture came to $30,000. Although the school was begun in 1858, it was not ready for occupancy until October, 1859. For a time all the pupils of the city except those in the primary grades attended this large central building. As ward structures were com- pleted, the central building was finally con- verted into just a high school. The school year was ten months long divided into three terms. Besides the subjects now taught in high school, such impressive names as zoology, astronomy, geology, intellectual phil- osophy, moral philosophy, and elocution were in the curriculum. French and Greek were added if there was sufficient demand for them. The first commerical courses were ofifered about 1870 under the management of Captain H. Stevens! By 1897, the Central Building which had been erected on the corner of North Mulberry and West Hamtramck Streets had become too small for high school purposes, and another building was erected on the corner of North Mulberry and West Burgess Streets. No attempt was made to follow the type of architecture of the first building, but they were connected by a corridor. One of the outstanding features of this new structure was the large central hall into which the rooms on the first floor opened and the big fireplace at one end of the hall. Finally the school population soon out-grew these two buildings and wooden garage-like buildings were built at the rear to house indus- trial arts and home economics. By 1925 the fact became apparent that Mount Vernon must have a modern high school. So the old Central School was razed, and in its place the west wing of the present high school was erected. The building on the corner of West Burgess and North Mulberry was still in good condition despite its wooden floors and stairways, and it was converted into Mount Vernon ' s first junior high school bringing together all the seventh and eighth graders of the city into one school. This was done in 1927. In 1928 a combination auditorium and gymnasium was added to the rear of the high school. Both boys and girls used the gym and for the first time a girls ' physical education program was introduced as a part of the curri- culum. Sara Cannon was employed as girls ' physical education director, and Angus King was hired as boys ' physical education instructor and coach of all teams with no assistant coaches. In 1938 the voters approved a $360,000 bond issue for the building of the present high school. The erecting of this edifice necessitated the razing of the junior high school, and both junior and senior high school classes were taught in one building. This new building contained a boys ' gym, art and photography rooms, well equipped home economics rooms including a social room for small teas and dinners, a regular journalism room, a commercial area including a school bank, laboratories for chemistry, physics, biology and general science, visual aid facilities, music room, and a complete vocational agricul- ture department. By 1954 the 100 piece school band and the industrial arts section had out- Coiithiiiei! on last page
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