Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter 45: Educational Development, 1918

Chapter 45: Educational Development

Near the Unitarian Church and facing High street, in the Town of Dedham, is a large bowlder, to which is attached a bronze tablet bearing the following inscription :

The history of this first free public school in America, as shown by the Dedham town records, is as follows: On January 2, 1643, a town meeting, attended by fifty-one citizens, was considering the allotment of land. The record of that meeting contains this statement: "It was with an unanimous consent concluded that some Portion of ye land in this entended Division should be set apart for Publique use : viz for the Towne, the Church and a f re Schoole : viz 40 acres at the leaste or 60 acres at the moste."

There the matter rested for a year, but at another meeting held on January 1, 1644, the subject of establishing a free school again came up for consideration. The manner in which the question was disposed of is told in the following record of the meeting :

"The said Inhabitants taking into Consideration the greate Necesitie of providing some means for the Education of the youth in o'r s'd Towne did with an unanimous consent declare by voate their willingness to promoate that worke promising to put too their hands to Provide maintenance for a Free Schoole in our said Towne. And farther did resolve & consent testifying it by voate to rayse the summe of 20 pounds p annu towards the maintaining of a School Mr to keepe a free schoole in our s'd Towne.

"And also did resolve & Consent to betrust the s'd 20 £ p annu & certain lands in our Towne formerly set apart for publique use into the hand of Feofees (trustees) to be presently chosen by them selves to imploy the sd 20 £ and the land afores'd to be improved for the use of the said Schoole : that as the profnts shall arise from ye sd land every man may be proportionately abated his some of ye sd 20 £ aforesaid freely to be given to the use afores'd And yl ye said Feofees shall have power to make a Rate for the necessary charg of improving said land: they giving account thereof to the Towne or to those whom they should depute. John Hunting, Eldr, Eliazer Lusher, Francis Chickeringe, John Dwight & Michael Powell are chosen Feofees & betrusted in behalfe of the schoole as afore said."

First School House

The history of this first American free school during the first five years of its existence has not been preserved. There is a tradition that Ralph Wheelock, the ancestor of the first .and second presidents of Dartmouth College, was one of the early teachers. John Brock, a son of Henry Brock, one of the signers of the Dedham Covenant, graduated at Harvard in 1646, and it is believed he taught in Dedham the following year. Where the school was taught is a matter of conjecture.

On January 15, 1649, a town meeting was held, in the minutes of which is the following entry : "A schoole house to be built as followeth, together with a watch house, the length 18 foote being 14 foote beside the chimney : the wideness 15 foote the studd 9 foote betwixt joynts one floor of Joyce: 2 convenient windowes in the lower roome & one in ye chamber the plancher layed the floor planked the stayers made the sides boarded feather edged & rabitted the doors made & Hanged.

"The watch house to be a leanto sett at the back of the chimney sixe foote wide the length thereof 2 foote & one half more than ye house is wide so placed that the end therof may Extend past the corner of ye house so that the watcti may have an Aspect 4 severall wayes & open windowes therein suitable to a watch house : & covered wth board up to those windowes & upon ye roofe & a mandle tree hewen & fitted for ye Chimney."

Such were the specifications for the first school house erected at public expense in the New World. It was located near the spot where the bowlder and tablet above mentioned are now situated. Among the early teachers in this house were Jacob Farrow, Joshua Fisher, Michael Metcalf, Joseph Ellis and Samuel Mann. Joshua Fisher appears to have agreed to "keepe ye schoole" for a short time only when it was found difficult to secure another teacher. At the close of his term the town records show that "Lieut. Fisher is requested and undertakes to repayer the broken panes of glass in ye meeting house so farre as he may finde glass spare for that use." From this it may be inferred that the school boys of 1654 were as careless in playing ball or hurling stones as those of the present day, and the school house was too near the church for the safety of the windows of that structure.

Sitk Of First Public School In America, Dkdham

On Washington street, about two blocks southerly from Memorial Hall, stands a fine modern school building, which is evidently regarded by the people of Dedham as the successor of the first school established in the town, as over the main entrance is the following inscription:

Other Early Schools

Although Dedham is credited with being the first town to establish a school supported by taxation, it must not be inferred that the subject of education was neglected in the other towns. As a rule, as soon as a church was established by the early settlers, they began to take measures to educate their children. These early schools were partly supported by assessments upon each scholar, the tuition fees being made payable in wood. As nearly every parent owned land upon which there was a growth of timber, all that was required to pay the assessments was a little labor.

There is a tradition that William Coddington gave to the Town of Braintree certain lands, the income of which was to be used for the support of a school When the town was divided the fund arising from this source was also divided The record relating to the Coddington grant is headed : "The Schoole Land: 1640," but it is incomplete, owing to its great age and the worn state of the paper In the margin are the words : "Deed of the Land recovered of Mr. Coddington.' Some years ago Samuel A. Bates investigated this subject, and his conclusion is as follows : "That the Town of Braintree sued Coddington is undeniable, that the courts allowed the town this land is substantiated, and that the town paid for the land is equally true. Did Coddington then give this land for the benefit of the schools ? I answer, decidedly, No ; and until some evidence is produced to substantiate that claim, I shall adhere to that opinion."

The land referred to is the tract known as "Coddington's Neck." Whether it was given by the original owner for educational purposes or not, a school was established in Braintree soon after the town was organized. It is believed that Henry Flint, teacher of the First Church, was also the first schoolmaster. A mutilated record of 1648 contains an account of the sale of the school house by Mr. Flint to Dr. John Morly, who was probably the second teacher. That school was located within the present limits of Quincy. After the town was divided a school was established in the present Town of Braintree. Says Mr. Bates: "On October 1, 1716, the selectmen agreed with Joseph Parmiter to keep the school at Monotoquod for six shillings per week and his diet. What his diet cost we know not, as Mr. Peter Hobart received about six pounds for diet and a pair of shoes, together with a part of his school wages. He was engaged the next year at eleven shillings per week."

To attempt to trace the formation and development of the schools in all the towns of the county, even if the records were complete, would require much space. In Medfield a school was established "at the town's expense" in 1655, with Ralph Wheelock as the teacher. Mr. Wheelock was the ancestor of the first and second presidents of Dartmouth College. The first school house was built in Medfield in 1666. It was fourteen feet wide and eighteen feet long.

Brookline's school history begins with the vote of the Boston town meeting of December 8, 1686, when the settlement at Muddy River was given the privilege of managing its own affairs, on condition that "the Inhabitants raise a Scholl hous and maintayne an Able reading and writing master." The first school house was built on School street, then known as "School House Lane." John Searl was one of the early teachers.

On October 28, 1697, the Town of Medfield appropriated "fifty shillings for schooling the children on the west side of Charles River." This was the first step toward the establishment of a school in the Town of Millis (then Medway), and Joseph Daniell was employed in May, 1699, to teach the school.

Wrentham's first school dates its beginning from a town meeting called for December 19, 1701, "to act upon the subject of establishing a school as the law direct." There were then the requisite number of householders (fifty) in the town, and the matter of establishing a school could no longer be postponed. The meeting voted to procure a schoolmaster, but it seems none was "procurable." The first school house was built in 1702, and the first school in that building was taught by Theodore Mann.

Needham was incorporated in 171 1 and Bellingham in 1719. It is known that schools were established in both towns soon after their incorporation, but just when and where the first school was taught, or who was the teacher, cannot be ascertained.

In Cohasset the first reference to school matters bears date of March 31, 1 72 1, when "John Farrow, Obediah Lincoln and Joseph Bate are chosen to take care concerning the school, and to take the money from Hingham, and to dispose of it as followeth : One third part of it to be paid to a school dame for teaching the children to read, and two-thirds of the money to be disposed of to teach the children to write and cipher."

On March 28, 1734, at a town meeting in Stoughton "it was put to vote whether ye town would build a School house and it past in ye affirmative, also voted to grant a tax of twenty Pounds to be laid out in building said House & that said School house should be set on ye Town's land near ye Meeting house." That was the first school house in what is now the Town of Canton.

In Dover the first precinct meetings (1748) were held in a school house "near the dwelling house of Joseph dickering," hence it is probable that the first school was taught prior to that year, while the town was a parish of Dedham.

The first school in what is now Foxboro was taught in 1772, by Jeremiah Fisher, who received six shillings a week. He was succeeded by Lydia Morse, who taught for three shillings a week.

On May 20, 1778, the new Town of Franklin, which had been incorporated in March before, voted two hundred pounds for the support of schools. Schools were taught in Weymouth at an early date, but as late as the year 1800 the appropriation for school purposes was only about five hundred dollars. In the towns incorporated since the Revolution, the schools were established under the laws of the Commonwealth. During the Revolution the school funds in several

Adams Academy, Quincy

In the chapters relating to the several towns of the county are given statistics showing the status of the public schools in 1916, but it may be well to recapitulate here the educational status of the county as a unit. At the close of the year 1916 there were 192 public school buildings, valued at over twenty millions of dollars; 1,146 teachers were employed during the school year of 1915-16, and the total amount expended by the various towns for educational purposes was $i>3i5,975-

Adams Academy

In 1822 John Adams, ex-President of the United States, gave to the Town of Quincy, in trust, 211 acres of land and two tracts of cedar swamp (number of acres not stated), to found a classical school in his native town. One provision of the gift was : "That all future rents and emoluments arising from said land be applied to the support of a school for the teaching of Greek and Latin languages, and any other languages, arts and sciences, which a majority of the ministers, magistrates, lawyers and physicians inhabiting in said town may advise. . . . That as soon as the funds will be sufficient, a schoolmaster should be procured, learned in the Greek and Roman languages, and if thought advisable, the Hebrew," etc.

It was Mr. Adams' wish that the income should be allowed to accumulate until a sufficient amount was on hand to erect a suitable building for such a school as he had in contemplation. Four efforts were made by the trustees to erect a building before one met with success, viz: in 1832, 1846, 1850 and i860. The building was commenced in 1861, on the site of the old Hancock residence, and was constructed of stone, with brick trimmings, according to the wish expressed by Mr. Adams before his death. It was completed in 1871, at a cost of $28,868, and was opened in September, 1872, with W. R. Dimmock, LL.D., in charge. Twenty-three students were enrolled at the opening of the first term. Five years later the number of students was 150.

Mr. Adams' object was to found a school similar to the academies at Exeter, Andover, etc., to prepare boys for college. October 19th is observed by the school as "Founder's Day," Mr. Adams having been born on October 19, 1735.

Brookline Classical School

In 1823 the "Brookline Classical School" was incorporated by John Pierce, Richard Sullivan, Elisha Penniman, Thomas Griggs, Elijah Corey, Ebenezer Heath, Dr. Charles Wild, Augustus Aspinwall, and their "associates and successors." A building was erected on Boylston street, afterward sold to Doctor Shurtleff, and the school was opened with David H. Barlow as the first teacher. He was followed by Gideon F. Thayer. It was continued under the original incorporation until about 1837, when it passed into the hands of George B. Emerson, who conducted a school for boys with varying success for two or three years, when the institution was closed.

Dean Academy

At the annual session of the Universalist convention in October, 1864, a committee was appointed, with Rev. A. St. John Chambre, of Stoughton as chairman, "with full discretionary powers to establish a denominational school of the highest grade below colleges." The Town of Stoughton offered a site and $25,000, but this offer was outbid by Dr. Oliver Dean, of Franklin, who offered a tract of eight or nine acres of land, $10,000 for buildings, and $50,000 for a permanent fund.

Doctor Dean's offer was accepted and ground was broken for the building in August, 1866. The corner-stone was laid on May 16, 1867, and the structure was dedicated on May 28, 1868. Its cost was $154,000. It has a frontage of 220 feet and is 60 feet deep, with two wings, each 44 by 50 feet, all three stories in height. The school was opened, however, before the building was completed, in the vestry of the Universalist Church, the opening day being October 1, 1866. T. G. Senter was the first principal and forty-four students were enrolled.

On July 31, 1872, the academy building was destroyed by fire with a loss of nearly the entire contents. The school was then conducted in the Franklin House until the present building was completed and dedicated on June 24, 1874. The first term of school in the new academy was opened in September of that year. The Dean Academy has always sustained a high reputation as an educational institution and it is now one of the "show places" of Franklin.

Woodward Institute

The school for girls and young women known as the Woodward Institute is located at Quincy. It was founded by Dr. Ebenezer Woodward, who died without issue in 1869 and left a fund for the establishment of such a school. Ten years later the fund amounted to nearly eighty thousand dollars. One of the provisions of the will of Doctor Woodward was that the minister of the Unitarian Church should be the perpetual chairman of the board of managers. The report of the treasurer of the Woodward fund for 1916 gives the value of the Institute grounds and building as $58,900, and the total fund as $364,112.76. The institution employs twelve instructors.

Wellesley College

Wellesley College was founded by Henry Fowle Durant. The corner-stone of the first building was laid by Mrs. Durant on August 18, 1871, and on September 14th the corner-stone of the main building was laid. The school was opened on September 8, 1875, with about three hundred students and twenty-nine instructors. Miss Ada J. Howard was the first president of the institution. In 1916 the college enrolled over fifteen hundred students and the faculty numbered nearly three hundred - almost as many as the number of students at the opening in 1875. The principal buildings of Wellesley are the Memorial Chapel, the Library, Music Hall, Billings Hall, Stone Hall, the Farnsworth Art Building, and the "Quadrangle," around which are arranged the new dormitories, the gymnasium, the society houses and the heating and lighting plants. Then there are

Thayer Academy

Gen. Sylvanus Thayer, of Braintree, died in 1873, and in his will left a fund of $200,000 "to establish a literary institution of a high grade," on condition that the town would give $20,000. In the event that Braintree refused to appropriate the required amount, then the Towns of Randolph and Holbrook were to be given the opportunity to secure the school by such an appropriation, and if neither of these towns accepted the offer, the academy was to go to Quincy. Braintree accepted the proposition, voted the $20,000 and appointed trustees in accordance with the terms of the will.

No movement toward establishment of the school was made for several years. In 1876 the trustees reported that the fund had reached $260,000, and work was then commenced on a building. The academy stands on a beautiful campus on Washington street, a short distance north of the town hall. The building cost $60,000 and the first term of school was opened on September 12, 1877. '

Weymouth And Braintree Academy

In the latter part of the year 1827 some of the citizens of Weymouth Landing took the first steps toward the establishment of an institution of learning to teach the higher branches. As a result of the agitation the Weymouth and Braintree Academy was incorporated on February 28, 1828, by Dr. Cotton Tufts, Noah Fifield, Joseph Loud and their associates. Capt. Warren Weston donated a site on the Weymouth and Braintree turnpike and a building was erected thereon. The school opened with a Mr. Gregg in charge and soon after a Mr. Goodell was employed as an assistant teacher. These teachers were succeeded in a few months by Samuel T. Worcester and Miss Mary F. R. Wales, who were married in the spring of 1830 and gave up teaching. Calvin E. Park and Miss Lucy M. Barstow then took charge of the school and are believed to be the last teachers employed by the original incorporators. A few terms of private school were then taught in the building by different persons, and in 1833 tne building was sold and was converted into a double tenement. It was burned in 1844.

Union Training School

The Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth Union Training School was established under the act of March 24, 1881, which provides that: "When three or more cities or towns in each of two or three counties, or in the case of Norfolk, Bristol, Barnstable and Plymouth counties, of four contiguous counties, so require, the county commissioners of such counties shall, at the expense of the same, establish a truant school at a convenient place therein," etc.

Several years passed after the passage of the act before any steps were taken toward the establishment of such an institution in any of the four counties designated. In 1887 the commissioners of Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth counties joined in a movement for such a school, and on November 21, 1887, the commissioners of Norfolk County issued an order for purchase of the property formerly occupied by the Consumptives' Home in the Town of Walpole. The deed was executed by the trustees of the Consumptives' Home the same day, the consideration being $11,207.59.

About two years were then spent in preparing the school for the reception of pupils. On November 26, 1889, Aaron R. Morse, of Franklin, was appointed master, and his wife, Sarah G. Morse, was appointed matron and teacher. In 191 6 the real estate (land and buildings) belonging to the school was valued at $21,500 and the personal property at $4,000. The cost of maintaining the school for that year was $13,218.25, of which Norfolk County's appropriation was $4,100. The present superintendent of the school is James H. Craig.

Agricultural School

The Norfolk County Agricultural School was established under the act of April 21, 1915, the principal provision of which is as follows: "At the next state election there shall be placed upon the official ballots for the County of Norfolk the following question: 'Shall the County of Norfolk authorize the county commissioners to issue bonds of said county to an amount not exceeding $75,000 for the purpose of establishing an independent agricultural school ?' "

It was further provided in the act that, in the event a majority of the voters decided in favor of establishing the school, the governor should, with the advice and consent of the council, appoint four residents of the county to act with the county commissioners as a board of trustees, the persons so appointed to serve without salary, but to be compensated for actual expenses in the performance of their duty. The governor appointed Ernest H. Gilbert, of Stoughton; Guy A. Ham, of Milton; Charles L. Merritt, of South Weymouth; and Patrick O'Loughlin, of Brookline, as the four trustees to act with the county commissioners - Evan F. Richardson, John F. Merrill and Everett M. B(owker.

On May 6, 1916, the board voted unanimously to purchase the Bullard and Ellis properties on Main street, North Walpole, as a site for the school. The sum of $75,000 authorized by the voters at the preceding election, was then borrowed for the purchase of real estate, buildings, live stock and equipment, and the further sum of $8,400 was appropriated for the maintenance of the institution. Frederic W. Kingman was employed as director and the school was opened on October 9, 1916, with forty-two pupils enrolled. For the better accommodation of pupils living in the eastern part of the county, the trustees have established a branch in connection with the Weymouth High School. This branch is under the charge of Charles W. Kemp, a graduate of the New Hampshire Agricultural College. In his first report Mr. Kingman states the object of the school "to pre- - pare its students in the most practical and scientific manner to become intelligent and efficient farmers."

The cost of maintenance the first year was $8,529.18, of which the United States Government contributed $750 and the Massachusetts Agricultural College $250, making the net cost to the county and state $7,529.18, one-half of which the state assumes. In their report for the year ending on Decern-

Miscellaneous

There were at different times other private schools in the county, but they perished without leaving much of their history behind them. In a number of the Catholic parishes are parochial schools, maintained by the church and taught by the sisters of some of the Catholic orders.