Northern Arizona State Teachers College - La Cuesta Yearbook (Flagstaff, AZ)

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The first term began September 11, 1899. In charge was Professor A. N. Taylor, brought from Jamestown, New York, on recommendation of Mr. Dutton. He and Mr. Taylor and Dr. E. S. Miller of Flagstaff had been old-time neighbors in Jamestown. In addition to starting the new school, the normal school board just at that time had its hands full in connection with matters at the Tem- pe Normal School, and found it necessary to make sweeping changes there. In fact the entire fac- ulty of the latter school was replaced by the board. One member of that faculty, Miss Frances Bury, an especially able instructor of high char- acter, was brought to the Flagstaff Normal. It was in honor of Miss Bury, who later became the wife of Eugene A. Sliker, that Bury Hall was named. The next few paragraphs are quoted from a letter received from Mr. McClintock: The opening of the school was celebrated by a banquet held at the old Bank Hotel at Flagstaff. It was a delightful affair with the keenest inter- est shown by the people of the city in its new in- stitution. Many were the addresses, but the wit- tiest was that of M. J. Riordan to whom was given the toast, The Ladies, one never omitted in those pre-suffrage days. I remember especially how eloquently he referred to the banquet as one where water flowed like wine. It was one of the first dry dinners every publicly served in Arizona. The first board of visitors included E. E. El- linwood, Dr. D. J. Brannen, and E. S. Gosney, who were succeeded the following year by Dr. C. Dryden of Winslow, Fred W. Sisson and M. J. Riordan. It may be interesting to note that the princi- pal for the first year received the salary of 31750. Miss Bury received 31100, and in the succeeding year the added teachers S1000 each. They were Miss Maude Babcock, director of the practice school, and Miss Cornelia Hartwell. The janitor was given S545 a month and his living quarters. Mr, Pollock fitted up a gymnasium in the basement at his own expense. The first board of visitors helped in the effort toward scholarship. Mr. Gosney furnished a 820 prize for the student with the best standing, Messrs. Ellinwood and Brannen offered S30 in prizes for essay writing and declamation. A building site of 130 acres was donated by the Santa Fe Pacific Railway company. The first year's attendance was forty students, most of them from local schools. Eighty-Three

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HENRY D. ROSS A. A. DUTTON E. E. ELLINWOOD in 1893 the territorial legislature appropriated one-half million dollars for a reform school to be located at Flagstaff. Very soon thereafter actual building began. An- son H. Smith, now of Kingman, was in charge, and about 833,000 was expended, but no boys were sent here to be reformed. Thus matters stood until 1897 when A. A. Dutton, representing this coun- ty in the territorial council, and Henry F. Ashurst in the house, brought the matter to the attention of the legislature, and the reformatory idea was discarded and it was decided to use the building as a home for the insane. This plan, however, did not meet with hearty indorsement in Flag- staff. Indeed, it may be cautiously surmised that Flagstaff held to other aspirations for its new state building. Honorable E. 'E. Ellinwood, now of Bisbee, in those days law partner of Henry D. Ross in Flagstaff, intimates that perhaps Flag- staff people had the normal school idea in the back of their heads from the first. At any rate the new building remained as empty of insane people as it had been of incorrigible boys. It was in March, 1899, that the plan took form and provision was made for a normal school. Mr. Ellinwood drafted the bill. He and Mr. M. J. Riordan of Flagstaff stayed in Phoenix for two weeks to lobby the bill through the legislature, Mr. T. S. Bunch, then representing Coconino county in the council, and Henry F. Ashurst, in the house, of which he was speaker. The funds on hand were from a three-cent tax levy granted in 1807. At that time the main building, of brown sand- stone, had been erected, and the windows and floors were in. It was turned over to the board of education of the normal school of Arizona com- posed of Harry J. Zuck of Tempe, president, Col- onel James H. McClintock, secretaryg R. L. Long, territorial superintendent of public instruction: T. W. Pemberton, territorial treasurer, and A. A. Dutton of Flagstaff. A short time later Mr. Zuck resigned. His place on the board was taken by T. E. Pollock of Flagstaff, and Mr. Pemberton was elected president of the board. When the build- ing was turned over to the board 320,000 remain- ed of the appropriation that had been made for the institution. About 810,000 was expended in fitting the building for school purposes, the work being supervised by Mr. Dutton. The board spent much time in the arrangement of the rooms and corridors. E ghty-Two 2

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I find that in 1899 up to July the first, 5993.23 was expended 5 in 1900, SB14,844.34, mainly for buildings, and in 1901, for maintenance, 557,405.54 In 1903 a special appropriation permitted expendi- tures of 313,191.22 for more buildings. From accounts in the Coconino Sun of the op- ening of the first term of school, I obtained the following: The informal opening of the Northern Arizona Normal School took place on Monday, twenty-three pupils being in attendance. The school was addressed by Hon. A. A. Dutton, mem- ber of the territorial board of education, J. E. Jones, Rev. Geo. Logie, J. C. Grim, Professor A. N. Taylor, the principal, and Miss Bury, his as- sistant. The school starts out under the most favorable auspices. Ten pupils are expected the first of next week, five of them from Apache county. The school will no doubt be one of the leading educational institutions of the territory. A great deal of interest is being taken in it throughout northern counties of the territory. The Sun said of the second annual opening in 1900: The Normal school opened on September 4. Two teachers have been added, Miss Cornelia Hartwell, and Miss Maude E. Babcock. A train- ing school has been established, and many other improvements made which put the normal school on a very secure working basis. Attendance has increased. During the first two years, the governing board of the school was a territorial board, gov- erning both the state normal schools. The terri- torial treasurer and superintendent of public in- struction were members ex-officio. After the two years separate boards were established. Of this Professor A. N. Taylor wrote recently: The first board was a joint board of both normal schools. The legislature of 1900-1901 passed an act separating the board, giving each normal a board with superintendent R. L. Long, chairman of each board. This was done by a suggestion of Governor Murphy. Mr. A. A. Dutton and Mr. T. E. Pollock were undoubtedly the real source of Governor Murphy's action. Mr. Pollock recalls with amusement the occas- ional visits to the school during its early years of committees from the territorial legislature. A committee of from five to seven members of the legislature would arrive in Flagstaff. These were gala occasions. The normal school would always close and the children were given a holiday in their honor. The visiting legislators could not Eighty-F