ATCHISON CITY SCHOOLS.
It was lamentable, but, nevertheless true, that there were many residents of the city of Atchison of the early period in its history who doubted the justice of supporting free schools. In 1860 the school board refused to levy a tax for school purposes in the city of Atchison. Following this, however, a more progressive spirit prevailed, and free schools were regularly supported by annual tax levies. For ten years the schools occupied rented quarters, excepting two frame buildings in South Atchison. The basement of the Congregational church, the lower floor of the old Masonic building that stood near the corner of Eighth and Commercial streets, the upper floor of the Auld building on Commercial street, near Sixth, Price’s Hall and probably other buildings were used during those years.
There was little or no general supervision of the work of the schools up to 1866, little or no system, and little distinction between public and private schools.
During this unorganized period the business affairs of the schools were administered by a district board of three members.
Under a law approved March 1, 1867, the Atchison city schools were organized June 3, 1867, at which time the first board of education of Atchison was elected, as follows: First ward, Wm. Scoville, Wm. C. Smith; Second ward, M. L. Gaylord, L. R. Elliott; Third ward, John A. Martin. Julius Holthaus; Fourth ward, Geo. W. Gillespie, Jacob Poehler. In the organization of the first board, Wm. Scoville was elected president, John A. Martin, vice-president, and M. L. Gaylord, clerk.
The board consisted of eight members until Atchison became a city of the first class in 1881, at which time the ward representation was increased to three members each, giving a board of twelve members. At the organization of the first enlarged board, J. C. Fox was elected president; J. B. Kurth, vice-president. The time of organization was the first regular meeting in August, a change from the former time, the first regular meeting in May, which was the law till 1881. During this year the time of organization was extended three months, giving fifteen months’ service under the organization of May, 1880. Another change made at this time was the election of a clerk not a member of the board. At the organization, August 1, 1881, M. Noll was elected clerk. He was succeeded in October, by C. N. Seip, who was followed in May, 1882, by James H. Garside.
By the addition of the Fifth ward, 1884, the board organized in August, that year had fifteen members. The board organized in August, 1885, had ten members. This representation continued till the law of 1911 provided for the reduction to six members, and for a term of four years instead of two years. The reduction was completed in 1913, and since August of that year the board has had six members, elected without regard to city wards.
The presidents of the board from 1871 have been as follows: For the year ending in May, 1872, H. S. Baker; J. T. Coplan, to May, 1873; J. K. Fisher, to May, 1874; A. J. North, three years, to May, 1877; John Seaton, two years, to May, 1879; A. F. Martin, two and one-fourth years, to August, 1881; J. C. Fox, to August, 1882; John B. Kurth, to August, 1883; J. C. Fox, to August, 1884; Seneca Heath, two years, to August, 1886; E. A. Mize, five years, to August, 1891; R. C. Meade, to August, 1892; J. T. Hersey, two years, to August, 1894; J. F. Woodhouse, to August, 1895; J. T. Allensworth, to August, 1896; W. L. Bailey, to August, 1897; Chas. S. Osborn, ten years, to August, 1907; H. H. Hackney, eight years, to August, 1915; Alva Clapp, now serving his first year.
While the records of the early days are not available, there are indications that the chaos of the early schools was reduced to order in the middle sixties, the graded system unifying the free schools being established at that time by D. T. Bradford, who served as superintendent and principal of the high school for four years. In those early days the superintendent taught during the greater part of his time.
Mr. Bradford was followed by a Mr. Owens, who served one year and was followed by R. H. Jackson. Available records show that Mr. Jackson was superintendent in August, 1871, and served till June, 1876. How long he served prior to the election of May, 1871, is not indicated by records at hand.
The superintendents following Mr. Jackson are as follows: I. C. Scott, to 1878; C. S. Sheffield, to 1880; R. C. Meade, to December, 1886; F. M. Draper, to 1889; Buel T. Davis, to 1891; John H. Glorfelter, to 1901; Nathan T. Veatch, serving at present (January, 1916).
The principals of the high school serving prior to the union of the duties of superintendent and principal of the high school were, P. D. Plattenburg, Orlando Sawyer and David Negley.
The course of study in the high school then was Latin, followed later by the Latin-Scientific. Little change was made for years, except the introduction of German in the fall of 1871. For more than thirty years there was little change in the subject matter of the work. The most important change during those thirty years or more was the complete organization of the high school by Superintendent R. C. Meade, in 1880, at which time a distinct principal was placed in charge of the reorganized high school. The first principal under the new plan was F. W. Bartlett. Definite classes were started and the first class graduated June 7, 1881, in Corinthian Hall, as follows: Jane Boone, Arthur Challiss, Blanche Challiss, Daisy, L. Denton, Della Estes, Mary E. Fox, Frances L. Garside, Lilly G. Hathaway. Maggie R. Hedges, May Hosier, Victor Linley, Nellie G. Reid, Mary E. Scott, Annie Underwood, 14. Total graduates to date (January, 1916), 568.
“The Ingalls School,” Atchison, Kan.
F. W. Bartlett was principal of the high school until 1883. The following is the list of principals since 1883: J. B. Cash, to 1883; Geo. D. Ostrom, to 1887; J.T. Dobell, to 1895; C. A. Shively, to 1900: W. C. Jamieson, to 1902; A. H. Speer, to 1909; W. H. Livers, to 1910; J. T. Rosson, to 1911 H. P. Shepherd, now serving his fifth year.
The superintendent and principal aided by one assistant taught the high school subjects till 1882. With the opening of school in September, of that year, the high school course of study was changed from two years to a full three-years course. Miss Sarah E. Steele and Miss Anna M. Niklaus were assistants during those early years.
The addition to the teaching force, the lengthened course and the tendency toward greater latitude in the choice of subjects soon doubled the high school enrollment. The start toward vocational studies began in September, 1881, when, at the suggestion of J. H. Garside, bookkeeping was made an optional study.
The growth of the high school was gradual. During the late eighties, another year was added to the course and an additional assistant was employed. Manual training was added in December, 1903; sewing, 1907; commercial subjects were added from time to time till the introduction of a full business course, including shorthand and typewriting, in 1910; normal training, 1909; cooking, 1910; physical training, 1910; elementary agriculture, 1913; school nurse, January, 1914; special music director, 1915. The addition of courses and optional subjects has so increased the high school work as to require eighteen teachers, in addition to the principal, and the enrollment has grown to 393. The school is on the accredited list of the University of Kansas and of the North Central Association of Colleges. A school paper, the Optimist, is now in its sixth year. A Glee Club and orchestra have been organized. A Young Men’s Christian Association and a Young Women’s Christian Association are doing good work. The athletic association is giving an outlet for the surplus energy in football, basketball, etc.
Grades and teachers were added in the different buildings until there are now (January, 1916) five buildings having full eight grades of work, one building with three grades, and the Branchton school having two grades. The Branchton building belongs to district 65. Manual training for the boys and sewing for the girls are given in sixth, seventh and eighth grades and high school. All the grades have the benefit of inspection by the school nurse, and instruction in music by the special director.
In 1882 the teaching force was thirty beside the superintendent. This grew to forty-one by 1901, and to sixty-five in 1915.
During March, 1881, it was resolved that a “kindergarten” be opened during the next term. No record is found indicating the opening of such school. The kindergarten was not made a part of the system till 1910. Such work was offered earlier in rooms granted by the board. This was, however, the result of private enterprise.
At the opening of the new high school building in 1910, the first public kindergarten was established. In the spring of 1914, another kindergarten was opened in the new Washington school.
The corner stone of the Central building was laid in August, 1868. This building was destroyed by fire in October, 1869. The construction of a new building on the old foundation began as soon as plans were completed. This was the three-story brick building, costing $35,000, torn down in 1908, to make room for the magnificent high school building completed in 1910, and occupied for all school purposes in September of that year. On October 5, 1892, the name was changed to “The Ingalls School.”
The building begun in 1869 and, when completed, said to be “one of the finest in the State,” was opened in 1870 and served without change till 1903, when a three-story addition, costing $5,264.00 was built to provide for the office, manual training, one high school room and sanitary fixtures. It was finally outgrown after serving thirty-eight years. While the present building was being constructed, the high school was housed in the old three-story Douglas building, Fifth and R streets, and in two rooms of the old Washington building, Sixth and Q streets.
During the two years’ waiting for the new Ingalls building the colored pupils from Douglas school were housed in a vacant store at Sixth and Spring streets for one year, and in Lincoln school for part of the second year, and the grades of Ingalls school were housed as follows: Seventh and eighth, banquet room of Odd Fellows Hall; sixth, Martin school; fifth, Pioneer Hall; second, third and fourth, basement of Congregational church; first, basement of Presbyterian church; manual training, in old fire department for the first year, and in a vacant store room till the latter part of December of the second year, when it was moved to the new building.
The present high school building, the Ingalls school, cost about $103,500. The equipment and added lots at the southwest corner of the block, improvement of grounds, etc., will bring the present value of the property at least to $130,000.
Governor George W. Glick was largely instrumental in the work of securing the lots for the Ingalls school. The ten lots purchased prior to the erection of the first building cost, approximately, $3,500. Lots 8 and 9 in the same block secured by condemnation in 1911, cost $2,250.
The three-story brick building at the corner of Fifth and R streets, built in 1873 at a cost of $15,000, was originally called Washington school. A three-room, one-story frame building, erected on this site in the middle sixties, was the first building owned by district No. 1, and served till 1873. The lots cost $1,200 and the building $2,425. At that time a frame building at the corner of Sixth and Q streets was used by the colored pupils and was called Douglas school. This was built in the middle sixties. It was at first a two-room, one-story building. Later, a third room was added. The lots cost $820. This was the second building owned by district No. 1. Early maps of Atchison show the locations of Washington and Douglas here given.
The names “Central,” “Washington,” “Franklin,” “Lincoln” and “Douglas” were authorized February 2, 1880.
In 1884 work began on two new buildings, one a ten-room brick building to take the place of the frame building called “Douglas,” and the other an eight-room brick building at Sixth and Division streets, named North Atchison school. The one at Sixth and Q streets cost $18,682, and was occupied for school purposes January 5, 1885. The white pupils in “Washington” school were taken to the new building, and the colored school formerly housed in “Douglas” was taken to the “Washington.” The names were also transferred soon after the new order of things was established.
The ten-room Washington building was used till the close of school for vacation, December, 1913. On January 5, 1914, the school began work in the present beautiful building, south of R street, between Fifth and Sixth streets. The old property at Sixth and Q streets was sold for $2,300, but the name of the school was retained. The new building with grounds and equipment cost $63,000. The site was secured by condemnation and cost $5,350.
The original “Washington” remained the “Douglas” until the completion of the new Douglas on Sixth, between U and V streets. The pupils of “Douglas” were housed in “Lincoln” till late in the fall of 1909. The site of this building, lots 18, 19, 20 and 21, block 35, South Atchison, was secured in March, 1909, in exchange for lots 10 and 11, same block, the old hospital property, which had previously been donated to the board of education for school purposes, the money involved being the payment of some back taxes by the board.
The North Atchison school, Sixth and Division streets, was occupied for school purposes in September, 1885. The lots cost $800 and the building, equipment and retaining walls, $5,381.94. On October 5, 1892, the name of this school was changed to “The John A. Martin School.” This building was used till the last of May, 1915. Immediately after the close of school, May 28, 1915, it was wrecked to make way for the new building now in course of construction. The added ground, secured by condemnation, cost $6,200 and the building, equipment and improvement of grounds will cost, approximately, $56,500. During the year 1915–16 this school is housed in the Ingalls building.
The West Atchison school building, named Franklin school, February 2, 1880, was, originally, a three-room, one-story brick, costing $2,617.10. This was changed to six rooms by the addition of a second story in 1883, at a cost of $2,498, and was remodeled and changed to an eight-room building in 1908, at a cost of $12,500, and reoccupied early in 1909. The lots cost $400. During the change in Franklin, the pupils were housed in the “Green-Tree House” and in a vacant store room at 1521 Main street.
The Lincoln school (colored), Eighth and Atchison streets, was originally a three-room, one-story brick building erected in 1871 at a cost of $2,425. The lots cost $750. In 1883, this was changed to a six-room building at a cost of $2,498. This is the only school building in the city not modernized.
The records reveal some interesting things. In 1878 it was decided that “the work of the grades should be completed in eight years.” In 1884 an attempt was made to establish a branch high school in South Atchison. While this failed, it was voted that “a sub-junior grade be maintained in the Washington school.” This was discontinued within a few years.
In March, 1883, it was ordered that the schools close because of lack of funds. The city council came to the rescue and appropriated $4,000 for school purposes. The schools re-opened March 29.
The school year was shortened several times in those early days.
The school spirit is in splendid condition. The increased material equipment is adding greatly to the educational opportunities. “Continuation schools” have been conducted for several years, with good attendance.
The improvements have been made without bonds, excepting the $100,000 issue for the high school in 1908. The total bonded indebtedness (January, 1916) is $122,000. Of this amount, $4,000 will be paid July 1, 1916. Of the issue of 1908, $94,000 remain unpaid, and will fall due in 1923. The $24,000 refunding bonds issued in 1913 will be due in 1933. The board of education is not using the full limit of its taxing power.
It is only fair to add a tribute at this point to the faithful, enthusiastic and efficient work rendered by Prof. Nathan T. Veatch to the public school system of Atchison. During the period of his service here, Atchison has seen its greatest development in its public school system, and this has not only been brought about by the fine public spirit that exists here but by the splendid co-operation which Prof. Veatch has given it.