AREA HISTORY: History of Adams County, Chapter XX, Adams County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Kathy Francis Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/adams/ _______________________________________________ History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1886 _______________________________________________ Part III, History of Adams County, Pages 121-135 CHAPTER XX. BY AARON SHEELY, A. M. EDUCATION-PIONEER SCHOOLS-PIONEER TEACHERS-PIONEER SCHOOLHOUSES-CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL-EAST BERLIN SCHOOL-GETTYSBURG CLASSICAL SCHOOL-GETTYSBURG INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL-ENGLISH SCHOOL IN GETTYSBURG-GETTYSBURG ACADEMY- GETTYSBURG FEMALE INSTITUTE-GETTYSBURG FEMALE ACADEMY-THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY-GETTYSBURG GYMNASIUM-PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE-NEW OXFORD COLLEGE AND MEDICAL INSTITUTE-HUNTERSTOWN ENGLISH AND CLASSICAL ACADEMY- CATHOLIC SCHOOLS-THE FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM-THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENCY- EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS-CONCLUSION-TABULAR STATEMENTS. PIONEER SCHOOLS. The American people were the first in history to found a nation on popular education. The sturdy German and Scotch-Irish pioneers carried with them to their new homes among these hills and valleys a firm conviction that a people to be truly prosperous and happy must be educated. It was their care, therefore, from the first, to provide in the best manner possible for the education of their children. But the physical wants of the early settlers, of course, claimed their first attention. Before they could patronize schools they were obliged to seek means to satisfy their bodily needs. Not until means of temporary shelter and subsistence had been secured could the claims of education receive much consideration. The condition of the country and the occupation of the people in rural districts were also unfavorable to the maintenance of schools except those of a rudimentary character and for short terms. A sparse population scattered over a wide extent of the country mainly covered with dense forests and undergrowth, and destitute of roads and bridges, opposed serious obstacles to the establishment of schools. The preparation of the ground for tillage necessarily consumed much time and labor. Farm machinery, except the rudest, being then unknown, agricultural operations were slow and tedious, leaving but little time for literary pursuits. The threshing and marketing of a crop which can now be easily performed within a week was then a task requiring the united labor of the farmer and his sons during the winter for its accomplishment. The sons of a farmer in moderate circumstances therefore considered themselves fortunate if they obtained one or two months of schooling during the year. With the farmer’s daughters the case was even worse. The operations of the spinning-wheel, loom, needle and dairy, besides the manifold other duties of the household, to say nothing of help frequently given in the fields during busy seasons, occupied so much time that their education was seldom pursued beyond the merest rudiments. Distance to school was also a great hindrance to attendance-three, four, or even five miles being nothing uncommon. PIONEER TEACHERS. The teachers in the early and sparsely settled districts were for the most part ignorant adventurers, whose success lay in their ability to deceive parents and flog their children. Many of them were intemperate and tyrannical, and unfit, in public estimation, for any business except school teaching. It was nothing uncommon for the pedagogue of those days to be habitually profane. Nor was it an unusual thing for him to draw frequent and copious inspirations from a bottle of whisky secreted somewhere about the schoolhouse. As a rule he was uncouth in appearance, ungainly in manner, and filthy in his habits. Not being expected to know or teach anything beyond the conventional three “R’s,” the question of competency was seldom raised. His equanimity was never disturbed by perplexing questions to test the profundity of his knowledge or his ability to impart instruction. Proficiency in writing copies, skill in making and mending quill pens, and physical vigor to use the rod without stint on the backs of real or supposed delinquents, were the qualifications that commended him to his patrons. PIONEER SCHOOLHOUSES. In early times schools were usually kept in a spare room in some dwelling house; but as population increased and the need of better accommodations was felt the citizens of a neighborhood met, and, by their joint labor, put up a schoolhouse. The architecture of the pioneer schoolhouse was extremely rude and simple. It was usually a plain cabin, built of unhewn logs, with a log or stone chimney at one end, well plastered with mud. No attention was given to the proper lighting of the room. Its ventilation was all that the most ardent advocate of pure air could desire. The numerous openings afforded abundant means for the admission of pure air, while the wide chimney and open fireplace permitted the free escape of vitiated air. The articles of furniture were few and simple, consisting of one row of desks ranged around and facing the walls for the use of the larger scholars, and two or three slab benches in the middle of the room for the smaller ones. CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL. The first school of which there is any record was established at Kreutz Kirche, now Christ Church, in what is now Union Township, about the year 1747. Rev. Michael Schlatter, a German Reformed minister, a fine scholar and an accomplished teacher, sent to America as a missionary at the expense of the Synod of Amsterdam, in 1746, organized the school. It was his mission to labor among the people in the German settlements, to form them into religious societies, and to establish schools among them wherever practicable. Mr. Schlatter was a man of eminent piety and extraordinary zeal and industry in the work to which he had devoted himself. He preached in Philadelphia and took journeys to the country on horseback at different times, traveling hundreds of miles, preaching the gospel, establishing schools, and attending to his other missionary work. The parish school which he established here existed in a feeble way prior to his first visit to the place; for he says in his journal that on the day of his arrival, May 4, 1747, he preached in a schoolhouse. Among the baptisms recorded by Mr. Schlatter, May 6, 1747, was a child of the schoolmaster, John Henry Kreutz, who taught the school at that time, and after whom the church and settlement were probably named. During Rev. Jacob Wiestling’s pastorate at this place, which commenced in 1813, and for some time thereafter, the school was kept up in a schoolhouse owned by the church and situated on the church property. The school was continued, with more or less regularity, during a period of nearly one hundred years. Between 1813 and 1820 a man by the name of William Slider was in charge of the school. A Dutch teacher, named David Von Souberin, was engaged by the church in 1820, but it appears he was not successful in his management of the school; for, in a few lines in German on the last page of the baptismal record, he says “he was engaged by Kreutz Kirche as schoolmaster and moved here October 12, 1820; but that, to his great joy, he moved away again April 1, 1824.” This school being in a German settlement the instruction was wholly in the German language. EAST BERLIN SCHOOL. The first English school at East Berlin was opened in 1769 by Robert John Chester, an Englishman. This experiment of an English school in a German community, at this early day, was not successful, and the enterprising Englishman was soon obliged to give up the undertaking. He afterward turned his attention to tavern keeping in the village, an occupation which, if not more congenial to his taste, is said to have proved much more lucrative. GETTYSBURG CLASSICAL SCHOOL. The first classical school within the present limits of the county, and the first one, it is claimed west of the Susquehanna, was established in Gettysburg by Rev. Alexander Dobbin, who came to this country from one of the northern counties of Ireland about the year 1773, and soon after established his school. This worthy parson owned considerable land in and around the southern part of the borough, known as the “Dobbin Farm.” On this tract he erected the spacious stone building, still standing, within the angle formed by the intersection of Washington Street and the Emmittsburg road. In this building he established a classical and boarding school which gained a wide reputation for thoroughness of instruction and excellence of management. Many distinguished men of the last generation, in this and surrounding counties, received their education in this school. It was still in existence in 1801, but was discontinued soon after that date. GETTYSBURG INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. On the 4th of May, 1801, a lady by the name of Anne Corry opened an industrial school in Gettysburg, in which were taught, according to the prospectus, “sewing, flowering, etc.” The prospectus further stated that in the conduct of the school the utmost attention would be given to accuracy and expedition in the progress of pupils. Beyond these meager facts nothing is known concerning the school. ENGLISH SCHOOL IN GETTYSBURG. In 1803 an English school of considerable importance and usefulness was established in Gettysburg through the united efforts of many of the leading citizens. The number of names on the subscription list was forty-three, and the number of scholars subscribed reached sixty-four, notwithstanding the fact that the school was at first limited to fifty scholars. The first teacher was Robert Horner, elected by a majority of ten votes over William Campbell, who received four votes. The tuition fee was $6 a year. The building in which the school was kept was of log, small, poorly furnished and uncomfortable. GETTYSBURG ACADEMY. March 19, 1801, the Legislature of Pennsylvania appropriated the sum of $2,000 to aid in establishing an institution under the name and title of the Gettysburg Academy. The act provided that one-half of this sum should be applied to the erection of a suitable building and to the purchase of books; the other half to be applied, in connection with other resources, to pay for the gratuitous instruction of such number of indigent children, not exceeding four, as should from time to time apply for admission. The act further provided for the care of the school property and for the management of the school. A spacious two-story brick building, containing two large rooms on each floor, was accordingly erected on the southeast corner of Washington and High Streets and the school established. Mr. Samuel Ramsay, a graduate of Dickinson College, is supposed to have been the first teacher. Among other teachers in the Academy about this time were Henry Wells, a New Englander, Cornelius Davis, a graduate of a New England College, and Charles Davis, who is represented as a teacher of superior ability. About the year 1820 Rev. David McConaughy, D.D., assumed charge of the school and continued it for some years. June 25, 1827, a classical school was opened in the building by Rev. David Jacobs, A.M., as a preparatory department of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, established the previous year. Two years later a scientific department was added, and Michael Jacobs, A.M., was placed in charge. In 1829 the academy was sold for debt, Prof. S. S. Schmucker becoming the purchaser at $1,150. This closed the career of the Gettysburg Academy. Prior to 1834 a number of other academies were scattered throughout the county, but as their existence was generally brief, and as no records of them seem to have been preserved, it has been found impossible to trace their history. GETTYSBURG FEMALE INSTITUTE. After the removal of Pennsylvania College from the academy building on High Street, in 1837, and for nineteen years thereafter, the property was used for school purposes under various names and titles by Rev. J. H. Marsden, Mrs. Wallace and daughter, and others. In 1856 Rev. David Eyster, A.M., purchased the property, and with the assistance of his wife, a lady of culture and administrative ability, established therein the Gettysburg Female Institute, which was continued by them for a period of fifteen years; and which, at first under the management of Mr. Eyster himself, and, after his death, under the direction of Mrs. Eyster, attained great popularity and usefulness. The building is not at present used for school purposes. GETTYSBURG FEMALE ACADEMY. About the year 1830 a one-story brick building was erected on East High Street, Gettysburg, adjoining the lot of ground occupied by the county prison, and a school established known as the Gettysburg Female Academy. The ground for the purpose was donated by two benevolent ladies of Gettysburg, Mary and Catharine Lackey. The money for the erection of the building, as also for the furnishing of the room, was raised by subscription among the friends of the school. The first teacher in the school was Rev. J. H. Marsden, who a year or two later became professor of mineralogy and botany in Pennsylvania College. The building is at present occupied by Miss Mary D. McClellan with a flourishing select school. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. A theological seminary for the special training and preparation of the Lutheran ministry was established in Gettysburg in 1826. In 1831 the cornerstone of the present seminary building was laid, and the next year it was opened for the reception of students. It has in a large measure realized the expectations of its founders, having sent forth over 600 ministers, besides furnishing presidents and professors for nearly all the colleges and theological schools within the bounds of the General Synod, as also for many outside of it. It has furnished a large proportion of the missionaries representing the Lutheran Church of this country in the foreign field, and is at present specially imbued with the missionary spirit. The real estate of the institution, consisting of a four-story brick seminary building, 100 feet long by 40 feet wide, and three professors’ houses, also of brick, with some twenty acres of ground, is valued at about $75,000, besides vested funds amounting to about $91,000. The library is valuable, mostly theological, and numbers over 11,000 volumes. The seminary is in a flourishing condition, forty-three students being in attendance. The present faculty consists of Rev. M. Valentine, D.D., professor of didactic theology and homiletics, and chairman of the faculty; Rev. C. A. Hay, D.D., professor of Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis, German language and literature, and pastoral theology; Rev. E. J. Wolf, D.D., professor of Biblical and ecclesiastical history and New Testament exegesis; and Rev. J. G. Morris, D.D., LL.D., lecturer on pulpit elocution and the relations of science and revelation. GETTYSBURG GYMNASIUM. At the time the Lutheran Theological Seminary was opened, in 1826, there was no classical or scientific school at Gettysburg that could furnish suitable preparatory training to its students. The directors, therefore, made provision, May 16, 1827, for a school to supply this want. Rev. S. S. Schmucker and Rev. J. Herbst were appointed a committee to select a teacher and open the school. Rev. David Jacobs, A.M., was the first teacher, and in June of the same year the school was opened in the academy building on High Street as a preparatory department of the seminary. In September, 1829, the building in which the school was kept was sold by the sheriff, and was purchased by Rev. S. S. Schmucker for $1,150, who divided the price of the purchase into shares of $50 each, which were disposed of to prominent members of the church. Certain articles of agreement gave to the stockholders the management of the fiscal affairs of the school, and to the directors and faculty of the seminary the selection of teachers and the regulation of the course of study and discipline, and giving to the school the title of “Gettysburg Gymnasium.” The number of students increased very rapidly under the new management. Rev. David Jacobs died in 1830, and was succeeded the following year by Rev. H. L. Bangher, A.M., who took charge of the classical department. The school continuing to grow, measures were adopted a few years later by which a charter was obtained from the Legislature April 7, 1832, incorporating the institution under the name of PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE. Pennsylvania College was founded in 1832. It had its origin in the wants of the community and the church, and has developed from small beginnings to its present position of commanding influence and importance among higher institutions of learning. The buildings and grounds are located a few hundred yards north of the central part of the town, and are among the most beautiful and attractive of the many objects of interest in and around Gettysburg. The organization of the college under the charter was effected July 4, 1832, the board of trustees the same day appointing professors in the different departments, and making other arrangements for opening the college. The preliminary arrangements completed, the formal opening took place November 7 of the same year. But it soon became evident that additional funds must be secured to enable the college to perform the work and achieve the success expected of it. At this juncture Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, who, at this time (1833), was one of the members of the Legislature from this county, managed to secure an appropriation of $18,000 by the State on certain conditions. This appropriation was most opportune, and helped to place the youthful, struggling institution on a respectable foundation. Thus encouraged the trustees soon after enlarge the faculty and gave form and strength to the college by the election of Rev. C. P. Krauth, D.D., president, April 15, 1834. Pennsylvania College now entered upon a career of great prosperity and usefulness. Its growth henceforward was rapid, everything considered. The first great need of the college after its reorganization was a larger and more suitable building, the old academy soon proving entirely inadequate. Vigorous efforts were therefore made to collect the necessary funds with which to erect a suitable building, and by April 23, 1835, the required amount was secured. A plan for the proposed building was soon after adopted, and the contract for its erection awarded. The building was commenced in 1836 and completed in 1838. The college proper consists of a center building and two wings, with end projections, the whole length being 150 feet. The building is four stories in height, with observatory. The entire front of the center building is occupied by a portico consisting of four fluted columns, 22½ feet high, resting on abutments raised to the height of the second story. It is of brick, and the whole exterior is painted white. It contains recitation rooms, chapel, halls of literary societies, libraries, reading rooms, as also a large number of rooms for the occupancy of students, the whole costing originally about $24,000. The college edifice, a chaste specimen of the Doric order of architecture, stands on gently rising ground at the edge of a magnificent grove of stately professors and students. The grounds, known as the “Campus,” are well sodded and tastefully laid out in beautiful avenues, walks and flower-beds, the general effect during the spring and summer months being very pleasing. Embraced within the grounds, and a few rods west of the college building, is Linnaean Hall, a fine two-story brick structure, the first floor being used for laboratory and class recitation purposes, and the second story containing a large and valuable collection of prepared zoological specimens, minerals, fossils, coins, relics and other curiosities. The botanical collection is large and well arranged, and contains a full representation of American flora. Few colleges possess a more complete cabinet of minerals, the collection having recently received valuable additions. A president’s house, professors’ houses, a fraternity hall, and a janitor’s house, have also been erected on the grounds. A large gymnasium was built about ten years ago and supplied with necessary apparatus, affording students opportunity for exercise, recreation, and general physical culture. Through the liberality of some of the friends of the college an observatory was erected some years ago, and furnished with a complete equipment of astronomical and meteorological instruments. A fine telescope has been mounted, a transit instrument, an astronomical clock and a chronograph have been secured, and are freely used for the general purposes of class instruction. In 1850 Dr. Krauth resigned the presidency, having filled it most worthily for a period of sixteen years. He was succeeded in September of the same year by Rev. H. L. Baugher, D.D., who remained at the helm until the time of his death, which occurred in the spring of 1868, during which period the college continued to prosper. The vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Baugher was filled by the election of Rev. M. Valentine, D.D., who thus became the third president of the college. With marked ability Dr. Valentine watched over the interest of the college until 1884, a period of sixteen years, when, having resigned, he was followed by Rev. H. W. McKnight, D.D., the present incumbent. Dr. McKnight is a graduate of the college class of 1865, and a native of the county. The present faculty and instructors are as follows: H. W. McKnight, D.D., president, and professor of intellectual and moral science; L. H. Croll, A.M., vice president, and professor of mathematics and astronomy; Rev. A. Martin, A.M., professor of the German language and literature, and instructor in French; J. A. Himes, A.M., Graeff professor of the English language and literature; Rev. P. M. Bikle, Ph. D., Pearson professor of the Latin language and literature; E. S. Breidenbaugh, A.M., Ockerhausen professor of chemistry and the natural sciences, and H. Louis Baugher, D. D., Franklin professor of the Greek language and literature. The total number of students in the college department according to the latest catalogue was ninety-four. Preparatory Department.-A preparatory department under the general care and supervision of the faculty has been connected with the college from the beginning. The primary object of the school is the preparation of students of either sex for the freshman class in college. While this is the main purpose of the school, those who wish to prepare for teaching, or for mechanical or business pursuits, are permitted to select such studies as will best fit them for their special pursuits. The present preparatory building, located on a slight eminence a few steps north of town, has been names Stevens’ Hall in honor of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, a life-long friend of the college, who gave $500 to aid in its erection. The first teacher was Mr. F. Frederici, appointed September 26, 1832. The present principal is Rev. J. B. Focht, A.M., assisted by two tutors, George W. Baughman. A.B., and Frederick L. Bergstresser, A. B. Number of students in preparatory department, as per latest catalogue, is forty- five. College Library.-The college library numbers about 9,000 volumes, exclusive of a German library of 400 volumes and a collection of books owned by the Linnaean Association numbering some 300. Open every Saturday at 10 A.M., and free to students under certain regulations. Literary Societies.-There are two literary societies connected with the college; the Phrenakosmian and Philomathean. The object of these is practice in oratory, literary composition, reading and debate, the last named exercise taking a high rank from the first. The history of these societies being almost identical, they may be propriety be sketched conjointly. The students of the Gettysburg Gymnasium assembled in the old academy, on High Street, February 4, 1831, to take measures for the formation of literary societies. After several addresses the roll of students was divided as evenly as possible into two sections, the first section, numbering eighteen, becoming the founders of the Phrenakosmian, and the second, mustering seventeen, becoming the progenitors of the Philamathean. These divisions at once retired to separate apartments for organization, Prof. J. H. Marsden presiding for the former, and Prof. M. Jacobs wielding the gavel for the latter. The initiation fee of each was fixed at 50 cents. This was afterward raised to $2.50 and ultimately to $5. Fines ranged from 6¼ cents to 50 cents. The regular meetings were held on Friday evenings until 1840, when the time was changed to Wednesday afternoons. The Phrenakosmian library seems to have been founded in 1831 by the purchase of “Harper’s Library” as a nucleus, while on January 27, 1832, is recorded the first purchase of a work for the Philomathean library-“Buffon’s Natural History.” Enlargements of both library rooms were made from time to time as books accumulated. Both have raised and invested considerable funds, the income from which is annually expended in the purchase of books. Each library numbers about 6,500 volumes. A reading room under the management of each society, well supplied with suitable periodicals, has been established for the use of its members. NEW OXFORD COLLEGE AND MEDICAL INSTITUTE. About the year 1840 an institution of learning was established at New Oxford under the above title. Its founder was M. D. G. Pfeiffer, M.D., a German scholar and thinker, a learned and skillful physician, an ardent friend of popular and liberal education, and a man of enlarged and advanced views. One of the primary objects in the establishment of this institution of learning was to afford its founder an opportunity of illustrating and inculcating his peculiar theories in regard to human development-moral, mental and physical. Although the college had for several years a considerable number of students, it never received public support and patronage commensurate with the efforts put forth in its behalf, and the enterprise has long since been abandoned as a failure. The college building, much neglected and weather-worn, and painfully suggestive of unrealized expectations, is still standing just at the edge of town on the York pike. HUNTERSTOWN ENGLISH AND CLASSICAL ACADEMY. A school of great usefulness in the central part of the county, as well as of much local popularity, was the “Hunterstown English and Classical Academy.” It was established in 1851 by Rev. I. N. Hays, who was at that time serving the Presbyterian congregation at Hunterstown as their pastor. Mr. Hays, clearly perceiving the urgent need of better educational advantages than those afforded by the public schools of the neighborhood, set to work with great energy and zeal to raise the funds necessary for the erection of a suitable building. In a comparatively short time the required amount was secured, and in due time a fine two-story brick building, with one room on each floor, was put up. The rooms were plainly but comfortably furnished. The first session of the school was opened November 3, 1852, with John H. Clarke as principal. Although the school, as an academy, has been discontinued for some years, its good influence is still felt throughout the county. CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. Nearly all the populous Catholic communities in the county have established separate schools for Catholic children. In these, besides the common branches of study, some attention is usually given to religious instruction. The first of these schools, of which we have any knowledge, was organized and taught at Conowago Chapel about the year 1800 by Rev. F. X. Brosius, who came to this country some eight years before. For many years subsequently a school was kept here, sometimes conducted by the clergy and sometimes by lay teachers. In 1870 E. S. Reily, Esq., had charge of a classical school here. In 1868 a large brick building was erected by the Catholics at Irishtown, in Oxford Township, for church and school purposes, the clergy from Conowago attending to the religious instruction of the children. The school is now public and known as Union Independent. The large parochial school at Mount Rock, in Mountpleasant Township, was started about twenty years ago, with Miss J. M. O’Neill as the first teacher. It is now in charge of Sisters from McSherrystown. There is a flourishing institution at McSherrystown under the direction of the Sisters of Charity, established in 1834. In 1854 it was incorporated under the title of the McSherrystown Novitiate and Academy of St. Joseph. The property is now very large and valuable. Among the benevolent objects of the institution are the education of the young, visiting the sick, caring for orphans and dispensing charity. The Catholic school at Littlestown was established by Rev. F. X. Deneckere, in 1867, Miss Mary Wilson being the first teacher. The same priest started a school in connection with the Catholic congregation at New Oxford, in 1862, the school now numbering over 100 pupils. The school was originally held in the church, a Mrs. Trayer being the first teacher, but in 1877 a suitable school building was erected. The school at Bonneauville was started by Rev. Pope in 1873, two Sisters of Charity being the first teachers. A large and flourishing parochial school was established in Gettysburg by Rev. J. A. Boll, in 1877. The school building is a comfortable frame structure in rear of the pastoral residence, and cost, with its outfit, about $1,300. Mr. Boll himself, with the aid of suitable assistance, conducted the school for a period of two years and a half, when it passed into the hands of Mr. M. F. Power, the present teacher. Enrollment about 100. THE FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM. The free school system, established by act of Assembly in 1834, was at first unpopular in certain portions of the county. It was a subject of exciting interest to all classes of persons. Considerable feeling was manifested in opposition to the common school law, the result of ignorance and prejudice. All sort of foolish and extravagant notions were entertained in regard to its provisions. Many were honestly of the opinion that, by promoting general intelligence, it would encourage idleness and crime, that it would oppress tax payers, and that it would prove subversive of the rights and liberties of the people. But gradually, as people learned to understand the true object and purpose of the law, and as the advantages of general education became apparent to them, this feeling of opposition gave place to one of confidence and approval. At the first joint convention of county commissioners and school directors, held in Gettysburg November, 1834, it was found that of the seventeen school districts then in the county, the following had voted to accept the free school system: Berwick, Franklin, Gettysburg, Hamiltonban, Huntington, Menallen and Straban,-7; non-accepting: Conowago, Germany, Hamilton, Latimore, Liberty, Mountjoy, Mountpleasant, Reading and Tyrone-9. Cumberland was not represented. The convention resolved to recommend the levying of a school tax in each accepting district equal to double the amount of State appropriation to such district. At the second convention of county commissioners and school delegates held in Gettysburg, May 4, 1835, it was found that fourteen districts were represented. Of these, Berwick, Cumberland, Franklin, Gettysburg, Hamiltonban, Huntington, Menallen and Straban, 8, voted as accepting; and Hamilton, Liberty, Mountpleasant, Mountjoy, Reading and Tyrone, 6, voted as non-accepting. A local school tax of 2 mills was voted to be levied in each of the accepting districts. At the third and last joint convention of the county commissioners and school delegates, held in Gettysburg, May 2, 1836, it was ascertained that all the districts in the county had voted to accept the law, except Conowago, Hamilton, Latimore, Mountpleasant and Reading-5. Mountpleasant accepted in 1838, Hamilton in 1839, Conowago in 1842, and Latimore and Reading wheeled into line a year or two later. THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENCY. The office of county superintendent, created by the law of 1854, met with considerable opposition in some quarters. In the rural districts, especially, public feeling was against it. The free school system itself was bad, in the opinion of many; but the ingrafting of a feature upon it so utterly unnecessary as the county superintendency was atrocious. Through blind prejudice alone the office, which as been not inaptly styled the right arm of the common school system, was condemned without a trial. People were amazingly slow to understand and appreciate the need of intelligent supervision over the interests of common school education. The first county superintendent was David Wills, elected June 5, 1854, at a salary of $300 per annum. He served a little more than two years and then resigned. His successor was Rev. Reuben Hill, who was appointed September 1, 1856, for the unexpired term. W. L. Campbell was elected May 4, 1857, the salary being fixed at $400. He resigned at the end of fifteen months. J. Kerr McIlhenny became his successor by appointment September 1, 1858, but died of typhoid fever in August, 1859. He was succeeded by John C. Ellis, who was commissioned in October of the same year. Mr. Ellis was elected in May, 1860, at a salary of $500, and served the full term of three years. In May, 1863, Aaron Sheely was elected at the triennial convention, the salary remaining the same. At a special convention of school directors held in November, 1864, the salary was increased to $800. He was re-elected in May, 1866, at the same salary. J. Howard West was elected in 1869, the salary being continued at the same figure. He resigned after serving about two years and a half, and was followed by P. D. W. Hankey for the unexpired term. In 1872 Aaron Sheely, the present incumbent, was again elected at a salary of $800 and re-elected in 1875, the salary being fixed at $1,000. Re-elected in 1878, 1881 and 1884, the salary remaining the same. EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS. The Gettysburg papers of November 18, 1834, contained a call for a meeting of the “Teachers’ Association of Adams County’ to be held in Pennsylvania College on the 20th of the same month. The call was signed by Frederick Ashbaugh, as secretary. From the form of the call it would seem that at least one similar meeting was held prior to the one referred to, making it one of the earliest teachers’ meetings held in the State. Unfortunately, however, the local press did not, as now, publish the proceedings of these meetings, and no minutes of them are known to exist. The first teacher’s educational meeting in the county, after the county superintendency went into operation, convened at the call of Superintendent Wills, November 11, 1854, remaining in session one day. One of the resolutions adopted at this meeting favored the holding of semi-annual meetings. Fifty teachers responded to their names. The second meeting of the association was held in Gettysburg, beginning February 1, 1855, and remained in session two days. The third meeting was held in Gettysburg, October 2, 3 and 4, of the same year. The fourth meeting convened in Christ Church, Gettysburg, February 7, 1856, and was well attended, the exercises being interesting throughout. It does not appear that any meetings of the association were held during the next two years, but on the 10th and 11th of February, 1859, at the call of Superintendent McIlhenny, an interesting session of two days was held in the public school building in Gettysburg. From this time until 1867, when the present law establishing the County Institute and providing for its maintenance went into operation, meetings were held as follows: New Oxford, December 8 to 10, 1859; New Oxford, January 14 to 17, 1862; York Springs, October 29 to 31, 1862; Fairfield, December 29 to 31, 1863; Bendersville, December 28 to 30, 1864; Gettysburg, October 25 to 27, 1865; and Littlestown, November 21 to 23, 1866. In 1867, commencing November 25, a five days’ session was held at New Oxford, in accordance with the provisions of the county institute law of April 9, of the same year. The attendance at this meeting was unprecedentedly large, about 125 teachers being present. Since that time the institute has met regularly, once a year, in Gettysburg, with large attendance of teachers and others, and with most gratifying results. The Pennsylvania State Teachers’ Association held a three days’ session in Gettysburg in August, 1866. CONCLUSION. The education of the county, which has been a matter of steady growth and progress, has here been sketched with as much completeness as was possible within the limited space allowed. As a fitting conclusion a comparative tabular statement is appended showing the condition and working of the common school system in the county since 1854, and also one showing the operations for the year ending June 1, 1885. TRANSCRIBERS NOTE: The tabular statements mentioned in the paragraph above, from pages 133 and 134 in the book, can be found at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/adams/1picts/warner-beers/133.jpg and http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/adams/1picts/warner-beers/134.jpg.