U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statementon the following page: ----------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER XXI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION Education in Lewis County began while yet the savages hovered around the Hacker's creek settlements. West's fort served not only as a refuge for the people in time of danger but also as an agency in the dissemina- tion of knowledge. The fort was practically deserted during the winter months, when the danger of Indian raids had ceased, and the house within the stockade made as good a school house as there was anywhere in north- western Virginia. When the danger from Indian raids had ceased, the old fort was still used for both educa- tional and religious purposes until it was torn down. Recourse was then had to abandoned cabins, or if there were none, then schoolhouses were erected in abandoned fields which could no longer profitably be cropped. As each later settlement was made, the pioneers attempted to secure teachers and to establish schools. The few set- tlers on Little Skin creek had a school before the set- tlement was a half dozen years old, and schools in that community continued to be taught annually from that time forth. The pioneers of Collins Settlement, Free- man's creek, Big Skin creek and other sections were equally prompt in lighting the torch of education. The children of isolated settlers like Tom Boilen on Sand fork, Lewis Stallman on Leading creek, or John Hurst on Fink, were likely to grow up illiterate. The poor man, who had purchased land and who faced utter ruin unless he were able to pay for it within a few years could not afford to pay the tuition and was too proud to apply for pittance provided by the great state of Vir- ginia, "Mother of Presidents" — and of illiterates — and sometimes allowed his children to grow up in ignorance. The educational policy of Virginia before the war was based upon the theory that education was the busi- ness of the parent or, at most, of the community. The people of the eastern part of the state had a fairly good system of private or parochial schools to which they might send their children. The man who did not send his children to school was looked down upon by his neighbors. If he could not afford the expense of an ed- ucation for his children, then the state, upon his mak- ing the humiliating confession of indigence, furnished a pitiful sum from a fund created, not for the establish- ment of schools for poor children, but for paying their tuition in schools which happened to be in existence. The people of the west had no permanent schools, with the exception of Randolph Academy. They had no as- surance of a school unless the parents of a community banded together, and employed the services of such teachers as were available. The school term was sure to be short, the instruction was likely to be indifferent, and conditions were unsatisfactory all around. The people west of the Alleghanies were like the Puritans of New England in their belief in education as a factor in the development of democratic institutions- In general they were an intelligent and enterprising class of people, many of whom could read and write. Most of them were passionately devoted to education, and they made tremendous sacrifices in order that the gift of learning which they had received should be passed on to their children. The schools which they established can not be com- pared for one moment to the rural schools of the present time, but they were far better than none at all. The "old field" schoolhouse with its old fashioned school- teacher versed only in the three R's was a factor of greatest importance in the development of Lewis County. The subscription school has long since passed away, but it has left its indelible impression upon the character of the people. A description of one of the old buildings erected on Skin creek, which is typical of all those of the period is quoted from John Strange Hall, formerly county superintendent of free schools : "The house was 16x18 ft; built of round logs, slightly scutched down on the inside. The door, loft and roof were made of boards — the latter weighted down with poles. The cracks were chinked and daubed except one at the end and one at the side next the door, which was near the corner. These were enlarged for windows. There was also a small window on the opposite side near the fire. Instead of glass for filling the windows, one of the patrons furnished a few copies of the Pittsburgh Christian Advocate for the purpose. These were cut into strips of suitable width and supported by upright slats, were pasted in the windows and greased to let in the light. My teacher told me it was to let the dark out. Broad poplar slabs were leveled with a broadax and closely jointed for a floor and others dressed more care- fully were put up in front of the windows for writing desks. Chestnut saplings split, leveled and shaved, and supported by legs of suitable length, served for seats. Every pupil carried his own back, for the benches had none. Blackboards did not adorn the schoolhouses of that age. * * * "The chief glory of the edifice was its chimney. It was no half wooden concern liable to take fire whenever an armful of dry wood was thrown on. One-half the north end was cut out, and a rough, though substantial, stone chimney with a capacity to absorb a respectable log heap and roast an ox on the hearth completed the schoolhouse." All the schools were made up by subscription. Spe- cific articles of agreement between the patrons, — includ- ing the school commissioners for the indigent children — and the teachers were drawn up showing what was to be taught. All included spelling, writing, reading, with usually a part or the whole of Pike's arithmetic. The tuition charged by the teacher in the rural districts of the county was usually a dollar and a half per term for the simpler branches, and two dollars per term when geog- raphy and grammar were included in the program. The school term was for three months or sixty-five days. School began promptly at eight o'clock and closed at five. There was seldom a case of tardiness, though some of the children walked a distance of three or four miles from their homes. When not reciting, the pupils were kept constantly at their books, and no idleness was permitted. Pike's arithmetic, a speller and a Testament were the only textbooks in use. Discipline was main- tained, not with the classic birch of the north, but with a tough hickory switch from three to five feet in length. "This in our school,' says Mr. Hall, "was used as an emblem of authority rather than as an instrument of torture; but it was convertible." Spelling was the favorite accomplishment of the pupils, and there was no higher honor than to get the greatest number of head-marks or to stand up longest in the spelling match. Teaching was not regarded as a profession in pioneer days. With one exception every one of the teachers made it a stepping stone to some other position. The careless and good-for-nothing teachers, of whom there were a few, sank into obscurity; the efficient passed into positions of public trust; but, as Mr. Hall says, there was none who attained to greater eminence, or who rendered a greater service to his community in his chosen field than he did in his humble position of schoolmaster. The teacher was generally the young man in the community who had stood at the head of his classes at the local school, or had attended another school or college and secured a better education than it was possible to obtain at home. Clad in their flowing hunting shirts and buckskin moccasins they were pic- turesque figures as they pointed the way for their youth- ful charges over the stony paths of learning. Summer schools were taught in some communities which had become educational centers by virtue of the labors of a long line of especially distinguished teachers. These were attended largely by the young women of the community, for few of the boys who were old enough to guide a shovel plow between the corn rows or wield a hoe were able to take advantage of them. Sometimes teachers managed to spend a term at a school outside of their districts, where they paid their board by cutting wood, feeding the stock, grubbing, and making them- selves generally useful. It was considered a far better way to secure an education than to take advantage of the provisions of the Literary fund of the state. Oc- casionally school teachers from New England would come into Virginia, teach two or three years and then either settle here on a farm or return home. There was no supervision of the schools by the state — no teachers' examinations, no correlation of the work of different schools. All was left to the discretion of the citizens of the community who banded together to se- cure a teacher. There was a slender incentive to good schools in the fact that school commissioners might re- fuse to disburse any of the money furnished by the state for the education of indigent children unless the teacher met with their approval. The Literary fund of the state was not sufficient at any time to influence greatly the schools of the county. It consisted of forfeitures and fines and proceeds of the sale of property which has reverted to the state through failure of heirs. By an act passed in 1818 it was pro- vided that from five to fifteen school commissioners should be appointed in each county for the purpose of disbursing the pro rata share of the proceeds of the Lit- erary fund allotted to the county. The county court of Lewis appointed on the board Joseph McCoy, John Mitchell, Asa Squire, David W. Sleeth, Edward Jackson, Lewis Maxwell and Aaron Gould, nearly all of whom had served an apprenticeship as teachers. Varying amounts were to be disbursed, at first not more than $200, then rising to $500, until in 1844 the General As- sembly, in lieu of the annual appropriation, gave the lump sum of $469.21. This was to abolish illiteracy in Lewis County — a jurisdiction then extending from the divide east of the Buckhannon river to the present line between Wirt and Calhoun counties. Efforts had been made at various times to increase the amount. In the convention of 1829-30 it was proposed by a western del- egate that a poll tax of twenty-five cents per year, to- gether with an equal amount set aside by the state should form a fund, the interest of which was to be used for elementary education. It was shown in the conven- tion that at that time Virginia made provision for the indifferent education of only one-eighth as many chil- dren as were provided annually with adequate education by the little state of Connecticut. The convention ut- terly ignored the plea of the people of the west for a better system of education. The Auditor's report for 1833 gives an interesting glimpse into the activities of the school commissioners for Lewis County. There were then thirty-four schools in the county attended by poor children, and two hundred and thirty-four poor children out of a total of five hun- dred applicants received the benefit of the fund. The amount at the disposal of the commisioners that year was $304.99, and the wonder is that they succeeded in getting instruction for as many children as they did. It must not be forgotten also that there were many chil- dren not in school because their parents would not ap- ply for the benefits of the fund. Among the indefatigable workers for better schools in Lewis County there was none more active than Thomas Bland who served as school commissioner for many years, and whose efforts in organizing schools in various parts of the county met with great success. He was ably seconded in his efforts by Michael G. Bush in the upper valley of the West Fork, who had been one of the most successful teachers in the county, and by Elias Lowther and Colonel John McWhorter. The legislature was being continually reminded of the need of greater appropriations for the county. Citizens were urged to keep their schools going. Everything possible was done to increase the interest in education and to promote progress in the instruction of the youth of the county. The need for a better system became more and more apparent. Advocates of education in other counties ex- perienced the same difficulties. The people determined to take united action to bring pressure to bear on the legislature. In 1841 a convention met in the old Pres- byterian church in Clarksburg, with 140 delegates in at- tendance, among whom were John McWhorter, Thomas Bland, R. W. Lowther, A. G. Reger and Cabell Taven- ner from Lewis County. The convention declared in fa- vor of better schools, and drafted strong resolutions recommending changes in the existing system. No immediate results were apparent. In 1845, how- ever, the legislature passed an act providing for the dis- tricting of the counties apparently with the view of se- curing better supervision of the schools already es- tablished. One school commissioner was to be appoint- ed from each of the districts and the board should choose a superintendent who should keep an accurate roll of the children of the county, account for the income receiv- ed from the Literary fund, and render a report on the effects of its expenditure. It was also provided by an act passed a little later that the county court might es- tablish a school in each of the districts if two-thirds of the voters of the county were in favor of the measure. Trustees were to be selected for such schools, two by the voters of the districts and one by the school commis- sioners. The county court finished the task of dividing Lewis county into eighteen districts the next year. The dis- tricts as defined were as follows: (1) corporation of Weston; (2) Polk creek and Mur- phy's creek and their tributaries; (3) Leading creek; (4) Sand fork; (5) West Fork river above the mouth of Sand fork, and also Oil creek; (6) Tributaries flow- ing into the West Fork from the west below the mouth of Polk creek; (7) Sand fork and Big Skin creek; (8) Canoe run, Carrion run. Rush run, and Middle run; (9) Little Skin creek; (10) Stone Coal creek; (11-16) districts now in Upshur; (17) tributaries from the east side of the West Fork river from the mouth of Stone Coal to the Harrison County line and the valley of Hacker's creek as far up as the mouth of Jesse's run; (18) remainder of Hacker's creek. The districts were far too large for the purpose for which they were cre- ated: — namely, to be centers each for a school. An elec- tion for the establishment of a school within one of the districts would be favored by all the people residing near the center of a district where it was proposed to estab- lish a public school; and opposed by all who lived on the edge of the school district, for they would have to pro- vide for the education of their children in subscription schools as before. The results was that not a single pub- lic school was created in Lewis County prior to the formation of West Virginia. The creation of the office of superintendent of schools served in a measure to in- crease the efficiency of the teachers. During the admin- istration of John Morrow especially, 1857-59, much was accomplished. In the constitutional convention of 1850 the dele- gates from the western counties made a determined ef- fort to establish a system of education under which schools should be established by the state, where rich and poor children alike would be able to secure an edu- cation. The resolutions providing for a clause in the con- stitution on the subject of free schools were voted down. The people of the east feared that they would be taxed for the support of schools in the west — a condition that would have been no worse, however, than the long con- tinued policy of disproportionate taxation of the people of the west for the purpose of creating internal improve- ments for the east. Gradually there grew up educational centers where the schools were better than at other places, due either to the superior attainments of some teacher, or to a keen interest in educational affairs among the citizens of a community. Weston of course had good schools very early in its history, where the teachers were better than any of the country districts could afford; but there were other places like Jane Lew, Big Skin creek, Jack- sonville, Freeman's crek and, at a later date. Canoe run, where there was a lively interest in education and where the schools were sometimes better than they are now. At Weston the schools were sometimes taught by young men who had lately come into the community purposing to enter business or one of the professions- The struggling lawyer waiting for practice often turned to school teaching in his own house to earn the where- withal to provide victuals. The young man who intend- ed to start in business might establish a school while he was forming acquaintances among the people. Also there were a number of New Englanders, anxious to see the world, and to make a little money while on their way, who came to Weston to teach school. It was one of the first cares of the trustees of the town in 1818 to secure a lot for a cemetery on which a school house might be built; but no public building was erected for school pur- poses until after the Civil war. Many of the schools were taught in private houses; some teachers used the courthouse for their classes; and after the erection of churches in Weston they were favorite places for schools. The location of the dwelling which housed the first school and the first teacher in Weston has apparently been forgotten, but it is confidently asserted that Weston had a school as early as 1819, for obituaries of old men who spent their boyhood in Weston speak of their at- tending schools in the town. In 1832 a school was established in Weston by Matthew Holt, which apparently was better than most of the others, for it attracted young Jonathan M. Ben- nett from the forks of the river to complete his educa- tion. The Holt school was for big boys and young men who could not afford to go away to college. Schools for little boys and young ladies were maintained separately from the beginning. The most prominent of the teach- ers of the latter type of school was Mrs. Mary A. Wilson, who came to Weston in 1833 and opened a school the same year. This work was continued for many years by Mrs. Wilson and her daughters who were people of more than ordinary culture and refinement. Alexander Scott Withers, author of "Border Warfare," yielded to the solicitations of the people of the town and taught one or more terms of school in the old courthouse; but the work was distasteful to him and he did not continue it longer than a year or two. His daughter, Miss Janet Withers, also taught one term in the old courthouse in 1839, and taught small classes almost every winter from 1849 to 1854 and from 1856 to 1860. Other teachers were Miss Rowe, of Parkersburg, Miss Hannah Bruin of Clarksburg, Miss Maria Wheeler, the Rev. James Page, and Charles Lewis of Clarksburg, afterwards judge of the circuit court. One of the most successful of the schools was that taught by a Vermont Yankee named Foster who came in the fall of 1844, and taught a select school for boys which was so successful that it led to the establishment of the Weston Academy by the legislature. The incor- porators were John Lorentz, William J. Bland, Cabell Tavenner, Jonathan M. Bennett, John Talbott, Allen Simpson and Lewis Maxwell, who were given the right to hold property up to $25,000, and to appoint a presi- dent and tutors and a treasurer. Nothing came of the movement, as the rates proposed to be charged for teach- ing in the academy were higher than those which had been paid for instruction in the subscription schools. In order to popularize higher education the Lewis County Seminary was created in 1847 with a capital stock of $10,000 in shares of five dollars. As soon as $1,000 was subscribed a meeting of organization was to be adver- tised, and the name of the institution might be changed to the Weston College. Aid for the new institution was promised from the proceeds of the sales of forfeited lands in the county The seminary never was a success. If it ever opened its doors, there is apparently no tradition to that effect among the people now living in the town. The census report of 1850 does not show a single seminary in Lewis County. A series of successful schools was taught in the basement of the Catholic church by Prof. John Kierans, James O'Hara, Prof. Seaman, Adelaide Bailey. George Duvall, Father Burke, Father O'Connor, and Prof. John Murray. A rival school was begun under the guidance of the Episcopal rector, the Rev. T. H. Smythe in his own home. Both primary and advanced work was given in the latter school, which graduated many stu- dents who later became prominent in affairs in Lewis County and West Virginia. The Lewis County Seminary at last got under way in 1855 under the leadership of Prof. John Kierans who erected a small brick building on the property now occu- pied by the high school, but it collapsed a year or two later. In 1857 the legislature changed the name of the seminary to that of Weston College, the subscription of $1,000 having evidently been secured. Nothing further was done until the establishment of the free school sys-i tern under the new state of West Virginia. Some of the country districts showed much greater interest in education than the town. Michael G. Bush, who had studied under Isaac Morrison in Harrison County, taught on Little Skin creek in the early years of the century and left behind him a succession of excellent teachers which has continued to our own day. Among them are Henry D. Hardman, who taught the first school of Big Skin creek in 1811, Daniel R. Helmick, George L. Marsh, H. M. Peterson, Aaron D. Peterson, Augiistu'? Sexton, Job McMorrow and Robert Fox. The last named was one of the few professional teachers under the Virginia regime. If there was no opportunity to teach in his own community, he went out into some other district and started a school. Penmanship was his forte. He knew nothing of scientific teaching but he could write as few of his successors have been able to do. His specimen copies were to be seen in most of the schoolrooms of the county. At Jacksonville, George J. Arnold taught a school in an old log house which stood near where the road from Clover fork joins the turnpike, and he was followed in the same community by his brother, William E. Ar- nold, one of the most distinguished teachers of grammar in the early history of the county. He had had the ad- vantage of one or more terms in Rector College at Prun- tytown. Jane Lew had also a series of successful schools, which resulted in the creation of the Jane Lew Acad- emy in 1850. Many of the prominent citizens of the Hacker's creek country at a later date received their training there. One of the most remarkable teachers in the county about the time of the Civil war was Miss Phoebe Mitchell who taught the children of the Freeman's creek com- munity for several years. The school building was poor, the equipment was that of most frontier log houses, but the school mistress was a born teacher. From the hum- ble log schoolhouse there went forth a group of young men who attended higher schools and colleges, and have since made their mark as lawyers, physicians, and busi- ness and professional men throughout the length and breadth of West Virginia. It remained for the government of the new state of West Virginia, starting its existence amid the chaos of war, without a statehouse, without educational, penal or charitable institutions, but with the spirit of educational progress released from its long imprisonment under Virginia, to establish a system of free schools which promises in time to equal the best of those of other states. -----------------------------------------------------------