HISTORY: Warner Beers, 1886, Part 2, Chapter 11, Cumberland County, PA

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History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania.
Containing History of the Counties, Their Townships, Towns, Villages, 
Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc.; Portraits of Early Settlers and 
Prominent Men; Biographies; History of Pennsylvania; Statistical and 
Miscellaneous Matter, Etc., Etc.  Illustrated.  Chicago: Warner, Beers 
& Co., 1886.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cumberland/beers/beers.htm
______________________________________________________________________ 

                                PART II.

             HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. PENNSYLVANIA.

                               CHAPTER XI.

EDUCATIONAL - LEGAL HISTORY - EARLY SCHOOLS - DICKINSON COLLEGE - 
METZGAR FEMALE INSTITUTE - INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL - CUMBERLAND VALLEY 
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL - TEACHERS' INSTITUTE - COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS. 

                              LEGAL HISTORY.

  THE history of education in Pennsylvania may be said to date from the 
beginning of Penn's colony on the banks of the Delaware.
  In the first plan of government drawn up by Penn, in 1682, provision 
was made for the "governor and provincial council to erect and order 
all public schools, and reward the authors of useful sciences and 
laudable inventions in said provinces."
  In the year following a school for the education of the young was 
founded by enactment of the provincial council; and, to further the 
design, it elected one Enoch Flower to conduct the school work.  The 
branches taught were "reading, writing, and the casting of accounts."  
This was the first school established within the present boundaries of 
Pennsylvania.

196  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

  In 1698 a school was organized by the Society of Friends in 
Philadelphia, in which all children and servants might be taught, and 
provision was made "for the instruction of the poor, gratis."  Several 
charters were granted this school by Penn, the final one in 1711, 
extending the privileges and rights so as to form, in reality, a public 
school, the first in Pennsylvania.
  The work thus begun was aided by private contributions, and it was as 
late as April, 1776, that the first school law was adopted, which 
provided that a "school or schools shall be established by the 
Legislature for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries 
to the masters paid by the public as will enable them to instruct youth 
at low prices," and which set apart 60,000 acres of land as a permanent 
endowment for said schools, the income from said land to be invested, 
and the said schools to be conducted by the Legislature as their 
discretion might dictate.
  Thus it will be seen that the educational interest was left wholly at 
the mercy of men who had little, if any, experience in educational 
matters, and who were occupied with weightier affairs than the 
fostering of a young school system.
  Even with State aid the schools were neglected, and had to be 
nourished by the bounty of benevolent persons who contributed to the 
support of the struggling interest.  In 1788 a subscription of 
something near 40l., signed by the leading citizens and containing the 
following agreement, was taken in Cumberland County:  "WHEREAS, a 
number of children in the borough of Carlisle, from the extreme 
indigence of their parents, are brought up in the greatest ignorance; 
and, whereas, these people laboring under the unfortunate condition of 
slavery, are, from circumstances, generally debarred from acquiring a 
knowledge of the Holy scriptures and the principles of morality; the 
subscribers being of the opinion that a free school and Sunday evening 
school, under proper regulations, would tend to the advancement of 
knowledge and of good order in society, agree to pay the sums annexed 
to their names for one year for the above benevolent purposes," etc., 
which may serve as an illustration of the dependence upon personal aid.
  But an advance was made by the Constitution of 1790, which stated 
that "the Legislature should, as conveniently as might be, provide by 
law for the establishment of schools throughout the state, in such 
manner that the poor might be taught gratis."  The same provision 
occurred in the law of 1809, which required the assessors to obtain the 
names of all children residing in their districts, between the ages of 
five and twelve years, whose parents were too poor to pay for their 
schooling, and to furnish each teacher a list of these names.  It then 
became the teacher's duty to instruct all such children as applied for 
instruction, and to present the county commissioners with his account 
for the tuition of these same children.  This drawing of distinction 
between rich and poor aroused violent opposition among the opponents of 
the measure, who termed it the "pauper system."  The whole number of 
children entered in these schools during the year 1833, the last in 
which this law was in force, was only 17,467, and the expenditure, in 
their behalf, $48,466.25.
  In 1834 a free school system was introduced throughout the whole 
State, which continues, with certain modifications and amendments, to 
be the school law of Pennsylvania.  There were many opponents to the 
law, and, as its acceptance was made optional with each district, the 
first year in which the new law was in operation only ninety-three 
districts out of 900 were reported as having adopted it.  The report of 
the State superintendent shows that in Cumberland County, in 1834, 
thirteen districts accepted, three rejected, and one not reported - 
certainly a good record, considering the general opposition where in 
the State. 

197  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

  In Carlisle, however, during the following year, there was "no school 
in operation - fund inadequate, and deemed prudent by the directors not 
to commence at present."

                             EARLY SCHOOLS.

  As the first school had been started under Quaker control, the German 
settlers who subsequently entered the valley were compelled to submit 
their educational affairs largely to the schoolmaster who opened the 
private school.  As a general rule, the school was conducted by the 
minister of the village church, and the building used was also devoted 
to religious worship.  Many of the earliest schools were even conducted 
in barns, and very good schools they were thought, too.  The early 
teachers in Shippensburg were Andrew Gibson, John Chambers, Jacob 
Steinman, John Morrison, Michael Hubbley, Robert McKean and Dr. Kernan, 
the latter's school being of a higher grade than the others.  A select 
school was opened by two ladies named Mary Russell and Elizabeth 
Anderson, in 1824, which became very popular, and which continued, 
under the charge of Miss Eliza Russell, until the free school system 
was introduced, when it was closed, the proprietors taking charge of 
the district school.
  In Carlisle Samuel Tate, Capt. Smith, Mrs. Shaw, and others not known 
of by the writer were the early teachers.
  About the year 1809 a Methodist minister by the name of Boden 
conducted a school in Silver Spring Township, but he was shortly 
succeeded by a young Hessian named Henry De Lipkey, who, having been 
buffeted about by the fickle goddess, became soured on humanity, and 
dealt many a stroke upon the backs of refractory urchins.  John 
Stevenson, Michael Boor, Arthur Moore, Adam Longsdorf and William 
Jameson, the latter said to have been a fine mathematician, were also 
known among the early teachers in the township.
  A church, erected by general contribution, was used as a school in 
Allen Township, and was presided over by a Mr. McGlaughlin, William 
Kline, John Foster, James Methlin and Solomon Tate.  Other early 
teachers in the township were Messrs. Bausman, Durborrow and Pittinger.
  According to "Sypher's History of Pennsylvania," the first school of 
a higher grade was a classical school opened in Carlisle about the year 
1760.  It was in charge of one Robert McKinley, and continued until the 
war of the Revolution, when both principal and students enlisted in the 
patriot army.
  Another classical school was in operation in Carlisle in the year 
1781.  It was at first a "grammar school," but was enlarged and 
chartered as an academy.
  An institution known as the Carlisle Institute was opened in 1831, 
which acquired a large patronage.  The date of its discontinuance is 
not known.
  In Newburg, Hopewell Township, a school called "Hopewell Academy" was 
opened in 1812 by Mr. John Cooper, a linguist of no mean reputation, 
and numbered among its patrons such eminent men as Dr. Alfred Nevin, H. 
M. Watts, once United States minister to Austria, the Rev. Dr. Samuel 
McCoskry, and others of equal prominence.  This institution was 
maintained until 1832, when the founder removed to Shippensburg.
  Two classical schools were opened in Newville - one in 1832, by 
Joseph Casey, and the other in 1843, by Mr. French.  The latter changed 
owners many times, and was finally converted into Big Spring Academy, 
under the charge of W. R. Linn and Rev. Robert McCachran, in whose 
hands it perished.
  About the year 1840 a select school was opened in Mechanicsburg by F. 
L. Gillelen, and was continued by him with much success until 1853, 
when it was 

198  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

purchased by Rev. Joseph S. Loose, A. M.  He immediately removed it to 
a better building, and termed it the Cumberland Valley Institute.  This 
institution existed until recently, its various owners having been Mr. 
I. D. Rupp, Messrs. Lippincott, Mullin & Reese, Rev. O. Ege, and his 
son, A. Ege, A. M.
  Irving Female College, at Irvington (East Mechanicsburg), was founded 
as a seminary for ladies by Solomon P. Gorgas, and was chartered as a 
college in 1857.  It was conducted by Rev. A. G. Marlatt until his 
death in 1865, when Rev. T. P. Ege was elected.  It was located in a 
comely brick building, capable of accommodating forty boarding, in 
addition to the day pupils.
  Dr. R. Lowry Sibbet, a graduate of Pennsylvania College, commenced a 
private school in Centerville, Penn Township, in 1856.  It was 
conducted by him for three sessions, during which he instructed in the 
Greek and Latin languages, higher mathematics and natural sciences.  
Dr. Sibbet severed his connection with this school, and was succeeded 
by Rev. George Hays and Mr. E. M. Hays, after which the school was 
discontinued.
  Sometime about 1848 a classical school was opened in New Kingston by 
Mr. A. W. Lily, a graduate of Pennsylvania College.  His successor, 
Rev. J. H. Cupp, did not continue long in the enterprise, and it was 
abandoned in 1850.
  An institution called White Hall Academy, was opened in East 
Pennsborough Township in 1851, by Mr. David Denlinger, under whose 
charge it was operated until 1867, when it was changed to a Soldiers' 
Orphan School.  It was then purchased by Capt. J. A. Moore and Mr. F. 
S. Dunn, and was conducted without change until 1875, when Messrs. Amos 
Smith and John Dunn took charge.  Capt. Moore is the present able and 
popular principal.
  In 1860 the Episcopal Church founded a seminary for young ladies, 
called the Mary Institute, in Carlisle.  The principals have been Rev. 
Francis J. Clerc, Rev. William C. Leverett and Mary W. Dunbar.  It has 
been discontinued for some time.
  In 1858, the Sunny Side Female Seminary was opened in Newburg, with 
Mrs. Caroline Williams as principal.  She married Rev. Daniel Williams, 
a few years after, and under his charge the school perished.
  The Shippensburg Collegiate Institute, a reorganization of an old 
academy, was opened in Shippensburg, with Rev. James Colder as 
principal.  He was succeeded by Dr. R. L. Sibbet (who retired to engage 
in the study of medicine), Rev. J. Y. Brown, _____ Vaughan and Miss 
McKeehan. 

                           DICKINSON COLLEGE. 

  The difficulties experienced by the early settlers of the Cumberland 
Valley in securing a liberal education for their sons, who had formerly 
been sent either to England or to the academies located in Philadelphia 
and in more remote places, led them to contemplate the establishment of 
an institution to combine all the advantages of the existing schools 
with that of being of much easier access.  With this end in view, the 
friends of the movement secured a charter for a college in the borough 
of Carlisle, in which it says that "in memory of the great and 
important services rendered to his country by His Excellency, John 
Dickinson, Esq., president of the supreme executive council, and in 
commemoration of his very liberal donation to the institution, the said 
college shall be forever hereafter called and known by the name of 
Dickinson College."  It was placed under the control of a board 
composed of forty trustees.  The support was to be derived from the 
Presbyterian Church directly, and also from all friends of education 
who deemed fit to make donations. 

199  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

  Prominent among the founders and first trustees, were John Dickinson, 
first governor of Pennsylvania and first president of the board of 
trustees, and Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia.  The first meeting of 
the board was held in 1783, and in the following year a faculty was 
chosen, consisting of Rev. Charles Nisbett, D. D., of Montrose, 
Scotland, as president, and James Ross, author of the well-known Ross 
Latin Grammar, as professor of the Greek and Latin languages.
  After much hesitation and correspondence, Dr. Nisbett was induced to 
accept the position offered, and arrived at Carlisle on July 4, 1785, 
being welcomed with the sound of cannon and bells.  The following day 
saw the opening of the college in a small building, between Pomfret 
Street and Liberty Alley.
  With such a beginning, the school grew rapidly into prominence, and 
was only retarded by the insufficiency of the funds.  Strenuous efforts 
to increase the income were made by the friends of the institution, and 
in 1791 they succeeded in securing an appropriation from the Assembly 
of $7,500, which, with an additional donation of $3,000 given in 1798, 
served to place it upon a firm basis.
  In 1802, when a new building had been completed on the new grounds 
purchased in 1798, and when everything was prepared for the reception 
of students, a spark carried by the wind from an ash pile far away, 
kindled a fire which destroyed nearly everything.  Before the smoke had 
blown away, a new subscription list was in circulation, and on August 
3, 1803, the first stone of the new building planned by the public 
architect at Washington, Mr. Latrobe, was laid.
  The college was inspired with a new vigor, and for a number of years 
continued with increasing influence and prosperity.  But troubles arose 
which led to a change in the controlling influence in 1833.  The 
Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, learning of the 
difficulties into which the institution had entered, made proposals to 
a committee of the board of trustees, and a final agreement was made by 
which the college and all connected with it passed into the control of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
  Now the school revived.  New departments were added, and the old ones 
strengthened, until Dickinson College was placed in the front rank of 
institution for higher education.  The following are the departments of 
study maintained:  (1) Moral science, (2) ancient languages and 
literature; (3) pure mathematics; (4) philosophy and English 
literature, including history and constitutional law, (5) physics and 
mixed mathematics, and the application of calculus to natural 
philosophy, astronomy and mechanics; (6) chemistry, and its application 
to agriculture and the arts; (7) physical geography, natural history, 
mineralogy and geology; (8) modern languages; (9) civil and mining 
engineering and metallurgy.
  Those who wish to obtain the collegiate degrees are required to 
devote the earlier part of their course to the study of the classics 
and the pure mathematics, but during the latter half, the student is 
granted more freedom, and if he desires to complete any of the special 
courses provided, he has the liberty to do so, at the same time 
retaining his right to the degree of B. A. upon graduation equally with 
those who have remained in the regular classical course.
  The institution is well provided with all apparatus for the 
elucidation of the principles of physical science; the libraries number 
about 28,000 volumes, many of them very rare and valuable; the 
permanent endowment exceeds $170,000; and a valuable property, which is 
not productive at present, but which will add materially to the income 
of the school in the near future. 

200  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

  Within the last few years the course has been opened to the ladies, 
so that now students of both sexes have equal privileges.
  The Tome Scientific Building, a long, handsome, fire-proof structure, 
of native limestone, with trimmings of gray stone, brought from the 
Cleveland quarries, facing on Louther street, was finished in 1885, a 
donation of Col Robert Tome, of Port Deposit, Md., from whom it derives 
its name.  The last and most beautiful building added to the college in 
the near past is the Bosler Memorial Hall, a pressed brick building, 
with handsomely carved brown stone ornamentation, meant principally to 
contain the college library; begun in 1885 and finished in the 
succeeding year.  It is a donation from the widow of the late James W. 
Bosler, of Carlisle.
  Among the graduates of Dickinson College many have held responsible 
and honorable positions.  One has been President of the United States, 
one has been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of United States, one 
Justice of the Supreme Court, one Governor of a State, two United 
States Senators, ten Representatives in Congress, two district judges, 
three justices of the State Supreme Court, eleven presidents and 
sixteen professors of colleges, one bishop of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, and sixty-eight ministers of the Gospel.
  The following is a table of the officers and presidents of Dickinson 
College, with the periods of their service:
  Presidents of Board of Trustees. - John Dickinson, LL.D., 1783-1808; 
Rev. John King, D.D., 1808-1808; James Armstrong, 1808-24; John B. 
Gibson, LL.D., 1824-29; Andrew Carothers, 1829-33.
  Since 1833, the president of the college has been, ex officio, 
president of the board of trustees.
  Secretaries. - Rev. William Linn, D.D., 1783-84; Thomas Duncan, 1784-
92; Thomas Creigh, 1792-96; James Duncan, 1796-1806; Alex. P. Lyon, 
1806-08; Andrew Carothers, 1808-14; Isaac B. Parker, 1814-20; James 
Hamilton, 1820-24; Frederick Watts, LL. D., 1824-28; Rev. S. A. 
McCoskry, D.D., 1828-31; William Biddle, 1831-33; James W. Marshall, 
1850-54; Rev. Otis H. Tiffany, D.D., 1854-57; James W. Marshall, 1857-
58; Rev. William L. Boswell, 1858-65; John K. Stayman, 1865-68; Charles 
F. Himes, 1868 -.
  Treasurers. - Samuel Laird, 1784-90; Samuel Postlethwaite, 1790-98; 
John Montgomery, 1798-1808; John Miller, 1808-21; And. McDowell, 1821-
33; John J. Myers, M. D., 1833-41; William D. Seymour, 1841-54; James 
W. Marshall, 1854-61; Samuel D. Hellman, 1861-68; John K. Stayman, 
1868; Charles F. Himes, 1868-82; J. W. Smiley, 1882-85; Henry C. 
Whitney, 1885-.
  Librarians. - James Ross, 1784-92; William Thomson, 1792-1804; John 
Borland, 1804-05; John Hays, 1805-09; Henry R. Wilson, 1809-13; Joseph 
Shaw, 1813-15; Gerard E. Stack, 1815-16; Joseph Spencer, 1822-30; 
Charles D. Cleveland, 1830-32; Robert Emory, 1834-40; John McClintock, 
1840-48; James W. Marshall, 1848-60; William L. Boswell, 1860-65, John 
K. Stayman, 1865-70; Henry M. Harman, 1870-.
  College Presidents. - Charles Nisbett, D.D., 1785-1804; Robert 
Davidson, D.D., 1804-09; Jeremiah Atwater, D.D., 1809-15; John 
McKnight, D.D., 1815-16; John Mitchell Mason, D.D., 1821-24; William 
Neill, D.D., 1824-29; Samuel Blanchard Howe, D.D., 1830-31; John Price 
Durbin, D.D., 1833-45; Robert Emory, D.D., 1845-48; Jesse Truesdell 
Peck, D.D., 1848-52; Charles Collins, D.D., 1852-60; Herman Merrills 
Johnson, D.D., 1860-68; Robert Lawrenson Dashiell, D.D., 1868-72; James 
Andrew McCauley, D.D., LL.D., the present efficient and scholarly 
president. 

201  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

                        METZGAR FEMALE INSTITUTE.

  The Metzgar Female Institute, occupying a beautiful and commodious 
brick structure, surrounded by pleasant shade trees and a rich variety 
of flowers, is one of the attractions of Carlisle, and reflects great 
honor upon the memory of the man whose funds supplied it, Mr. Metzgar, 
an honored member of the Cumberland County bar.  It has attained a 
position among the educational institutions of the county, as is shown 
by its constantly increasing attendance.  It was erected some five or 
six years ago.

                        INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.

  The Indian Industrial School, at Carlisle, under the management of 
Capt. R. H. Pratt, Tenth Cavalry, is one of the pioneer institutions of 
the United States to attempt the civilization of a savage race.
  By act of congress dated June 17, 1879, the extensive grounds and 
buildings known as the Carlisle Barracks were appropriated for the 
Indian school.  Sometime in 1876, Capt. Pratt conceived the idea that 
Indians could be educated and their labor and skill utilized.  About 
that time, of the hundred prisoners at Fort Marion, Florida, captured 
from the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Wichitas, etc., a number were taken to 
Hampton, Va., where they were organized into a school, thus originating 
the system of Indian industrial education in this country.  Carlisle 
was next to be developed.
  In addition to the extensive buildings secured from the Government at 
the time the school began, there have been erected, since, a chapel, 
1879; hospital, 1881; new dining hall and laundry, 1885; and a new wing 
to old dining hall for printing office.
  The first pupils received (eighty-four in number) arrived October 5, 
1879, from the Rosebud and Pine Ridge agencies, Dakota.  The fathers of 
those boys and girls were leaders in their tribes (the Sioux).  On the 
27th of October, fifty more came from the Poncas, Pawnees, Kiowas, 
Comanches, Wichitas, Cheyennes and Arapahoes; and on the 6th of 
November, eight children arrived from Green Bay agency, Wisconsin, and 
Sisseton agency, Minnesota.
  The board of managers consists, at present, of Capt. R. H. Pratt, 
Tenth Cavalry, superintendent; A. J. Standing, assistant 
superintendent; O. G. Given, M. D., physician; S. H. Gould, chief 
clerk; Miss A. S. Ely and W. C. Louden, assistant clerks.
  From the sixth annual report of the superintendent, dated August 18, 
1885, the following facts are gleaned:  Number of tribes represented, 
38; number of boys in school, 344; number of girls in school, 150.  
Total, 494.
  These children are classed in nine sections, properly graded, for 
school work, and study such subjects as are usually taught in public 
schools.  Each section is under the guidance of a special teacher, 
whose whole time is given to its instruction and management.  Every 
pupil is also given the choice of learning some trade, and is required 
to spend a certain length of time each day in the mastery of his trade.  
On the whole, the Indian school is a successful institution, and well 
merits careful study.
  This labor of the Indian School, even as early as the annual report 
of 1881, amounted to $6,333.46, as governed by the regular contract 
prices of the Indian Department.  The pupils are particularly apt in 
the ordinary English branches, while many display also a very 
considerable skill in the departments of practical mechanics.  With 
such a record it is not surprising that this school should have 
attracted very considerable attention, and that representatives, both 
of the nobility and brains of England - the Duke of Sutherland and 
Edward H. Freeman, the celebrated English historian - should have been 
among its visitors, soon after it was established.

202  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

                 CUMBERLAND VALLEY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

  This institution, located at Shippensburg, is the State school for 
the Seventh District, comprising the counties of Adams, Bedford, Blair, 
Cumberland, Fulton, Franklin and Huntington.
  Its history is briefly this:  An act of the Legislature, passed April 
1, 1850, authorized the board of school directors at Carlisle to 
establish a normal school in these terms:  "And said board also have 
power to establish a normal school of a superior grade in said 
district, provided no additional expense is thereby incurred over and 
above the necessary schools for said borough, and to admit scholars in 
said normal school from any part of the county, or elsewhere, on such 
terms and on such plans as said board may direct; and the board of 
directors in any other school district, in said county, may, if they 
think proper, make an agreement with the directors in Carlisle to 
contribute to the support of the same according to the number of 
scholars they may send to said normal school."
  On the 16th of the said month a county convention was called, at 
which a plan for a normal school was submitted.  Of this convention 
Judge Watts was chairman.  The Carlisle school board issued a call to 
the other districts for a meeting of delegates on May 7, to mature 
plans for said school, and announced May 15 as the time for a three 
months' session to begin, tuition being fixed at $8 per pupil.  The 
attendance of delegates was not sufficiently large to warrant the 
establishment of the school.
  The previous agitation resulted, however, in a movement among the 
teachers at the county institute held at Newville December 23, 1856.  
The action was thus expressed:  "Resolved, That a committee of one 
director from each township be appointed, to take into consideration 
the establishment of a normal school in Cumberland County."  The 
committee met at Carlisle, January 13, 1857, and determined its 
location at Newville, it having guaranteed the necessary buildings.  
The management was vested in a board, consisting of the county 
superintendent and one director from each school district.  The board 
agreed upon the opening of the school, April 3, 1857, with the 
following faculty:  Daniel Shelly, county superintendent, principal; W. 
R. Linn, S. B. Heiges and D. E. Kast, instructors.  George Swartz was 
chosen principal of the Model School, and J. H. Hostetter and Miss Mary 
Shelly, instructors.
  A three months' term was held, with ninety-one pupils in the Normal 
School and 149 in the Model School.  About $500 worth of school 
apparatus was provided by contributions from the citizens.  The session 
of 1858 continued five months, but those of 1859 and 1860 only three 
months each, George Swartz being principal. 
  The attempt to secure a State Normal School for the Seventh District 
began at Newville November 2, 1865, when, during the county institute, 
the directors of the county instructed the county superintendent, 
George Swartz, to address a circular to the various school boards in 
the district, asking them to appoint delegates to meet in a general 
convention at Chambersburg January 10, 1866, to hear reports and take 
general steps for the establishment of such a State school.  No 
definite results accrued from this movement, but in the spring of 1870 
the preparatory steps for the location of the school at Shippensburg, 
its present site, were taken.  A meeting was called and Hon. J. P. 
Wickersham, State superintendent, was invited to deliver an address. 
After several meetings, an application to the court for a charter was 
granted in April, 1870.  Subscriptions to the amount of $24,000 had 
been secured.  On the first Monday of May the first election for 
trustees was held, resulting in the choice of the following gentlemen:  
J. W. Craig, Dr. W. W. Nevin, C. L. 

203  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

Portrait of A. F. Mullin

204  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

Blank Page

205  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

Shade, John Grabill, John E. Maclay, R. C. Himes, Robt. C. Hays and A. 
G. Miller.  The capital stock was subsequently increased from $30,000 
to $100,000.
  The excavation for the foundation was begun in August, 1870, and the 
contract let for $74,000.  The corner-stone was laid by the Masonic 
Order May 31, 1871.  The entire cost of the structure, which is 225x170 
feet, three stories high, together with grounds, heating apparatus, gas 
fixtures, etc., was $125,000, and of the furnishing about $25,000.
  The property was accepted as a State institution in February, 1873, 
and the first session of the school began April 15, 1873, under the 
principalship of George P. Beard, A. M.  He continued in his position 
until July, 1875, when he resigned.  His successors have been Rev. I. 
N. Hays, B. S. Patten, S. B. Heiges and J. F. McCreary, present 
incumbent.

                          TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

  In no department of educational activity has so much improvement been 
shown as in the methods and philosophy of instruction.  In the private 
schools, academies and colleges of the olden times, the great purpose 
was to secure the accumulation of facts - the storing of the mind with 
useful knowledge.  In too many institutions is this false notion still 
entertained.  The relationship between crude facts and the child's mind 
was not dreamed of.  The "what" of knowledge, or the subject-matter, 
was all that the teacher sought.  The "how," or the method of reaching 
and classifying these facts, was reserved, in the natural order of 
things, for development at a later day.  In due course of time the 
subject of methods or the best way of doing certain things, began to 
attract the attention of the more thoughtful; and still later in 
educational progress, the "why," or the reason for certain processes, 
demanded consideration of the professional instructor.  All this is 
evidence that the world moves - that progress is not confined to the 
domain of the material world.
  In the securing of these progressive steps, the teachers' institute 
in its various forms had much to do.  In associations of those of like 
calling, friction of minds never fail to secure beneficial results.  At 
the convention of teachers and other friends of education, held in the 
court house at Carlisle December 19, 1835, Dr. Isaac Snowden was chosen 
president. Important questions were discussed, and arrangements were 
made to hold semi-annual meetings in the future.  In the program for 
the session to be held June 25, 1836, are to be found these important 
subjects, which show that even at that early date the leaven of 
educational improvement had commenced to work:
  "1.  What is the best mode of securing a competent number of well 
qualified teachers of common schools to meet the exigencies of the 
county?
  2.  The influence of education on the character and stability of 
civil institutions and the direction and modification which it gives 
the political relations.
  3.  The evils existing in our common schools, and appropriate 
remedies.
  4.  The influence of employing visible illustrations in imparting 
instruction to children.
  5.  Best mode of governing children, and of exciting their interest 
in their studies.
  6.  Importance of a uniformity of text-books, etc."
  What was done at subsequent meetings does not appear, but the 
questions introduced at this session are living questions, and the 
impetus given to educational work in the county was manifest.

206  HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

  From the interesting article in Wing's History of Cumberland County, 
written by D. E. Kast, we quote:  "At the call of the county 
superintendent, the directors and teachers generally assembled in 
Education Hall, Carlisle, on Saturday, the 2d day of September, 1854, 
for the purpose of holding a school teachers' convention, for devising 
more favorable means for the promotion of education generally in the 
common schools of Cumberland County.  Ex-Gov. Ritner presided at this 
meeting, and Mr. Dieffenbach, deputy superintendent of common schools 
in Pennsylvania, was in attendance.  A committee, appointed to prepare 
business for the meeting, reported a series of resolutions, the 
subject-matter of which engaged the attention of the assembly during 
its sessions.  Provision was made for the permanent organization of a 
county institute, by appointment of a committee to report a 
constitution for its government."
  On the 21st of the following December (1854), the "Cumberland County 
Teachers' Institute" was permanently organized, with ex-Gov. Ritner in 
the chair and an attendance of 94 teachers out of 160 at its first 
session.  Among those present on that occasion, were Hon. Thomas H. 
Burrowes, who aided in its deliberations, and Dr. Collins, president of 
Dickinson College, who lectured.  The subject of methods of teaching 
was freely and profitably discussed.  The sentiment of the institute 
was expressed in the following characteristic resolution:  "That as 
teachers and members of this institute we will cordially co-operate 
with our superintendent in his laudable efforts to elevate the standard 
of teaching and advance general education throughout the county."
  Annual sessions from that time to the present have been held at some 
point in the county, the time between the holidays being usually 
preferred.  The benefits to the county have been quite marked, 
justifying the wisdom of those who inaugurated the agency of 
professional culture.

                         COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.

  School systems, like other activities, need efficient supervision and 
execution.  The establishment of county superintendency met this want.  
At first it met with some opposition, as might be expected; but it has 
come to be accepted as an indispensable feature of the school system.  
The names of the officials who have filled this position are as 
follows:
  Daniel Shelly, from 1854 to 1860, two terms.  He was efficient in the 
performance of his duties, and succeeded in arousing general 
educational interest.
  D. K. Noel, a prominent teacher of the county was elected, in May, 
1860, as his successor; but ill health ensuing, he resigned in a few 
months, and was succeeded by Joseph Mifflin, who was appointed to fill 
his unexpired term.  Mr. Mifflin was a teacher, but, prior and 
subsequent to his superintendency, had given attention to civil 
engineering.  At the expiration of his term of office, he was followed, 
in 1863, by George Swartz, a teacher who, by self-exertion and 
perseverance, had attained honorable distinction in his calling.  He 
held the position for six years, and performed its duties creditably.  
In 1869, owing to some legal difficulties connected with the election, 
W. A. Lindsey was appointed to the position, and continued to discharge 
its duties till 1872, when D. E. Kast was chosen to fill the place.  He 
did this acceptably, and was re-elected in May, 1875, to serve the 
public three years longer, which he did till 1878, when Samuel B. 
Shearer was chosen for the position, and has satisfactorily discharged 
its duties ever since.