Huntington County, Indiana - Chapter 13: Educational Development, 1914

First Schools in Indiana - Congressional School Fund - State En¬ dowment Fund - The Pioneer Schoolhouse - Character of the Early Teachers - Course of Study - William Delvin's School - - Other Early Teachers in the County - First Board of Trustees - The Old "Rock House" - Development of the Public School Sys¬ tem - Value of School Property - County Superintendents - Parochial Schools - Huntington Business University - Central College - Roanoke Seminary - The Press - Brief Histories of the Various Newspapers - Public Libraries.

The first instruction given to the scattering white inhabitants along the Wabash River was by Catholic missionaries, who were among the first to penetrate the western wilds in their efforts to civilize and convert the Indians. As early as 1719 Father Marest, one of these missionaries, wrote to his superior as follows :

"As these people have no books and are naturally indolent, they would shortly forget the principles of religion if the remembrance of them was not recalled by these continued instructions. We collect the whole community in the chapel, and after answering the questions put by the missionary to each one, without distinction of rank and age, prayers are heard and hymns are sung. ' '

No doubt much of the instruction thus imparted was based on the catechism of the Catholic church. After resident priests came they en¬ deavored to teach the children to read and write, but the progress was slow owing to the scarcity of books and the many other obstacles to be overcome. Perhaps the first regular school in the State of Indiana was that taught by Father Rivet at Vincennes in 1793.

The act of Congress under which Indiana was admitted into the Union as a state donated Section 16 in each congressional township as the basis for the establishment of a permanent school fund. This land, or the proceeds arising from its sale, was placed in charge of three trustees in each civil township up to the year 1859, since which time there has been but one trustee. For many years the value of the school lands was so small that the growth of the permanent fund was slow and the people were compelled to pay a portion of the cost of maintaining the schools out of their private means.

Congress also gave to the state certain swamp and saline lands, and two entire congressional townships - 76,080 acres - were donated for the support of a state seminary or university. In 1836 the general govern¬ ment distributed to the states the surplus in the United States treasury, when Indiana received $860,254, of which $573,502.96 went into the per¬ manent school fund. In addition to these donations from the United States, the state, by its constitution and various acts of the legislature, has provided a permanent endowment fund for the public schools, which fund is derived from different sources. In 1913 the congressional fund was about $2,500,000, in round numbers, and the state endowment fund was approximately $9,000,000. By a wise provision of the founders of the state's public school system this fund may be increased, but it can never he diminished, only the income being available for the current expenses of the schools.

The pioneer schoolhouses in the rural districts were nearly always built of round logs, with a clapboard roof and a rough door hung on wooden hinges. Sometimes a puncheon floor was laid, but in many of them the only floor was "mother earth." At one end was a huge fire¬ place and a chimney constructed of stones or of sticks and clay. In really cold weather, although a roaring fire was maintained, those near the fireplace would get too warm, while those in the rear of the room would be suffering with cold, hence the pupils were constantly asking permission to change seats in order to overcome this unequal distribution of warmth. On each side of the house, about four feet above the floor, one log would be left out and the opening covered with oiled paper to admit light. If the school district was opulent enough to afford real win¬ dow glass, usually eight by ten inches in size, the aperture would be filled with sure enough sash and glass. The furniture consisted of benches made of split saplings about eight inches in diameter, smoothed with the drawknife and supported by wooden pins driven into the halfround side. Under the window was a wide board, resting upon large pins driven into the wall, which constituted the writing desk for the entire school. Here the children would take turns at writing, using goose quill pens and ink made of pokeberry juice or a solution of maple bark and copperas. The copy books were homemade, consisting of a few sheets of foolscap paper covered with a sheet of heavy wrapping paper. At the head of the page the teacher would write the "copy," which was usually some motto or proverb intended to convey a moral lesson as well as to afford an example of penmanship - such as ' ' Honesty is the best policy, ' '

"A penny saved is a penny earned," etc. As a teacher rarely taught more than one term in a place and each had a different style of hand¬ writing, it is a wonder that the children of the early settlers learned to write as well as they did, but in looking over old records and account books one must almost express astonishment at the legibility of the pen¬ manship.

Compared with the teachers of the present day, the old-time school¬ master would be regarded as illiterate and incompetent. If he could "do all the sums" in Pike's arithmetic as far as the "rule of three," read and spell fairly well, and write well enough to set copies for the children to follow, he was equipped for his work. Reading, writing and arith¬ metic were the only branches taught, and, as these were generally cor¬ rupted or shortened into "Readin', Ritin' and 'Rithmetic, " the cur¬ riculum of the early schools gave rise to the expression "the three Rs, " which were considered all the elements of a practical education. Prior to 1859 there was not much money to be had from the public school fund, and the schools before that time were generally of the class known as "subscription schools," the teacher receiving from one dollar to two dollars for each pupil for a term of three months.

Most of the teachers were adventurous Yankees from the East, or Irishmen, who would teach one term in a neighborhood to acquire the means to get them to another. As a rule they were unmarried men, who "boarded round" among the patrons of the school, thus giving the par¬ ents an opportunity to pay at least a part of their children's tuition by boarding a teacher. There was one qualification in the teacher that could not be overlooked, and that was the physical ability to "lick" the big boys into submission in case they showed a disposition to be unruly or disobedient. Consequently, in every early schoolhouse could be seen a bundle of beech, willow or hazel rods, waiting for the youngster who had the temerity to break one of the rules laid down by the pedagogue.

In the summer months school would open at 7 o'clock in the morning and continue in session until 5 in the afternoon, with the exception of the noon hour and two short recesses - one in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon. The first thing the child was required to learn was his "A, B, C's." When he knew all the letters by sight he was taught to spell simple words, and when his vocabulary had increased to a certain point he was given a First Reader. This process has passed out of vogue. It was "slow but sure," and many of the country's great men received the rudiments of their education in the old log schoolhouse by this primitive method.

with plate glass windows and scientific methods of heating and ventila¬ tion. The rude, backless benches have been supplanted by factory-made desks, the goose quill pen and homemade copy book have disappeared, the itinerant schoolmaster has given way to the well-educated, resident teacher, and corporal punishment is only a dim recollection. Almost every school has its reference library, and hundreds of dollars are annu¬ ally expended for globes, maps, charts or other apparatus to aid the teacher in imparting instruction.

In the historical sketches of the several townships in Chapters VI and VII will be found accounts of the early schools in the rural districts, as well as statistical and other information showing the evolution of the school system and the condition of the public schools of each township at the close of the year 1913.

The schools of Huntington County have always occupied a high place in the educational annals of the state. The early settlers were fully im¬ pressed with the importance of educating their children. Although no provisions for maintaining free schools had been adopted by the state at the time the county was organized, schools were established and sup¬ ported by subscription, and a Tew of the early pioneers even went to the expense of employing teachers for their families alone. One of these was Samuel Jones, the first settler in what is now Salamonie Township, who engaged John McGraw as a private tutor for his children soon after he had built his cabin in the wilderness.

Late in the year 1834 William Delvin opened a subscription school in a room of Jonathan Keller's old log tavern on West State Street in the Town of Huntington. There were then but four white families in the town - Joel and Champion Helvey, Jonathan Keller and a man named Fogstetter. The children of these four settlers were the pupils of Mr. Delvin in what was the first school ever taught in Huntington County. The next year a log schoolhouse was built on West State Street, and C. H. McClure taught a term there in the winter of 1835-36. The next teacher was a Miss Sergent, who remained but a short time, and she was. succeeded by a Miss Swift. James R. Slack was the teacher in the winter of 1840-41, and about this time a frame schoolhouse was erected near the corner of Guilford and Market streets, which really marks the begin¬ ning of the city's public school system. Other early teachers were Miss Lucy Montgomery, who taught a term in the summer of 1841 ; Harmon Montgomery, John B. Fairbanks, John K. Snyder, E. P. Washburn, Miss Rose Ferry, and John Skiles, who was the first clerk of Huntington when it was incorporated in 1873. Mr. Skiles used to tell how his remuneration was $1.50 per pupil, "payable in money or anything that could be converted into money," and how he had about seventy-five pupils enrolled and about fifty classes, owing to the fact that there was no uniformity of textbooks in those days. He taught his school in the old frame courthouse at the corner of Jefferson and Franklin streets.

In 1851 a new brick schoolhouse was built on the hill, not far from the Catholic church. It had two rooms, and Walter Richards and his wife were the first teachers in the new building, remaining until the spring of 1854.

The first board of school trustees, consisting of Joseph W. Purviance, Benjamin Orton and F. G. Fraine was appointed by the town council in January, 1853. At the previous session of the legislature a law was enacted giving town school boards the authority to levy a tax for the support of the public schools, and this board was established in order to permit Huntington to realize the advantages of the law.

In 1862 the brick schoolhouse on the hill was sold by the school board, which then bought the old stone hotel known as the "Rock House," which had been erected by General Tipton in 1835. This old house stood on the bank of the Wabash & Erie Canal at the northwest corner of Warren and Matilda streets, where the public library is now situated. It was used for school purposes until 1873, when a large brick building was erected upon the same lot - the first real modern schoolhouse in the city. This structure is still in use.

After the completion of the new schoolhouse in 1873, which is known as the Central School, the school board, then composed of Samuel F. Day, Dr. A. H. Shaffer and William C. Kocher, organized the first graded school system, with Professor James Baldwin as superintendent. From that time to the present the schools of the city have made steady prog¬ ress. The high school building was completed and opened in 1890, and the city now has six public school buildings, viz. : The high school, the Central School, the William Street School, the Tipton Street School, the State Street School and the Allen Street School. Seventy teachers are employed and over $50,000 annually paid in teachers' salaries. The value of the six public school buildings is estimated at $180,000. During the school year of 1913-14 these buildings were insufficient to meet the demand for room. The school board rented the basement of the Boston Grayston residence as a classroom, and the assembly room in the public library building was used for hearing recitajtions. In the high school 385 students were enrolled, and the building is intended to accommodate only 300. Under these conditions the board took the preliminary steps at a meeting on June 15, 1914, to erect a new high school building of the most modern and approved type.

and Milton W. Strauss, treasurer. The city schools are under the superintendency of Jesse M. Scudder, one of the best known educators in the State of Indiana.

A recent session of the state legislature enacted what is known as the vocational education law, and the school authorities of Huntington County are making honest efforts to comply with the provisions of the law. During the school year of 1913-14 some instruction was given in agriculture and domestic science in all the township high schools ; man¬ ual training was taught in the schools at Lancaster Center and the Town of Warren, and preparations are being made to introduce a complete course of manual training in the several township high schools of the county.

In the City of Huntington a manual training department has been in operation for several years. In June, 1914, the schools of the city gave a three days' exhibit of their work during the preceding year, and much favorable comment was heard upon the display of wood and metal work turned out by the boys, the needle work of the girls in the manual train¬ ing departments, and the many beautiful drawings and paintings made by the pupils in the art department. A foundry and a mechanical draw¬ ing course are to be added to the department, which is under the super¬ vision of William A. Shock, an experienced teacher in manual training.

Altogether 185 teachers were employed in the public schools of the county during the year ending June 1, 1914. The value of school prop¬ erty in the several towns and townships has been given in connection with the township and town histories, but for the convenience of the reader it is deemed proper to present the following general summary in

Any county with a population of less than thirty thousand that has over half a million dollars permanently invested in school property and pays out annually in salaries to teachers considerably over one-fifth of that sum evidently believes in education. That is the condition that pre¬ vails in Huntington County. A majority of the buildings are of modern type, and the old style houses are being replaced with new ones as rapidly as circumstances will permit. In each town and township the high school building will compare favorably with many city schoolhouses. The Roanoke high school, herein illustrated, is a typical Huntington County high school building.

Prior to 1873 the public schools were under the supervision of an official called the county school examiner. Among those who held that office in early days were Dr. Abel M. Lewis, Dr. F. W. Sawyer and Frederick S. Reefy, the last named having been the founder of the Roanoke Seminary. In 1865 the duties and responsibilities of the school examiner were extended, and Rev. Richard A. Curran, a highly edu¬ cated and practical gentleman, was elected to the office. During the six years of his administration the character of the schools and the standard of teachers were greatly improved. He was succeeded in 1871

Following is a complete list of the county superintendents, with the year in which each entered upon the duties of the office : Maurice L. Spencer, 1873 ; Francis M. Huff, 1874; M. B. Stults, 1879 ; E. A. McNally, 1881 ; A. D. Mohler, 1885; Oliver Kline, 1887 ; James B. DeArmitt, 1893; Henry D. Shideler, 1895; Ira B. Potts, March, 1906; Clifford Funderberg, 1911.

In addition to the excellent public school system, St. Mary's Catholic parish maintains a parochial school in a substantial building erected for the purpose on Warren street, between Tipton and Roche streets; the parish of SS. Peter and Paul has a parochial school on Cherry Street, between Tipton and George streets, and St. Peter's Lutheran Church has a commodious brick schoolhouse adjoining the church property on Lafontaine Street. The history of these parochial schools does not differ materially from such schools elsewhere. They are conducted under the auspices of the church, provided with good teachers, and are maintained by the people of the parish at their own expense.

The Huntington Business University, located on East Market Street, was founded in 1893 by the late 0. E. Hawkins for the purpose of pro¬ viding some place where the young men and women of Huntington and vicinity could fit themselves for a business career. Some years later the school passed into the hands of Chester B. Williams, who erected the present building about 1904. Since then Mr. Williams has established coordinate schools at Portland, Peru and Garrett, Indiana. The Hunt¬ ington School enrolls on an average from sixty to seventy-five students at each term. The course of study is similar to that in business colleges throughout the country, and the character of the work is fixed at a high standard. Graduates of this school are scattered all over the civilized world. There is at least one in Skaguay, Alaska, and some have found their way to far-off Japan.

For many years the United Brethren Church maintained a col¬ lege at Hartsville, Bartholomew County, Indiana. In the early '90s circumstances made it advisable to discontinue the institution, and in 1897 Rev. Charles A. Kiracofe was appointed to take charge of the movement to establish a college at Huntington, under the educa¬ tional department of the United Brethren Church, to take the place of the one abandoned at Hartsville. A real estate company made a proposi¬ tion to donate a site for the college building, provided enough lots were sold in the adjoining addition to justify the donation. Mr. Kiracofe ac¬ cepted the offer, went to work in earnest to dispose of a sufficient number of lots, and in a comparatively short time announced that the sales were enough to insure the establishment of the school.

A force of men were put to work on a building, which was com¬ pleted in time to be dedicated in September, 1897, and a little later the first term of Central College began, with Mr. Kiracofe as president and one of the instructors. A number of families came to Huntington for the purpose of educating their children at the college. Some of these families rented homes in the city and others built near the college. In a few years quite a settlement grew up about the institution, and was incorporated under the name of College Park, the principal object being to establish a local government that could maintain order in the vicinity of the college.

Mr. Kiracofe remained at the head of the institution until June, 1903, when he was succeeded by James H. McMurray. Mr. McMurray was succeeded by F. H. Gragg, who in turn was succeeded by Clarence A. Mummart, the present president of the college.

The course of study in Central College is that adopted by the educa¬ tional department of the United Brethren Church, and the character of the instruction is nonsectarian. The building occupies a beautiful cam¬ pus in the northeastern part of the city, and each year the college was opened has witnessed a larger attendance and greater prosperity. This is the only college in Huntington County.

No history of education in Huntington County would be com¬ plete without some account of the old Roanoke Seminary, which in its day was one of the best known schools in Northern Indiana. Not long after the Town of Roanoke was laid out by George A. Chapman Frederick S. Reefy came to the place looking for a location for a school that would give instruction in branches higher than the "three R's. " That was before the days of graded high schools and normal institutes, and institutions of learning in which young people could prepare them¬ selves to enter college were exceedingly scarce. Mr. Reefy met with all the encouragement he could desire, and in a short time the "Roanoke Classical Seminary" was opened for the reception of students. The few students enrolled during the first terms went out and advertised the school, and it was not long until the attendance reached 250. Among those who attended this old seminary were some of the most prominent business and professional men of Northeastern Indiana, including James B. Kenner, Lewis Bridge, James M. Hatfield, A. A. Bowen and M. L.

Stephens of Huntington County; James Harper and Samuel Swain, who became prominent attorneys of Fort Wayne; Elisha Swan of Whitley County, Beech Steele and Michael Sickafoose.

Maurice L. Spencer, the first county superintendent of the Huntington County schools under the law of 1873, was an assistant teacher in the seminary for awhile. The reputation of this school gave Roanoke the title of the "Athens of Indiana."

Mr. Reefy, the founder of the school, has been described as a selfmade man. One who knew him well says: "His commanding presence, executive strength and indomitable pluck in keeping ahead of certain classes, in which he confessed he was not well versed, only added to his popularity. He was a man of the people, an authority, and whether playing a horn in the band or swinging a cradle in the harvest field, he was 'Johnny on the spot.' "

After conducting the school successfully for several years Mr. Reefy disposed of it to other parties, and for a time it was under the control of the United Brethren conference as a preparatory school for Otterbein University of Westerville, Ohio. From one proprietor to another it passed until it came into the hands of D. N. Howe. Meanwhile the public school system of the state had developed, graded schools had been established in numerous places, normal institutes had been intro¬ duced, and the demand for such institutions as the Roanoke Classical Seminary had decreased until the patronage was only a small part of what it had been in former years. Mr. Howe removed the school to North Manchester and the old seminary at Roanoke became a thing of the past. To the students who attended it in the days of its prosperity, students whose hair is now sprinkled with silver, the recollections of their studies and pastimes at the old seminary still linger as a pleasant memory.

As a factor in the educational development of any community the newspaper plays an important part. Its first purpose is to dissemi¬ nate the news, information of a general nature regarding current topics and the doings of the world as events occur. The telegraph and the daily newspaper have practically annihilated both time and distance. If an Old World monarch is assassinated by an anarchist, the fact is known all over the globe within a few hours. By thus keeping in touch with what is going on in the world the reader of the daily paper is given a broader view of life. But in addition to the news feature the news¬ paper is an educator in a more concrete sense. Numerous short articles of a historical or descriptive character have been of great benefit to the reader in giving him new ideas and impressions of politics and geography.

Hints to farmers on planting and harvesting in these latter days supple¬ ment the work of the agricultural college; the mechanic often finds, through some well-written newspaper article, a better way of doing cer¬ tain portions of his work, and many a housewife has read with both interest and profit some item relating to domestic economy.

The first newspaper ever published in Huntington County was the Republican Bugle, which was started by Thomas Smith in 1847. Mr. Smith was editor, business manager, compositor, office boy and pressman. His outfit consisted of a limited stock of type and an old-style Franklin press, and the paper advocated the principles of the democratic party. No doubt, if the old printing office of the Bugle could be restored, it would appear to the people in this day of linotypes and power presses as an antiquated affair, but in 1847 it was hailed with delight. Huntington had a newspaper.

In 1859 the name of the paper was changed to the Huntington Demo¬ crat by Alexander C. Thompson, who was at that time the editor and proprietor. About a year later Samuel F. Winters and William C. Kocher purchased the paper. Mr. Kocher retired in 1862, and in 1877 Craig & Hilligass succeeded to the ownership. Mr. Craig afterward became editor in chief of the Indianapolis Sentinel. In 1884 his interest was acquired by Col. I. B. McDonald of Whitley County, and in 1885 the Democrat was sold to Benjamin F. Biliter and William R. Emery. Mr. Biliter bought his partner's interest in November, 1889, and in 1893 the entire outfit was sold to Robert J. Day. Subsequently Day sold out to 0. W. Whitelock, who also acquired the Huntington News and consolidated it with the Democrat under the name of News-Demo¬ crat. After a few years Whitelock disposed of the paper to Martin H. Ormsby, who in May, 1911, purchased the Morning Times, which was started by Thad Butler in 1907. The paper was then conducted as the Times-Democrat until December, 1911, when it was absorbed by the Huntington Herald.

In July, 1848, Isaac and Alexander W. DeLong began the publica¬ tion of the Indiana Herald at Huntington. Isaac DeLong soon retired from the paper, and the entire control passed into the hands of his son, who conducted the paper until 1869, a period of twenty-one years. The DeLongs, father and son, were whigs in their political views, and the Herald was conducted as an organ of that party until after the founding of the republican party, when it espoused the cause of the new political organization.

In 1869 U. D. Cole and M. G. Main purchased the paper and remained in charge for a few months, when Mr. Main disposed of his interest to John F. Moses. The firm of Cole & Moses then conducted it until 1875, when A. W. DeLong again took charge, with Alfred Moore as an assist¬ ant. In October, 1878, Mr. Moore was succeeded by Charles F. Filson. About four years later James B. Kenner, Alonzo and 0. E. Mohler became the proprietors and continued at the head of the paper until a stock -company was organized and assumed ownership and control.

June 21,- 1828, a son of Isaac and Mary DeLong. Until the age of thir¬ teen years he attended the common schools and then entered upon a four years' apprenticeship in the office of the Somerset (Ohio) 1 ost, where he learned the trade of printer. He then attended school for six months, after which he was employed as a typesetter on the Zanesville Courier for about nine months. Here an opportunity offered for him to at¬ tend the Ohio Wesleyan University, where he completed his education. At the age of nineteen years he came to Huntington, and the following year, aided by his father, he established the Indiana Herald, as above stated. He assisted in organizing the Citizens' Bank of Huntington; was active in promoting the building of gravel roads; served on the Huntington school board ; was a leader in the old Workingmen's Institute and library ; took an active part in politics as a republican, going to Cincinnati as a delegate to the national convention that nominated Hayes and Wheeler in 1876 and was a member of the state central committee for four years; served as postmaster of Huntington from 1865 to 1883 ; was then re¬ ceiver for the land office in the northern district of Arizona for about fifteen months, and occupied other positions of trust and responsibility. Old residents remember " Aleck" DeLong as a public-spirited man and an all-around good citizen.

When the Indiana Herald was consolidated with the News-Express, in May, 1887, the name was changed to the Huntington Herald, under which it is still published. At the time of the consolidation Thad Butler of the News-Express and 0. E. Mohler of the Herald became the prin¬ cipal editors and managers of the new publication.

The News-Express was the outgrowth of two papers. W. T. Cutshall established a local weekly in 1878 under the name of Lime City News. It was at first independent in politics, but later became an organ of the greenback party. In 1883 it was acquired by D. B. Hoover, who made it again an independent paper. On January 1, 1886, the Andrews Express, published by Thad Butler, was consolidated with the Lime City News, with the name News-Express, Hoover & Butler editors and publishers.

Mention has been made of the taking over by the Herald of the Times-Democrat. The Herald is the oldest newspaper published contin¬ uously under the original name, in Huntington County. It is published every afternoon, except Sunday, and also has a morning edition for circulation on the rural mail routes. The latter was established in 1907. The present Herald Publishing Company was incorporated about the beginning of the year 1914.

Soon after selling the Times-Democrat to the Herald, Martin H Ormsby decided to start a new paper in Huntington. Accordingly, the first issue of the Huntington Press made its appearance on February 11, 1912. The publication office was at first on Jefferson Street, but -in order to obtain more room was removed to the present location on West Wash¬ ington Street. The Press is published every morning, except Monday, and is the only democratic paper in the county. It is still owned and edited by its founder.

On January 1, 1889, Benjamin F. Biliter began the publication of an agricultural monthly called The Farmers' Guide. At first it consisted of only eight pages and clubbed to some extent with other papers for the purpose of building up a circulation. In a little while the publication was increased in size to sixteen pages and the clubbing arrangement was abandoned. It is now published as a weekly, has a circulation of about eighty thousand, covering Indiana, Ohio, Southern Michigan and part of Illinois. From forty to fifty people are employed in all depart¬ ments and the Guide is one of Huntington's best advertisements.

Among the miscellaneous publications of the state a number are issued from Huntington. The publication department of the United Brethren Church publishes the Christian Conservator, edited by C. A. Mummart, president of Central College, and the Missionary Monthly, edited by J. Howe. The Catholic Publishing Company issues the Parish Monthly and a weekly called Our Sunday Visitor. A little monthly called The Message, devoted to the cause of temperance, is published under the auspices of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Indiana, with Mrs. Luella F. MeWhirter as editor.

In 1875 James Long purchased the outfit of the Lagro Enterprise and removed the office to Andrews (then Antioch), where he began the publication of the Antioch Enterprise, the first newspaper in that town. Mr. Long's principal object was to establish an organ for the greenback party of Huntington County. In 1881 it passed to the hands of C. A. Richardson, who made it neutral in politics.

The Andrews Express was founded by Thad and Mark Butler in July, 1882. It was the successor to the Enterprise and quickly acquired a wide circulation. On January 1, 1886, it was consolidated with the Lime City News, of Huntington, as above stated.

Another old time newspaper of Andrews was the Antioch Free Trader, of which G. W. Bell was editor and publisher, but the paper was printed somewhere in Ohio. It was issued at irregular intervals and was devoted especially to advertising the business concerns of the town.

The Andrews Signal, the present newspaper, was founded in 1892 as a weekly independent paper. It is published every Friday by 0. K. Gleason and is devoted chiefly to the dissemination of the local news.

Markle has two weekly newspapers - the Journal, which began its career in 1892 and is now published every Thursday by W. W. Rogers, and the Gazette, founded in 1913 and edited by B. M. Kester. The latter is also issued every Thursday.

Roanoke's first newspaper, the Register, was established by H. D. Carroll in 1871, the citizens of the town aiding him by purchasing the press and fitting up the office. After publishing the paper for about a year, Mr. Carroll sold out to A. J. Salts, one of the vigorous, old-time journalists who "hit straight out from the shoulder" and called a spade a spade. About the time he assumed control of the Register, the Hunt- ington Democrat had a correspondent in Roanoke who signed his name "Doesticks." It was not long until a controversy arose between this correspondent and Mr. Salts and so much interest was aroused that the circulation of the Register mounted to about two thousand copies weekly. Mr. Salts was succeeded by P. D. Lee, and the Register, after several changes in management, became the property of Samuel D. Makepeace, who removed the office to Illinois.

The Roanoke Review was established in 1895. One of the early editors was Lewis Cilles, and later the paper was conducted by W. T. Lambert, who made it probably the best all round newspaper ever published in the town up to that time. For awhile the Review was printed in the office of the Huntington Herald, but in the spring of 1914 Edward Nicholson took charge of the office as publisher, with Miss Lena Miner as editor, and the paper is now printed in Roanoke.

On June 13, 1913, the first number of the Roanoke Clipper made its appearance, with C. A. Frakes as editor and proprietor. It is a weekly, eight page, six column paper, and is devoted to the local news and the general advancement of Roanoke and the immediate vicinity.

The first newspaper in the Town of Warren began its career in December, 1878, under the name of the Warren News, with J. W. Surran as editor and publisher. In the winter of 1881 the office was destroyed by fire, but it was soon rebuilt and the name of the paper was changed shortly afterward to the Warren Republican.

Some ten years later the Warren Independent made its appearance as a rival in the field, and in 1898 G. W. Fleming, who was connected with the Exchange Bank, and W. P. Hofferbert started the Warren Tribune. Mr. Fleming soon retired, leaving Mr. Hofferbert as the sole proprietor. When the Spanish-American war begun, the editor of the Independent entered the army and in 1899 that paper was consolidated with the Tribune.

In January, 1901, Mr. Hofferbert sold out to A. W. McCulloch and went South. Early in 1902 Monroe Wiley became a partner of Mr. McCullough, and on March 15, 1902, the Republican, which had been in existence for twenty years, was absorbed by the Tribune. In 1906 Mr. Wiley purchased his partner's interest and now conducts the Tribune - - the only paper in Warren. In October, 1908, Mr. Wiley installed a new press, thereby giving the Tribune an equipment equal to that usually found in the modern newspaper office.

Taken as a whole, the newspapers of Huntington County will com¬ pare favorably with those published in other counties of the state. The men who publish them are, as a rule, energetic and experienced jour¬ nalists, and their power in the field of educational development can hardly be overestimated.

About 1850 William McClure, of New Harmony, Indiana, provided in his will that whenever a society of persons, "who labor with their hands and earn their living by the sweat of their brows, ' ' should organize and procure 100 volumes as the nucleus of a library, such society should receive $500 from his estate. Under the provisions of this will numerous "Workingmen's Institutes" and "McClure Libraries" were established in the state, one of which was at Huntington.

In 1874 the Huntington Public School Library Association was organ¬ ized, with James Baldwin, then superintendent of the public schools, as president. Life memberships in the association could be secured by pay¬ ment of $12, and the annual dues for yearly members were fixed at $2 for each member. A room in the Central School building was set apart for the use of the association and in a short time a library of about one thousand two hundred volumes, a large number of which came from the old McClure Mechanics' and Workingmen's Library, was accum¬ ulated.

The first librarian was Miss Melinda M. Embree, one of the teachers in the public schools. She was succeeded by Miss Eliza A. Collins. Other librarians under the old order of things were James Roche and Miss Mary Hawley.

In 1889 the Indiana legislature passed an act concerning the estab¬ lishment of free public libraries and before the close of the year the Huntington library was reorganized under the provisions of the new law. Since that time it has been known as the "City Free Library." Miss Maggie C. Dailey was the first librarian under the reorganization and continued in charge of the library until 1898, when she was suc¬ ceeded by Miss Lyle Harter.

About the beginning of the present century the school board found it necessary to occupy the library room for school purposes, and in December, 1901, Andrew Carnegie offered to donate $25,000 for the erection of a public library building. His offer was accepted the fol¬ lowing month, a site was selected at the northwest corner of Warren and Matilda streets, on the school lot, and plans for a building 55 by 70 feet, two stories in height, with basement, to be constructed of Bedford stone, with red tile roof, were submitted to and approved by Mr. Car¬ negie. The contract cost of the building was $19,288.69, but this did not include the plumbing, heating plant, lights, decorations and furniture, which brought the total cost up to about thirty thousand dollars.

The library was opened to the public on February 21, 1903, with Miss Lyle Harter as librarian. She continued in charge until the next year, when she was succeeded by the present librarian, Miss Winifred F.

Ticer, whose assistants are Miss Priscilla McArthur and Miss Katherine Hartman. At the beginning of the year 1914 the board of trustees was composed of J. M. Scuclder, 0. W. Whitelock, C. H. Small, F. S. Bash, E. E. Woolery, Crawford Hathaway, Curtis Merriman, Peter Martin, Mrs. A. E. Abbott, Mrs. Charles McGrew and J. W. Caswell.

The main floor, or library department, has a capacity of 45,000 volumes and about 20,000 volumes are now upon the shelves. Up stairs are an assembly hall, a museum and a room for newspaper files. On December 9, 1911, a room for railroad men, civil engineers, mechanics and students of applied sciences was opened down stairs. Here are several hundred volumes relating to railroading, electricity, etc., and a number of technical magazines are received every month. The Erie

Railroad Company contributed liberally toward the fitting up of this room, and other railroad companies donated pictures, maps, etc. The library is also provided with a children's room, toilet rooms and all the other appurtenances usually found in the modern public library.

The Indiana Public Library Commission, in one of its recent reports, published illustrations and floor plans of the Huntington library as a model building for a small library. All the rooms in the building are well lighted and the institution is one of which the people of the city are justly proud.

In September, 1907, Miss Helen Tyner, a teacher in Huntington, inaugurated a movement for the establishment of a public library in Andrews. She succeeded in interesting Miss Mattie Tyner, Mrs. W.

F. Kelsey, Mrs. Lessel Long, Mrs. Frank Morris, Mrs. Otto Gleason, Mrs. Doctor Poinier, Mrs. C. R. Stanley, Mrs. Florence McNown, Miss Chloe Brandon and one other woman, each of whom paid one dollar as the basis of a library fund. With this little club of eleven members and a fund of $11 in the treasury, a canvass was begun for new members. In 1910 the club numbered about one hundred and twenty members and the library contained about one thousand two hundred volumes.

The library was first opened in the Methodist Episcopal church, but after a short time a small building was secured on the main street and here the institution has permanent quarters. The officers of the club for 1914 were: Mrs. Hazel Wasmuth, president; Mrs. Maude Heiney, vice president; Mrs. Josephine Bixby, secretary; Mrs. Myrtle Rudig, treasurer; Mrs. Elizabeth Endicott, librarian; Mrs. Mattie Rudig and Miss Esther Iry, assistant librarians. There are also a board of directors, composed of Mrs. Emma Fults, Mrs. Laura Fox and Mrs. India Small. The total number of books in the library at the last annual report was 1,531.

The Roanoke public library had its beginning in February, 1910, when a number of women belonging to the various lodges and clubs met to discuss the advisability of establishing a circulating library. In this meeting the Rebekah and Eastern Star lodges, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and several social and literary organizations were represented. An organization of a library association was effected with Mrs. E. E. Richard as president. Among the women who took a promi¬ nent and active part in the movement were Mrs. Dr. Koontz, Mrs. N. W. Van Arsdol, Mrs. E. M. Wasmuth, Mrs. Florence DeLong and Mrs. C.

For awhile the library had its ups and downs, but at last sufficient interest was aroused to give the movement an impetus. A room was secured over Wasmuth 's hardware store, where the library is open on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings. No regular librarian is employed, the members of the association taking turns in performing the duties. The number of volumes is about one thousand, some two hundred of which were contributed by Dr. W. C. Chafe, of Huntington, who for¬ merly practiced his profession in Roanoke. The president of the associa¬ tion for 1914 was Miss Edith Glock.

In addition to the public libraries in Huntington, Andrews and Roanoke, the trustees of the various townships have been liberal in pro¬ viding libraries in connection with the work of the public schools, and at the close of the school year in 1914 there were approximately ten thousand volumes in the graded and high school libraries of the county, most of which were works of a historical or literal j chaiacter by standaid authors.