Yuba County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter 14 Schools Of The City And County 1924
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Book Title: History Of Yuba And Sutter Counties

CHAPTER XIV 

SCHOOLS OF THE CITY AND COUNTY 

    The school system of the city of Marysville had its birth in a sheet-iron
building eighteen feet in length and ten feet in width. The teacher was Rev. S.
V. Blakeslee, who conducted a private school. When he opened his school, in May,
1850, he had nine pupils, male and female, ranging from eleven to seventeen
years. After a session of three weeks, he was obliged to discontinue on account
of the great heat and the uncomfortable quarters. From this modest start, the
schools of the county have grown to thirty-seven in number, including a union
high school in Marysville with branches at Smartsville, Dobbins and
Camptonville, and a union high school in Wheatland; and instead of one teacher,
managing his private school, the number of teachers has now grown to ninety
throughout the county. This includes a kindergarten school, connected with the
Marysville Grammar School. 

    Sometime during the latter part of 1851, a school was established by Rev.
Mr. Thatcher in the Presbyterian Church on D Street. 

EARLY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 
Organization and Growth 

    During the first years of the growth and settlement of Marysville, the
population was composed almost entirely of males. But in the latter part of
1851, and the first part of 1852, several gentlemen brought from their Eastern
homes their wives and families. It was then that the need of public schools
became apparent; and on May 4, 1852, a meeting was held in the recorder's
office, of citizens interested in establishing a free public school. The
attendance at this meeting was small; but a committee was appointed to submit at
the next meeting the basis of a plan for the organization of a school
association. The meeting adjourned to the 6th, and on that evening John H.
Jewett, afterward mayor, presided. The attendance was large, and definite action
was taken. A committee of two from each ward was appointed to draft a plan and
make an estimate on a house for school purposes, and to solicit subscriptions
amounting to $10,000, for that purpose. Before taking final action, the
promoters made an offer to the Methodists, who already had a school at a cost of
$5000, to join them; but the suggestion was declined. 

    In the middle of June, 1852, an ordinance was passed, establishing a system
of common schools in the city of Marysville. In July, the first public school
was opened. Since that time, with the exception of the necessary vacations,
teaching in the public schools of the county has been continuous. The basement
of the Methodist Episcopal Church was fitted up, and the public schools started
there. 

    The school building at B and Seventh Streets, which still stands and is used
for manual training, municipal band practice, and other purposes, was completed
in 1858. It was 66 feet long, 56 feet wide, and two stories high. Later it was
remodeled. In the beginning, there were four school rooms and one recitation
room. The contractor was J. A. Steel. 

    In 1857 the county had thirteen school districts, as follows: Marysville,
Bear River, Oregon House, Peoria House, Foster Bar, Pleasant Grove, Linda,
Keystone, Camptonville, Rose Bar, Browns Valley, Bear River No. 2, and Linda No. 2.


    Before 1862, the public schools were divided into six departments, of which
the following were located in the then new building at B and Seventh Streets.
Grammar Department, Boys' Intermediate Department, Girls' Intermediate
Department, and Girls' Primary Department. Two primary classes of boys occupied
the rooms in the basement of the Methodist Church. The number in attendance
during the year 1861 was over 300, with an average daily attendance of 250. 

    In the spring of 1870, a wooden building, finished in imitation of stone,
was erected on E Street, corner of Seventh Street, W. C. Swain being the
architect. It cost $10,000, and was furnished at an additional outlay of $1500.
The girls occupied this building. This is the same structure which was recently
removed to a lot north of the Marysville Union High School, facing on Seventh
Street. 

    A school for colored children was kept in the basement of Mt. Olivet Baptist
Church on Sixth Street, corner of High Street. Miss Carrie Oldfield was the
teacher. 

OTHER EARLY-DAY SCHOOLS 
Marysville Eclectic Institute 

    The Marysville Eclectic Institute was opened on August 18, 1853, in the
Methodist Episcopal Church by Rev. James H. Bristow and wife. They announced
that the various branches of a thorough American education were to be taught and
the discipline was to be prompt, yet mild. Spelling, reading and writing were
taught for five dollars a month; arithmetic (mental and practical), geography,
definitions, and critical reading, six dollars a month; and English, grammar,
logic, and rhetoric, eight dollars a month. In the fall C. C. Cummings became
the principal. 

Poston Seminary 

    This school was opened in November of 1857, on E Street, between Seventh and
Eighth Streets, by Miss E. C. Poston. Subsequently it was removed to the corner
of D and Sixth Streets, where it flourished until the late seventies, under Miss
Poston and others. On its site now stands the residence of Dr. J. L. Sullivan. 

    How the Eugenia C. Poston Seminary came to be instituted in Marysville is
best told in a sketch written by Miss Poston not long before her death, which
sketch is in the possession of Judge Eugene Poston McDaniel of the superior
court, whose middle name came to him through a warm friendship that grew up
between Dr. R. H. McDaniel, early-day physician, his family, and Miss Poston.
Miss Poston wrote: 

    "My work as a teacher in California began in January, 1856, in a country
public school located near the Sutter Buttes, within the limits of the present
Sutter City. The position was obtained for me by George Brittan, an influential
rancher in the vicinity, and trustee of the school. His children were my
scholars then, and his two daughters were afterwards with us at the Seminary.
The early death of the eldest, Mary, was a great loss to me. The friendship of
this family, so valuable at the beginning of my life struggle in this new and
strange country, has continued through all the subsequent years. 

    "The experience gained in this school — ungraded, of mixed classes, boys and
girls of different ages — was ultimately of great service to me, giving an
insight into the special needs of California girls, differing even then from
their sisters on the Atlantic Coast. 

    "The term of teaching was brought to an abrupt close by an accident — a fall
from my horse, and the breaking of a collar-bone. This led to an acquaintance
with Drs. R. H. McDaniel and E. T. Wilkins, and other prominent citizens of
Marysville, the result of which acquaintance was the erection of the Poston
Seminary in that place. 

    "The following letter from Dr. McDaniel gives somewhat in detail the
preliminary steps by him, in view of my opening a school in Marysville, and the
considerations that rendered that city preferable to Nevada, of which there had
been some question: 

                              " 'Marysville, July 9, 1857. 
"Dear Miss Poston: 

    " 'I received yours of the 4th instant, and should have answered
immediately, but I wished time to make the necessary inquiries in relation to
the chance of your establishing a paying school in this place. From all I can
learn, you can start in with a school that will pay you $150 per month, with the
chance, if you give satisfaction (of which I have no doubt), of greatly
increasing your income. This place presents a better field for teaching than
Nevada, for the reason that it has more permanent inhabitants and the winters
are less severe. The snows of Nevada, which often last for five or six months,
must of necessity interrupt the progress of a school. Here, if you chose to do
so, you can teach the whole year. 

    " 'I have made inquiries, and find that you can have ten music pupils at
once — Miss Thompson, the two daughters of Dr. Geller, Miss Nye, Miss Magruder,
Miss Selby, Miss Davis, Mrs. Brumagim and Nina. All the above parties expect to
pay ten dollars per month. They can be depended on. 

    " 'I have spoken to a builder here in regard to a room, and he agrees to put
up an academy, 20 feet by 40 feet, of brick, hard finish, with a good well,
etc., for $45 per month, the house to be situated on E Street, between Seventh
and Eighth, only three blocks from our house, good brick pavement all the way.
The house can be ready to go into, thirty days from the time you say you will
take it. Write me what you think of it, so that I can give an answer. 

    " 'I am not over sanguine in relation to any matter, as I know to some
extent the genus homo and know that they are little to be trusted: but at the
same time I feel assured that you can make a handsome support here and, without
misfortune, can lay up in a few years a competency for a rainy day. 
                            " 'Respectfully your friend, 
                                        "'R. H. McDaniel. 

    " 'P. S. — I expect you will have to send this letter to my wife to read 
for you, as no one else can read my handwriting.' " 

    "An answer expressing thanks for Dr. McDaniel's kindly interest, and
agreeing to the proposed arrangement with builder, was sent without delay. The
architect, Thomas Seaward (grandfather of Mrs. Elden Bryan of Sutter County),
had the building finished in thirty days. Friends, Mr. C. C. Goodwin and others,
had the rooms fitted with necessary furniture, and in September the school was
opened. 

    "One bright morning in September, 1857, a group of young girls with some of
their parents assembled in the just completed Seminary on E Street, to greet the
new teacher. The eager, inquiring faces come before me now, and the surroundings
— the large hall, the platform and desk and chair for teacher, the scholars'
desks, the blackboards, the little music room in the rear — I see them all.
Truly grateful for the kindly welcome, I felt yet more deeply the confidence
placed in me — a stranger and untried — by these parents in entrusting me with
the training of their daughters, the future women of California — a work of
vital importance to a State still in the formative period. And I vowed on that
first day, God helping, to be true to the best interests of those given into my
charge. 

    "As our numbers increased, the lack of yard room was keenly felt. A change
became imperative; and in 1863, counseled by friends, I bought the Lindley
property on D Street, and a smaller lot cornering on D and Sixth Streets. On the
latter a one-story brick building was erected for school purposes, and the
residence of Judge Lindley was occupied by the boarding-school department, music
classes, etc. Thus, in 1863, we found ourselves located under our own 'vine and
fig-tree' in as homelike a corner as was ever dignified with the title of
Seminary. The Marysville courthouse bounding our view on one side, we felt
ourselves under the special protection of the officers of the law, and indeed
our grateful acknowledgements are due them for many, many kindnesses. 

    "With the enlargement of our premises, the school grew rapidly. The rancher
on the plains sent his daughters; the miner in the foothills sent his daughters,
and his 'nuggets'; towns far and near — Smartsville, Grass Valley, Nevada,
Downieville, Shasta, etc. — gave their girls and their good-will. We grew apace." 

State Reform School 

    Marysville, in 1859, became a contender for the State Reform School, which
an act of the legislature, in the session of that year, provided should be
instituted. Up to that time Marysville had been sadly neglected as regarded
State favors, and so was considered, by other places seeking the prize, as
having the preference. 

    The common council, at a meeting held on November 7, 1859, appointed, as a
committee, Aldermen Mann, Covillaud and Fowler, who, in conjunction with a
citizens' committee, were to attend to the interests of Marysville in the
matter. In December, 1859, the State commissioners reported that they had
selected a site for the school, the spot chosen being 100 acres of land on
Feather River, about five miles north of Marysville, and owned by Charles
Covillaud. This land had been surveyed and purchased by the city of Marysville,
and conveyed to the State by a deed executed December 6, 1859. 

    The next legislature passed an act for the erection of a building for a
State Reform School. Hon. William H. Parks framed, introduced, and secured the
passage of the bills necessary. At the same session John Lowery, Nelson
Wescoatt, and H. S. Foushee were elected a board of trustees, and $30,000 were
appropriated for the erection of buildings. 

    Although the appropriation fell short of the amount needed, three stories
and a basement were built, and the building was partly enclosed by a high brick
wall. The legislature of 1861 made a further appropriation of $25,000, which
served to make the interior arrangements more complete and finished. During the
erection of the building, Mr. Foushee died, and John C. Pelton was appointed to
fill the vacancy. He resigned shortly afterwards, and was succeeded by John C.
Fall. 

    The dedicatory exercises were held on December 2, 1861, and consisted of
addresses by John Lowery, president of the board of trustees, and Hon. Jesse O.
Goodwin. The superintendents were J. C. Pelton, who served for twenty months;
George C. Gorham, for two years; J. C. Sargent, for fifteen months; and H. S.
Hoblitzell. The latter had been a teacher in the school, and was elected
superintendent in February, 1865. He served for a little over three years, until
the breaking up of the institution in May, 1868. The trustees during the last
years of the existence of the school were William Hawley, William H. Parks, and
Charles M. Gorham. 

    The only inmates were boys; one girl was sent from Sacramento, but there
being no suitable accommodations, a place was found for her with a family in
Marysville. The largest roll at any one time numbered fifty-four. There were two
classes of inmates, those confined for criminal offenses, and those placed there
by parents or guardians for reformation. Religious services were conducted by
pastors of Marysville and visiting clergymen. 

    When great obstacles were met in obtaining appropriations from the
legislature, the beginning of the end came to the institution. It is claimed
that the breaking up of the school was effected through the influence of the
managers of the San Francisco Industrial Home. Finally, the land and buildings,
by an act of the legislature, were donated to the city of Marysville, and
subsequently sold for $6000 to James Strain, the owner of the adjoining land.
After the removal of the boys, the premises were abandoned and thieves entered,
carrying off many valuable articles. After much delay, the furniture, library
and other property were conveyed to Marysville and sold at auction, the nominal
sum of $200 being realized. 

    During the superintendency of H. S. Hoblitzell, Mrs. Hoblitzell greatly
aided her husband by her voluntary assistance in giving moral and religious
training to the youths consigned to his keeping. Mrs. Hoblitzell is still
living, and is now making her home with a son in Seattle, Wash. 

Knoxville Institute 

    At Brownsville, on the western slope of the Sierras, thirty-two miles
northeast from Marysville, was located an institution of learning in the late
seventies. It was under the proprietorship of Mr. and Mrs. M. Knox; and Prof. E.
K. Hill, who had served as principal of the Marysville High School, was given
the general management and control. The design was to make it a school complete
in itself, from the lowest primary instruction to a full high school course,
crowned with complete courses in the sciences and arts, and in literature and
the modern languages; from which branched off short courses in training for
business, and preparation for college in Latin and Greek. The departments of
instruction included the preparatory, high school and scientific, business,
languages and music. Besides these, a normal course had also been instituted.
The Normal Institute was open for six weeks during the summer vacation.
Botanical analysis, botanical drawing, and the collection of herbariums were
included as specialties in the curriculum. 

    Eugene P. McDaniel, present judge of the superior court of Yuba County, was
a student in this institution. 

Other Private Schools 

    Miss Jane Jones opened a school in 1870 in the Flathman Building, southwest
corner of D and Sixth Streets, on the site now occupied by the residence of J.
A. Bilhartz. In the fall of 1876, the school was moved to the building formerly
occupied by Miss Poston. Miss Jones continued this school until chosen city
librarian, a position she held until her death. 

    Mrs. S. M. Miles, widow of the first mayor of the city; opened a school on
Eighth Street opposite the Baptist Church in 1874. This was called the
Marysville Select School. 

    Mrs. L. S. Southworth was another who conducted a private school in
Marysville. That was in the eighties and nineties. Her home and study-rooms were
in a building on the east side of C Street, between Sixth and Seventh Streets. 

    Mrs. Kate M. Wilkins also conducted a private school for a number of years,
making a specialty of preparing prospective teachers for their tests. Encouraged
by her success along this line, Mrs. Wilkins later removed to San Francisco,
where she still is engaged in teaching. 

    The Chinese send their children to the public schools, and also support, at
intervals, schools in their own section, where the reading and writing of the
Chinese language are taught. 

THE COUNTY'S PRESENT SCHOOL SYSTEM 

Marysville High School 

    The Marysville High School was organized by the board of education on
September 25, 1871. The first Monday in October was set for the opening of the
first term, in the building then located on the southeast corner of E and
Seventh Streets. This building was razed in recent years to make way for the
structure now known as the Herzog Apartments. Professor Drake was chosen as the
instructor. The plan of the school was to furnish a preparatory course for the
University of California, and to complete the studies commenced in the grammar
department. Twelve pupils entered for the course. Of these, five graduated at
the end of three years. 

    In this graduating class of 1874, the first to take part in high school
commencement exercises in Yuba County, were Corrinne Kimball, who became the
wife of Norman A. Rideout; Hattie Pratt, who became Mrs. A. J. Binney; Albert
Sheehan, who was editor of a Sacramento newspaper at his death several years
ago; Charles J. Covillaud, son of one of the founders of Marysville; and Fred H.
Greely, who has served as State Senator from this district, and as district
attorney of Yuba County. Greely, the only surviving member of the class of 1874,
is the present county auditor and recorder of Yuba County. He has also served a
term as Grand President of the Native Sons of the Golden West. 

    During the fourth year, the number enrolled in the high school had increased
to twenty-seven. Only two pupils, young ladies, graduated that year. The year
1875-1876 closed with the graduation of four pupils. On the 8th of November,
1876, the school, and the community as well, met with a severe loss in the death
of Professor Drake. In the latter part of that month Rev. E. H. Ward was
appointed principal. He taught about two months, and was then succeeded by Prof.
E. K. Hill, a teacher of long experience and much ability. At the end of the
year 1877-1878, the school graduated three young ladies. 

    During the fall term of 1878-1879, the school was, to a certain extent,
broken up by mixing its pupils with the senior classes of both grammar schools.
The teachers were Professor Hill and Miss R. A. Parshall. This plan soon proved
impracticable; and at the beginning of the school term in 1880, the schools were
again segregated and the high school classes were placed under the charge of
Prof. B. E. Hunt. 

Growth of the City Schools 

    The schools of Marysville have since grown by leaps and bounds, due to the
influx of new people. In 1908 it became apparent that new buildings were needed
for the departments of both the grammar school and the high school. A bond issue
of $80,000 was voted, and the present high school and grammar school buildings
were erected in the block bounded by F, G, Sixth and Seventh Streets. The city
owned the lots where the grammar school was built. Purchase was made of the site
for the present high school. To this plant there was added in 1922 a splendid
gymnasium, which is daily growing in popularity. On certain days the gymnasium
is open to business and professional men for exercise at basketball, indoor
baseball, etc. 

    The faculty of the Marysville Union High School, which was established as
such in 1922, now consists of twenty-one teachers, with Prof. Curtis E. Warren
as the principal and as secretary of the board. Miss Louise M. W. Mayne is the
vice-principal and head of the English department. 

    The present trustees of the high school are Dunning Rideout, A. W. Lewis,
Peter Engel, J. E. Strain, and J. J. Yore. 

    The grammar school has at present a force of twenty-two teachers. 

Present Rural Schools 

    Outside of Marysville and Wheatland, Yuba County now supports thirty-two
rural schools in valley and on mountain, as follows: Bald Mountain, Brophy's,
Buckeye, Brown's Valley, Challenge, Clark, Cordua, Dobbins, Elizabeth,
Frenchtown, Feather River Union, Goldfields, Greenville, Hansonville, Indiana
Ranch, Linda, Lone Tree, Long Bar, Marigold, New England Union, Oregon House,
Prairie, Peoria, Plumas, Rose Bar, Sharon Valley, Camptonville, Spring Valley,
Strawberry Valley, Sugar Loaf, Virginia, and Waldo. Of these, the schools at
Dobbins, Rose Bar (Smartsville), New England (Arboga), and Camptonville are
branches of the Marysville Union High School. 

    Miss Jennie Malaley is the present county superintendent of schools, and is
now serving her third term in office. 


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF YUBA and SUTTER COUNTIES 
CALIFORNIA 
WITH 
Biographical Sketches OF 
The Leading Men and Women of the Counties Who Have Been Identified with Their
Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present 

HISTORY BY 
PETER J. DELAY 

ILLUSTRATED 
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME 

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1924

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