Fitchburg City (part 3 of 3)

In 1868 the town appropriated 816,000 for the support of schools and expended nearly $100,000 for new buildings and alterations and repairs of old houses.

The High School had outgrown its quarters, and in 1868 the erection of a handsome High School building was begun on the old Academy lot. It was completed in 1869, and cost upwards of $.50,000. It still serves the purpose for which it was built, and is a well-arranged, commodious school edifice - an ornament and credit to Fitchburg.

Early in 1873 Mr. Eli A. Hubbard, who was principal of the High School, 1854-57, was secured to fill the newly-established office of superintendent of schools. He began his duties in April, 1873, and held the position about two years, when he resigned, much to the regret of our citizens. In 1875 Mr. Joseph G. Edgerly was elected his successor, and has held the office to the present time. Mr. Edgerly has attended faithfully to his duties, and his annual reports are documents full of interesting and valuable information regarding the progress and needs of the schools of the city.

The general condition of our public schools since the city form of government was adopted can perhaps best be shown by the following table giving the annual appropriations, number of teachers employed and average daily attendance of pupils from 1873 to 1888 inclusive :

The appropriations above given do not include the amounts voted for repairs and new school-houses, but simply the appropriations for teachers' salaries, fuel, care of school-houses and rooms, and minor incidental expenses.

The law passed in 1884, requiring cities and towns in this State to furnish school-books to the pupils, caused an average increase of $4500 in the annual school appropriations for the last four years, and this ia included in the figures for 1885-88 in the above table.

In 1886 the Catholics established a parochial school here, and converted their old church into a schoolhouse for this purpose. A large proportion of their children attend this school, thus causing a considerable falling off in the attendance of the public schools. A parochial school building is now in process of erection iu West Fitchburg.

was considerably enlarged, at an expense of $10,000, and within a few years the Day Street house has been much enlarged and improved, at considerable expense.

During the past five years a number of new and substantial brick school-houses have been built, the most important of which are the Rollstone Street house, erected in 1883, one on Maverick Street and another on Highland Avenue, built in 1885, and the Clarendon Street house, built in 1887. The aggregate cost of the four structures was about $50,000, nearly one-third of which was expended on the Clarendon Street house, which has several improvements that the older buildings lack. It is said to be the best lighted, best heated and best ventilated building in town.

The city now owns school property valued at about $250,000. There are twenty school building'', in which are kept forty-nine schools, graded as follows ; one High School, four grammar schools, twelve intermediate, twenty-five primary and seven suburban ungraded schools. These are taught by some seventy teachers, most of whom are graduates of our own public schools. Instruction in singing and drawing is also given throughout the school year by two competent teachers.

The passage of the Illiterate Minor Bill by the Legislature in 1887 obliged the city to largely increase its provisions for evening schools. During the fall session in 1886, and the two sessions in 1887, 622 pupils registered at these schools, though the average nightly attendance was only sixty-three. At the session early in 1888, 588 pupils registered, and the average nightly attendance was 227.

We will conclude this section on the public schools of Fitchburg with a few remarks concerning the High School. The building, which is pleasantly located on a lot bounded by Academy, Davis, Pleasant and High Streets and is surrounded by well-kept grounds, contains one large school-room, one smaller and five recitation-rooms, besides a laboratory, mineralogical cabinet, reception-room, etc., all of which are exclusively devoted to the High School.

The school has prospered and been a credit to the town and city since it was established, in 1849, and has been under the care of competent instructors, both principals and assistants, who have labored faithfully to maintain a high standard of scholarship.

Herbert William Kittredge, A.M., the present principal, began his duties here in September, 188G, and under his management the school has been satisfactorily carried on since. He is efficiently aided in his work by six assistant teachers - four being ladies and two gentlemen.

The number of pupils in the High School at the present time (autumn of 1888) is two hundred and .fifty-six - the largest number ever enrolled in the school.

In one respect, we regret to say, our High School has not kept up the high standing it once had. Fifteen years ago the Fitchburg High School was recognized as an excellent fitting-school for college, and ranking with the High Schools of Worcester, Somerviile and other large cities. During the eight years following 1867 thirteen of its graduates entered Harvard College alone, and every one passed through the entrance examin.ations with credit to himself and the school; and during the same eight years as many graduates entered other colleges.

Since 1875 the school has lo*t its prestige in this respect, not because of lack of ability or desire on the part of the principals of the school to fit boys for college, but because the popular sentiment decreed that so much time and attention should not be devoted to classical study in the High School ; but it is to be hoped that some time in the future the Fitchburg High School may regain its former high rank as a fitting school.

Libraries. - The Fitchburg Public Library, which is one of our most valuable and highly appreciated educational institutions, was not established until 1859; but for thirty years previous there was in Fitchburg some description of library, whose volumes were more or less accessible to the ciiizens.

Inasmuch as our present library is the natural outgrowth of these early collections of books, it is proper and advisable to give a short history of these efforts of the citizens to get a library together, prior to 1859, when the town came to the re-cue, appropriated money and provided accommodations for a free public, library.

The Fitchburg Philosophical Society. - This appears to be the first literary association in Fitchburg of which we have any knowledge. It was organized about 1828 for the purpose of having lectures and debates, - what, in the rural parlance of today, is called a " Lyceum." It was before this society that Mr. Wood, in 1831, delivered his course of lectures on the early history of Fitchburg.

It was the intention of this society to accumulate a library, and, with this purpose in view, a number of books were purchased with money subscribed by the member.'*, and Drs. Marshall and Abercrombie kindly furnished accommodations in their office for these books. The principal portion of this early col- . lection consisted of a set of forty-seven large volumes, entitled "The Cyclopedia; or. Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature." This work was compiled by Abraham Rees, D.D., F.R.S., and comprised forty-one volumes of print, the other six containing maps and plates. These books were in themselves almost a complete library, and must have been quite expensive. The entire set has come down to our day, having been successively the property of the Philosophical Society, Library Association, Athenaium and Public Library.

At the present time the " Cyclopedia" is in the Wallace Library and Art Building, and one day in July, 1888, the writer took occasion to go there for the special purpose of seeing this relic of by-gone days. All forty-seven volumes were found packed away in a basement room, and the librarian informed the writer that no one had ever before, to his knowledge, asked to see these books since he became librarian, fifteen years ago.

The volumes are in an excellent state of preservation, and it seems as if they ought to occupy a place of honor in the library, and be carefully preserved, for unquestionably Rees' " Cyclopedia " may be considered the foundation of the Fitchburg Public Library.

The Fitchburg Library As.sociATioN.^This was a stock organization, each member thereof holding one or more shares. The Association purchased the books belonging to the Philosophical Society and in the course of the next fourteen years added enough to make, in 1852, a total of about five hundred volumes.

The library of the Association was kept in Mr. Phineas S. Crocker's book-bindery and stationery store, a small, one-story wooden building on the site now occupied by the Stiles Block. Mr. Crocker was for several years librarian, and some of our older citizens well remember his genial and accommodating manners. George E. Towne, Esq., in his address at the dedication of the Wallace Library and Art Building, July 1, 1885, speaking of Mr. Crocker as a librarian, said, "The care bestowed by him upon the few volumes, the satisfaction with which he aided applicants in their selections, and the pride he felt in having been selected as worthy to bear such tremendous responsibility, were something marvelous to see."

Books were loaned to members, and it is probable that no very strict account of the delivery and return of books was kept, for when the affairs of the Asso-

The Fitchburg Library Association cannot be said to have been a flourishing institution. The people _ did not take hold of the enterprise with the enthusiasm that was essential to make it a success. The membership was not large, there being only thirtythree shareliolders in 1852.

By that time it had finished its mission of preserving and gradually increasing a collection of books, the nucleus of a future public library, and was ready to give way to, and be absorbed by, a new and stronger library organization, -

The Fitchburg Athen^um. - December 6, 1851, a number of citizens who were desirous of having a new library association formed in town, met at the Fitchburg Hotel to talk the matter over. At this meeting it was decided to start a subscription paper, and also to confer with the shareholders of the Fitchburg Library Association, and ascertain upon what terms they would dispose of their library to the new association. A committee of five, consisting of Charles Mason, Rev. C. Woodhouse, Asher Green, W.B. Wood and L. H. Bradford, was chosen to take the matter in charge and report at a future meeting, " to be called at such time as the committee shall see fit." It was also voted that this committee report, at the same time, a plan of organization for the proposed library association.

It was not until March 4, 1852, that the committee made their report to the citizens interested. The meeting was held in the town-hall and a preliminary report read by Mr. Mason, chairman of the committee.

The substance of this report was that the names of one hundred and twenty-five subscribers, at five dollars each, had been obtained by Mr. William B. Wood ; that the members of the Fitchburg Library Association had voted to transfer their library to the proposed new association, provided each of its members be entitled to one share in the new association, and become a member of it, with all the privileges of new subscribers. As the membership of the Library Association was thirty-three, and each share in the new association was worth five dollars, this would be equivalent to paying one hundred and sixty-five dollars for the library which contained, as was supposed, about five hundred volumes. The coinmittee considered this a fair price and recommended that the library be purchased on the terms stated.

The report then proceeded to enumerate the advantages that would arise from the institution of such a library in Fitchburg, and marked out, in a general way, a plan of organization and the methods to be used in carrying on the association. Each member (except those who came in from the Fitchburg Library Association) was to pay five dollars, and thereby be entitled to one share in the association and to pay one dollar per year, to be applied to the increase of the library. Provisions were also made for officers, board of directors, etc., and .suitable regulations for the loaning and returning of books.

It was also recommended to have a course of lectures each winter, that vigorous efforts be made to increase the number of fubscribers and that, "at a proper time, the Association be organized, as Proprietors of a Library, as a corporation, under the provisions of the Revised Statutes."

The above report was unanimously accepted and the committee were instructed to present apian of organization at a future meeting and, in the meantime, to take measures to procure additional suljscribers and to obtain suitable accommodatious for the Library in the new Town House.

In accordance with the last instruction, the matter of providing a room in the town-house, that was to be built immediately, was brought before the citizens at the annual town-meeting, April 5, 1852, and it was voted " that the building Committee be authorized to procure or provide a room for the Library Association in the new Town House."

Matters progressed favorably in all respects, and by the following autumn the association was about ready to begin its work. The name fixed upon was the Fitchburg Athenajum, and the shareholders were duly organized as a library association under that name.

One of the first acts of the Athenaeum was to make arrangements for a course of lectures by well-known men during the winter of 1852-53. The committee on lectures was Charles Mason, Rev. John Jennings and Rev. Horatio Stebbins, and no pains were spared by this committee to secure an able and popular course of lectures.

This was essentially an ^periment, but the citizens appreciated the earnest labor of the committee and made it a success in every way. Season tickets for the course were put at a price certainly within the reach of all, a price that seems ridiculously small in these daj-s, viz., one dollar for gentlemen and fifty cents for ladies.

A course of twelve Lectures will be delivered before the Fitchburg AthenaniDi the current winter. The Introductory lecture will be by the Rev. Mark Hopkins, D.D., President of Williams College, on Tuesday evening, Dec. 2l8t, at the Meeting House of the Calvinistic Congregational Society. The e-vercises on the Tuesday evening succeeding will be a Poem, by the Rev. John Pierpont, of Medford.

The announcement then went on to state that the list had not yet been completed, and mentioned the names of iive prominent lecturers with whom dates had already been arranged.

The following is a correct copy of the list of lecturers and the dates on which they appeared before the Fitchburg Athenieum audiences. It is a list with which any lecture bureau might well be satisfied and even be proud of. It is copied directly from the manuscript list in the possession of Mr. Mason, the chairman of the Lecture Committee, who did most of the arranging and corresponding with tho various lecturers :

The first three lectures were given in the Calvinistic Congregational Church, but the remaining nine were delivered in the hall of the new town house, as the following extract from the Sentinel of January 7, 1853, shows :

Athen.i:um Lectures. - The remaining nine lectures of the couree will be in the New Town Hall, which will be first used for that purpose on Tuesday evening, Jan. 11th. A lecture will then be delivered by the Hon. Horace Greklet, of the New York Trilmic, and a poem by Ch.\rlE8 TllURRER, Esq., of Worcester. We anticipate seeing the elegant and spacious hall filled with an audience of the intelligent citizens of the neighboring towns, aa well as of our own, to enjoy the rich intellectual treat which may be expected on the occasion.

These anticipations were fully realized, for the audience that evening was the largest of any during the course, numbering about nine hundred and fifty.

That the course of lectures, as a whole, was a success, financially as well as intellectually, is shown by the following, taken from the " First Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Fitchburg Athenaeum."

The average attendance upon the lectures was about 750 ; the largest number present at any one time was probably 950, which was on the evening of the fii^t lecture in the new Town Hall. About 725 tickets were sold for the whole course, and about 950, in all, for single evenings. The gross proceeds of the lectures amounted to SG30.G9, the expenses of the course to ?4ll.2o, leaving a surplus of 8219.44 to be applied to the uses of the Library.

From this same report we also learn that five hundred and fifty books were purchased during the year and about forty-five donated ; and these, with the four hundred and thirty-five volumes in the library transferred from the Fitchburg Library Association, made a total of over a thousand volumes, which, thirty-five years ago, might well be considered a very good-sized library.