Daviess County, Indiana - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 8 of those read), 1915

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 8 of those read)

The first scIumiI Ik.iuscs were built where they would accommodate the children of the largest number of settlej:s. There was no sanitar}' school house law, laving down rules to be followed in selecting the sites and erecting" tile building.^ and furnishing the same.

In 1.S4I), a log sch(jol house was built in Bogard township, within the limits of wdiat is now Epsom. As early as 1820 a school house was built in I'.lniore township, about three-fourths of a mile northeast of the point where n(nv stands the Hastings school. In 1S30 tw^o school houses were built in Harrison township. One was located near where the church at .\ikmans ("reek now stands and the other was situated near 1 ludsonville. .\o school house was built in .M.adison townslii]) until iS.pj. It w;is jirobalily in the forties that the lirst school Imusc was built in keeve township. It was near what is now known as the .Md'ord school. It was about iX:;4. in the west central part of Steele township, that its lirst school house was erected. The 'first h(juse erected for school ]iurposes in \'an lUiren townshii) was situated about one mile east of Raglesville; it was probably built sometime between 1830 and 1840. The first school taught in \'eale township was in a vacated log church in 1819, while the first school house built in this township was in 1828. As early as 1820, a log .school house was erected within threefourths of a mile of where the Sugarland consolidated school of Washington town.shi]) now is,' and it was in this year th.it a similar building was erected near what is now the I'rairie school house.

These old-time school houses were of the same type. 'J'he following descriptions of some of these buildingh are calculated to gi\e an adequate idea of them. "These were small in size and of poor architecture. The only tiling conimendalile was the huge lireplace, which took up nearly one end Lif remaining on them, and sheltered with clums)- claplioard.-i, which were weighted down [>' the roof. The greater portion of one end of the buildings was used for a fireplace, while at the other end w^. .. ..oor which was cemstructed of boards and hung on wooder. hinges."''- 'Tt was built of logs, with a clapboard roof and a puncheon door. The seats that the chiltlren of pioneer parents .^al nixm, while getting their dearl\--bought education, were clnms\- allair^, made b\' splitting saplings and inserting legs on the round side." " llie liuibbngs ererleil upon these lots \vere all log, and part of them unhewn. The manner of lighting and heating was of ihe rudest tNjie - the principal, and almost the oul_\-, rece])tion bir li,!.;ht being the dnur, while the fireplaces, with ;l width of six or se\'en feet aiul built of cla)' and sticks, furnished a limited amount of heat." "It was a ver_\' low house, made of partl)'-he\\n logs. co\ered with clapboards and lieati-d b\- an immense lirepl.ace which occupied almost one vud ol the bouse. The furniture was prepared from saplings obtained Irom the torest which surrounded the building, with the a.\ and auger as the only tools. There were liut two benches in the house, and these stood along ilie entire length of the o])p>isite walls with a clunis\-, high desk- made of rout;h boarils, in front, to serx'c as a receptacle lor a lew books." "It was Iniill ol logs slightK- hewn on one side and put together so that large openings were left between them. The cracks, p;iriiall\' closed b\ mud ,md silik-. -^er\ed ,is \ enlihiioi-,- detting in an abundance ol ihe outer aimos|ihere Ibe lloor was made of si)lit lot;s which were laid with tlie llal ^ide upwards. ( lapbo.irds, piuiied togelher, formed the door. The house was coxerwl with bo.nrds wliieh were held in their ]iroper ])lace by poles |ilaced across them and f.istened to the r.aflers. Il w;is ]i,irliall\- \\arine(l Iw a huge lireplace, eii;bl or len feet in width, placed at one end of the Iniilding."

.smuollicd suniewliat inipcrlectU' wilh a coinnion cluipijin^' ax or, belter still, with a hrtjad a\. ]-ej;s were iiiscrteil in the round side, and there were no hacks to these rude seats. These home-made seats re([uired that certain jiortions ot the home-made trousers, worn hv the hoys ol those (.la}s, he patched l"rei|nentl)'. .\lons; one ^ide ol the room, wijocien pei^'s were inserted mto the wall and a ])lank placed thereon; this served as the writinj.;' tlesk for the entire school. Map-., charts. i;lol)es, and hlackhoards were unknown to h(jth teacher .and piipd of the>e first 1 )a\iess c<junt\' school houses.

.\> <ine writer lias s.aid, "''riuA had little monex' ;uid less lime to ile\'Ote to the work. ^' ..- the\' heliexed in education, the\' found it inipossiljle to educate their children as they wished. .\s ,a result, there was tar more ignorance m the .second generation ol Jndianians than in tlie first. The ])arents simpK' did the hest the\' could. I his a|iplies to teachers, hook's, huildin^s and clothini;". TIard iiecessii\- will explain iiearh- all their sjiortcomin^s. 'I'hal tlie\- helieved in education, is shown l)\ the kaws which thev eiiacteil .and the letters the\- wrote, d'here is iio more pathetic feature id' our earl\ Insiurw than this strui;L;le to estahlish si'liools. ddie woods, the roads, the streams, and e\ en the wild animals, seemed to o])])osc, and were handed toi^ether lo |ire\enl the children from h.a\ ini; scliijuk"

It was l.ir the settlers ol the dilfeienl coinmuiiitics to determine, without the intervention ol township, count\' or stale officials, the kiiKJ and ch.aracter ol school huildiiifjs to he erected. The followin;.;- sections from llie school l;iw of 1X4:;, compared with the school law of thrce-(|uartcrs of a century Liter, show ili.at the authorii\ in rej^ard to the schools is heiiii; centrali/ed. flic \olcrs at school mecimt^s ])ossesscd the power "to direct the hiiildiuL;-, ilie liiriu!;, oi" the ]iurchase of a school house, or sJU' for the same, and to i"i\ the sum to he espmded therefor, or for the furniture ;ind appenda,<;es thereto, or lor a school lihrar\- or appar.atus, and for the keepini.; the same in lep.iii," .and "lo delcrinnie ihe amouni oi w.iik to lie doiu- h\' each .alile-hodicd while male resident ol the district, hclweeu ihe ai,''es of twent\-- oiie and lift\- years, tow.ards huildiuL; a school house, noi to exceed two da\'s' work each."

Idle hif.;,L;est element in the success id' an\' school or s\stein of schools, is its teacher or leathers, 'fhe early teachers of l)a\iess couul\- would compare la\oralil\- with the teachers ol am- other counu in the stale. i\\-eii this liein^ true, their knowledi;e ol what are toda\- known as the common (14) ' ^ branches, was quite liiniletl, Their knowledge, in most cases, did not extend beyond reathng, writing and arithinelic. Some half dozen of tlie^e early schoolmasters of ]-)a\iess count)-, whu knew a little of Latin and IchS uf algebra and geomeir)-, as one has ]mt it, "enjoyeil an en\iable rei)utation for scholarship." The following, from Cleorge ("ary l'".ggie^^ton, in regard {u one of his teachers, a^jjlies tu tliese : "l"or one thing, the 'rule of three' had set no bounds to his mathematical acquirements. It was wonderingly said of him that 'he knew the wliole arithmetic,' and it was darkl\' whispered that, in addition to th.U, he possessed certain occult knowledge which in our lime would be described as an acquaintance with elementar)' algebra and the rudiments of geometr)'. 1 think I do noi. wrong tlie gootl man's memory or betray any confidence by saying that 1 met him many years afterward, when he was an old man and 1 a college student, ;uul thai he then confessed t(j me that e\en at the time ot m\' earliest school daj-s he had been able to find out the \-alue of 'x" in a sim])le equation."

TraditiLin tells us that James ( '. \'eale taught the tir.-,t school taught in ]'>a\'iess couutv. This was before Indiana became a state, and in iSii, the }'eai- of the b.ittle of Tip])ecanoe. It is said that he taught a subscription scho(.il near I\la)'s\'ille, in that year. In 1815, John Aikman began a school, in what is now Washington.

]t is claimed f(.)r Cyrus IMcCormick that he is entitled to the distinction of being the first Latin teacher in the county, (/ontemiior.'iry with .\ikrnan and iMcCormick, is the eccentric 'fhomas Ibjwaril, who lirst agitated changing the name of Liverpool to Washington.

( )ther early teachers in what is now Washington and Washington township, were: W. (i. Cole, Kev. Robert J. Davis, Isaac Lleaton, Dudley Johnson, W. D. Shepherd and Rev. Hiram llnnter. Some of the pioneer teachers outside of \\'ashington township, are, .Mrs. lunily Hum and Wesley .Skaggs, of I'dmore lownsliip; Jabe/. .\rt. of Reeve township; John .M. Strange and Henry tiore, of \'an lluren township, and Daniel Jacksc.m, John Stephens and Aaron Godwin, of \'eale townshi]).

The methods and devices used by these early teacliers have changed, as have tlie buildings in which they taught, and as have the books and apparatus which they used. Some of these teachers taught "loud schools." In the "loud schools" the ]Hipils were re(|in"red to study their lessons "out loud." The thought was that the teacher could tell whether the pupils were studving or not. As a prominent writer has said. "'I'he itller who was roaming at one word, or over one line of poetry, or trumpeting through his nose, was, for aught the teacher knew, committing his lesson."

Spelling occupied ;i pruniineiU jilace in the curriculuiii oi earl\- limes. Egglestoii, in writing on this subject, says, that Imih he and his hrother "could read hetore we entered our lirst selmol, Xeither nl' us, in<leed, could ever renienilier a time when we could not read nv ride a hor.sc, and neither e\'er knew when cir liow he learned either art. Hut at school no account whatever was taken ol our al)ilit\- (c read, nor were we pernntted to practice that art. It was the fixed rule nl" the master that each scholar shuuld 'go through the spelling hook three times, twice on the hook and once ot'i the botik,' belore beginning to read. '( )n the hodk,' meant spelling and [n'onouncing the words with the Ixxik before the eyes. '( jff the book,' meant spelling fi-om memory, as the wiird> were gi\'en out." "In addition to the regular spelling lesson -"of the day. the wlude school was rccpiired, as a final exercise, each afternoon, to .stand in one long row, called 'the big spelling class,' for coinpetitive exaniinatinii in the art. 1 1" a word was misspelled by one, it was passed -to the next below, and S(.i on until .some one succeeded in siielling it correctly. The successful speller was said to ha\e 'turned down' all who had failed, and was entitled to take his place abox'c them in the line. At the close of the e.xercise, the scholar who stood at the heatl of the class, was assigned to the toot of it for the next da\', and a record was kept of the number of times each had 'gone loot.' Some small distinction was supposed to have been achie\'ed by the scholar whose record, at the end of the term, sliowcd the greatest number of g(jings to the foot or 'head marks.' This was about the only use made of the principle of rewards in the country scIkjoIs at that time. Xo other word of ])raise was ever spoken by the teacher. Indeed, he would ha\e ])ut himself in serir.ius danger of losing his ])lace, had he indulged in anv im]iulse he might ha\-e had to commend a puiiil. It was, at that time, held that commendation was sure to spoil a child and breed \anit\' and conceit in his mind."

i')iscipline in those da\s nearly alw.ays took the form of whipping. The schoolmaster on his w,i\- to school each morning cut enough "switches" to su]>ply him for the day. These switches were usuallv of gr)odl\' size and of sufficient heft lo enable the m.aster to apjjly them to the cah'es of the cul])rit, without much exertion, in a way that wc>uld make the pupil cr\' for mercy. It was something to be remembered, when a da\' |>assed without some one getting a whijiiiing. Dr. R. S. iVIitchcll. a jirominent ;uid highly res])ecte(l ])hysician of Washington, in telling of some .if his boybooil experiences in school, said that one of his teachers ga\e him tivur whi])pings a da}', one for each (piarter of the scIkioI ])eri(jd. I'.ut one of his playmates,

Here ami there was a schiidlmasler who siuiL^lit t( i;-overn his- school hy the use nl less severe toruis dl" ])uiu>luueut, The^e resorted to the use ot fdols' caps, dunces' stnols, and the like. Sunietiines, an olTender was made to stand mi the tliK.r (Ui one fnnt, until he coul'l stand no hinder. The hoys were apt to conclude that such a master was "afeard" to whi;) them, and insolently revolted.

William K. i'em'oil, in hi^ "I'.dncational J Ljstory of Daviess Connt\'," says that the custom df treatin.i; was inau.^urated m this county hy William Uealnii ni the winter of 1XJ4. I'.c that true or*iiot, it is one of the primitive cu-tnuis that ha.-, snr\i\ed. There are .Mune ftaiihers in the countv' \\h(j yet treat, Init lhe\ .sIkjuM he i;i\eii m. nedit fur so doini;-. h rei|uentU-, teachers hail to he "locked out' helore thev would treat, and, sometimes, severer method.^ \\L-re res(jrted to, helore he would capitnlale. Xow ;ind then, there would l)e :i teacher who did not consider it a joke to he "locked out" and resisted with all his nn'^ht. Such a teacher scared the [jupils into leltiuy him in, if there were not too many "Iiil; scholar^." 1]\ ihreatenin^ to hatter the door down ami I1ol;l;iii^- all who had taken part in lockiiii; him out. .Sometimes, he would smoke the ])Upils onl Ii\- tlimhiu- on the viu,i [i, the chimney and stopping- it up. Jn most cases, h'.we\er, the pujiils came olT with \ iclory. The "treat" nsually consisted in ajiples or candy. "Just wh\' a hushel ol a]iples shonld ha\e heen so placati\e, in a countr\' in which e\-er\lioily had unlimited apples at home, it is dillicnlt to conjecture."

Then, as m;w, it was sonn-times ditiicull for the teachers of the coMiiir\ schools to sccme hoai'dniL; places. In the pioneer daws of Daviess county, and even later, the leachci's souielimes "hoarded around." In fact, they were p.aid in part, hy the ]iatrons hoarding; the teachers, liy this system, each patron was "to hoard" the teacher his piopi irtionate share tif the time the school was in session. The system of "hoarding- aroinid" had sonu.' featiu'cs to commend it. The teachers had the opportnnilv of heccjmini;' reallv acc jn;iinted with hoth his pupils anil ]iatrons. lie knew the homelife of his ]iupils. aivl this knowlcdt^e is always worth much to any teacher.

School Examiners

An luhaiice educaliimal step was made in 1853, when the state Legislalnre eiiacttMl the hiw which ])ro\i(le(l for selinol exaniiniTs. Some of the ljro\isiiins of this hiw are: "Ihe Ixuird of connt\' ei immissioners of eacli connty of thi.-, stale are herchy aulhi'rized li.i appoint al leastf one and not mure tlian thiee scIkkjI examiners, whose term of dIIrx- shall expire on the rirsi -Momlay in .March of each year. ... It sh;dl he the duty of said >c1ujo1 c'xannner tij exannnc all ap])hcants for licence, and il lonnd qnahlied, license them as common school teachc-rs for three, six, tweh'e, eighteen, or twenty-four months, at the diM-retion of the examiner. . . But the schocjl examiner shall he-i'Utitled to an advance fee of lift)- cents from every ap'plicant for examination. ,. . . .\o jierson sh.all he declared i|ualii'ied to recei\e a license as CQminen school teacher, miless he or she may possess a knowledge ot ortliogf'aphv, reading, wi'iiiiig. arithmetic, geography, and Fuiglish grammar."

X(i (jualification \\hate\er \\;is rei|nired <d" one to fill the office id' scho<jl examiner - the ol'fici.al who was lo <lecide whether ap])lieants tlie reipiisite knowledge to he common school teachers. The gre;it majority of those who were appointed to this oll'ice were among the leading teachers of tile county.

The first sciiuol exruniner of Dax'iess connty was William T. Hallow, a teacher of Washington township, lie recei\ed liis a])i)ointnient on June 1,3' ^^S?i- '^^' ^^''^^ reappointed for another year on March 8, 1854. Tlie law provided that one, two, or three could he appointed. On March 10, 1835, the commissi(.>ners foi- some re;is<in appointed two perscjiis as examiners. It cert;u'nl\- was not because the Avork was so heav\' that one person not do it. It ma\- ha\e heen lor the cmnenience of ttie teachers. It was not as eas\' then to get I roin the northern p.irt of the count\' to Washington, as now. I'l.allow ;uul jcihn 1". 1 ha.stings, a teacher of .M;idison township, recei\'ed the ;ippointtnents for this year.

1 he southern part of the county had a representative when the appointments were made on .March 5, 183O. ihomas H. Kj'le, of Reeve township, was named as the third examiner, Kallow and Hastings being reappointed. K\le was a farmer .and ne\er had taught, h'or sirme reason. I)ut two examiners were appointed on M.arch 7. 1857.' I'or the fourth time, liallow was appointed. William (iaffne\-, a young teacher of W;i--hington township, who ha<l been a stndeni at Indiana L'Uix-ersity, was selected ;is Ijallow's Co-worker.

Three examiners were again appointed cm .March 5, 1858. Gaffney was reappointed and, to assist him, Jolm Spalding- and Arihnr Connelly were selected. Spalding was a \'an IJuren townshij) teacher. It is said that he was the first teacher to use the wnnl "methud" in this township. Connelly was a wielder of the birchen rod in Harrison t(j\\nship, Gaffney and Spalding were reappointed on March 10, 1859, for anotiier term, and to assist them Joseph .McClcsky was added. On March 10, i860, GaWncy and Spalding" were again appointetl. I"or the third examiner, W'illiam C. Lemmon, a doctor, was nameil.

School Laws Ciiangijd

In 1861, the school law was materially am^iioe^.-N Sopie.of the more important amendments are noted helow. Th|I boards' of county commissioners of the several counties of the .state ai'.'wieir.Jvne session, 1861, and every three \'ears thereafter, were atuliorized to' ai>i>oiht a school examiner. It was left t(j the will of the examiner, whether he should ex^iine applicants for a teacher's license (.)rally or h_\- written examin.ations. i/ffl^ standard for a license \vas fixed by the examiner. It was made the duty «f examiners to visit the schools of their counties. It was provided that the examiners should receive, "such remuneration per diem as shall be reasonable and just." As to what the legislators thought was "reasonable and just," is ex])ressed in the provision that the examiner shall receive in the aggregate not more than one hundred ilollars per annum, f(jr his services, and a fee of i>ne dijUar fur each male, and lifty cents for each female applicant, for a teacher's license.

In accord witli this law, the county commissioners on June 6, i86i, ajipointed W'illiam .S. (jaffne}', the "Irish [>oet," who had ser\ed fonr terms under the old law. On l^eplember .|, iSiu, ihe appoimmcni of Gaffney was rescinded The iTllnwing rccoi'd of the commissioners. gi\es the reason for tluii- drastic action: "Whereas. W'illiam .S. (.ial'fne_\ , who was a[ji)ointed school examiner of Daviess connty. Indiana, by an order of this Ijo.ard at its June term, 1 81 1 1 . fur the term of tlu'ee )ears, from the date of s.iid (Ji'der. has rendered hinisell \\holl\- incompetent to clischarge the duties of said oftice. b\' misconduct and incompetency, the onler is liercb\' i"escindeil." Noah S. Gi\'en, a Iau\-er, was appointed f^r the unexpired term. The term ended i.m the first Monday in June, i8('i4.

law in regard to tlie appuintmtnt of scliool examiners was amended in 1S65, so that they were to lie appointed at liie June session uf the county commissiuners and every three }-ears thereafter. Taylor was re-api)ointed on June 5, 1865.

The Fee For Examiners

The law of 1865 provided, '"That the examiner should receive three dollars per day for each day actually employed." Tiie following entr}' in the rec(ir>l nf the county commissioners, seems to indicate that they thought much time was not needed l>y the examiner to visit schools and examine applicants for a teacher's license : ".And tliat in the ilischarge of the duties of said ot^c^ o^^examiner, that he be limited to a term not exceeding seventyh\e ilays in'.^i.y^ie.)*ear.

Ta_\']or"s law pi'al^tice. had increased to such an extent that he resigned as examiner in Detembcr, 1866. ft was on December 3, of tiiat )'ear, that Joiin"l\. Phillips, a Baptist minister, was appointed to serve for the unexpired term. That tlie commissioners thought that the duties of the examiner were not of much importance, and did not re(|uire much time in their performance, is indicated by the following: '"Ordered by the board, that John R. Phillips, school examiner of Daviess count v, lie alloweil twenty da_\'S to visit the various townships of said count}- for the purpose of advancing the educational interests of the county.'' Phillips was reappointed to serve "tliree years from and after the 9th day of June, 1868, and until his successor is appointed and qualified and that in the discharge of the duties (jf said office of examiner that he be limited to a time not exceeding se\'ent\-lh'e davs in an\' one year."

'fhe scliool examiners did little toward iiidnencing the educational life of the county, 'fheir only 1eg.-il duty from 1853 to 1861, was to license teaciiers. Tlie examiners could place the standard of i|ualilications for teachers as high as tiiev pleased, in so far as the law was concerned, but as a matter of fad, the stand;ird was \\:rx low. l'"rei|uentl\' an applii'aiit would be asked but a few oral iiuestii'iis and then be granted a license; the standard li.ad U< be low in order thai there be enough teachers. The salaiy of the examiners was not suliicient to secure elTK-ieiit siTvice.

Views Of An Examiner

During the t\vent_\' years lr(jni 1S53 to 1S73, tlie time iluring wliicU there was sueh an (jtlieial a^ scliuul examiner in Ua\iesb eount\', twehe different jjersun;> served in that eapaeity. Of tliis number, William S. Gaffney, John ]i. J'hillips and lieorge A. Dyer realh' made themsel\x-s lelt, in matters pertaining to education. (Jaffney nuule coniniendal)le efforts to .arouse interest in their work, amoug the teachers ol the counts', antl to secure tuutormity of text-book^. In a letter, "To the J'eachers of the County," among other things, he sa\s, "Were it the (leei> interest alone which 1 ha\e always manifested in regard to the glorious cau.^e of human education, 1 should he pleased to address you; luit'.i^i the r«sJation which I at present bear towards the teacher.^ of this county, I conceix'^.it'my province to ad\"incL' an\' .such inlormalioii as ma\' prove auxiliary to their noble and laborious duties. And as we ha\e (I am ])aine(l ti.i sa}- ) no organized association for the purpose of eoii.-ulting with each other, 1 take ad\-antage (jf tlie a\enue of communicatiou olfereil through The Bcc. b\- courtesy of its gentlemanly editor, in semling vou this, our first greeting.

"The province of the teacher is to educate - educate rightly - and in order to do this, he must become ac(piamted wuh the duties of his \ocation, for his responsibilitv is m.anifold.

"I shall take occasion to recin- to this subject al some future period, ath'ising for the ])resent that all would-fie practical teachers procin"e a co])y (jf 'Page's Theory and I'ractice id' Teaching,' a most excellent wcjrk of the kind, and which contains more solid inlormation and instruction on tiie subject than time or space would admit ol us advancing.

"It h.'is id'ten occm-red to m\- mind that the ]irocuring of good, sound, reliable text-books is onl\- st-coud to die right mode ol teaching; and to this particular I cinclly dexote the substance of this letter, ho]iing that it may aid the teacher in making gooi! selections. Our corresixiudence with [Uiljlishers is more extensive, perha]>s, than that of any otlier teacher in the county, and as we are posted up in relation to school books, wc shall take ])leasure in recommending such as we may have occasion to notice, after first having given them a careful examination." Following this, he names .several books and gives reasons why he thinks tliey are good text-hrioks.

In Tin- Bi\- of April 30, 185S, he acKlresses a letter "To Teachers and Friends oi Fducition in Daviess County." l-'rom this follows a p.iragraph or two: "Could the teachers of this counlv be convinced of the great im-

Scliuul-examiner John K. l'hilli|)s prohahly held the lirst cuuntv institute in D.-niess county, 'idie statement has keen made that the fir>t cuuiity institute in na\'iess cunnt)' was lield in iSoS. This is incorrect, as the /'(C'/r.M County Priiunral. of August 20, iNfiS, ui writing of the institute uf that year, refers tu preceding institutes. Phillips presided u\ er the (Hie held that year and he was a|)|)ointe(l exann'ner in iSr,6. Tie had l)ecome prominent enough in the educational affairs of the state, to he n<jminate(l hy the 1 >emucrats that )ear for state superintendent.

(ieorge A. Dyer, the la.st of Daviess county's .school examiners, thought that all teachers should attend the county institute, judging from a notice he jnit in the county ne\vspa])ers. It reads, ".Ml teacher^ in T^aviess county are lierehy Ufitified to attend, a:id on failure so tu do, unless a satisfactor\- excuse thcrelor he given, max expect to ha\e iheir licenses revoked."

In iS73 the slate I.egislatin-e created the office of county superintendent by these words, "'J"he ti>wnshiii trustees of the several townshi])s shall meet at the olfice of the county auditor of their respective coumies, on the lirst Monday in June, 1^7,^, and hiennially thereafter, and a])])oint a county >u])erintendeiit, who shall he a citizen of such countv. . . ." 'flu- only (jualitication required hy this law for this important official was, that the

George A. Dver. the county school examiner; James A. I'ritchard, a lawyer; Henr\' B. Kohr. a ])r(iminent teacher of the county, and F^dward Wise, were vuted for and, on tiie third ballot, I'ritchard and Wise each received five xotes. Ily the law when there was a tie the county auditor was to cast the deciding vote. Xaihan G. Read, the auditor, voted for Wise, therein- electing him. On the first and on the second ballots Dyer recei\ed one \-ote. K(jlir received but one \'ote and that was on the second ballot. On each of the three ballots, I'ritchard received five votes. Wise received three votes on the first ballot, three on the second and live on the third. Wise was re-elected in June. \^/S- ^'I'd rc'-igned in September, 1X76, to accept a position in the South.

riure were fine cmdidaies to ^ueceed .Superintendent Trimble. When the trustee^ met <'U June _', 1S711, to select his s\ircessor. the interest was intense and considerable feeling was manifesteil by some of the supporters of the candid.ates. David M. (ieeting, a teacher, (if Washington township; 1\ .\l. Walker, a teacher, of iLirr Diwiiship; O.-deb (VDell. the tru-tee of Madison township; Henderson Ab'CatTerty. who bad been trustee of llarr township, and Hamlet .Allen, the priucip.al of the W.i'^hingtou high school, were c;mdid;Ues. ' On the fourth ballot, TXavid .M . Tieeting. who was afterwards elected -^tate su])crinlendent. received six votes and was elected. On the second ballot. O'Dell received fn^; \dtes. Walker received four votes

On June 6, 1S81, Geeting was re-elected on the lirst hallnt, receiving six votes, and Le\'i Iveeves received four \(jtes. j\luch was said in the newspapers and among the politicians aliout this election, as (leeting, who was a Repul)lican, was elected h)- a Democratic vote. All of the Democratic trustees denied having voting for Geeting. d'his denial was the principal cause of the talk. Geeting's supervision of the scIkkiI.s cd' the county justiiied his re-election.

Peter R. WadswortK^ftlie trustee of \'an I'.uren township, was elected -on June 6, 1887, to succeed IJuyd. This was the lirst time in the history of the county that the trustees promoted one of their nnmher ti.i lie count}- superintendent. W'adsworth receixed the unanimous xote (d' the trustees, although he hail met with much opposition in the caucus nf his party associates. On June 3, 1889, \\'ads\vorth was re-elected, receixing the votes nine of the ten trustees.

There was no elecii<jn of a CdinUy superintendent in Jinie, iX'i^. as the I,t'gislature had ])assed a law whith presided for the election of county superintendents in .Scplemlier, instead of Jinie. .\s a result of this law, and on lis heing declai'cd unconstitutional, \\';illacc held o\er until lune, iSi)(). I he Legislature had ch.inged the term from two to four years. Wallace was elected tor the second lime on June 3, iN()(). He met with nuicli op])osilion in his own part)-. Jt took twent\'-three ballots to decide the contest. S(jlomon W. Satterlield, a teacher, of \'au I'.uren township and a g^raduate of tlie Indiana State Xornial and of the .State Uni\ersit\-, and Alanson (". Wise, teacher of Washington lown>hip, l\e])uljlicans, rmd Sanford Patterson, a teaelier of li.nrr township and a democrat, were liis opjionents. ( )n the I'lrsl ballot Wallace receixed i'tvc votes, \Vise .secured two, and Satterheld also obtained two. On the twenty-third ballot Wallace received si.\ \-otes, Wise secured two, while Satterlield and Patterson had each to be content with one.

lulward Wise, the lirst coniil\' snperintendent of |)a\iess comity, had attended collet^e and in many wa\s was well qnalilied lor the duties ol this impoi-iant oUice. Me did nnu h to aroiise interest in the scho(jls. secure miiformilv- of le.xt-lx lok-,, and raise the (|nalilication <.f teachers. It is interesting; and instrnctixe to re.ad s<ime of the comments he made ii])on teachers and their work after he had xi^iled iliem in their schoolrooms. ( )n (tclober 7, i>>/]. he xisited William II. ,\llen, the present conntx- attendance ol'licer, wild was teachini; school .\o. S in Howard townsliiii, .and in the record of his xisits he states that .Mien h.id an nnahrid^ed dictionary and thai he \x as teachin- spelliiit;- lix' haxiiij; the pupils sound exery xowel. Wise states that this is not Correct, and it xxoiild appear that .Mien must liaxe lieeii usiii^" a f.inn of the phonetic method. Wise remarks in aiioiher pl.ace that "Henry I'l. Kohr is the hest teacher in I )a\iess coiinlx-," and in another that a certain teacher "drinks a little too much." This teacher's license xxas later rexoked. \fler xisiimi; one -chool he reports, "Xo wood; hurn hark."

[\. t '. Triniljle, the second county stqjerintendent, was a r'resh\'teriaii [jreaclier and well educated, lie worked along the lines started tiy his preclecess(jr ar.d made special efforts towards grading the schools. At its .Septeniher meeting in iiSj.S the count \- Imard of education adojjted a resolution "declaring it to he the sense of the hoard that the count}- schools be graded at the earliest praciicalJe lime." 'fhe toUowing rule of the county board of education adopted in May, J S/.S, indicates that the idea of the purpose and manner ol holding examinations (d pupils has materially changed. The rule rea<K : "h.\ery teacher, Ijefore tlie close of bis ^chool term, shall hold a public examination of the jiupils of his school, and shall notif}' the county superintendent and trustee of the same." Uit'ferent inferences may be drawn from the following record, made on .Vugust S, 1S7S: ".\fter grading the i>apers of the 1ul\' examination and finding e\idence of fraud, decided to reieci all the papers and to bold another examination on August 17."

David Al. Geeting was the brst teacher electetl to the county sui)erintendency of 1 )a\ less cnunt)-. lie was considered one ol the best teachers of the county at the time of his elecliciu. Under his super\isi';n the scho(jls of the county made rapid progress, (jeeting required his teachers t(j make monthly reports to him; in this way be kept in closer touch with what they were doing, lie did n<it hesitate to record uncomplimentary things about his teachers, as the following record will show: lie \isiled a school in l!arr township and "found the teacher had dismissed school 'to go to mill.' .Saw the teacher and rccommemk'd that be do such wdrk (pii .Saturday or hire it done." In speaking ui a \'eale township institute, be says, "A good interest was manifested, but some of the nujst ludicrous blunders were made by 'the oldest teacher in the township,' among them being tlie admission of the fact that he never read anything but the ihble - all other books were novels." (Jn January 22. 18X1, he records, ".\ttended Steele township teachers' institute at Plaiiuille. Jn this town.ship are four good li\e teachers and four 'sore-heads,' and the result is the institutes are almost a failure." In bis report to the county board of education in May, iSSi, among other things he savs, "^'on have among your teachers, too, a few, a \ery few, whose only relief is railing at the trustee, county su])erinlendent, state board of educalion, our Legislature, and llie governor. They opi)ose .scliool visiting, and 1 am fully convinced tliat, .should 1 keep as untid\- school premises, as poor discipline over my pupils, and such little interest in my recitations, I should not court school visiting from any one, il 1 did not oppose it."

This report shows that Superintendent (ieeting was alireast oi the limes. He says that he noteil the folUiwing points when he visited a scliool: "hirst, inspection of the school and school grounds. Second, inspection of the teacher hefore his class." lender the secoml head, he notes the following points: "Does he recpiire the jiupil to do the work of the recitation? Does he give his undivided attention to the class? .\re the i)upils inlerested in the recitation? Are ,a1l the pupils reciting the entire lesson? Are the dull impils called upon, as well as the liriglu ones? Are the pupils reciting thoughts (ir mere words? Does the teacher make his work ])ractical ? Does he reipiire the work to he done neatly? .\re the ipiestions such as will stinndate the pupil to think? Is he energetic and ciUhusiastic in his work.""

'jeeting was succeeded hy .Samuel li. ISomI. r.o\d was a successtul teacher of the county, and he was equally as successlid as county superintendent, lie sought to raise the character of the work nf the teachers, hy \isitiiig them in their schools and in the township nislitutes, and suggesting hetter methods to he used. Closer giadalicu i<\ the pupils was accomplished under his su]>ervision. On Septeniher I, 1SS3, the lollowdng te.Mdnjoks were adopted for six years: Mc(luffe}'s l\e\ised Keader, .\lc( lulYey's Revised Spelling I'.ook, Kav's Revised .Arithmetic, Harvey's (jranimar, J'".cleclic (;eogra])hy, lu'lectic .System of Penmanship, Steele's I'hysiology, and the I'.clectic United States History.

I'eter l\agle Wadsworth came to the office of county superintendent, with the e.\])erience hotli of a teacher and a trustee. His social dispijsition enahled him to make many aci|uaintances among tc:ichers, patrons, and pupils. \\c was :i popular superiuleudenl, hut 110 records of his work are to he found in the oflice of the county superintendent.

William .\lfred Wallace succeeded Wadsworth as county superintendent of Daviess countv. Previously, he was a teacher ot \'eale township. Altliough net new lines of work were in.stituted hy him, yet he made es|)ecial ettorts to keep the hoys and girls in school, until tliey at least graduated from the grades. He sought to get them tc- rem.ain in school until they hail completed the common school course, hy holding commencement exercises for the graduates and offering medals to those who made the liighest grades in the different townships. He urged the trustees and the teachers to do what they could to furnish their pupils willi the young people's reading circle lUirris resii;neil a short time before the exiMratioii of his term of office, to take lip the stud}' of law. Alva O. h'tilkersoii, who was at the liead of the department of history of tlie W'asliiiigtoii liigli school, a gra(kiate of the Indiana State Normal School and of Indiana Unixersity, and wIkj had tanght in country, village, town and city schools, was elected to succeed him. Fulkerson holds that ihe greatest need of the rural schools is closer supervision. He has this in mind in planning and directing the W(jrk of the teachers under his suiicr\'ision. This is a difticult task, with so many teachers scattered over such a wide territory. 1"o accomplish as much as possible along this line, he prepares each week, while the schools are in session, a column for the newspapers of the comity in which he makes suggestions for the improxemeut of the work, gixes [ilans and de\ices, discusses the course studv, and jjoints out mistakes being made. Monthh' rei)orts are recjuired from tlie teachers, lie \isits as many township iu>titules as iJOSsible, to discuss with tlie teachers their dilficulties and to keej) in personal touch with them. C(jnsolidation is being pushed. The Montgomery, the Cannelburg, and the .Sugarland, are cons(.ilidatc'il schools in w Imjc or in part. George ]'). Drew, who was trustee of llarr tow'iislii|), built the AloiUgomcry and the Cannelburg buildings, and (Irant Keith, the e.\-trustee of Washington township, built the Sugarland, the most uji-to-dale building in the ctuuity. I'ulkerson, in order to consolidate and centralize the work, holds a count\'-townshi|> institute. This plan is a timc-sa\er lor the superintendent and creates enthusiasm in the teachers. lie has held four eighth-grade county commencenieuts, Charles A. Greathonse, state su]icriiUcndent, made the address at the first; President George R. Grose, of Del'auw Uni\ersit\-. delivered the addrc-s at llu- -ccond ; Su]il, I. G. t'ollicoii, of ihc lndiana])olis scIkhiIs, made the addrc.-'^ at the third; and l.oni.-- J. Ivetlger, of the Indiana State Normal, spoke at the fourth instilnte. I lis idea is to make the county the school unit, as ne.arh' as ]io->^ible. The etliciency ol the township high schools has been greatlv increa--ed under l-'ulker.^.)u's superxdsioii.

The first Daviess County Teachers' .\ssociation was organized in .September, 1870. The plan and purpo^e of this association was good, but it failed to accomplish much. The lir>t president id' this association was

There is no record of the first institute held under this Law, hut from the hest infoinialiou it was held in \Si<(,. the \ear following the p;issai,'e of the law. All in.stilute was held the week he.^innniL;' .An.uiist 17, l8f)S. The

As the numlier of teacher?, in the county has increased the attendance and the interest ;it the county nistitutcs have increased. Now, instead of local talent furnishing the instruction and discussions, some of the best educators of the coimtry are emjjloyed. .As an incentive for teachers attending the county institutes two ]ier cent, is added to the general as'erage of those teachers who attend the entire institute. This means an increase in the wages (if the teachers of from six dollars to about fifteen dollars jier }-ear. These instittUes ha\-e ser\cd to create a l)elter altitude among teachers toward their woiT-, to ad\:uice the standards, to increase the i)rofessioual interest, to keep teachers in touch with ad\anccd thought along educatiou.al lines, and to cause others to h;i\e a higher regard for the professieiu

"It was diftlcull lor pu])ils to see to stud\- thei|- lessoiis in these olilst\le IjuildiUL;-- on cloud\ da\s, and il w;is iinpos^ihle to read written assignment-, on the po. .r lil.ickhoard--. hecau^e ol the cross ra\^ of li,i;lit. In snuie ol ilic>e old liuildinLjs, in order to h,a\e more li,i;ht. two additional wind(.ws were ]ilaced in the door end. This made m.alters wor^e instead of better.

"At hist, a L;re.it inaioril\ of these hnildin^s were he.ated 1)\- lari^'e U(joii sto\es placed in the center ol the r.M,m. ( )ii coM day-, it kept one ];ers(jn ahiiosi con-lanlK' hus\' canwini; in the wood and JiuildiiiL; the llrcs. The wood stoves ha\e been repkaced by coal sto\es. Ihi- method di heating wa- bad. Tho-e sealed near the sto\e would ,L;et too warm, while those scaled in llie reiiloie pari- of the rodui \\ ould alniosi 1 reeze.

onl\' is the per cent, of the ennineration enrolled ,L;realer Indaw hnt the per cent, of attendance of the enrollment is mnch greater than formerly. This is dne in a great part to the cumpnlsory attendance law. Parents, too, reali/e more th;m e\er the imporl.ance of edncaling llicir children.

were one hundred twenty-ime. Six of tlie ninety-four sctiool I)niliiinc;s have two rooms. 'Jdiere are an e\en luindred teaehers employed to teaeii in these building's. 'rwent)-se\ en of these are teaehing for the hrst time. .\s required Ijy law, these beginners are high sehonl graduates rnid ha\e had a term (ir more of professional training. (July forty of the remaining si.Ktv have taught more than three years. Many of this forty whu ha\-e had fmu- or mure years of e.xperienee make teaehing a secondary matter. As a result the children luider their instructiiju do not get their best efforts.

"The township trustees, in nearly e\ery instance, give mure attention to the town, C(jnst)lidated, and high scliools in their townships than to the 'little red school house.' They e(iui]) the town, consoliilatcd, and high schools better and api>oint the l)e.st teachers to them. This course lA action is causing man)' op[)onents of consolidation to fa\(a- it.

greatest need 0I the rural elemeutar\- schools is closer sn'perxdsiou. \'et great ad\ancement has been made along this line in the last half dozen _\ears. because of the trustees, county su])erintendent, and slate superiuten<leni. The trustees ha\-e made the priuci]);ds of their consolidated and high schools the heads of all the schools of their townships. While these principals can gi\e no direct supervision, their efforts in this direction in the township institutes are ver\- helpful. The sl.ate course of studv and bulletins sent out by the state superuitendeut h,i\e very materially aided in unifying the work of the district schools.

"Some of the teachers are making commeud.iblc efforts to present the subjects of agriculture and domestic science in a way that will be interesting and helpful to their inipils. The very great majority of the patrons are pleased that these sul)jeets are being taught.

"Some of the things that are detrimental to the i)rogress of the district schools are the [practice of employing home teachers, irrespective of their (pialificatious ; those holding the lowest grade of license, and iiei'sonal and poluical friemls."

It was a century ago th.at John .\ikman taught the llrst school in Washington. This was a "pay" school. This was the year before Indiana became a state, .\ikman taught another school the next }-ear, 1N16. Thomas Howard, a ^'ankee schoolmaster, succeeded .\ikman. The text-books then

Col. Jolm Allen, with his larL;c laiiiih', ^cttlcil near W'ashinghjr, in December, 1816. Diulle\' jiihiisiji], his MUi-iii-law and an esiK-ciallv fine penman, was one of the hanilct's earl_\' teacher^.. Ali^nt this lime (-/\rus AlcCormick taught a ^^ch()lll in what was then the rresliyterian church. lie is entitled to the diitinctinu uf heiny the f:r,>t Latin teacher in lJa\iess county. 'J'his building stood just across the Bedford road from where the new high schoLil building now sla^d^. \\'illiam G. ('ole, L'harles .Mclntyre and Isaac 1 leaton weie other earl\- teachers. To encourage his jiupils, Heati.>n ga\'e rewards oi meiit lor esjiecially good w (jrk. Some ot his "J'Jew'ards of Merit, " in water colorb, are >lill kept as heirlooms in the families ot home (it his ])UpiK.

In 18(1 1, L'. I', i 'arsons, later (d' the I.'",sans\'i11e high school, attem]ned t<; establish a yemng hulies' academy, but this resulted in a failure. Xot long after this the w'onien of tiie town made anotlier attem])t to foiuid a secondary scIkjoI, with Samuel Loveless as the principal. The result was the same as in the first instance.

Other teachers after this date were Ue\-. ( harles Cross, a Metln.jdisl minister; Mrs. J. Hlair Carnah.ui, Kev. James M. lierry, a Baptist minister; a Mr. and Mrs. Ibiwe, Rev. McCain, a I'resbytcrian ; Howard Williams,. Laura E. Aerm and Mrs. Laura Olark.

.\t once ihe tru-iees liegan ]'lanning and erecting what is now known as the luniof High School huilding. 'I'his huilding is (ju the site ii\ the semiii.iry huilding. which was loin down, .and the high scIukjI ;iud grade huilding. which hnrneil in 1S1J7, It 1-, located ;u the norihwrst corner (ji Walnut and .\orlhe,-isi Sexeiith street.

>truclurc of two slurius anil cniUain.-, nine ruunis and a liascincui. Jl is lucated at tlie soiitliwx'St corner of \'an Trees and Xoriheast liightli streets. The C(jlored scliiiol building is located on West Walnut and Xinlh streets. It i> a brick building, two stories bigli, with two rooms. It is not a modern structure.

As has been stated al.io\c, the Washington schools ha\e made great progress in so lar as the buildings are ccmcerned. in other wa\'s they lia\e made equal advancement.

In 1S74 there were eight hundred and twenty-seven pupils enrolletl, with au axerage atleiulance ol three hundi'etl and litty-se\'en. In iyi4, fcirty }'ears later, there was au enrollment <.il one thousand lour hundred and se\-eut_\'-.se\ en, with an as'erage attendance ol one thousand two hundred and fort)-lwo. In the high .school m JS74, there were forl_\-rue enrolled and fort}' years later there were two humlrei-l and eighty enrolled. 1 here were ^e\ en in the lii>t graduating cla.^s and lilty-lour in the class cif 1915. Se\en hundred ninety-two ha\'e graduated from the high schciol. In 1874 there was one high school teachei" and in 1^14 ihcre were fifteen.

The course id' study lias been extended until it includes the regular classical course, which prepares its students for entrance into the best uni- \ersities, and a department ol manual training, domestic science, nuisic, art, and a business ci 'urse.

The school has made an einiable record in athletics as well as along literar\' lines. Its football team has won the state chainpionsliip twice and its track team has done equally as well.

l'~lnora is one of the newest towns of the county. The dex'eU.ipnienl of its school system is, therefore, a thing of recent >ears. "Owl Town" h;id ne\-er li.ad a school. The few ])U]iils who li\ed here were distributed among tlic nearby sdiuols of Elmore township, tlie Xugenl dislrict. taking the most of them. There was no scliool in what is now tlie town of h'.hiora until 1S87.

In the latter year Harvey Manning, trustee of ['".Imore township, eslahlisheil ilislriet i\'o. 9, and linilt a one-room frame Imilding, and appointed 1\. W. Wadsworth as teacher. 'I'his building still stands and is being used as a Ijoardmg house. The enrollment the first _\'ear was se\ ent\-tw(j, and the average daily attendance was forty-two. The following year the building was eiilargetl an<l Lee Wadsworth and ITnma Allen were appointed teachers.

Albert ]\lalone and b!lla Crosby were the teachers for the vear 1889-90. The enrollment for this term was one hundred and one. with an average daily attemlance of sixty-one. In the autumn of iSijo, |. Sherman W'esthafer took charge of the sclio(T W'esthafer wa> app'iinted principal for the following year. The enrollment for the year 1801-9-' was one hundred and thirty-two, and the a\erage daily attendance was eighty-live. Two teachers were emplo\'ed.

.\l the beginning of the school year i8()j-i)_:' the town took o\er the school. W'eslhafer was retained as pi'incipal by the town school board for one year, when he was succeeded by lliram 1. Williams, oi Ragles\ille, who was principal for one year, and he was succeeded b\' ]. S. During the >car t894-(;5 three teachers were employed.

In the }ear 1893 the south half of the ])rcsent school building was erected. Ida l'am])bell w.as the lirst ])rincipal in the new building, ser\'ing from 1895 to 1898. l'|) to this lime the school work done here was similar to that done in the district sclioi,!-,. L'nder Miss ( ';un]ibeirs administrali( jii a more s)slem<atic clas>iric:ition ol pupils was made .-md the beginning of a high >clio, il course w a-^ iiiticuhued I'upiU were re(|nireil to form liuc- ,iiid lU.irch uit'i the biulduii; in i.rderb manner; lhi> w;i-- ,1 new departure m school management. :uid met with objections on the part of p.urous. L'nder the ch.arge of l'rinci])at .\. ( >. '''ulkersou in i8i)8-i)(j, the organiz.'iliou work of ^fiss rampbell was exteiidol and the course of study was augmented b\- aclditioiial high school work'.

"A frame sehi>i)l house was huilt in the }'ear 1S31) mi the s^uth side I'f what Is niiw h'ast Main stieel, (Jijon. It was nut \er\- lai'^e, a^ e\ery stick of tiniker thai went into it was hauled from the saw-mill at nue load. The lirsl teachef was a knii^hl of the hirch named Sheik)-.

"It was still more than two L;eiierations to the nearest concrete sidewalk. ( )don was not ( )don at all. hut < karkskur;^. and the postoflice was not e\en I larksliur-, hut (kirk's I'rairie. .\ single street, now .M.aiii street, with ,1 few houses ;ind one modest store com]irised the entire town, d'he nearest railro.ad was at lledford. The first hii^^t^y was \ et to he made. couples went jov-ridiiij; in o\-carls. (kjlhiii'; was honiespun : hooks were fiw, and li o iiiiich respected to he w i<lel\ read: (here v\ere deer and w il<l IiiikcNs 111 .ihuiidaucc on ihe prairie sniilli and wesi ol die town.

" \fler hrief lerm of service the -chool house \\a^ desiro\ed hy lire, and it was n,,t until iS^o that a huildini; was erected to replace it, kite seci^nd school house w.as huilt on the hill north of .Main street .and .a sliort distance west of the lirsl. It was ;i l,ar;^er and more amhitious structure th.ui its predecessor. I apt /. \ . ( iarteii ami the late llowanl ('r')oke, who were then in husiness in ( larkshiirL;, coiitrilmted all ihe material for the hnildini;, and .Miles ke\nolds ,and I .apt.ain ( larieii did ihe car]ienter work. The school house was to he used for reli^^ious ser\ ices and all |inl>lic L;aiherin,iL;s, as well .is for .ill educational work. It witnessed tlu' advent ol .Spcnceriati steel pens, desks ni.ade lo seat two pujiils each, iii.ips ;md i;lohes.

"In 1N73 a twu-stiir}- brick Iniildino- was liuill. It sIihkI heside ami east of tlie okl frame structure. Tliis buil(liii<; had hut two rooms at first, which were much longer than the_\' were wide. It took a liefly kid to throw a pajier wad from one end of his school ronm to the other. The dii(M- was in the south end of the huilding opening into a small hall\va\'. ileiiry I'l. Kohr was the lirst teacher to preside 'up-stairs,' while Alexander O'Dell was in charge on the hrst llijor. There was no eltort made to grade the schools except by the readers used. llar\ey's ]'jiglish (irammar, Ray's 'I'hird I'art Arithmetic and .\nderson's History (if the L'uiled States were beingused about this lime.

"It was early in the eighties that the school building underwent some modifications. The door in the south enil was clo.^ed up, the lower room was divided by a partition, and twn doors were pl;ice<l on the west side. Due of these admitted into what afterward came to be l<nown as the intermediate room and the other opened into the piMmar\- r<iom and ga\e admission t(j the stairway."

Ihe bii-l .\iiiiual t 'oiumeiicrmeiil of the ( )doii I'ublic .Schools." ;is the proi;ram reads, was held at ".StoyS ( )pera House. Salurdaw evening, .March ;, 1 , iNSS." '1 his was the biggest eilucational event that ( hlou had ever seen. .\ commencement speaker was not emploved, but each candidate for ;i iliploina recited an origin.al es-ay. called ;i "fiii.al." 'flie le.aehers that vear were I'.zra .Mattinglv, itrmcipal : John R. ( rook-e, intermediate, and (darinda Wilson, primary. .M.itiingly remained as principal until iN(K), when he was succeeded bv Willi.im Tipton. fi]iton served as principal but one year. His successor was ddioma- Reuti^n Ceorge. ( leorge was the last principal of the old building on tlie hill.

U.Wiess Colx'Iy, Indiana

It was in ihi.' suniiucr of iSt)_' that llic |jrcscnt scliuol Iniildiiig was begun. When tlie time came lur the faU term to begin the new buikhng was not yet complete and the old one h.u.l been disposed of. 'ihe various teachers were (juartered in (.lillerent parts of tnwn. 'I he high school, with j. .\. .\le.xander as principal, occujiied the oi)era h'Ui^e. .\le.\ander re\i\'ed the high schiiol work and, to a great degree, started tlie ()ilon schools in the direcli(in nl their present efficiency.

.->. W. .'salterlleld became the ]irincipal in the fall of iSij- ;md held ihe piisilinn two \ears. nu!"ing his second \-car he added a tliiril \ear's work to the course of studw

W'illi.im .\bel became the head of the schools in the f.all of \H>)'). (Jn the contract he is called a "super\ising princi]ial." The tollowing vear the course of stud\' recei\ed its lourlb \ear ot high school work'. .\bel was gi\en the title of -superintendent the next year, John .^atlei'lield was the principal. I 'uring the winter ot loot Satterlield resigned on accoimt I'i dl he.iltli, and the \acanc-y w;i- tilled by b'dwai'd W. I'ennelt.

The hjoi term beg.an with .\liel a^ su])ei-intendent and llennett as jirincipal. .\bout the middle t>i the .--cliool year .\bel resigned and llennett was proniote<l to the superintendenc\ . with iulgar .\. ()d)ell as the principal. A high school commission was secured late in the year.

Xo ch.ange was made in the supeiinteudency or princi])alship for the \ear |i)o_'-ii_:;. The next \ear .\1. .MctOnnell became superintendent and .\rthur .Maxlield was principal. This an-angement rem.ained until the early ])art of the \ear i')<)3-0'), when .Mc( onnell resigned to accept ;i situ.alii'U in .Moni.an.i. .Ma\ field became superintendent, with (irant ('all.ahan as the

|)riiicipal. Fn 1906 an aildition was Imill lo the scIkmiI ImilcliiiL;-. This gave three new rmims, one of which is ti>eil as the assenihU- room. AhnlieM resigned the snperintemlency in the spring of njoS and l.awreiiee Maher was elected to the \'acanc\. lie ser\ed for two \ears,

Catiioj.Ic Schools

( )n Se])tenilier Jd, I(S57, St. SiuKJii's .\cailem\- for girls was fonmled hy the Sisters of l'ro\ideine from St. Mary's nf Hie Woods, father L'hasse was pastor at this lime. file Sisters occupied a small hrick' house lulonging to the father, which stood on llelrMU sireel heuveen ihe sclin.ii and the church and laced the east. .\t lirst the Sisters lauL;hl in an nld frame house which siHid 1,11 the ciinicr i.j .'-Second and llelrnn sireets, 'lliere were four Sisters ein])loyed; one taught the Imys mi the firsi llour, 1 lue taught the girls on the secdiid iloor. one taught music and one \\as the housekeeper, who assisted in teachmg. I'he ]iiesent acideiiu w;is huilt in i'*^75 h\- the Sisters and the old frame huildiiig was mo\ed h.aik and il was repkaced in 10 It) li\ the new w ing.

in 1S74 and 1N75. the school was ni the hack part of ihv church where the choir steps now are, A hoard ])etition was creeled lietweeii the church and the school room, which luid (july a few henches. Later, prohahly in l.S/d, the school was moved to a little frame hou.,e. west uf the church. This had heen the pastor's residence; it had two >niall rooms, so the partition was taken out to mai<e one larger room.

lather Sassel iau,L;lit the -chool him.^ell for a link. Later, the Congret;ation huilt a new room at the hack, and .Mi-^s Marv .Miller l.auyht the lower {grades tor a }ear o|- two.

Alioiit 1N75, a t\\o-i-oom hrick school house was hnilt on the site of the present i)arochial school huilding. The hrick from the (jld church which stood on the church f;irm, and which is hut a short distance west f)e_\-ond the limits of the town of AlontyMuiery, were used in the construction of this twii-rooni huilding;'. heather I'ierce erected thi> huilding'.

It was the ide.a of the '/arly educators of the state that the county seminaries w eix- to lurnish opporlunilies f(jr the ho\ s .md twirls to ^et what would now he termed a hiL;"h school education. In (.rder lo provide fi 'r these, lines hefore justices ol the peace, circuit courts, forfeitures, etc.. were to he uscil to lound and maintain a county seminary.

Troiihle arose over the m.anagemenl ol the hinds. Jephtha UoutI, in 1S44, ohlained a iudgment in the circuit court for two liundred dollars and sixtv-two cents, lie proceeded to levy upon the seminary huilding to satisfy the judgment, lie was p.aid part id ihe judgment ,md given assurance that the remainder would he forlhcoming. d'he property was yet heavily encumhered. .\ sheriri's sale in some mannei- vv;is ordered and (irah.im hought crrlain rights. In Septemlier, 1X4(1, he w.as paid lour hundred and twenty dollars and eiglilv cents for all his claims. .\l Ihe .\pril lenn ol court in

Under the constitution of 185-', county seminaries were sold and the proceeds were placed in the common school fund. The I )a\ less ( ount y Seminary was sold at auction on Deccmher 12, 183^;, to |ames S. Mcjrgan for one thousand (juc hundred and eighty dollars, lie failed to pa\- ami in .April, 1833, the pr<i])erl\' was sold to the town of Wasiiingtcjn for ti\'e Iiundred tloUars. It was used hv the town for a i)ul)lic school huildiu".

It does not seem that this i;r;ind jur)- wasted much time in liearini.;' witnesses teslil\' :is to misdemeanors; nor did the iiir\- waste time in ai'mtment as to the L;uilt -')' innocence of persons accused. d'he\- assumed ih.it their husiiu/ss was to return an indictment; it w.is the Ini-iiiess of the l.iw- )-ers and the court to determine whether the |.crson indicted was |;iiill\-. 'ihe reci-ird shows that on the next d.i\' alter the lirsi t^rand jury was cou- \'ened, the\- returned twelve indictmeiils, ;ill for assault and hallere. One of

The lirst circuit court jud^e under the new constitution was AKin I'. Movey, who be<;'an his term in h'ebruary, 1833, and ser\ed until the IT-bruary term, 1834. He served with distictimi as a soldier in the (Jivil War, wiiich came on a few years later, risini; to the rank of major-<;eneral. Ceiieral Hovey was elected as re])reseiitati\e in Congress, for tlie lirst congressional district, in 1886; was elected governor of the state, in 1888, and diet! during his term of office.

It is related that Ahraham Linenln at one lime \isited this court in the interest of a client and was admitted ti> practice at this liar, the o.ath re- (|uired of a practicing attonie\' heing admmistereil li\- ( Al. luhn \ an Trees, who wa> at that time clerk n\ the court, it is al.M.i stated that Lincoln made a speech on the tarill' (|ue-^tion m the coiirl house at the time of his \i^it. d'he >tfry of Lincoln's \ i.sii and ]ir;icticc m ilii-, court ma\ he of a Ir.idilioiiarv charactei", hut it is iioi iinprohahle. \l that time it was cii^toinaiw for law - }'ers to travel the "circuit." as it wa.^ called, and it was not unusual for noted attorne\> to go a long dist.auce outside of their circuit. It is certain ihat .\hrahain Liuc(iln, alter he had estalili>he<l a reputation as a lawwer in his Illinois home, was lre(|ueutl)' called as C(junsel in ca>es in Indiana courts. That there is no .-^jK-cial meiilioii m the ci piirt record th;it .Xhraham Lincoln, of llliuoi-,, \\,as present as counsel lor pl.aintili, ('i' for dcfeiid.iiil, is init a matter ol wonder, siut.-e he was iKil so ,niracti\e a personage as some of the other \isitiii:; law\ers ol that timi-. To the court attendants, and the crowd tli.at usu.allv gatliered from miles ;iroiin(l in those d.iys, to hear the lawwers "ple.id." the appear.aiK e in town ol loslma Spragi;ius. who had recenth' killed a hear up on Wolf creek, would attract mole attention than would .\lie Lincoln.

l,o\ell II. Rousseau was adniilied lo ihe har ,al 1 '.1( lomlielil, Indiana; ser\ed in the Indiana I .egiskalure. and in the Mexican War. Sellling in Louis\ille after the .Mexican War, he took high rank as a lawyer, lie took a decided stand for the government and ag.ainst secession, rind at the oulhre.ak of the Ci\dl \\',ar tendered his services in hehalf id the Union, lie rose to the rank' of major-general in the ;irniy .and his conim;nid hore a conspicuous part in si ime of the most import.ant eng.agenients ol ihc w.ar.

Since IQO/ the law has required tiie registration of optometrists in tlie counties wliere they practice. Tiie Daviess county record shows that unly fnur h;ive registered in the county, as foUow : 'J'iiunias David Cloud, Andrew AI. Keck, Charles W. Stone and Car! R. West.

The registration of dentists has heen re(|uired since 1S91) antl in the sixteen _\'ears which ha\'e elajised since that time the following have registered in Da\iess county ;