Woodward High School - Treasures Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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1831 Woodward High School AS early as 1819, William Woodward had formed plans for an institution for the education of those children who could not afford to attend private schools. Although Mr. Woodward led a very busy life as farmer, tanner, and owner of a large estate, he found time to take an active part in the civic affairs of this city. He was elected to the office of Coroner, and for several years he was a member of the City Council. He gave to the city a plot of ground on Sycamore Street, north of Hunt, for a jail and other purposes. He was an ardent member of the Masonic fraternity. It was, no doubt, through these activities as a public spirited citizen that he observed the urgent need of a public educational institution. Mr. Woodward was a very close friend of his neighbor, Mr. Thomas Hughes, and when, on October 4, 1824, Mr. Hughes made a will Which gave considerable property ufor the education of poor, destitute children whose parents or guardians are unable to pay for their schooling, he named as executor and trustee of the fund his friend, William Woodward. Among Mr. Woodwardis friends in Cincinnati was his attorney, Mr. Samuel Lewis, Who, though many years younger than his client, impressed Mr. Woodward by his candor and business-like qualities. The two men conferred as to the best use to be made of Mr. Woodwardts wealth. A school was ever uppermost in Mr. Woodward's mind, and the result of one of the conferences with Mr. Lewis was the decision that the school should be founded during the lifetime of the donor. Thus it came about that on November 21, 1826, Mr. and Mrs. Woodward signed a deed transferring certain property for school purposes. Gifts were added from time to time, and finally, in 1830, work was begun on the lot on Franklin Street, now Wood- ward Street. Mr. Woodward himself hauled away the first load of earth excavated for the first Woodward High School building. There was established, according to the provisions of the gift, tta high school for teaching the higher branches of learning and literature, with the arts and sciences, for children who have no parents or other relations of sufficient ability to provide .h-l'i'fnffi'lf

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The Schools of Cincinnai'i in l83l N the third decade of the nineteenth century, Cincinnati was considered the center of learning for the West and Southwest. It was then the largest city west of the Alleghenies and justified its title, the Queen City of the Westf' Students came from the South, from Indiana, and from farther west. By 1881, the Lane Theological Seminary, the Cincinnati College, and the Ohio Medical College had been established. The Lane Theological Seminary was erected upon a plot of ground on Walnut Hills, which had been donated by Elnathan Kemper. It consisted of three departments, the preparatory, the collegiate, and the theological. The dormitory was in the third story, commonly called the garret. There was one large room with a fireplace, used by all students, and a dining room which the students had to heat at their own expense. The rules were very strict. Smoking was prohibited, and marriage resulted in dismissal. A cemetery was laid out in the neighborhood for the following reasons: ttInasmuch as those Who are studying for the ministry need time and opportunity for meditation and self- examination, a cemetery in proximity to the institution will afford a favorable place of retirement for the purpose. The Cincinnati College instructed students in mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, mineralogy, and languages, as well as in law. Because of financial difficulties, the academic features were suspended. The law school con- tinued, and is now the law department of the University of Cincinnati. The Ohio Medical College was the center of learning for those who wished to follow the medical profession. This institution is still active as a part of the University of Cincinnati. . Before the year 1828, only private schools were available to children. Dr. John Lockets Cincinnati Female Academy, the Misses Bailey Female Boarding School, and a Female Seminary established by Caroline Lee Hentz were a few of the private schools of this period, in addition to DemingJS Academy, E. Stone Com- mercial Academy, and a technical school established by Milo G. Williams. In 1828, a law was passed providing for public schools in Ohio. Nathaniel Guil- ford, Micajah J . Williams, and Samuel Lewis were leaders in establishing public schools. The city constructed two buildings of brick and stone, of two rooms each. A little later four other buildings were erected, all crude structures. The schools were controlled by a Board of Trustees and Visitors, who, in conjunction with the City Council, levied and collected taxes for school purposes. They had the power to appoint six residents of the city, whose duties were to examine and inspect such per- sons as desired to teach. At the opening of these schools, the total enrollment was about eighty pupils. In 1833, George Graham, a prominent citizen, had built on his own iot on the west side of Race Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, 3 model schoolhouse. This was purchased by the City Council. Nine other schools, patterned after this, were then built. They were of brick, two stories high, with four rooms on each floor. In some of the buildings, fire engines as well as students were housed, and when a tire occurred the cianging of the bells put an end to learning and reciting. Some Of the pupils had a chance to pull the ropes of the hre bells, and others ran with the engine. These schools were about as large as a private residence of today. The flrst printed report of the schools appeared in 1834. In this report, we learn that the city was divided into ten school districts, having two schools in each I0071tiwmcd on page 11le Sixteen

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1841 for their instruction, or whose parents 01' other near relatives, though being of sufficient ability, utterly neglect and refuse to provide such instruction for them. However, the trustees may at any and at all times admit the children upon condition of receiving therefor what to them shall seem a reasonable compensation. It was through this latter provision that several boys, all of whom became prominent citi- zens, were educated at Woodward College and High School through the Hughes Fund. The trustees, as we have seen, had the power to decide upon the eligibility of applicants for admission. On February 20, 1893, Mr. T. S. Parvin, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wrote: I entered Woodward High School upon its opening, in 1831. I was admitted by Mr. Woodward himself, who, having been a visitor at a public examination, had been attracted by my standing in the class, and invited me to accept a scholarship in the institution which he had founded and which would open in a few weeks. On October 24, 1881, the school, a two-story frame structure, was opened. There were threeteachers and forty-two pupils on opening day. In November another teacher was added. This teacher was Dr. Joseph Ray, who later became widely known as an author of text books on mathematics. He held an unbroken connection with the old school and was principal of the new school until his death, in 1855. He exerted a marked influence upon the administration of the school. Let us pause here for a few moments and let Mr. J ohn H. Aydellott, a student of Old Woodward, describe to us his impressions of that venerable place. My first introduction to Old Woodward was in the year 1835. The institution was then known as Woodward High School, but in 1836, it began its career as Woodward College and was so known until it merged into the Cincinnati common school system and again assumed the title of Woodward High School. I will now give tto the best of my recollectionl an account of it and its sur- roundings at the date of my entry therein as one of the pupils. The grounds occu- pied fully two-thirds of the block bounded as follows: north, by Franklin Street tthen unpavedl ; east, by Broadway; south, by Woodward; and west, by Sycamore. The school building was situated on the north-east corner of the lot, fronting north on Franklin Street and about twentyefive feet from the street, surrounded on Eighteen