Read by Miss Ella Thomas.
I have been asked to tell something of the pioneer schools in
Schoolcraft; not that I can relate anything of much interest, or of
great importance; but because I taught the first public school in this
village, in the year 1834, in a small building erected for that purpose
on "The public square," now "The park." I had some 25 or 30 pupils.
Those recently from New England were well advanced in the studies then
taught in district schools, while others, whose parents had lived on the
frontier, had never seen the inside of a school room and were unable to
read at 10 and 12 years of age; yet their progress was astonishingly
rapid.
Sickness in the autumn was so general that it necessitated the closing
of the school. As I returned to my home in Vermont in November and was
not again in Schoolcraft until the fall of 1839, I can say little of the
schools during those five years. I was told of the small school house on
"The Common," having been moved off and used for other purposes, that
schools had been taught in different rooms, sometimes as private
schools; for the Yankee settlers appreciated the advantage of education
for their children. Many new settlers had moved here, and some of the
frontiersmen had gone farther west.
There were more than 100 scholars in this district at that time, 1839,
and a two-story school house had been built on the corner of Grand and
Eliza streets, containing two rooms, one on each floor. This was the
district schoolhouse, that we all remember and is now used as a barn by
Mr. Buss.
On my arrival I was hired to teach in the lower room, and a Mr. Towers
in the upper. It is scarcely necessary to say, the present admirable
plan of grading schools was then unknown, and these rooms were to be
filled, pupils going to the teacher preferred. However, it was expected
the gentleman would teach the older scholars in the upper room, while I
took the little folks; yet several young ladies chose to go in the lower
room. As it was the custom for pupils to study independently, going
through the arithmetic, etc., by themselves, it made little difference
in which room their studies were pursued, provided their teacher was
competent to render assistance when asked for. My room soon became too
full for the pupils to be accommodated, and the director obliged several
to go into the upper room.
But few of the scholars of 1834 were among the 60 or 70 in attendance. A
few were in Mr. Towers' room. Others, in whom I had felt an interest,
had moved to newer regions, probably growing up with little schooling,
although endowed with bright intellects. H. P. Smith is the only one, of
those earlier pupils, now living in this village. And, indeed, I know of
but one or two left on this side of "The Better Land." I can name
several of the scholars of 1839, James H. Bates and his three
brothers--all passed from earth but himself; six children of James
Smith, only two of whom are living, Hannah Kirby, her brother and
sisters; H. P. Smith and sister, Helen, etc.
The late Mr. Willis Judson has frequently joked about his fear of
chastisement, when, Mr. Towers being sick, I assumed authority in his
room for a few days, while another young lady filled my place. Only a
few months since, Mr. Archibald Finlay told his recollections of the
time I was his teacher. And the year of "The Columbian Exposition" Mr.
Oscar Forsythe, who has been a hardware merchant in Bay City for many
years, stopped in this place, when returning from the world's fair. He
called on me saying: "You may not know me, but I went to school to you
54 years ago." He had not been here for more than 40 years. Therefore it
was not to be expected I should recognize the young lad in the
prosperous elderly gentleman.
Two young ladies, nieces of Mrs. L. H. Stone, followed Mr. Towers and
myself in this school. They were good teachers. Later a few years, our
schools were taught, sometimes by competent teachers, and sometimes by
those less so. About 1843, Mr. Eaton, a Baptist minister, opened a
private school, in one of the school rooms, by permission of the school
board. He was a college graduate, and his school was of great benefit to
our village. When he left, Mr. Dwinell, a graduate of Yale, took his
place, filling it with satisfaction to his pupils.
In 1846, through the generosity of Rev. William Taylor, "Cedar Park
Seminary" was opened. For some years that was one of the most popular
schools in western Michigan. The rapid growth of Kalamazoo enabled her
citizens to establish schools with superior advantages, and Cedar Park
Seminary was sold to this district.
The worth of the present high school and of the lower departments are
too well known to render any remarks concerning them necessary.