Columbia County PA Archives History - Schools .....Bloomsburg State Normal School 1899 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 2, 2005, 1:37 pm Book Title: THE BLOOMSBURG STATE NORMAL SCHOOL at Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pa., is one of the largest and most flourishing schools of its kind in the United States. It catalogues each year something over 600 students and has a faculty of about twenty-eight ladies and gentlemen, graduates of leading colleges, universities and training schools. Each year about 150 young men and women are graduated in the different departments of the school. Its alumni numbers nearly 1,500, and, as may be seen by reference to this list in the catalogue, a remarkably large number of them occupy positions of influence and responsibility in Pennsylvania and other states. The school is one of the best disciplined in the country, while the educational work has been so carefully supervised that a strong corps of university and college-trained teachers has been brought together to form a faculty. As a result, the young men and women graduated in the professional and college preparatory courses are taking high rank among their fellows, and reflecting great credit on their Alma Mater. The school property attracts much attention, being situated at an elevation of over 150 feet above the Susquehanna. The view from this elevation is almost unrivaled. The river, like a ribbon, edges the plain on the south, and disappears through a bold gorge three miles to the southwest. Rising immediately beyond the river is a precipitous ridge 400 feet high, backed by the majestic Catawissa Mountain. The town lies at the feet of the spectator. Hill and plain, land and water, field and forest, town and country, manufacture and agriculture, are combined in the varied scene. Fourteen acres of campus afford ample space for lawns and athletic grounds, and include a large and beautiful oak grove, while six large buildings are admirably adapted to their different uses. There is not space here for a complete description of these buildings. Institute Hall is the oldest building (built in 1867), and contains six spacious class-rooms and a beautiful auditorium which occupies the entire second floor. The Model School Building is a handsome two-story building, and is next to Institute Hall. It covers about eighty feet by ninety feet, and contains about twenty-six study and recitation rooms, well ventilated and supplied with light, blackboard surface, and the most improved furniture. The Dormitory is four stories high and was originally in the form of an inverted T, having a frontage of 162 feet and an extension of seventy-five feet. Extending toward the river from the inverted T is a wing 104 by 40 feet in dimensions, thus: L. The North End Addition, while connected with the dormitory described above, is a distinct four-story building, 130 by 50 feet in size. The Gymnasium is 90 by 45 feet in size, and is one of the handsomest and best to be found. The Employees' Dormitory is about 40 by 70 feet, three stories high, with a basement which contains the laundry. The top floor is fitted up as an infirmary. The school was originally called the Bloomsburg Literary Institute and was opened and dedicated in 1867. In 1868 a proposition was made to the board of trustees by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Hon. J. P. WICKERSHAM, to organize the school into a state normal school. After much heated discussion, the board of trustees passed the following resolution: "Resolved that the trustees of the Bloomsburg Literary Institute agree to establish in connection with the same a state normal school under the Act of the 2d of May, 1857, and to procure the grounds and put up the necessary buildings, etc." It will be seen by this resolution that none of the functions of the Literary Institute were canceled when it became a normal school. The charter name is "The Bloomsburg Literary Institute and State Normal School," and the courses of study originally provided for the Institute are still maintained, according to the terms of the original agreement with the Commonwealth. As a consequence of this action the school is perhaps different from other normal schools in that it prepares more students for college, and maintains courses in both vocal and instrumental music. The work of the Institute has not in any way interfered with the training of teachers. In fact, the necessity of keeping well-trained instructors in the sciences, languages, mathematics, history, and literature to comply with the advanced requirements of the Literary Institute, has provided better instruction in the elements of these branches for students in the normal department. The school at all times has at least 125 representatives in the various colleges and universities. The first principal of the school was Prof. Henry CARVER, who held the position until 1871. He was an excellent disciplinarian and organizer and had the happy faculty of inspiring young people to make the most of themselves. After his withdrawal from the principalship, the school passed through a financial struggle that is best described in the words of Col. John G. Freeze, in his "History of Columbia County," as follows: "The very large amount of money required, the falling off of subscribers, the want of prompt payment of those which were good, the talk of those who were not in sympathy with the movement, were all discouraging circumstances. The trustees were therefore obliged to assume personally the cost of carrying on the work. They have had upon themselves at one time, as a personal obligation, more than $20,000. Repairs, expenditures, and deficiencies to the amount of from $1,000 to $3,000 annually, have been provided for by them, on their personal responsibility. They have given days and nights to the business of the school, they have borne, for the public and general good, burdens which no man in the town has struggled under in his own business. When state aid came slowly or not at all, when subscriptions failed, when the daily pressure of debts was almost unbearable, the trustees shouldered the work and accepted the responsibility." The second principal of the school was the well-known lawyer, Charles G. BARKLEY, Esq., who accepted the position temporarily and on condition that he would be relieved as soon as possible. His principalship extended only from December 20, 1871, to March 27, 1872, but a marked improvement in the school in all respects was apparent at the time of his resignation, and the trustees would have been glad to retain him at the head of the institution. He is at present, and has been for years, one of the leading trustees of the school, being chairman of the committee on instruction and discipline. Mr. Barkley's successor was Rev. John HEWITT, rector of the Episcopal Church of Bloomsburg, who held the position until the end of the school year in June, 1873. Improvement continued, but still the income did not meet expenses and the struggles of the board of trustees continued. Mr. Hewitt was succeeded by Rev. T. L. GRISWOLD, who continued as principal until June, 1877. Under his administration the school first paid expenses. In the fall of 1877, Rev. David J. WALLER, Jr., assumed the duties of principal and his administration was very successful. It was during his administration that the Model School Building and the east wing of the Dormitory were erected. Throughout the thirteen years of his connection with the school there was a constant growth in the material equipment, size, and efficiency of the school; and when, in 1890, Rev. Waller was appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction the school was in a most prosperous condition. In July, 1890, the present principal, Judson P. WELSH, Ph. D., assumed the duties of the position. The National Educator in its issue of March 18, 1896, says of the prosperity of the school under his administration: "Through the influence of Dr. Welsh, the growth and prosperity of the school have been phenomenal. We will briefly enumerate some of the material changes which have gone hand-in-hand with the educational improvement. New furniture came first, then the beautiful auditorium was modeled. Next the large four-story dormitory and the gymnasium were built. Electric lights, the new library, the elevator, and the servants' dormitory soon followed. The new athletic field is another remarkable feature of this growth. In short, the school has grown so wonderfully that those who have not visited it in five years would be astonished to see the transformation." The State Normal School is under the care of a board of trustees of eighteen members. Six of these represent the Commonwealth and twelve represent the stockholders. The stockholders are the contributors of the original $30,000 which the state requires to be furnished by the community in which a normal school is established. They are not stock holders in the sense of being participators in the earnings of the school, but they elect the trustees annually and suggest to the Commonwealth those who may be appointed to represent the state. The trustees of this school have upon more than one occasion furnished funds to the institution from their private means, and have frequently compromised their personal estates by placing their names on paper to help the school out of financial embarrassment, when the state failed to appropriate sufficient funds, or withheld payment of funds appropriated. The annual appropriation of the state to the school at present is $7,500, a sum not large enough to pay one-half the sum paid in salaries to the instructors. The state also makes an appropriation of fifty cents per week to students of the school, to aid them in defraying their expenses. This aid is given to students seventeen years old, who take the teacher's course of instruction and declare their intention to become teachers in the public schools of the Commonwealth. At graduation, those who promise to teach two years in the Commonwealth receive fifty dollars additional. This aid to the students is of no direct value to the school, as it does not furnish any additional funds. The following well-known business and professional men constitute the present board of trustees: A. Z. Schoch, president; John H. Clark, secretary; William Neal; John Wolf; L. E. Waller; F. P. Billmeyer; George E. Elwell; N. U. Funk; James C. Brown; W. M. Reber; Paul E. Wirt; A. L. Fritz; Hon. Robert R. Little (state); C. G. Barkley (state); Charles W. Miller (state); G. Herring (state); John.A. Funston (state); and C. C. Peacock (state). Of these Mr. William Neal and Mr. John Wolf have been members of the board almost continuously since the organization of the school. The value of the school to Bloomsburg in a business way is probably not realized even by the most sagacious business men. During the scholastic year of 1896-97, $56,000 of the income of the school was spent in the town and immediate neighborhood of the school. This is about four-fifths of the entire yearly income of the school. In addition to this, it is estimated that the students of the school in their personal expenditures bring from $12,000 to $15,000 into the town each year. During the seven years preceding the school year of 1897-98, the annual income of the school increased from $42,000 to over $69,000, or nearly 65 per cent. During those seven years the school has expended of its income in the town, for running expenses, $346,000. Add to this (according to the above estimate of the amount spent by students), the sum of $85,000 for the seven years, and the total is $431,000. But this is not all: During this time $70,000 was expended in buildings, which amount is not included in foregoing amounts, which represent only the running expenses of the school. The grand total, therefore, of over $500,000 (a half million dollars, in other words) has been spent in the town during the seven years mentioned. It is no wonder that Bloomsburg is a prosperous town, since she has such an institution, pouring $70,000 per annum into her business life. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District Published by Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899) This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 12.6 Kb