Plymouth County, Massachusetts - Chapter 7: Educational Ilistouy, 1884

This history, were we to go minutely into its ; numerous details, would thereby be shown to be very siiuilar to that of other New England towns, ' for the educational story of one is, with slight varia- I tions, that of all the others, and those variations j have generally been the results of the dates of their I occurrence rather than a great or e.ssential diiference j in the real character, modes of thought or action, of ' the several communities or towns, and the school- \ murm's story of " Cape Cod Folks" might with equal truth have been applied to many other communities, and as justly described other localities in Barnstable or Plymouth County towns. Our educational chapter i will, therefore, be chiefly remarkable on account of its brevity. Soon after the resettlement of Middleboro', just after King Philip's war, at a town-meeting held Aug. 30, 168C, the town " made choice and approved of Isaac Howland to keep ye ordinary," which in modern parlance would have been rendered the hotel, and at the same time "made choyce of Mr. John Tomson and Isaac Howland, to agree with Jonathan Washburn, or any other, to make u pound, whipping-post, and stocks," and at about the same date went so far as to define the duty of each householder as to the number of blackbirds that he should kill, and present the heads of the slain birds to some I of the town authorities, failing to do which said householder should bs amerced in and compelled to pay a fine. But lest blackbirds in some sections should prove too scarce to furnish six heads as propiciating sacrifice for the relief of each householder, the heads of crows might, to some extent, be made to take the places of blackbirds, and when it is thus shown how careful those early pioneer settlers were to provide for the punishment of crime, the killing of crows and blackbirds, confinement of brutal men and breachy beasts, it does seem not a little strange that the records fail to show them to have been careful to provide for the education of children, to teach their young ideas how to shoot in a proper direction, and bring them up with such nurture and admonition that the whipping-post and stocks might soon have proved useless appendages and obsolete superfluities.

The neglect, too, was something more than seeming, but real, as the grand jury of Plymouth County, in 1709, found a bill against the town of Jliddleboro', for not having, or rather being provided with, a schoolmaster according to law.

The legal authorities now so bestirred themselves that we find conclusive evidence to prove that as early as 1716 four schools were established in as many different parts of the town, each school to continue a part of the year, and all to be taught by Thomas Roberts, who in town-meeting had been elected as the town's schoolmaster.

How long Thomas Roberts continued to perform that " delightful task" at Middleboro' it is now diflScult to determine, but the following extracts from the public records of the adjoining town of Freetown serve to throw some light upon that subject, for the legal voters of Freetown, being assembled upon the 15ih day of May, 1718, took public action, of which the following was the record :

" At a, IcguBl town-meeting in freetown, Voted to set up n school to learn ubildren to read and right, and mude clioyce of Jucob liuth\?ay to seek for a scbooliuutjter."

And he sought in such a manner as to find and induce the Middleboro' schoolmaster to change the fields of his labors to Freetown, and thus did Hathaway prove himself to have been not only a wrestling Jacob, but a prevailing Israel. The same record further testified :

"Oct. the 8 duy, voted to allow tbomas robcrts :!0 pounds for one year's service to keep the school at tbreo sevenil places, - the public ineeting-bouse, Waller Chase's, also at or near to John bowland's."

" fcbruary the Nth day, 1720-21, voted and agreed to suck out for a schoolmaster, us the last year's schoolmaster, Huberts, and the town did not agree."

main in no one place very long at a time, belongiu'i to a class that ia those days tried to get a living by teaching a little and preaching a little, but doing nothing a great deal, and to whom might properly be applied, -

It is not reasonably to be supposed that Thomas Roberts was Middlcboro's first or earliest schoolmaster, but the earliest who has come to the knowledge of the writer of this sketch, and because the earliest, rather than for anything about him good or great, he has received this particular notice.

Peirce Academy. - This once flourishing and still widely-kuowu institution of learning took its name from Capt. Job Peirce, the founder and donor, who, when in his generous heart he devised this liberal act, was a man of more than threescore years, and made his son, Maj. Levi Peirce, to be the dispenser of the benefit, and which act last named has of late years led some to suppose that the son was indeed the civer instead of the distributor of his father's generous gifl.

The original cost was two thousand five hundred dollars. The formal act of dedicating the academy building to its intended use was upon the 18th of August, 1808; but no act of incorporation was obtained until 1835, or nearly twenty-seven years after. In 1850 the original building was sold and removed and converted into some kind of a manufactory, and subsequently burned. A new academy building was erected iu 1850, and ten thousand dollars raised to aid this institution, which was mainly a result of the unyielding and untiring industry, indefatigable energy, and great enterprise of Professor John W. I. Jenks, then the principal of this school, but now a professor in Brown University, at Providence, R. I.

The academic school ia not at present in operation, and some of the building is used by one of the town schools, and a large part of the second floor by E. W. Peirce Encampment Post and Grand Army of the Republic.

The Pratt Free School is a flourishing institution of learning, founded by the liberality of a son of Middleboro', Mr. Enoch Pratt, of Baltimore, Md. The school building is pleasantly located near the green at Titicut, in North Middleboro'.

" Made choice of Richard Sampson, Capt. Joiiathau Cobb, Harrison Staples, Arad Bryant, and Zutiu Pickens, and on the 1st of October, 1840, it was further voted to locate the High School in the li\%; selectmen's districts to be kept alternately in each district two months, and that the school committee select the place and district where the school ii to comiuence, and that the school be commenced on or before the first Monday iu December next."

The selectmeu's districts referred to were at that time as follows: Sampson'.-; district, EJdyville district, Fall Brook, Titicut, and Beach Woods, the last named being now in Lakeville, ami the Titicut was to include the village known as Four Corner?.

This high school was commenced iu the I'^ddyville district, kept in the chapel at the green, and taught by Rev. Ephraiiu Ward, Jr., a graduate of Bniwn University, at Providence, R. 1. lie continued to teach the school two months each in lour ul' tiie tivu districts specified, but the last, kept near the Kock station, was taught by Rev. Thomas Symouds. a graduate of Waterville College. This high achool w.i., soon after discontinued, and was not revived or reestablished for the term of about seventeen years, and owing, probably, mainly to the fact that. Ijy the setting off that part now Lakeville, this town became mi reduced in the number of its inhabitants .is to be n.i longer by law required to support a high school.