History of the Charleston Schools, Kanawha County, West Virginia This file was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm History of Education in West Virginia Prepared under the direction of the State Superintendent of Free Schools 1904, Charleston: The Tribune Printing Company, 1904 pgs. 186 - 189 History of the Charleston Schools BY SUPT. GEO. S. LAIDLEY The free schools of Charleston were organized in the fall of 1864, the year following the admission of the State into the Union. The first school for white children was taught by Mr. J. T. Brodt. In the same year a school for colored youth was organized, taught by Miss Olive Sparrow. These schools were very small and poorly patronized. The buildings used were wholly unsuited to school purposes. The first school was taught in the basement of the Methodist Church, and as late as 1868 the best accommodation for schools was a rickety frame building, scarcely fit for a stable. In this year the Board of Education, composed of progressive men, determined to secure a better building. They met with much opposition, but were eventually successful in carrying out their intention. They erected the Union School, a two-story building situated on State street, then the center of the town. When completed the building could accommo- date about three hundred pupils. All the white schools of the city were then consolidated in the new building. In 1871 by an act of the Legislature, the control of the city schools was given to the city council. It remained thus for ten years, when it was again transferred to a city Board of Education. One of the most progressive principals of this period was Mr. S. H. Patrick, who had con- trol of the schools from 1873 to 1878. During this time he drew up a uniform course of study,—the first standard adopted for grading the schools. In 1878 Mr. George S. Laidley was appointed principal. With the exception of the years 1881-1883 he has held the position continuously till the present time. There is little to be said of the history of the schools from 1883 to 1885, except that they continued to grow in enrollment and in adaptation to the needs of the town. The uninteresting character of the annals of this period is an indication of the prosperity of the schools. There was a notable progress in one direction during this period. The school buildings at present in use,—Mercer, Union and Garnett—were built to replace the older structures, now grown inadequate for the in- creased population. All these buildings are of brick, and are furnished with modern appliances. Ample grounds around the schools afford the pupils an opportunity for outdoor sports. In 1895 the towns on the northwest side of Elk river,—Glen Elk and West Charleston—were added to the city limits. At this time the school district was made co-extensive with the city. Two new schools were opened in this part of the city, and a few years later the Lincoln school, a handsome brick building was erected a short distance below Elk river. The limits of the city were further extended in 1897 by the addition of the territory formerly called Ruffner, which lies southeast of Charles- ton. This new district required an additional school of two teachers. The growth of the High School in the last twenty years has also been substantial. In 1882 Mrs. Mary R. McGwigan was chosen principal, with Mrs. Coleman as assistant. Mrs. McGwigan still retains this position. In her years of devoted service to the young people of Charleston she has won the love and respect of the whole city. She has not only given. her considerable intellectual powers to her work, but she has always had a deep interest in the moral and spiritual growth of the students under her care, and has exerted a strong influence for good over the young men and women of Charleston. >From its rudimentary beginnings the High School has grown until it now has an enrollment of 172 students under the care of seven teachers. The four years' course of study measures up to the standard of High Schools throughout the United States. The graduating class of this year has twenty members. At the beginning of the current school year the High School moved into the building just completed, and used exclusively for High School purposes. It is a three-sory brick building, and contains ten recitation rooms, besides an assembly hall, superintendent's office, library, gym- nasiums for boys and girls, and chemical and physcial laboratories. In 1899 the Alumni Association of the Charleston High School was organized. Since that time yearly meetings have brought the graduates in touch with each other and with the school, and have thus added materially to the interest in the school. At the present time (1904) the Charleston schools occupy eight build- ings, have an enrollment of 2909 pupils, and employ a superintendent and 72 teachers. The schools are directed by a Board of Education con- sisting of nine members. It is to the credit of Charleston as well as to the Board that its acts are determined wholly by the needs of the schools, and are in no wise affected by partisan considerations. The good feeling that exists between the Board of Education and the superintendent has made the latter a discretionary officer in a large field of school work. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CHARLESTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT 1903-1905 J. E. Chamberlain, President A. T. Cabell, Val. Fruth, L. Caperton, M. Gilchrist, R. B. Cassady, A. G. Higginbotham, D. T. Farley, H. B. Lewis. W. O. Daum, Secretary. TEACHERS OF CHARLESTON SCHOOLS Geo. S. Laidley, Superintendent. HIGH SCHOOL UNION Mrs. M. R. McGwigan, Principal, Miss E. S. Walker, Principal, Miss M. M. Patrick, Miss L. Campbell, Miss E. H Hopper, Miss E. C. Keely, Miss D. M. Stromstadt, Miss L. S. Tuxbury, Miss M. L. Branch, Miss E. J. Huffman, Miss M. B. Fontaine, Miss E. C. Brooks, Rev. J. E. Kieffer. Miss C. Hopkins, MERCER Miss F. S. Reynolds, Miss F. H. Merrill, Principal, Miss E. P. Withrow, Miss I. B. Van Duyn, Miss I. McGee. Miss E. B. Young, Miss I. G. Lee, Miss B. Michaelson, Miss A. Tormen, Miss E. V. Brown, Miss J. W. Hutchinson, Miss H. M. Keely, Miss H. C. Easley, Miss J. L. Staunton, Miss M. B. Jefferds, Miss P. E. Blake, Miss K. E. Joachim, Miss M. E. Craig, Miss R. A. Davis, Miss G. Dickerson, Mrs. G. M. Reynolds, Miss A. B. Dashiell, Miss B. K. Starke. Miss S. C. Hodge, Miss W. V. Mitchell, Miss M. O. Walker. LINCOLN GARNETT (COL.) Miss M. A. Rust, Principal, Mr. H. B. Rice, Principal, Miss H. B. Smith, Mr. C. W. Boyd, Miss E. B. Cunningham, Miss M. J. Rice, Miss L. V. Morgan, Mr. J. F. J. dark, Miss F. E. Dick, Miss L. C. Meadows, Mrs. M. G. Slack, Miss R. I. Bullard, Miss M. N. Stalnaker, Miss R. A. Wilson, Miss K. Horn, Mr. L. C. Farrar, Miss H. Horn, Miss F. C. Cobb. Miss J. F. Hayslip, WASHINGTON (COL.) Mrs. M. P. Leete, Mr. G. L. Cuzzens, Principal, RUFFNER Miss R. E. Bond, Miss G. A. Gibbons, Principal, Miss J. L. Seams. Miss M. F. Gibbons, Miss O. M. Wildman. ELK Miss M. J. Leasure, principal, Miss R. Hopkins, Mrs. K. N. Bower, Miss L. H. Swindler. SCHOOL BUILDINGS OCCUPIED Date of No. of Cost of Name Erection Rooms Building Serial High School 1903 15 $40,000 Brick and Stone Lincoln 1898 10 25,000 Brick Mercer 1889 16 35,000 Brick Union 1893 31 5O,OOO Brick Garnett 1890 8 10,000 Brick Ruffner 4 3,000 Frame Elk 4 3,000 Frame Washington 1902 4 4,500 Brick * These buildings were in use when the city acquired the new territory of Glen Elk and Ruffner. PRINCIPALS OR SUPERINTENDENTS OF CHARLESTON SCHOOLS J. T. Brodt, 1864-1865. Prof. Steele, 1866. C. P. Snyder, 1866-1870. Smart and Tingley, 1870-1871. Maj. Rudd, 1871. A. B. Jones, 1871-1872. John Doddridge, 1872-1873. S. H. Patrick. 1873-1878. Geo. S. Laidley, 1878-1881. Chas. Smart, 1881-1883. Geo. S. Laidley, 1883-present time. Present school population, (1903), 3984. Present school enrollment, (1903), 2909.