Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 44: Progress of Education, 1912

The following sketch of early schools in Alton is mainly compiled from the first an¬ nual report made by the late George S. Kellenberger, superintendent of schools, in i860, supplemented by facts supplied by the late M. G. Atwood and others. The report first enumerates the private and select schools es¬ tablished prior to the advent of a public school system.

In November, 1831, a preparatory school was opened by H. Davis over the store of S. E. Moore & Company on the north side of Second street between Market and Alby. Two months later it was amplified into "Al¬ ton Seminary" and removed in 1833 into a new two-story brick building on Second near Alton street.

Also about 1833 J- M. Krum, afterwards Alton's first mayor, taught a school in Lyceum Hall at the corner of Alby and Second streets. He was succeeded at the same place by a Mr. Boswel. In 1837 Miss Sophia Loomis, later

Mrs. Cyrus Edwards, mother of Mrs. C. K. Hopkins, taught school on the corner of Grove and Common streets, now Central avenue, in Middletown.

In November of the same year William Ryrie, uncle of two of our present leading citi¬ zens, Messrs. J. M. and G. M. Ryrie, opened a school "under the office of T. P. Wooldridge on Second street opposite the Baptist church."

In 1838 D. V. Wainwright taught a school at the corner of Second and Market streets. In i838-'39 a school was taught in a stone building on Second street that stood on the site of a brick residence now owned by the Dimmock estate.

In 1839 Miss Relief V. Everett, later Mrs. J. W. Buffum, opened a school in a building in block 5, Edwards' addition, Middletown, and was succeeded in 1840 by Miss Caroline Loomis, later Mrs. Z. Newman. Her succes¬ sor, in 1841, in same building, was D. A. Rich¬ ardson. The school was subsequently removed to a three story frame building at what is now the corner of Seventeenth and Liberty streets.

Along in the early forties Rev. Mr. Brit¬ ton, an Episcopal clergyman, taught school near the corner of what is now Sixth and Easton streets.

In June, 1846, Mr. Utten Smith, an Eng¬ lish gentleman, began school in the basement of the Episcopal church (old building) cor¬ ner of Third and Market streets, and con¬ tinued it until 1855. He had previously taught in Surrey county, England. Among his pupils there were four sons of the novelist, Capt. Marryatt, and also a son of Lockhart, son-in-law of Sir Walter Scott.

In 1850 Miss Lizzie Stanton, later Mrs. J. A. Ryrie, taught school in a building on upper Common street. She was succeeded in same place by Miss Sarah Colby.

Between 1850 and i860 there were various other private schools maintained in the city. Among those who conducted them were Prof. Washington Leverett, Miss Godfrey, Miss Henrietta Williams and Miss Elizabeth Heslop, later Mrs. Johnstone. These several schools were located in the basements of the Baptist and Presbyterian churches on Second street.

The city charter of 1837 provided for the establishment and maintenance of free schools but no action was taken by the council thereon until September, 1842, when Messrs. William Martin, Dr. B. F. Edwards and B. B. Barker were appointed a school committee. On the 3d of July following the city council, on mo¬ tion of Dr. B. K. Hart, appropriated $100.00 for the purchase of block 19, Pope and Others' addition, for school purposes. The block was valued at $200.00 but the owner, Judge

Nathaniel Pope, donated $100.00 to the cause. At the same meeting Dr. Hart, M. G. At¬ wood, B. B. Barker and T. G. Starr were ap¬ pointed a committee to consider the advisabil¬ ity of building a school house thereon. Noth¬ ing seems to have been done, however, at the time, but on February 18, 1845, Messrs. Wil¬ liam Hayden, M. G. Atwood and Isaac Scarritt were appointed a committee to receive proposals for a school building on the block purchased. A month later the bid of Lowe & Parks, for erecting the building, was ac¬ cepted at the contract price of $580.70. Messrs. E. Marsh, E. Levis and T. P. Wool¬ dridge were appointed to superintend its con¬ struction. The building was of brick and of the most primitive arrangement. A discon¬ nected frame annex was subsequently added to its educational facilities. These buildings occupied the site where Lincoln school is now located.

Rev. L. S. Williams was appointed teacher of this school July 21st, 1845, and was thus Alton's first public school teacher. He was succeeded in Sept. 1847, by W. F. Guernsey.

Another building was erected by the city in 1851, on Seminary square, at the corner of Fifth and Langdon streets, at a cost of $1,- 983.20. It became known as No. 3. It was opened in February, 1852, and W. F. Guern¬ sey placed in charge with Mrs. Guernsey as as¬ sistant, Mr. James Newman being placed in charge of No. 2 with Miss Sarah A. Robinson as assistant.

erected in 1856 at a cost of $2,300 each. The first was located on Common street, near Stanton. It is still standing and occupied as a dwelling. It was later known as Washing¬ ton school. Its successor is on a different site. The second building was located on Walnut street, near Fifth, and was later known as Humboldt school. A Miss Reed was the first teacher at No. 4, in 1856, and was succeeded by Miss Kate A. Foote, later Mrs. E. Marsh, Jr. Number 5 was opened the same year by Mrs. A. E. Newman.

To give the names of all the teachers em¬ ployed in the public schools between 1845 and i860 would exceed the limits of this chapter, but for the first five years, in addition to those mentioned, appear the names of Mrs. James Newman, Miss Caroline Baker and Miss Rachel Corbet.

From 1850 to i860 among those who taught were John Henry, J. A. Bruner, J. E. Petengill, N. M. Mann, Miss Mary Hazard, Mrs. John Brown, Miss Laura Clement, Miss Hall, J. H. Underwood, G. W. I. Carpenter, M. I. Lee, A. T. Richmond, Burt Newman, Miss Dorcas Terry, Miss Emma Davis, Miss M. A. Cross, Miss M. E. Godell, Miss Kate Lee, Miss Mary E. Robinson, W. H. Knicker¬ bocker.

The Advanced School, as it was called, was opened in the basement of the Unitarian church, Feb. 22nd, 1858, with James Newman as principal and Miss M. E. Richmond, as¬ sistant. Miss E. D. Richmond was added to the faculty a few months later as the school increased.

The Colored school was organized in 1858 with Mr. John Robinson in charge. This school was continued until some years after the war when the pupils were admitted to the white schools in accordance with the law.

an organized system and the connection of the city with their development. In the year 1851 the council appears to have transferred the duties of supervision and visitation from its school committee to a Board of Visitors, but this arrangement, which was continued for eight years, proved unsatisfactory and in 1^859, by special ordinance, a Board of Edu¬ cation was created by the council. The rec¬ ords kept between 1851 and 1859 were meagre and incomplete, but a stronger interest was manifested in the schools by the citizens, and many prominent men labored for their welfare and seconded the efforts of a noble band of self-sacrificing teachers. Among the pioneers in advancing the interests of the schools may be named Dr. B. K. Hart, M. G. Atwood, William Hayden, Samuel Wade, Isaac Scarritt, J. L. Blair, Lewis Kellenberger, J. H. Murphy, Rev. A. T. Norton, Rev. S. Y. McMasters, A. S. Barry, L. S. Met¬ calf and others The board of education was created by the above ordinance. It met on the 19th of September, 1859, and organized by electing William Hayden, chairman, and George S. Ivellenberger secretary of the board and superintendent of the schools. The board was later reduced to five members with a superintendent and secretary and a school treasurer. The city charter was amended by the Legislature of 1864-5, giving authority for the establishment of high schools and a com¬ plete system of graded schools. The school tax was also made, by this amendment, gen¬ eral on personal property and real estate for purposes of education. Under the reorgan¬ ized and readjusted system now made pos¬ sible the board of education for 1866 con¬ sisted of M. G. Atwood, president; John L. Blair, H. Hamlin, D. D. Ryrie and George H. Weigler. Isaac Scarritt secretary of the board and superintendent of schools.

veteran educator, who has been connected with the Alton public schools for over thirtysix years, and for the last thirty-one years as superintendent.

In the year 1865 a few public spirited men, foremost of whom were the late Moses G. Atwood and Isaac Scarritt, secured an amend¬ ment to Alton's special school charter enacted by the state legislature in 1837, thus making the city of Alton a school district under the general control of the Alton city council. The city, at that time, was divided into five sub school districts, in each one of which was located one school building.

The board of education consisted of five members, appointed by the Mayor, one from each sub-district. The term of office was three years. The members of the board elected their own president, secretary and treasurer.

The school buildings were known as No. 1, No. 2, etc., each one taking its name from the sub-school district in which it was located. These buildings were small and unpretentious, No. 1 containing two rooms and a basement; No. 2 was composed of two small one room buildings, No. 3 a building of two rooms, and Nos. 4 and 5 buildings of one room each.

These buildings did not possess sufficient accommodations for the school children, and again Alton's public spirited men came to the front and secured a bond issue for the erec¬ tion of a commodious public school building.

This building, now known as the Lincoln school, but at that time as No. 2, was erected on Alton street, between Tenth and Eleventh, and was ready for occupancy in the fall of 1866.

Mr. Raymond served two years as super¬ intendent and was then succeeded by a Mr. Smith, who also served two years. No record has been preserved of Mr. Smith's administra¬ tion.

In the summer of 1870 the board of educa¬ tion secured the services of E. A. Haight as superintendent of schools. Mr. Haight was a graduate of the Michigan State Normal, and also of Shurtleff College. He had served four and one half years as principal of the Preparatory Department of Shurtleff College, and six months as professor in the Normal Department of the Missouri State University. He came to the Alton schools eminently fitted for the position to which he had been ap¬ pointed. Upon taking up his duties in Sep¬ tember, 1870, he had a teaching force of eighteen members, two of whom were em¬ ployed in the high school. One of Mr. Haight's first official acts was to secure a change in the course of study in the high school from a two years' to a three years' course. Hence the school had no graduating class in the summer of 1871.

The slow but steady growth of the popula¬ tion in the eastern part of the city necessitated the building of a new school house there. This building, a two story brick containing eight rooms, was erected at the corner of 5th and Walnut streets and was. occupied for the first time in January 1879. The building and fur¬ nishings cost about $10,000.00.

Mr. E. A. Haight served as superintendent of the Alton schools for ten and a half years, voluntarily severing his connection with them in January, 1881. At the close of his adminis-

Mr. R. A. Haight, brother of the outgoing superintendent, for five and a half years prin¬ cipal of the Alton High school, was elected superintendent of the Alton schools in Jan¬ uary, 1881, and is still at the head of the pub¬ lic school system.

The school building known as No. 1, being too small to accommodate the increasing school population in the west end of the city, the board of education proceeded to erect a two story, four room brick building at the cor¬ ner of State and Bluff streets. This building which was completed and occupied in March, 1883, is now known as the Irving school. The building and furnishings cost about $12,000.00.

For several years after the erection of this building, the city seemed to be at a standstill as to growth in population. But in 1888 it began to take on a new lease of life and the erection of another new school building be¬ came a necessity.

A four room brick building was therefore erected in sub-district No. 3, at the corner of Sixth and Langdon streets. This building, now known as the Garfield school, was occu¬ pied for the first time in September, 1891. The building and equipment cost about $18,000.00.

About the year 1894 a large tract of land in the northeastern part of the city, known as the Buckmaster tract, was purchased, graded, divided into lots and streets and added to the map of the city as Highland Park Addition. A steady influx of population to that part of the city now made the erection of a new school building in sub-district No. 4, impera¬ tive. This building, a two story, four room brick, was completed and occupied in Septem¬ ber, 1896. The building, now known as the Washington school, is located on Curdie Ave., and cost, all told, about $18,000.00.

Two school buildings, one the Douglass, located at corner of Market and 10th streets, the other the Lovejoy, located at corner of Union and Silver streets, were erected and oc¬ cupied in September, 1897. These buildings are two story, two room brick buildings, modern in all of their appointments, and cost about $5,000.00 each. The colored children in various parts of the city attend these schools. Some of the prominent colored citi¬ zens of Alton, feeling that they were being de¬ prived of their legal school rights, in the fall of 1897 instituted mandamus proceedings against the Alton city council and the Alton Board of Education, to compel them to permit the colored children to attend the schools most convenient to their homes. This case was in the courts about eleven years and was finally settled in favor of the colored people.

The majority of the colored citizens of Alton in the meantime, however, had become satisfied that their children were receiving proper care and attention in the Douglass and Lovejoy schools, and although the case was finally settled in their favor, made no attempt to take their children from those schools.

Separate schools are, therefore, main¬ tained for the colored children of Alton through the eighth grade. All colored chil¬ dren having completed the eighth grade work, in their respective schools, are admitted to the Alton high school for further school work.

In 1898 a new school building was erected on Joesting Avenue, and occupied for the first time in March, 1900. This building was known as the Lowell school and is a two story, four room brick, and costing about $12,000.00.

About 2,000 pupils were now enrolled in the public schools of Alton. Every school build¬ ing was filled to its utmost capacity; and the school population was steadily increasing. The high school enrollment had reached 175. The high school pupils were crowded into a few rooms at Lincoln school. The Board of Education therefore decided to build a school building devoted exclusively to high school work. A special election was called for the purpose of authorizing the issuance of bonds to the amount of $50,000.00, for the erection of a new high school building. The result of the election favored the erection of the build¬ ing and the board immediately began work upon plans.

The building was completed and ready for occupancy the middle of November, 1902. It was erected at the southwest corner of Sixth and Langdon streets and cost, fully equipped, $51,000.00.

In 1907 the village of North Alton was an¬ nexed to Alton. Its school buildings were very old and in no wise suitable for the ac¬ commodation of the school children of the dis¬ trict. Before annexation, the village had made all arrangements for erecting a new school building in the district. After annexa¬ tion, the Alton board took up the matter and erected the building on Elm street as formerly contemplated. This building, known as Mc¬ Kinley school, is a two story, seven room brick structure. It cost about $18,000.00, and was occupied for the first time in September, 1908.

In April 1911 the village of Upper Alton was annexed to the city of Alton, thus plac¬ ing two more school buildings under the con¬ trol of the Alton board of education.

There are now within the corporate limits of the city of Alton, fourteen public school buildings containing, all told, ninety-one rooms, with a capacity to accommodate 3,300 school children. The total value of this school property, including grounds, furnishings, etc. is estimated at $265,000.00.

The total number of principals and teachers employed is 94 regular and 8 substitute teach¬ ers. Of this number, 18 are high school teachers.

The Alton high school was placed on the accredited list of the North-Central Associa¬ tion of Colleges several years ago. It presents seven courses of study.

The Alton Board of Education as now con¬ stituted, consists of fourteen members and a president. The members of the board, two from each ward, are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the city council. The term of office is two years. The president is also appointed by the Mayor. His term of office is one year.

For years the members of the various Boards of Education of the city of Alton have been representative men, ardent supporters of its public school system. It is impossible to mention them all by name, but it seems emi¬ nently fitting that those who have served as officers of the board should receive recogni¬ tion here.

First and foremost among the presidents is John L. Blair, who served continuously as a board member (most of the time as its pres¬ ident) for nineteen years. Mr. Blair closed his term of service in 1878.