Hickory Grove Township

Hickory Grove Township

Organization : All in Parish Grove township from 1840 to 1858, when Hickory Grove became a part of West Pine, but was replaced in Parish Grove in 18G5, and remained there until it became a part of Grant in 1868. The present boundaries were completed in 1876- Under the trustees of Parish Grove, West Pine and Grant until the Hickory Grove succession, which has been as follows: 187G, James W. Siddens; 1880, Thomas J. Lewis; 1882, Dennis W. Baragree; 1886, John W. McCormick; 1890, George Menefee; 1894, S, Reed Allen; 1900, George Henry Geary; January 1, 1905, Theodore Altepeter.

The first schoolhouse in Hickory Grove was built by James Kirtley in 1868. It stood one-half mile east and three miles north of the site of Ambia, and was known as the Robb school. No reliable information as to who taught any of the earlier terms in this house has been obtained. The school must have been very small, as there were but seven persons between six and twenty-one years of age in range ten, township twenty-four, in 1868. This number increased to ten in 1869 and to nineteen in 1871. The Robb school was abandoned some years ago and the house was sold. It is now owned by Theodore Altepeter and stands near his home.

In 1873 A. R. Gilger furnished an abandoned room in Talbot for a school room, and Kate Siddens taught a school in it in the winter of 1873-4. The next year the second schoolhouse in

Hickory Grove was erected in Talbot. C. E. Whitten taught the Talbot school in 1874-5-G. The next school was built in Ambia in 1874, and the Kirsch school was established in 1878. Clara McNeil, Anna Guest, Kale Siddens and Mary Powell tauffht the four schools in Hickory (Jrove in the winter of IS7G-7, and Mary Towell, G. B. James and Austin Bowman

George James taught the Talbot school in 1880-1-2-3, and graduated seven of the thirteen common school graduates who received diplomas in IJenton county in 188o- The members of this banner class were Charles McNeil, Elmer Laughlin, Harry Barker, Arthur Cheney, Eva Siddens (Donovan), S. E. Morey and Lillie Alexander. The class gave a program of exer-

Theodokk Autkccter

A two-room building was built at Talbot and a graded school organized by Dennis W. Baragree in 1884. Price T. Evans was the first principal, and his successors have been A. L. Clark, Elmer Laughlin. Frank INIiller. Arthur B. Cheuev, Maude Nesbit. Chester B. Whicker and Jonas Greenwood.

Ill La!)7 Hickory Grove towuKlii]) j<)iiir<| wiih iIh- town uf Ainbia in the erection of a substantial six-room graded liigh school building which is a great criMlil to both town and township- By this union the townshi[> trustee became a memlKir of the Ambia School board and pays the townshij>'8 pro rata of the tuition and i-unriing expenses of the joint school. In VMi'.i G- H. Geary rei)laced the frame building at Talbot with a handsome two-story brick which cost about $G,200. There are two rooms in the lower story, nicely furnished for school work. The upper story is all in one room and will be used as a public hall until needed for school purposes. The school libraries in Hickory Grove contain 520 books. Though the attendance of the schools outside of Talbot and Ambia is quite small, the people of the township take an active interest in education. The common school graduates attend high school at Ambia or Boswell. The number of graduates has not been as large as elsewhere, but Mr. Altepeter is taking a great interest in school work and hopes an increased number will complete the common school course.

This table shows the enumeration in the territory of each township as it was constituted in each of the nine years for which the enumeration is given.

Oxford

Organization: Tlie town site was located on tlie third Monday in June, 1843, and first incorporated in the fall of 1869. The town was a part of the school organization of township twentyfour north, range seven west, from the 1st of September, 1849, until the spring of 1852, when it became a part of Oak Grove school corporation, and so remained until June, 1873, in which month a separate school organization was formed by electing Jonathan Kolb, A. W. Wells and D. H. Russell members of the Oxford School Board. Their successors have been as follows: 1874, James T. Patterson ; 1875, A. W. Wells ; 1876, Jonathan Kolb; 1877, Thomas E. Brake; 1878, Cyrus Poltz; 1879, Jonathan Kolb ; 1880, Jasper N. McConnell ; 1881, A. D- Huffman ; 1882, Jasper N- McConnell; 1883, Wm. J. McConnell; 1884, Jonathan Kolb; 1885, Jacob S. Albaugh; 1886, Henry Janes; 1887, M. L. Campbell; 1888, Edwin L. Leibhardt, Jonathan Kolb; 1889, Joel C. Wilmoth; 1890, C. A. Scott; 1891, C. G. Phares; 1892, T. A. Baldwin, V. M- Benedict; 1893, William Lawson; 1894, C. G. Phares; 1895, W. D. Burdett; 1896, J- F. Sleeper; 1897, William Lawson ; 1898, C. G. Phares; 1899, Allen Maguire; 1900, Prank Menefee; 1901, J. W. Jackson; 1902, Curtis Atkinson; 1903, Thomas Irwin; 1904, J. W. McConnell, W. J. Ladd; 1905, O- M. Flack.

eral Assembly and tlio Governor of Indiana again turned their attention toward Benton (;ourit.v. This time the mandate was that William Coon, George Wolfer, William Sill and Samuel Milroy must select a site for a county seat. They met on the third Monday in June, 1843, and decided to locate the county capital on a part of the south half of the southeast quarter of section eighteen and a part of the north half of the northwest quarter of section nineteen, in township twenty -four north and range seven west. The site selected contained less than fifteen acres and was then a wilderness without habitation of any kind. In October, 1843. lots GO by 120 tVet were placed on sale, but were bought so slowly that in Ottober, 1811, the total value of all lots sold was but f 178.

At first this little forest city was called Milroy Who christened it Oxford, the name of England's ancient and most honored seat of learning, is not known, but in educational spirit the name has not proven to be undeserved. Within three years Francis Boynton cleared a small si)ace in the low forest and erected a court house - the first building in the town- The second story of this building contained several rooms and into these rooms moved Hartley T. Howard, a pioneer teacher, who, with his family, became the first resident of the town. He was then county auditor- Later the first wedding in the town was the marriage of Mr. Howard's daughtir Mattie to Barton Wood, and the child that came into the home of this happy couple a year after their marriage was the first born in Oxford.

Isaac Lewis, who is now the oldest continuous resident of Benton county, assisted Mr. Boynton in the erection of the court house and was much interested in the town's gTOwth, which was quite slow. On October 1, 1818, the total taxable value placed on the lots and improvements in the town was $276. About this time Henry L. Ellsworth built a hotel and Aaron Wood a dwelling house, raising the value of the town's property to |569 on October 1, 1819. t?oon after this a boom began and real estate and improvement values increased to $7,389 in 1849 and to |18,935 in 1854. That the people of Oxford and vicinity early resolved to have the best school then possible is shown by the fact that the residents of district one (in which Oxford was situated) voted a district school tax upon themselves in the spring of 1852. This is the only instance of the kind that ever occurred in Benton county, and there were very few instances of the kind in the early history of the State. The owners of real estate in Oxford at that time were Jacob Benedict, John Burns, James M. Beebee, Caruahan and Earl, Henry L. Ellsworth, John, Josei)h and J. WFerguson, Hartley T. Howard, James Howarth, James N. Holton, J- W. Jackson, Basil Justus, Frederick Koons, Anthony Luken, David Mc(.'onnell, James McClure, James F. Parker and Alger Smith. James N. Ilolton was district trustee and he apjtraised all of the ])r()i»erty in llie district at |47,8S(>. About one-third of this amount was in Oxford. The total

The visits of the talented sisters, Alice ;ind IMioehe Cary, were interesting events in the early edncalional life of Oxford. Throngh Horace Greeley they became interested in the Grand Prairie Harnionial Institute, and a married sistei-, Mrs- Alexander Swift, lived in Oxford. These two interests led the poetic sisters to make several visits to lien ton connty in llie early fifties. Both were born in a house tlieii- ^^raiulfalher built in 1SU3. It stood in an oak forest about nine miles fi-om Cincinnati. The death of their mother when Alice was fifteen and Phoebe but eleven, the death of a favorite l)rother and some other misfortunes led the two sisters to leave the scenes of their unhappiness and go to New York city in 1S40. During their visits in Oxford many recollections of their childhood days were awakened and some of their finest poems were written- There is good evidence that the near-l)y forest of oak inspired Alice Gary to write that beautiful tribute of a sisters love, ''Pictures of Memory," in which she tells of her forest wanderings Avith her little brother, of his weariness in The woodland, of making for him ''a bed of yellow leaves." and thus tells of his death :

^'And when the arrows of sunset lodged in the tree-tops bright He fell, in his saint-like beauty, asleep by the gates of light. Therefore, of all the ]»ictures that hang on Memory's wall. The one of the dim old forest seemeth the best of all."

The humble homes of the early settlers of Oxford and vicinity awakened memories that moved Phoebe Gary to write "Our Homestead," an inspiring poetic description of i)ioneer home life. The great sorrows in the life of this poetess were the early deaths of her mother and a favorite brother. From a window in her sister's home she often looked ont upon a burial ground which brought to her thoughts of the place where "side by side the two were sleeping." Beyond this sacred ground she saw a forest like she had known in her childhood days, and she loved to watch the crystal clouds that came np from behind the forest and floated aAvay toward the east and - eternity. These scenes and thoughts tilled her soul with an inspiration that gave to the world the sublime sacred hymn, "One Sweetly Solemn

Thought." The house in which this noble woman of twentyeight years composed this beautiful hymn is still standing, but the humble desk from which this divine song went forth as a message of consolation to a Christian world has long since disappeared.

In the summer of 1850 Eliza McClure taught the first school in the town of Oxford as then laid out. The house in whichj she taught stood near the Volnej^ Benedict corner, but there seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether the building was a cabin or not- Isaac Templeton was school trustee of district one in 1850-1, and a report written by him states that in the winter of 1850-1 ''P. Shaw taught common branches in a log cabin schoolhouse for four months at $25 a month."' The report further states that there was no library in the school, and that |13.50 was paid for a stove. Both of these items indicate that the building in which Mr. Shaw taught had lately come; into use as a schoolhouse- A traveler who visited Oxford in 1852 states that he "was shown the schoolhouse, which was built of logs, and was not more than a square or two from the court house." The writer feels certain that a log schoolhouse was used from 1850 to 1854, and is inclined to the belief that it stood near the Volney Benedict corner.

In 1854 Francis Boynton built a frame schoolhouse on the lot next east of the one on which the old Presbyterian Church was erected. Among the teachers in this house previous to the civil war were George Campbell, James Wilson, Miss Burns, Harry Xourse, John A. Campbell, Calvin Snyder, Thomas Torrence and Jasper Templeton. The latter afterwards was chosen captain of a company of volunteers and was killed in the battle of Murfreesboro. Later teachers were L. H. Bonnell, John Chancellor, Moses D. Wright, D- K. Lucas, Lizzie Parker, H. J. Bushong, Jane Birge, Thomas L. Merrick and Ida Hopper. The last two taught together during the last term of school held in the frame building, in the spring of 1872.

In 1865 some of the progressive citizens of Oxford and vicinity began to agitato the question of building an academy in the town, having in view the idea of establishing later a still higher institution of learning. The agitation soon took the substantial form of a subscription list of funds to be used in building an academy, and Robert M- Atkinson, Theophilus Stembel, Isaac W. Lewis, Samuel Phares. J. W. Barnes, Jon- athan Kolb and a nunibei' of others gave liberally for the erection of the new institution. On March 15. 18(iG, the subscribers held a meeting and perfected an organization by electing Theophilus Stenibel, Isaac Lewis, Robert M. Atkinson, Jasper N. McConnell, Samuel Phares and Leroy Templeton directors. The latter was elected president, D. R. Lucas secretary and J. J- Rawlings treasurer. The purpose of the organization was declared to be ''to establish a seat of learning to be known as and stvled the Oxford Academv." It was decided to issue 500 shares of stock, to be sold at |20 a share. W. J. Templeton furnished the site for the building. Avhich was the same as that occupied by the old academy and its additions, now the Oxford school. On May 17, 1866, the contract for the erection of the academy was let to Isaac Lewis for |6,-480- The building was not completed until in the next summer. On September 13, 1867, the academy opened with an attendance of seventy pupils, and Dr. Lynn, pastor of the Oxford Presbyterian Church, as its first principal. The following year the Rev. Mr. Lynn was succeeded by Dr. A. W. Wells, and his successor was H. C. Neil, pastor of the Oxford Methodist Church. After four years' trial the academy was conceded to be a failure as a financial investment, and the building was rented to Hannah M. Wright for one year for the small sum of flOO.

Hannah M. Wright (Wilmoth) opened her first term in the Oxford Academy on April 3, 1871. Her early experience especially fitted her for the work she did in Oxford, and her work there soon began to bear fruit in many schools in other parts of the county. When a child she possessed a strong desire for a good education, but an invalid mother kept her out of school for eight years. She pursued her studies the best she could beside the mother's bed until death relieved the lingering sufferer. ]Miss Wright was left in charge of the home but was still determined to secure an education. Her father discouraged her efforts, but she assured him that she intended to complete her scliool work if she had to study until she was forty years old. She continued to study and care for her fathers home until she was offered a district school. This she accepted and taught three months for fifty dollars. She then entered the Collegiate Institute of Hightown, New Jersey, for two years^ work, using the money she had saved to pay her tuition and buy books and icorking for her hoard. At the end of the two years

Miss Wi'ij>ht be<>an her work in the Oxford Academy with sixty students, and llattie Morgan and Eliza Anderson of New Jersey as her assistants- She prepared a course of study, but unfortunately all copies of it have disappeared. A letter from her states that her common school course was much as it is now, and her higher course included the study of Algebra, Geometry, Geology, Chemistry, Surveying, Khetoric, Literature and Latin.

The fall term in 1871 opened with an enrollment of 188 students but soon increased to 225. The tuition charges were from three to ten dollars for each pupil, for a three months' term. The opening of the public schools caused the withdrawal of many students from the academy, but did not much lessen its running expenses. At the end of the spring term in 1872 Miss Wright balanced her books and found that besides her year's labor she had lost |225 of the money saved from her salary in Pine tow^nship. Though discouraged she did not give up but organized her forces for another year. This time she added Miss Sarah J. Bugbee to her corps of teachers and emploj'ed Mrs. A. R. Owens as a music teacher- In the summer of 1872 John Crosson, then trustee of Oak Grove, decided to close the Oxford public school and transfer the pupils to the Academy for the winter term of 1872-3. He paid Miss Wright |75 and each of the other teachei^ (excepting the music teacher) |40 a month for three months, and paid the running expenses of the school for that leng-th of time. The entrance of the public school pupils into Miss Wright's well-organized institution brought the question of the classification and gradation of public school pupils to a climax in Oxford, and the successful meeting of that issue in the Oxford school virtually settled it for all of Benton county. Many of the larger pupils, some of them young men and women grown, positively refused to recite in the classes to which she assigned them. They said they had always studied what they pleased and proposed to continue to do so- Many of the larger boys positively refused to either study or recite grammar. She reasoned, expostulated and persuaded, but many remained obdurate. She then assumed a firmer attitude and declared that her course of study must be followed, and announced that pupils must recite in all classes to which she assigned them or she would not permit them to recite at all. Young men pleaded that the study of grammar was a w^aste of time and she ought not to ask them to make such a sacrifice. She replied that they did not know that it would be a waste of time, but to satisfy them that she did not want them to make a sacrifice she would give her note for $25 to any or all pupils that wanted it, payable on the condition that after a certain time the holder was to come to her and declare that the time he had spent in the study of grammar had been wasted. Some of the most determined took her note, but none was ever presented for payment. The evident sincerity of the offer, however, won the battle, and all of the pupils took the work that she had assigned them. Many of these pupils afterwards became teachers who carried Miss Wright's ideas into their own work and laid the foundation for better organization in the country schools- The early teachers of the county had done a noble work. With patience, courage and energy each one had worked with the forty or fifty pupils he had enrolled in his school, though each pupil brought only such a book as he chose whether it happened to be the New Testament, a Life of Washington, Murders and Daring Deeds, or a law-book that had descended from former generations. Notwithstanding such inconveniences, in some way, somehow, those teachers imbued their pupils with a wholesome thirst for genuine knowledge, and sent them forth into life with a sterling self-respect that made them the very best of citizens. None could have done the work better than those teachers did it, but, with the coming of the lady from New Jersey, the first great educational transition in Benton county had begun, and the new teachers that caught their inspiration from her bid "hail and farewell to the old."

seliool corixjration, and llic school bonid immediately entered into an arranj^cuit'iit witli Miss W'rij^lit (hIk^ to fiinilKli tiio building and Icacliei'Sj to lake cliai-gc of the jjupils in Oxford for the school year of 187o-4. The conditions of the contract resulted in her receiving .fTlO fi-ofn Die hojird for ilu' year's work. In the fall of 1874 the school board (Mnj)loycd Hannah M- Wright, Sarah J. Bugbee, E. if. Iliizlcn and Thomas A. Baldwin to teach the Oxford school. As the louii owned no schoolhouse, the Academy was rented for |250 a year, and the fall of 1874 witnessed the launching of the Oxford jjublic school under full control of the school board.

A character that it has taken a lifetime to establish may be lost by a moment's weakness. In the fall of 1875 G. WBarr was placed at the head of the Oxford school. Mr. Barr seems to have been a scholarly and genial gentleman, but almost wholly lacking in ability as either an organizer or disciplinarian. Mrs. Kate W. Yager, Sarah J. Bugbee and Ida Greenlee were employed as his assistants. But in spite of their excellent work the school was not a strong one. Mr. Barr was re-employed the next year and remained in charge until all discipline seemed to have disappeared and he was asked to resign. ''Meantime." said a member of the school board, "we were looking for a lion tamer." A traveling preacher gave the school board the name of B. F. Johnson of Wells county, with the statement that he was a good organizer- Mr. Johnson was employed by the board and entered the Oxford school on March 14, 1877. About all traces of Mrs. Wilmoth's organization and discipline had disappeared from the school and Mr. Johnson found it necessary to "begin at the beginning." Ideas he had received from the superintendent of the Blufftou schools, an Eastern gentleman, were very helpful to him, and having every effort backed by the strong indorsement of the school board he was able to bring order out of chaos. The large boys again took up the cry "I want to study what I please," and the old battle in the school had to be fought over again. Mr. Johnson constantly advocated the doctrine of a "square deal" for all and finally won. He conducted normals for teachers during the summers he was there, and sent out about forty teachers to continue the work of organization and gradation in the schools of the county-

Academy beoan to feel that tlie jjiopev tiling to do was to donate the bnildinii' for the use of the town school, ^^ome debts that had been incurred for the benefit of the institution remained unpaid and it was decided to secure a loan on the building. The association was incorporated, and on January 22^ 1880, Robert M. Atkinson and Jasi)er X. McConnell, as president and secretary of the board of trustees of the Academy, borrowed |2,(HM) of the Oxford school board, giving a note payable one year from date. The note was not paid when due. Suit was brought, and the Academy was sold to the Oxford school board in May. 1882. Two additions have since been built bv the town,

E. D. Bosworth succeeded Mr. Johnson in 1881, and Ella Dwiggins, Mattie Bell (Carr) and Ella Albaugh taught under him in 1882-3. In the fall of 1883 the Oxford school board adopted the first high school course used in the school. It was as follows :

William F. Sharp succeeded Mr. Bosworth in 1884, and Mrs. H- M. Wilmoth, Josie Lewis and Ella Dwiggins taught with him in 1884-5. Frank Cassel succeeded Mr. Sharp in 1885 and on his recommendation another year was added to the high school course. After this addition the course was as follows :

First Year Second Year

Alexander T. Keed succeeded Mi-, ('assci in liS.'SO, wjiicli was an eventful year with the Oxford school. That year the State Board of Education granted to Mv. Keed the first commission issued to a high school in Benton county, and that year Dora Abernathy (Johnson) became the first high school graduate in the county, receiving the diploma shown in the illustration. The commencement at which Mrs. Johnson was so honored was held jointly with the first common school commencement in Oxford. Catherine Dodson (Crigler), Coral Wattles (Mc- Connell), Stella Whinery (Lacky), Anna Murphy (Blalock),. Coral Branson (Benedict), Franie Mills (Freeman) and Emma Pagett (Snyder) were the members of the common school graduating class. The commencement was held in the Odd Fellows Hall, and Miss Abernathy's theme was "Elements of Character."

Mr- Reed was succeeded by Thomas L. Harris in 1S8S-9, and M. F. Orear from 1889 to 1905. Mr. Orear resigned his position early in 1905 and the term was completed with E. Guy Sutton as superintendent. The principals and assistant principals in the school since 1892 have been Nora E. Hunter. Lura E. Grimes, Elizabeth Hewson, Mary Meek, E. Guy Sutton. Mary H. Roberts, Selma A. Stempel and Susie Menefee. Some of the grade teachers in the school for a number of years were Fred. Chancellor and INIrs. Fred. Chancellor. Mrs- Edith Lawson (White), Florence Harrison and Maggie Pagett. Lulu McConnell ranks next to JNIrs. Seward of Earl Park in the number of years she has taught primary grades in the same school. An interesting experience came to the teachers in the Oxford school in February, 1901. In endeavoring to secure an extension of the town's corporate limits the old charter was surrendered. This threw the town school under the management of W. H. McConnell, then trustee of Oak Grove township, and the teachers all became attendants of the township insti-

Fourth Year

M. F. Orear has the distinguished honor of having filled the same high school position longer than any other teacher that has ever taught in Benton county- Though Mr. Orear's careful and conscientious devotion to his duties as a teacher had much to do with his long tenure in the position of superintendent of the Oxford schools, the fine school spirit existing in the town exercised a strong influence in his behalf. There may be towns in which the work of a well-qualified, conscientious teacher, having in view the moral as well as intellectual welfare of his pupils, will remain unappreciated; but Oxford is not a town of that kind. The high ideas of moral integrity possessed by the pioneers of the town still live, and any teacher that will inscribe energy, integrity and faithfulness to i>erformance of duty on his banner will not be unappreciated in Oxford. The writer felt the prevalence of this spirit when attending his first commencement in the town, and it was this feeling that led him to declare that Oxford was the Athens of Benton county. It is this spirit that has sent more than thirty per cent, of the high school graduates to college and encourages the pupils and teachers of the school to do their best.

The library of the school contains 560 volumes and there is an organ and |100 worth of apparatus in the high school. The members of the school board pursue an earnest, conservative policy, permitting nothing but the best interests of the school to influence them in any way. They heartily co-operate with pupils, teachers and patrons in their determination to see that the high standard of the Oxford school shall never be lowered.

Organization : The town was first platted on October 26, 1872, and was then composed of 583 lots. Incorporated in June, 1875, and in August organized as a separate school corporation by electing Hiram Buttertield, Judson C. Lobdell and S. C. Maxwell as school trustees. Xo public money was paid into the hands of the school board uutit

The first house in Fowler was built by Scott Shipman in the spring of 1871. It was a dwelling and stood where the Dupies room now stands. Henrv D. Clark built the first business house in the toAvn in June, 1871. The Summit House (now the Fowler) was built in July, and later in the season dwelling houses were erected by James S- Anderson, John Mitchell and J. C. Simpson.

The first sclioolhouse in the town of Fowler was built under the supervision of William Hughes, trustee of Prairie township, in the summer of 1872. Charles YanAuker hauled the stone with which the foundation was laid. George Nichols was the chief architect and builder. It was a two-story building, one story being used as a town hall for a few years. The first teacher was M. A. Shaw, a quiet, kindly young man much esteemed by his pupils. Mrs. Ella Mitchell Portteus and Auditor Lemuel Shipman are the ouIa' pupils of this school known to the writer. David Keyte was the teacher in the winter of 1873-4. Mr. Keyte was not so genial with his pupils as Mr. Shaw had been, and became quite uui)0]>ular with both pupils and patrons- Learning of this he determined to execute a piece of ])edagogical strategy. He informed his pupils that he was anxious for their ])arents to see how fast they were all learning and asked each of them to commit a nice piece to recite. The children did as he requested. He then sent a special invitation to each mother whose child was attending school. All came and were much pleased with the children's recitations. Mr. Keyte delivered an address to the visitors, complimented them on their interest in the school, and then surprised mothers and pupils by giving them a nice treat of nuts, cakes and candy. The visitors all went home praising the teacher, and all of the children, excepting those of Mr. Lee, a justice of the peace, were told to obey Mr. Keyte. Mr. Lee, though an officer of the law, decided that he would whip Mr. Keyte. One morning soon after the treat he entered the schoolroom and informed the teacher of his intention to ''lick him.'" Mr. Keyte squared himself for action and was using the bellicose justice as a football on the floor when some of the pupils begged him to desist- He did so and Mr. Lee departed, a sorer if not a wiser man.

Two teachers were employed in the school in the winter of 1874-5, W. B. Maddock as principal and Miss Sarah Mellish, now Mrs. A. C. Bugbee, as primary teacher. In 1875-6 three teachers were employed and the primary school was taught in the brick building on the northeast corner of Fifth and Madison streets. B. F. Heaton, then county superintendent, was the principal. Miss Mellish continued as primary teacher and Michael Duffy filled the intermediate position.

An interesting incident showing the interest that Moses M, Fowler felt in the educational welfare of the town that had received his name is narrated in a letter received from Mrs- Hannah M. Wilmoth. She says: "In the spring of 1875 Mr. Moses Fowler wrote me asking if I could not take charge of the school at Fowler. He said that he would pay me |100 a month out of his own pocket and would give me all of the tuition collected from students attending school from outside of the town, and would furnish free transportation on the railroad to all students that wanted to travel to and from the school by railway. He offered to build a students' boardinghouse to cost 15,000 and donate it free of charge for the use of myself and students as long as I remained in the school. He closed by saying that there was nothing that money could buy that he would not provide to aid in making the school a success." Mrs. Wilmoth, then Miss Wright, had resigned her position in Oxford, and Mr. Fowler had heard of the resignation before making licr the off'er slio describes. She naively

In 1870 the Fowler school board i)aid Cenh r tow nsliijj .?800 for Die school building- and organized the first town school, with Mrs. Kate Yager as its jji-incipal. Mrs. Yager now lives in Los Angeles, California, and is best remembered by her hosts of friends as "Aunt Katie" Johnson. Adelaide Smith and Sarah Mellish taught with Mrs. Yager in 187G-7, and Lettie Straight was employed as an assistant during the winter months. The fourth regular teacher was employed in 1877-8, and the teachers that year were Mrs. Yager, Sarah J. Bugbee, Lettie Straight and Lora Steely. Ida Simpson was assistant- Mrs. Yager was succeeded by A. D. Snively in 1879. The teachers under him in 1870-80 were Philip D. Corkins, Lora Daggett, Ida Simpson and Sarah Mellish; and Hattie Straight, Ida Simpson, Mabel Brown and Lydia Dwiggins in 1880-1. the fifth teacher being added that year. Mr. Snively was a highly educated man with college ideas which did not prove practical in a small town school. He was succeeded by L. D. Buzzell, whose grade teachers in 1881-2 were Kate W. Yager, Mabel Brown, Hattie Straight and Lydia Dwiggins. Nettie Hargraves took the place of Mabel Brown in 1882-3. and Belle Freeman succeeded Mrs Yager in 1883-4-

Mr. Buzzell was both practical and popular. To him belongs the honor of establishing the first regular high school course of study used in the public schools of Benton county. The course was a three years' one, each year being divided into three terms, and was as follows :

Third Year

Clara Brockway. Francis Hixon, Sarah Harris, Cora Head, Clara Ladd, Flora Love and Abram Yager had done sufficient high school work to be placed in the second year of this course, and Fred. A. Brown, Clarence Brockway, Laura Brockway, Eva Grant, William Harris, Ella Jones, George Kendall, Emma Meader. Myron Morgan, Mary Simpson, Alice VanNatta, Margaret VanNatta and Laura Yager composed the first freshman class.

The first public school publication issued by the Fowler school board (and, so far as the writer has been able to discover, the first one issued in the county) was a catalogue prepared by A- D. Snively in 1880. In 1881 the board published a complete common and high school course and a set of rules and regulations for governing the school. This was the work of Mr. Buzzell, and much that he said is worth repeating if space could be given to it. "Good behavior is a legitimate end of the school and must be taught in every school worthy of the name." "In order that scholarship and behavior shall be realized, the pupil must be present when school begins in the morning and when it closes, for him, in the evening," and "Any pupil who comes to school without having given or received proper attention to cleanliness of person or dress, shall be sent home to be properly prepared for the schoolroom," are a few extracts that show prominent points in Mr. Buzzell's ideas. His little book informs us that during the winter and spring terms (three months each) high school tuition was |2.50. grammar school |2.00 and primary school |1.50 per term for each pupil. It also states that "A good literary society - the Philomathean - has been in successful oi)eration for two years in tlie high school department, and affords excellent opportunities for culture in composition, declamation, debate and criticism, besides some knowledge of parliamentary law."

Edward Tuhey succeeded Mr. Buzzell in 1884 and he was succeeded by A E- Buckley in 1885. The sixth teacher, Katie Clark, was added in 1884, and C. E. Meader, Joseph VanAtta,

Adah VVliiiicr.v ami Claia Jirockway tauj^liL in 1.S85 0. VVilliain J. IJowen wan placed at llic head of the school in 1880, and (Mara Ladd, llaiiy Rank, Jtosa KcnwicU and lOlla Hay taught in 1880-7. Tlie last year in the course of study adopted in 1881 had proven so difficult that no students attempted to complete it. Mr. Bowen decided to try to remedy tlie defe<t and pi-e pared another course, which was as follows:

Mr. Bowen resigned lilis position before the middle of his second term, and the school year was completed by J. P. Brunton. Samuel Lilly was at the head of the school in 1888-9 and 1889-90. The seventh teacher was added in 1888 and the grade teachers were Fannie Marble, Emily Hoch, Sarah Henry (Dinwiddle), Margaret VanNatta (Snyder), Ella McDowell and Clara Ladd. Mr. Lilly was paid |100 a month with the understanding that ]Mrs. Lilly was to give him such assistance as he needed in the high school. The next year Clara Brockway took the place of Miss Marble, and J. H- Hayworth was elected high school principal. Mr. HaAworth resigned in March and was succeeded by M. E. Hillis.

Over a dozen common school graduates took up the work of Mr. Bowen's high school course in 1886-7, but Otto Clayton was the only member of the class to complete it. Other members of the class said that Latin was too hard for them. Mr. Clayton graduated in the spring of 1889. He was the first high school graduate from the Fowler school and the third one in the county, Nora Abernathy and Mabel Campbell of Oxford having preceded him in 188G and 1888. Mr. Clayton received his diploma at a joint common and high school commencement. A crowded house greeted the two classes. After Mr. Clayton had delivered his oration and the members of the common school class had completed their part of the program, the president of the school board, Mr. W. H. Dague, delivered an address to the two classes and presented the diplomas.

Mr. Lilly's successors have been, in 1890-2, W. J. Bowen ; 1892-4, P. V. Voris; 1894-7, Burton B. Berry; 1897-9, Thomas F. Berry; 1899-1900, Louis Lambert, and 1900-6, Lewis Hoover. The high school principals have been, in 1890-2, L. A. Mc- Knight; 1892-3, Edwin Randall; 1893-4, B. A. Owens; 1894-9, Cora Snyder; 1899-1901, John A. Lineberger; 1901-2, J. G. Perrin; 1902-3, Edward Gardner; 1903-4, J. H. Stanley, and 1904-5, Harold Woodburn. The names of some of the teachers who will be remembered for their long service and loj'alty to the best interests of the school are Ella White, Clara Ladd, Jennie Sheetz (Richey), Nellie Richmire, Rose E. Hay (Barnard), May Sheetz (Hagenbuch) and Lillian Brown (Crouch).

A four-room addition to the old schoolhouse was built in 1881. In 1894 the frame building was abandoned and a handsome brick was erected at a cost of about |23,000 for the building and furnishings complete. Hot water radiators and lavatories have been placed in the building and it is now one of the most complete in Indiana. Burton B. Berry was the first superintendent in the new building and secured a commission for tlie high school in the spring of 1895.

In llic winter of 1890-1 the senior high school class prepared a drama which was played in the Fowler and Boswell Oftera Houses. Willi the jtroceeds of these entertainments a piano and some niiidi nccdcc] reference books were jiurcliascd for the school. The piano was an old one, but was used for five years. JOarly in 1896 the mendjers of the school board and Superintendent J'erry agreed lo become personally responsible for a new piano to be placed in the high school. The winter following the senior class gave an opera, "The Little Tycoon," for two nights, and made enough money to pay for the piano and buy a number of books. Since then additions have bw^n made to the library until it now contains more than 850 volumes. Organs have been purchased for four rooms, and the recitation rooms and laboratories contain about |800 worth of up-to-date apparatus. Since 188G the course of study has been revised a number of times and is now as follows :

Subjects iiiiirkcd vvitli an asteriKk ai-*- i-r-fpiircd. All othei-H are elective. lOacli half year's woik in any Huhjcct counts one credit and thirty-two credits are ro<iuircd to graduate. A little less than forty-three per cent, of the students are now studying Latin. The three commissioned high schools in Benton county all stand far above the average throughout the state in the per cent, of students completing the course, and Fowler leads the commissioned high schools of the county in this respect. In all 1G8 students have graduated from the Fowler high school, and sixty of these have attended or are attending some higher institution of learning. The i)er cent, of attendance for the entire school in 1904-5 was ninety-three and five-tenths.

For many years the sciiool spirit in Fowler was not what it should have been. No reason for this is known, excepting one that was given by a distinguished man who is now in his grave. He said : "The people got started wrong in school matters and it will take them many j^ears to get over it." It has been easily seen that the people of the town were getting -^over it" very rapidly in the last few years. Two years ago the school held an exhibit of the daily work of the pupils, just before holidays. Over 3,300 pieces of school work were on display. The exhibit was visited by nearly all of the patrons of the school and scores were awakened to the fact that they had never fully appreciated the work that their children and teachers were doing. Since then the school spirit and a justifiable pride in the Fowler school has arisen rapidly. This perceptible growth in educational interest has helped the school in many ways and has added much to its reputation abroad. It has materially aided in giving the school an impetus that has placed it in the front rank of the town schools of the State.

The Fowler school board is doing much to make the building a healthy, comfortable and desirable place to attend school. All of the modern conveniences of city schools have been added to the building- Cement walks have been placed along the front and sides of the campus, and the board has been prospecting for additional playgrounds for the pupils. The library and laboratory have been ra]>idly built up. the school is supplied with good teachers and the board is doing everything within its power to give the people a good schtx)l.

Organization : Platted in 1871-2. Incorporated in 1883. Organized as a separate scliool corporation in 1884 by electing Amos R. Gilger, Charles Menefee and Wesley Alexander members of the first board of school trustees. Their successors have been as follows: 1886, H. C. Harris, who served twelve years; 1887, John Spies, who served nine years; 1888, W- H. McKnight, who served nine years; 1896, W. J. Harris; 1897, Fred. Rose; 1898, A. B. McAdams, who is still on the board; 1899, E. I. King; 1900, Elmer McLaughlin; 1902, E. I. King; 1903, Elmer Laughlin, George Dye; 1904, W. J. Harris; 1905, George Dye; 1906, Earl Smith.

Charles Moore began platting Boswell in the summer of 1871, but sold his interest in the town site to Elizabeth H. Scott in October of the same year. In the summer and fall of 1872, 214 town lots were platted by Mrs. Scott, Joshua M. Poster and Samuel Parker Smith. The latter built the first dwelling house in the town, and the first business house was built by Alexander Murphy. Mr. Murphy afterwards became a grain buyer in the town for many ^-ears, but moved away before his death. Mr. Smith is still a resident of BosAvell.

When the town was started a schoolhouse called "Fairview" stood in what is now the southeastern part of it. B. F. Heaton taught in the building in the winter of 1871-2, and T. S. McEndaufPer in 1872-3. In the summer of 1873 a school was established in the town, the building being placed on a lot near the Methodist church. Mr. Heaton taught the first term in this school and was succeeded by Marion Menefee who taught from the fall of 1874 until the spring of 1877. Patrick" Duffy taught in 1877-8. A second room was built and Mr. Heaton returned and took charge of the school with George A. Bailey as his assistant. Charles Miller succeeded Mr. Heaton and Mr. Bailey remained with the former until 1881, the latter year being taught in a new school house erected on the present school grounds. This house was built by. John Lawson and the town donated |1,000 toward i)aying for it to get a four-room building.

Ml*. Miller peinalnod at the head of the scIhjoI until the Kpring of 1882, his iiiHt iissistaiil Ix^ing Lucy lialdwin. Mary Cook seems to have been the i^rincMpal in 1882-3 and Calvin White in 1883-4.

Boswell was organized as a separat** school corporation in 1884. Three teachers, C. F. Moore, Mary Cook and E. H. Burch, were placed in the school in 1884-5. Mr. Moore remained for two years and was succeeded by Otis Roberts who was principal from the fall of 1886 until the spring of 1801. A high school course was organized in 1887, which was as follows:

B. F. Johnson succeeded Mr. Roberts in 1891-2, and was succeeded by Mr. Roberts in 1892-3. George Rogers was principal in 1893-4-5, Frank Brubeck in 1895-6-7, Alexander Caldwell in 1897-8, and Clarence Kellogg in 1898-9 and 1900.

In 1897 the present handsome and substantial brick building was erected at a cost of about $8,000. This edifice is a great credit to the excellent work of its builder, D. S. Roberts, and to the members of the school board under whose supervision it was erected. It is heated with hot-air furnaces and well lighted and ventilated. It stands on one of the most beautiful school grounds in western Indiana, a campus of about two acres covered with trees-

In 1897 plans were laid for the organization of a four years' high school course. Charles F. Miller was elected superintendent in the summer of 1900 and he at once proceeded to perfect the organization of the school Avith the view of obtaining a commission. This idea was approved by the members of the school board and with their assistance Mr. Miller was enabled to develop the school so rapidly that a commission was secured from the State Board of Education early in 1901. The high school course is as follows:

The first high school commencement was held on the evening of May 23, 1901. The Opera House was crowded to its fullest capacity, and John T. John, then president of DuPauw Universitv, delivered a fine addr'^ss after the members of the graduating class had read their nes. After the address Superintendent Miller presented hign school diplomas to Zora Coffenberry, Nora Gillespie and Ollie Nern, who constituted the first high school graduating class of Boswell.

The school spirit existing in Boswell and vicinity is excellent. The town leads Benton county and is one of the leading towns in the State in the per cent, of pupils that complete the common school course. Taking the last four years as a basis, about sixty in every hundred ])upils that enter the school remain for eight years. Interest in high school work is growing as the patrons become better acquainted with its usefulness.

The total eurullment iu tlie school for IDdi-o was 228, aud GO of this number were in the High School- The average per cent, of attendance last year was 94, the best attendance reported in the county.

J. II. IJarnes succeeded Mr. Miller as superintendent in 1004:, and the school has steadily grown under his charge. Lizzie Rossiter, Clint E. No^iuest, Mrs. C. F. Miller, Sara H. Darby, J. G. Windsor, Stacy E. Kittle and Samuel O. Wright have been identified with the rapid rise of the school. It has about |200 worth of apparatus and a library of 500 volumes. Nearl}' all of the books in the library have been bought with the proceeds of lecture courses secured by the superintendents for the benefit of the school. Many of the patrons have taken a commendable pride in attending the lectures and thus assisting to build up the school library. Six of the twenty-nine graduates of the high school have attended higher institutions of learning. The policy of the Boswell School Board has always been to employ only good teachers. If a mistake is made it is quickly remedied by a change. Good wages are paid, and teachers who enter the school must show real teaching ability or they are not retained for a second term. Teachers who do good work are kept until they choose to leave.

Organization : The town was platted on February 22, 1875, and was incorporated in March, 1884. It was organized as a separate school corporation in June, 1884, by electing James Malo, H. A. Buck and J. M. G. Beard members of the first school board. Their successors have been as follows: 1885, Charles L- White, 1886, W. I^e Bartlett, W. T. James, F. G. Hufifman; 1889, J. H. Myers, James Malo; 1891, W. Lee Bartlett, C. E. Strauss; 1892, A. V. Moore, J. H. Myers. S. Reed .Vllen ; 1803, W. Lee Bartlett ; 1894, Harry Crigler, A. V. Moore ; 1S05, J. F. McCormick; 180G, J. E- Berryman; 1899, William Randall, W. L. Irwin; 1900, T. H. Dixon; 1901, O. M. Flack; 191(2, AVilliam Randall; 1903, J. F. McCormick, A. C. Goodwine; 1904, Michael McCormick, Lovett Williams; 1905, Charles Crawford.

The Ambia Joint Graded School

It is said that the tirst house built in Ambia was built in 1873 by James C. Pugh. The first school house was built iu 1874. The site of Ambia was then a part of school district number eleven in Grant township. The first teacher was Kate Siddens, a sister of James Siddens who was afterwards elected the first trustee of Hickory Grove township. She taught the winter of 1874-5, and was succeeded by J. Lee Dinwiddle in the winter of 1875-G. At that time the country just north of the railroad was an unbroken prairie. In the fall of 1875 many of the people of the town cut the wild grass and shocked it up for winter use. The fall rains came early and spoiled the hay thus made. In the winter the land was covered with water which froze and made an immense skating ground on which the people of the town and surrounding country would gather each evening. The hay shocks were used for torches, and the weird and picturesque scenes made by the chasing, hurrying, skurrying skaters as they rapidly appeared in the light or vanished in tho darkness were not soon forgotten.

The first school house stood on lots 59 and 60 of the original plat of the town, now owned by Mrs. C. Heinen. It was abandoned in 1882 and sold to Fred Malo. It is now owned by Ephraim Voss. It has been impossible to get a correct list of the teachers in this building, but Manaen Arter is believed to have taught in the winters of 1878-9 and 1880-1, J. A. Brown in 1879-80, and Mary J. Parker in 1881-2. A two-room building was erected on the present town school lots in 1882, and Maggie Medrith taught in it in 1882-3.

The first teachers employed by the Ambia School Board were George Rogers and Carrie I. Lowry. Mr. Rogers was principal in the school for many years. Other teachers in the school from 1885 to 189G were Emma Caldwell, Harry E. Rank, Mary Pelton, Lizzie Rossiter, Mary Hargrave, Mattie Caldwell, Fanny Pierce, Ruth Pierce, B. F. Heaton, Minnie Ritz, J- F. Ale and May Groves. Wilbur F. Morgan was employed as principal in 189G. Blanche Harris taught the lower grades. In 1897 the present substantial brick building was erected at a cost of about 18,000. The school was re-organized and re-graded in 1897-8, with Wilbur F. Morgan as superintendent and liigli school teacher, and A. B. Cheney, Blanche McClurg and 10 II a Adams as grade teachers. A regular three years' high school course was organized by Mr. ^Morgan and approved by I lie scliool boa id. Angle Acres, Emma lii-own, Jessie Foster and Beatrice l{oss completed this course in 1899 and received tiieir diplomas at tin; first high school commencement held in Ambia. Ethelbert Woodburn succeeded Mr. Morgan in 1900- His assistants were Jacob Welsch, Rosalie Edwards and Emma Peekham. In 1901 Rupert Simpkins was employed to superintend the school and remained two years. George liugbee succeeded him in 1903 and Ida Green in 1904. Miss Peckham has retained her position as primary teacher for six rears and Ella Perkins took charge of the intermediate i-oom five years ago.

In the winter of 1900-1 Mr. Woodburn added many volumes to the Ambia school library by holding festivals and other entertainments. The people of the town became so interested that this means of securing donations was continued by Mr. Simpkins, Mr. Bugbee and Miss Green. As a result of their etforts and the liberality of the people, the school now has three organs, a number of handsome pictures and an excellent library of about 400 volumes. The building is heated with hot air furnaces, and the school has about $350 worth of apparatus. The school spirit in the town is shown by the liberality of its residents and the fact that a hall that holds 800 people is filled at each commencement. This spirit has done much to make the growth of the school rapid and its work good. The school board -of Ambia has been careful in its selection of teachers and has worked hard to bring the school up to its excellent standard. The present high school course is the one adopted by the County Board of Education.

Earl Park

Organization : The town was platted on July 31, 1872, and incorporated in September, 1891. It was organized as a separate school corporation in June, 1893, by electing Joseph R. Gaunt, Howard L. Hix and Thomas McDonald members of the first school board. J. F. Averv succeeded Mr. Hix in 1896, and W. C. Ditton succeeded Mr. McDonald in 1901. No other -changes have been made in the board.

Until the town was incoi-porated it was in district four, Richland township. The first school house in the town was built by Trustee Robert Kelley in 1873. It stood just east of the park. Mr. Kelley employed Allen Case as the first teacher in this building. His salary was |310, and with this he started a little grocery store in the town. Ida Greenlee taught the school in 1874-5 and Sarah A. Henry (Dinwiddle) in 1875-6. Mrs. Dinwiddle was succeeded by Samuel Houser in 1876-7. An additional room was built in 1877, and a Mr. Snoddy and Laura Brier taught the first graded school in 1877-8. Mr. Snoddy was succeeded by a Mr- Hollihan in the spring of 1871) and a Mr. Brown in 1879-80. Mellie Taylor was assistant teacher to Mr. Hollihan and ]\Ir. Brown. Joseph S. Van- Atta taught in 1881-2-3-4, with Mellie Taylor (who became Mrs. VanAtta in 1882) as his assistant. Robert L. Cox was principal for the next four years after which Mr. YanAtta taught three years more. Two more rooms were built and a third teacher employed in 1885. Kora Jewel graduated from the common school in 1886 and was the first graduate in the town and township. She procured a teacher's license and taught in the intermediate room in 1886-7-

Will E. Caroon was employed by the town school board, with Freddie Cox and Mrs. Seward as his first assistants. This was in 1893-4. W. J. Whinery succeeded Mr. Caroon in 1895-6-7, Louis Lambert in 1897-8-9 and 1900, E. A. Turner in 1900-1, James H. Gray in 1901-2-3, Oscar Noe in 1903-4, and Otis S. Roberts in 1904-5. The fourth teacher was employed in 1896-7. Mr. Lambert's assistants in 1897-8 were Mrs. Mellie VanAtta, Mrs. A. I). Raub and Mrs. Maude H. Seward. The first high school work was done bv W. J. Whinerv in 1896-7. Mr. Lambert completed the organization of a three j^ears' course in 1897-8, and in 1899 graduated the first class from the high school. The members of this class were Susie Menefee and Mame Avery. Miss Avery afterward taught in the country and in Earl Park. Miss Menefee graduated from DePauw Universitj', and taught in the Oxford high school in 1904-5.

In 1897 the old frame school house was condemned as unsafe and the present commodious building was erected at a cost of about |9,000. This edifice is well arranged in the interior, is heated with hot-air furnaces and supplied with modern conveniences. It stands on a high and beautiful cami)us in the eastern part of the town and presents an imposing sight to visitors approaching Earl Park, It is a great credit to the educational interests of the town. The picture shows Otis S. Roberts. Mrs. VanAtta, Samuel Avery, Gertrude Hitze and Mrs. Seward, the teachers for 1904-5, in the foreground- Mrs. Maude H. Seward, of Earl Park, is the senior in service of Benton county's able corps of teachers. She has taught continuously through every school year since the summer of 1881, and is now serving her twenty-second year as primary teacher in Earl Park. Otis S. Roberts is second in years of service, and it is probable that Mrs. VanAtta is third in this respect.

There is a noticeable growth of educational sentiment in Earl Park each year. ^lore pupils are remaining in the grades until they complete the common school course, and more graduates from the common school are entering the high school. Many of the high school graduates are becoming teachers and are aspiring to rise in their profession. The people of the town take great interest in the annual commencements and give much encouragement to the graduates.

The school has a library of nearly 200 books and a fair supply of apparatus. Though Earl Park was the last town in the county to establish a separate school corporation, the school board has aimed to keep up with other towns. The school has been supplied with good teachers, and the members of the board insist that the best work is none too good for the Earl Park school. The high school uses the uniform non-commissioned high school course adopted by the County Board of Education. The Rev. P. J. Webber has recently established a parochial school in the town and hopes to do good work.

Otterbein was laid out by John Levering and wife on October 25, 1872. Dr. John K. Thompson is said to have built the first dwelling in the town. Otterbein was named in honor of its first school teacher, William Otterbein Brown. It is probable that he was named for the celebrated Bishop Philip William Otterbein who was the founder of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Mr. Brown taught school in a room in his residence, witli his own and his iiciglibors" children for his

The first public school in the town was taught in a room above Henry H. Moore's grocery store which was the first business house built in Otterbein. The teacher was W. Minor Bryan and the school was taught in the winter of 1873-4. In the summer of 1874 John Wesley Ryan, trustee of Bolivar township, built the first schoolhouse in Otterbein. This building was erected on the lot now occupied by the M. E. parsonage. After this building was abandoned for a better one it was bought by Joseph Walsh, and it is now used for a storage room by Joseph Walsh & Sons. The first teacher in the new school house was Sidnev A. Willis. Marv Giles succeeded him in

In 1889 F. M. Maddox erected a substantial four-room brick building in Otterbein, and a graded school was organized with Charles B. Maddox as the first principal. William E. Caroon succeeded Mr. Maddox as principal in the winter of 1892-3, and Mr. Caroon was succeeded by Otis S. Roberts from 1893 until 1904. Mr. Roberts outlined a two years' high school course in the fall of 1894, which was as follows : Algebra, one and a half years; review of arithmetic, one-half year; general history, one and a half years; civics, one-half year; composition and rhetoric, two years; physical geography, one year; physics, one year. Owing to the crowded condition of the Otterbein school the trustees did not feel that it was proper to organize a threeyear high school course until ample room and additional teachers could be provided. In 1903 John Glynn built an |8,000 addition to the schoolhouse. This addition contains two large assembly rooms, two cloak rooms, a recitation room and an office. Mr. Glynn then put in a hot water heating plant for the entire building, and Otterbein now has a school house (shown in the illustration) of which the people of the town may well feel proud. This house completed, the three years' course adopted by the County Board of Education was placed in the high school, and was followed during the school year of 1903-4. Oscar Noe succeeded Mr. Roberts in 1904 and began his first term with the regular county course. A number of the patrons of the school thought a four years' course should be established, with a view of obtaining a commission. The superintendent visited Ottcrltcin and jdainiod a basis for a four years' course.

The plan vvus appiMjvcd by -Mi-, (ilviin and laL(;r In Mr. Smith. The latter and rriiH;ipal Noe have made a few changes and the course is now as follows:

All of the course is required excepting some two of the last four subjects in the fourth year. Any two of these may be omitted. About thirty ambitious students have enrolled in the high school, and there is little doubt about the school receiving a commission next year.

The present corps of teachers is Oscar Noe, principal high school ; Grace T. Crandall. assistant principal ; Charles Dodson, Prudence Y^'eager, Mrs. Dora Woody and Katharine Woodhams. Of the former pupils of the Otterbein school twelve have become teachers and twelve have attended higher institu- tions of learning. Trustee Smith is doing everything in his power to make the school a success, and the people of Otterbein are determined to have a school as good as the best and secure a commission. The school has a librar}- of over 200 volumes and a good supply of apparatus. Through the efforts of the high school students and the liberality of the community a good piano has recently been paid for and placed in the high school room.

Our Educational System And Its Foundation

"Kiiowledge and Jcarning jreiierall^' diffused throughout a comuiunity, being essential to the pi-eservatlon of a free goveninient, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement, and to provide by law for a general and uniform system of common schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all," is the command of the present constitution of Indiana. General means common or applying to all ; uniform means one form, things of a kind alike, and a system is composed of parts arranged in regular order. That the command of the constitution that the different parts of our school system should be made alike and placed together in regular order, has been well executed is fully proven b}^ the following facts : First, District limits have been abolished, and townships, towns and cities have become the units of school work. School officers of township, town and citv have the same names, and have about the same duties to perform. The school officers of all counties have the same official names and same duties to perform. State school officers, the missing link in our first school system, have been provided. The township, town and city school officers report to county school officers; the county officers report to the State Superintendent, and the State Superintendent reports to the Governor and the General Assembh;, the law-making and executive powers of the State. ToAvnship trustees have advisory boards, county superintendents have county boards of education, and the State Superintendent has a State Board of Education to work with in connection with official duties pertaining to the public schools. Second, An extensive course of study has been provided, continuing through sixteen years of school life; four years of primary and four years of elementary study in the common school, four years of secondary work in the high school, and four years of higher education in college. The school trustees provide the teachers, apparatus, and buildings for the common and high school pupils of their respective townships, towns and cities. The State provides colleges for the more advanced work. Third, Uniform text-books have been provided for the common schools and the 16,250 teachers that taught in Indiana in lOOi held licenses based on uniform teachers' examinations.

In 1903 the expense of maintaining the common schools of Indiana was |9,901,645.41, an average of |12.70 for each person enumerated as between the ages of six and twenty-one, and $17.6G for each pupil enrolled in all of the public schools in the State. An explanation of the sources from which our school funds come will now be of interest.

Fund means bottom or foundation. The foundation of the public school fund of Indiana lies in the act of Congress passed in 1785, providing for the reservation of each section numbered sixteen, for the maintenance of public schools. From the leasing and sale of these lands in Indiana has come a fund now amounting to $2,465,983.65. The amount of money derived from the sale of the lands in each county is retained and loaned in the county. Benton county had 8,320 acres of these lands and the |38,441.83 realized from the sale of them is now loaned in the county. This is called the Congressional Township Fund. Interest derived from it is distributed to the towns and townships entitled to it twice each year.

The sources of our immense State Common School Fund are not so easily given. On April 19, 1816, Congress reserved thirty-six sections of public lands in Indiana, containing salt springs. Later these lands were given to the State and were sold for 185,000, which is known as the Saline Fund. An act providing for the establishment of a State bank was passed by the General Assembly on January 28, 1834. This act provided for an annual tax of twelve and one-half cents on each share of bank stock, to be paid into the common school fund. This tax amounted to |80,000 and is known as the Bank Tax Fund. The State banking law authorized the State to borrow $3,000,000 to be used in paying for the State's half interest in the bank, or in making loans to peo])le that desired to become stockholders but liad not (*iiough money to pay for their stock. To be abh; to pay back tlie money borrowed, tlie State established a sinking- fund, which is simply a fund used to pay otr (or sink) a debt when it becomes due. This fund was to receive any part of the |o,0()0,()00 that was not loaned or invested in bank stock, all of the interest paid to the State by the borrowing stockholders in the bank, the princijial of all loans returned by stockholders, the profits on the shares of stock not paid for by the stockholders, and the profits on the shares of the stock owned by the State. The law provided that if the amount of the sinking fund was more than enough to pay the |3,000,000 borrowed, when it was due, the remainder was to be appropriated to the cause of common school education. The State's bank investment proved profitable. The loan was paid, and the princely sum of |4,255,731.87 was left for the school fund. This great amount is known as the Sinking Fund. In 1816 Congress donated two townships of land to Indiana to be used in establishing seminaries. The first constitution of the State directed that all fines paid by law-breakers and all moneys paid by persons desiring to purchase exemption from the military duties then required of citizens be paid into the seminary fund. In 1852 the seminaries were abolished and the lands and houses ordered sold. The |100,000 derived from this source was turned into the State treasury for the use of the common schools of the State and is known as the Seminary Fund. In 1836 Congress directed that the surplus then existing in the United States Treasury be divided amongst the States in proportion to their representation in that body. Indiana received $860,251: of this surplus and the General Assembly directed that |537,502 be placed to the credit of the common schools of the State. This is called the Surplus Revenue Fund. The new constitution directed that all of the funds so far described should become a part of the common school fund, together with all fines, all forfeitures to the State, all lauds and estates that revert to the State for want of other heirs and the proceeds of all lands given to the State by Congress. The constitution further declares that "The principal of the Common School Fund shall remain a perpetual fund, which may be increased, but shall never be diminished." The principal of this fund is increasing at the rate of about |55,000 a year and amounted to S10.49S.716.09 at the beginning of 1904. This is f 13.GS for each person enumerated in 1903. This fund seems to increase at about the same ratio as the enumeration, as the i>er cai)ita of interest for the last eight years has been eighty-two cents per annum for each person enumerated. For some years the General Assembly has fixed the State school tax levy at eleven cents on each hundred dollars of property valuation. In the year ending August 1, 1904, there was $18,438,35 of State school tax collected in Benton county. There is |41,536.3o of the principal of the common school fund drawing interest in the county. Twice each year the interest collected on this principal and the State school tax collected in the county are sent to the State treasurer by the county treasurer. The State treasurer reports to the State superintendent the total amount of funds received from the ninety-two counties in the State. The State superinendent divides the total amount of money reported by the total number of persons enumerated in the State the April previous to the distribution and gets the amount each person enumerated is entitled to for school purposes. He multiplies this amount by the number enumerated in each county and directs the State treasurer to send to each county treasurer the amount due to the schools of that county. The county auditor then apportions to each town and township its part of the money to be distributed and gives the township trustee or treasurer of the town school board an order on the county treasurer for the amount due his town or township. The amount of congressional school funds loaned in Benton county is |38,441.83. The interest collected on this amount is distributed semi-annuallv bv the countv auditor. The county superintendent furnishes him a list of persons enumerated in the congressional tow^nships, as they were originally surveved, and he must distribute to those enumerated in each congressional township such a part of the interest as arises from the sale of the school section that had belonged to that township. In this distribution it happens that the amount received for each person enumerated in different school corporations is widely different. To equalize this the auditor must distribute the common school funds so that every trustee in the county will get the same amount of money for each person enumerated. To illustrate: If each person enumerated in Benton county was entitled to |2.00, and each one in

Fowler rGccivcd |1.30 from (ho fongressional fund, then eaf;h one would receive seventy cents from the common school fund. If each one enumerated in Oxford entitled that town to but twenty-five cents from tlx* conj^ressional fund, Oxford would then be entitled to |1.75 of the common school fund for each l)erson enumerated. All of tiie jiroceeds of the funds so far described are called Tuition Ileveniies and must be used to pay teachers and for no other purj)oso. During the year ending August 1, IDOi, 12,307.50 of congressional and $11,043.42 of common school funds were distributed in Benton county.

The sources from which local tuition funds are derived are the liquor license, the dog, and the township or town local tax tuition funds. All funds jjaid for liquor license are apportioned by the county auditor to the several towns or townships to which they belong. In March of each year the trustee of each township must pay into the county treasury all of the dog tax to exceed |100 that he may have in his possession. After the claims of the townships not having sufficient dogs funds to pay for stock killed by dogs have all been met, the surplus of this fund is distributed to the different school corporations by the county auditor. Town school boards and township trustees levy local tuition taxes to secure sufficient funds to pay teachers. This tax is paid to the county treasurer and by him paid to the trustees, each town or township receiving the amount paid by its taxpayers. During the year ending August 1, 1904, 1300 liquor license fees, |685.50 dog tax, and |34,10T.S8 local taxes were placed in the tuition funds of the different towns and townships in the county. If these amounts are added to the |18,458.35 State school tax and |2,439.73 interest on loans sent to the State treasurer, the total will be 155.971.46 tuition funds raised in Benton countv in the vear given above. This is 115.04 per capita (for each person) as enumerated and 118.16 per capita of the actual enrollment of pupils in the schools in the countv that vear. Of this amount $9,834.66 was distributed to schools in other parts of the State by the State superintendent, leaving |12.40 per capita of enumeration and 114.79 per capita of enrollment in the county. By transfers paid for out of the special school fund and credited to the tuition fund, and the amount paid out of the former fund for school supervision in graded schools, the total amount raised that year that could be used for paying teachers in the county was $55,831.18. The teachers received |54,U6.11 of this amount for their work in the schools. This is $14.55 for each person enumerated and |1T.56 for each pupil enrolled in the schools during the year.

The special school tax produces the fund used in paving for school grounds, houses, furniture, apparatus, repairs, coal, heating apparatus, etc., and in paying janitors' fees, township institute fees, transfers for school purposes, and (if the trustee so desires) supervision of graded schools. It is levied, collected and distributed in the same manner as the local tuition tax. In this fund the proceeds of all sales of school property are placed, as is also any money borrowed to be used for any of the purposes enumerated above. The taxes paid into this fund in 1904 amounted to |38,935.41; received from other sources, |8,568.16, making a total of $47,503.57 of special funds raised in the county during the year. The expenditures for the year were as follows : Permanent improvements, $8,568.16; transfers, $2,918.16; supervision, $2,582.50; and other expenses, $22,740, making a total of $38,616.23. "Other expenses" means the regular running expenses of the schools. This per capita tax is $6.11 and $7.38 of enumeration and enrollment respectively, making a total expenditure of f 20.66 for each person enumerated and $24.94 for each pupil enrolled in Benton county during the school year ending in 1904.