Plymouth High School - Mayflower Yearbook (Plymouth, IN)

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Source: Democrat, May 19, 190» Topic: First public School OLD LANDMARK DESTROYED With the burning ofthe Plymouth Milling Co » plant passes one of Plymouth's oldest landmarks-the first public school building erected in this city. The building was built on the ground now occupied by the Washington school in I8S5 and was opened the same year with WJ Mcur.nowof Eldoca. Iowa, as principal Prior to that tune no public school had been conducted here, although there were several private institutiom. the most prominent being a girl’s seminary conducted by Kenney and Nichols on the property now owned by John G ret ringer The school was erected by Silas Morgan who has been dead several years and was considered an architectural wonder at the time Many of Plymouth’a most prominent men and women received iheir early education there and it was in 1 70 Prof R A Chase began his career of S3 years as principal of the Plymouth Public schools In 1872 a need for a larger building was felt and the old frame school house w as sold to Joseph Wester veil who moved it to its recent location and a more modem brick building w as put up Mr Weetervelt converted the building into a flour mill and. the building where before brains were nurtured, begain altering It to the wants of the stomach. It has changed hands a number of Ume «nee. Mr Zorp having had an interest in it for the past ten years. THE FOIST SCHOOLS It has been almost impossible to arrive at anything definite in regard to the first schools taught in the cotauy As stated there were no school house . and the schools taught for many years occupied vacated cabins, and at some cases the “sitting room in the cabin where a family resided In the winters of 1938 and 1837 there were sev eral attempts at leaching school in various parts of the county where enough children in the Mrsely settled neigh borhoods could be got together to justify a teacher to spend his time in that way. Among the first of these early schools was one taught by Thomas McDonald, in the winter of 1838. in a log house which had been occupied as a temporary residence on the farm then owned by Vincent Brownlee near Lake Maxmkuckee Bet- ween this lime and 1MD a hewed log school house was built about half a mile east of where this school was taught It was the first attempt at building a house especially for school purposes in Union township, and possibly in the county Those who taught in this house at the Aral were William E Thompson, H B. Dickson and Hugh Brownlee All of these old time country school masters are now dead, and, with two or three exceptions, all the boys and girls that went there then and made the woods ring at noontime with their shouts of joy and laughter have passed over to the unknown beyond During the winter of 1837 a school was taught about two miles west of Plymouth on the LaParte road by William N. Bailey. About this time, althoutfi II may have been a year afterward, a school was taught on or near the farm of Adam Snyder, m North township, by Abraham Johnson There was also a school taught in the Roberts neighborhood, fotr miles southeast of Plymouth, and one at the residence of Charles Ousterhai . on the Michigan road two miles south of Plymouth, and one about where the town Argi now stands, about the same time These were taught by Mi Catharine Logan, afterward Mrs. John Dickson, and a man by »h« name of Erskine In German township the first school was tau0i in an old log cabin about one mile north of the present town o Bremen, in the year 1 37. by a man by the name of Be mas Th average number of children present was about fifteen The first school in Bourbon township was taught in a log cab! which stood on ground owned by John Greer, in the south part o the present town of Bourbon, shortly after a settlement was mad there, probably about 1837-38. by Edward Park John Greer als taught school there one or two terms in those early days. oovcoe a chase SERVED AS SUPERINTENDENT OS THE PLYMOUTH SCHOC SYSTEM WO TO I SCO ESTAS .»SM«D THE HIGH SCHOOL PROO«A WITH THE PIRST GRADUATION IN ISIS Of all the teachers of former times Mr Molr has left behind hi the most pleasant recollections He is uniformly mentioned wi great respect by those who were his pup»b. and there can be i doubt that he inaugurated a new era in school matters Mr Moir was succeeded by C. H Blair, who was principal b part of one vrar. when he was follow ed by Hiram C. Burltngam wtvo had formerly resided in la Porte county He retired from U management of the schools in 1881, conducing that he had dm his share of missionary work, and that he would seek some le promising but more lucrative employment. Mark Cummings, who was for many years county sc he examiner then took charge of the schools. Mr. Gimmings w succeeded by D D Luke, who remained as principal until Augi 1870. when he was elected superintendent of the Goshen schoo upon his retirement Roscoe A Chase w » chosen superintende PHS 1676-19: —12—

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PRCK.KKHSOt THE 1 1 HUC.M1KNILS Not until after the adoption of the new constitution of the slate, in IttO. was there any real progress made in ihe organization of the public school system as we have it now Until 1851 the schools were under the jurisdiction of the town ship trustees, although by the school law « that time in force their jurisdiction wa« almov entirely nominal. I'icii dt; »it being little more than to make a donation to the teacher of the morsel of Interest coming from the school fund The usual custom seems to have been to apply the public find to the hrneftt of any teacher who chose to start a school, he making up the deficiency by tuitions from the pupils During ihc session of the legislature in 1871. an act was passed authorising the appointment, by the board of county com missionem, of a county superintendent. whoae duty it should tie to visit the schools, make examinations, and issue certificates to teachers, examine the public records and enforce the payment of all fines and forfeitures belonging to the school fund into the treasury , and report the condition of the public school once In each year to the superintendent of public instruction The duties of the county superintendent had. until the act of 1871. been performed by a school examiner, whose duties were to examine applicants, make the proper examinations and report the condition of the schools annually to the state superintendent, and perform such other duties as were thought for the best in terest of Ihe schools. Mark Cummings was the first regularly appointed examiner under the revised school law of 1KU. and served as such until his death in 1B6B The law creating county superintendent of schools was the creation of Prof Milton B Hopkins, who was then state superintendent of the public schools He was a democrat and resided at Kokomo He drafted the bill and through his efforts it passage through the general assembly was secured For some time there was considerable opposition to the measure, and in 1874 and 1876 U was something of an effort to koep It from being injected into the political campaigns of those year Better counsel prevailed, however, and. as the good work of the county superintendents began to show itseif. opposition naturally ceased, and before he died. Prof Hopkins had the pleasure « f seeing his system of county superintendents of school as one of the most useful auxiliaries in the management of the public school system of the stale firmly and permanently established. Mark Cummings, the first school examiner under the old law, was one of the early residents of the county, having taken up hi residence in Plymouth os a school teacher prior to IBM He died in IBM. A. C Capron was appointed examiner to fill ihe vacancy occasioned by Ihe death of Mr Cummings In the September term of the board of commissioner . 1868. Thomas McDonald was appointed examiner, and served as such until the act creating rounty superintendents was passed in 1871. when he was ap pointed the first county supermtendent under that act, which position he held until his death, which occurred March 28. 1875 Early School and School Teachers It should be remembered that at the time the school Question irsl began to be agitated the country was atmeot a wilderness. Sxcept the Michigan road, the LaPorie road and the Winamac oad. there were no regularly laid out roads in ihe county; and hese were only passable. A surveyor and ax-man had gone hrough the line of these contemplated road , the trees had been bUted so ihe traveler could keep in the direction in which he «anted to go, but as there were few inhabitants on the way, but idle work had been done on any of them. Trees and brush and ogs had been cut out, and ‘•corduroy bridges had been biolt •crows the impassahle mudholes and streams otherwise these •ublic roads were little better than '.he Indian trails through thr woods. At that time special laws were passed by the legislature for the lenefil of Ihe people raiding in each county, and Marshall ■waity. having been organized but a hori lime, was without the lenefil of special legislation Except in a general way the people me a law into themselves But it was just as well The nhabitants needed very few laws They were of the better class of nen and women, and were law- abiding. Christian people who had eft civilization and the scenes of their chdttiood behind them, and ad settled here to carve out homes in the wilderness for them MS 1876 1976 selves and children, and to assist in btikftng up a new civilization Among the first things they did. after clearing off a patch of ground and building a little cabin home In the wilderness, was to organize as best they could a system of schools for the cdfucatton of their children. A ha been stated, there was no law in relation to education, and no public funds with which to build schootiouoes and for the pay of teachers The material for the support of schools was very limned and widely scattered, and in looking back over the events of more than the past half century it seems almost miraculous that these early pvoneers. under the adverse circumstances and conditions they had to overcome, were able to accomplish as much as they did. In 1840 the census report showed that Marshall county had forty school children, twenty-five of whom attended school, and that there were but three schoolhooscs in the county at that time There were, however, more school taught in the county than the number of schoolhouscs would Indicate. Log cabins that had been vacated for more commodious dwellings were frequently used for a winter's term of school, in the absence of a building erected especially for that purpose No records of any of ihe schools were then made, and it is impassible to arrive at anything definite in regard to them. tn IBM the question of “free schook” was submitted u the voters of the state for adoption or rejection. The question was voted on in Marshall county August 7, INS. with Ihe following result: Township For Against North 41 12 Green « 12 Center 300 21 Union 38 21 Bourbon 44 3 Tippecanoe 47 16 German 56 I Totals 81» 86 Polk. West and Walrus townships had not then beem organized The vote on this question taken throughout the stale was for the purpose of feeling the educational pulse of the people to be in- corporated in to the new state constitution to be adopted by a constitutional convention to be held in 1850 Amzi L Wheeler was the member of Ihe convention for Marshall county, and. as hr had been a “country school master prior to his settlement hrre in 1836, it is fair to presume that he u ed his influence in favor of free schools The convention was heW. and after a long discussion and mature deliberation Article VIII of our present state con titutlon was inserted, and it has undergone no change since that time The preamble sets forth that knowledge and learning, generally diffused throughout the community, being essential to a free government, the general assembly was commanded to encourage by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement, and to provide by law for a general and uniform system of common schools w herein tuition should be without charge and equally open to all. It further provided that the common school should consist of the congressional township funds and lamfc belonging thereto; the bank tax fund, and the fund arising from the 114th section of the charter of the state bank of Indiana; the fund to be derived from the sale of county seminaries, and the monies and property theretofore held for such seminaries, from the fines assessed for breaches of the penal laws of the «tale, and from all forfeitures which might accrue; all lands and ocher estate which might escheat to Ihe state for want of bars or kindred entitled lo inheritance; all lands belonging to the state, including swamp lands after deducting expenses of draining the same, and taxes that might be assessed by the general assembly for school pur- poses It also provided that the principal of the school fund shall remain a perpetual fund which may be increased but shall never be diminished; and the Income thereof shall be inviolably ap propria led to the support of the common schools, and to no other purpose whatever, Under these provisions of the constitution the proper legislation to carry into effect the public school system has been had from lime to time The school fund provided for ho accumulated from year lo year at the rale of about $100.000 per year, and is now more than 111.000,000. probably the largest school fund of any slate in the Union. —11—

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and served as such continuously until 1900. a period of thirty tort years He at unee set .llxy reucuanixing the school» on'a ‘xisinCMand etfcjcatiofiai hu s. introducing many change» in the dministration of the schools A systematic course of study was idopied; the schools were graded a moreeitacl discipline was -rmduced. and from a stale of comparative contusion, as gards any settled pi Bdioa, the business of the schools •» as completely systematised as any business firm in town In 1874 a nets school bulking of brick, two stones, with a asement story divided into school rooms, was built About HID n addition to the mam building was erected, with an auditorium : a sea tin . of 600. with other convenience■» r •per management of the schools What was known as the Ward School Bialding was erected on ie south side In 1868 It was a two-story frame structure, and was wd for the accommodat ion of first grade pupils for several ‘ars With the growth of the town the need of be ter facilities ade It necessary to rrart a more commodious building, which as done in the Ms. and now there is ample room and every « • for the education of ihe entire school population of the m The high school was organised in 1874 and the first aduattng class was in 1876 I t A a BSSOAll • S.O N Mr Chase was succeeded as superintendent by R A Randall. Goshen, in IMS Some changes have been made since Mr ndall took charge of the schools, which were deemed iwmiarv r the advancement of our school interests The following stat kst ics for the school year 1»7 will afford some Idi aof the height to which the «choolscf Ply mouth have attained Number of school rooms in use. 21. total number of teachers and principals. 23. number of pupils enrolled. 87 3; per cent of attendance, high school. »7 5. grade». 968. promoted to high school. 51; graduates from high m um |. 38 T«MI HvmWf 0 Pwp.li Enrellrd m the S SooU toiNTur in mr Male remate Total Township schools I.N1 MB ) MO Towns 34 ni 140 C.»v H? 4 IS Tft Total : NT 1.0} S.Nt township schools or marshall county Nwnbae ot Schoo ousas .n h COVhty Boor bon loumhip C er ter township Genwo tOMnliip C'NfiiMmnip North township Potk township r«pe aneetown .p Union township Walnut township Wnt towns p Tot ) Bourbon towns Censer lowmh p German township Green townsh o North township Roth township 1 ipoecenoe ’owns p Union ownsh-o W etnwt township Wf«t township Br.cS Number «ITnuNri v.t-e Total ♦ 1 Number erf Townsh H.qh Vrtwees Center township North township Polk township T ippec nnor rowmhip hrst township Wetnut «ownvhip frame Total IS •1 1 14 IS ♦ to It 11 s II 10 11 t 1 10 • 1} •I 1» remote Total S 14 14 IS • t) s 10 s I 4 IS S It II 4 It 1 11 n til Inwood LaPaz Tyner Tippecanoe hnt Wa nut iS 1876 197b -10-