Book
CoByiightN".
COPYRIGHT DEPOSre
HISTORY
OF THE
First District State Normal
School
Kirksville, Missouri
BY
E. M. VIOLETTE
PRDFESSOR OP HISTORY IN THE FIRST DISTRICT STATE NORMAL
SCHOOL, KIRKSVILLE^ MISSOURI.
1905
Journal Printing Company
Kirksville, Mo.
LIBRARY of OONGRESS
Two Copies rtectiiveu
MAY 22 iy05
Oogvrigni tntry
CLASS ' <t XXc. Mm
COPY B.
V
A
Copyright, 1905, by E. M. Violette
^
TO
THE MEMORY OF
JOSEPH BALDWIN
THE FOUNDER OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM OF MISSOURI
THIS HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL
FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WHICH HE
SACRIFICED SO MUCH
IS DEDICATED
BY THE AUTHOR
PREFACE.
The sketch which is here presented is the result of pains-
taking investigation which has been carried on for over three
years at such times as I could snatch from my regular work as a
teacher. Perhaps it may not be amiss if my reasons for entering
upon this work, and the difficulties encountered in pursuing it
are very briefly stated here.
Shortly after assuming the duties of professor of history in
this institution in the fall of 1900, I began to make inquiries into
the history of the school. Much to my surprise, the scattered bits
of information which I thus gathered, revealed to me that its
history was unique and interesting. I found that, beyond the
efforts made ,by President Dobson and Professor Ross early in
the nineties to gather information concerning the personal records
of the graduates, which they intended to have published as a
history of the Alumni, nothing had been done as yet towards
writing a complete history of the institution. Realizing that
much of the early history of the school would be lost forever if
something were not done soon, and feeling that the results of an
investigation of the subject would justify the efforts,! reached
the conclusion early in the fall of 1901 that I would attempt to
write a history of the institution if enough materials could be
found with which to construct it.
The work has been very difficult, owing largely to the fact
that the documentary sources of information were at first so bad-
ly lacking. One would naturally suppose that most of such ma-
terial would be found in the Normal School building itself. But
on examination, I found that such was not the case. Nothing
had been done to preserve systematically and in a permanent
form the archives of the institution. Much had been gathered
or allowed to accumulate in a haphazard fashion, on the
shelves and in the drawers of the library rooms, and in some
of the store rooms in the building; but most unfortunately, most
vi State Normal School History.
all of this had been ordered to be burned only a year before I
began to make inquiries as to the history of the school. The de-
struction of this material has worked an irreparable loss, as it
included many documents which threw light upon the history of
the school during its early years, and which can never be replaced.
Gathering up what had been left in the building, I began the
work ^ of collecting here and there whatever could be found to
replace as much as possible what had been lost or destroyed.
Efforts in this direction met with some degree of success. Through
the kindness of Professor Nason, Professor Dutcher, and Mrs. R. D.
Hamilton a complete file of the catalogues was secured, the above
persons contributing the earlier numbers that were lacking.
Through the kindness of many of the old students, a complete
file of the student publications of the school, a small collection of
programs of various school events, and a lot of miscellaneous
material, were obtained. The Board of Regents was interested
in the matter and appropriated money to put these documents
in some form suitable for permanent keeping. The material
thus collected has been deposited in a special case in the library,
set apart for the archives of the institution. It is the intention
to add to this collection as other old material may be found and
as new material is produced.
Another serious drawback encountered in the prosecution of
this work, was the lack of a complete file of any local newspaper
from the date of the opening of this school to the present
time. This lack was due to a very destructive fire which occured
in 1890, in which the files of the Journal, the oldest paper in the
town, and the Democrat were burned. Fortunately a duplicate
file of the North Missouri Register, which was published here
from 1870 to 1879 by Major W. C. B. Gillespie, and which was
succeeded by the Democrat, had been taken by him to Macon
when he left here in 1879. Accidentally, I came to know of the
existence of this file, and secured the permission of Major Gillespie
to gather from it whatever material I could use. It might be
mentioned that this file of the Register was recently donated to
the school by Major Gillespie's daughters in honor of their father
Preface. yii
who died about twoN years ago. The destruction of the early file
of the Journal has made it forever impossible to recover much of
the history of the school while a private institution, but the finding
of the file of the Register has brought to light much of its history
in its first years as a state institution.
After more than a year of search for documentary materials,
I found that enough had been collected to justify me in proceed-
ing with the work of writing a history of the school. Meanwhile,
I had consulted, either in person or by letter, with- many who had
been connected with the school in its early days and even later.
From these, I gathered a great deal of information, sometimes
of a specific character, but more frequently of the nature of sugges-
tions which have been followed up through other sources. How-
ever, it should be said that I have never been content to
trust to statements made from mere memory, especially if they
bore upon some vital phase of the work. In that case, I have
always attempted to find some trustworthy documentary evi-
dence to verify or correct the verbal statements; if I failed in
this, the matter was set aside.
In following this method I have frequently reached con-
clusions which are directly contrary to common report. This is
illustrated particularly in the section on the Adair county bonds,
concerning which a most erroneous view is held by the vast ma-
jority of the people of the county. The notes at the close of each
chapter show what sources I have used.
In gathering the material for this book, I am under obliga-
tions to a host of friends, many of whom I have never seen. It is
not possible to name them all here, but special mention must be
made of the help received from Professor Nason, Superintendent
Greenwood, President Kirk, President Dobson, Superintendent
Carrington, Professor Gentry, Judge Sands, Major Gillespie, and
the editors of the Journal and the Democrat, of this city. To my
wife, I am indebted for her assistance in proof reading and for the
making of the index.
The aim has been to present a faithful account of the insti-
tution from time to time. This idea has been carried out in
viii State Normal School History.
selecting the pictures to illustrate the work, especially those of the
faculty and students. In a]l instances, the pictures of the mem-
bers of the faculty and of the students were made from photographs
taken some time during their connection with the school.
The work is finished with the feeling that, in spite of the most
careful efforts, mistakes have been made, but it is hoped that they
will be found to be comparatively few. The time will come when
a more pretentious and a more skilful work will be undertaken'
If the result of my investigation as embodied in this book, shall
contribute anything towards the making of abetter work possible
later, I shall be most highly gratified. It is with the hope that
it may ultimately serve some such purpose, and that it may for
the present give to the people of the state some account of the
part this institution has played in the educational system of the
state, that it is now given to the public.
E. M. VIOLETTE.
Kirksville, Missouri,
April 16, 1905.
CONTENTS.
Chapter.
I. Agitation in Missouri for a State Normal School System. . . 1-24
Introduction 1
Section I — Agitation by State Officials 2
Section II — Agitation by Teachers in the State 15
II. The North Missouri Normal School 25-39
Section I — Cumberland Academy 25
Section II — Professor Baldwin's Visit to Kirksville 30
Section III — The Opening of the School 32
III. The Adoption of the North Missouri Normal School as the
First District State Normal School 40-65
Section I— The Normal School Legislation of 1870 40
Section II — The Voting of Normal School Bonds by
Adair County 45
Section III — The Location of The First and Second Dis-
trict State Normal Schools 48
Section IV— The Fulfillment of the Adair County Con-
tract 61
IV. The New Home of the School 66-80
Section I — The Selection of the Site 66
Section II — The Construction and Dedication of the
Building 67
V. Opposition to the State Normal School System since its
Adoption 81
VI Efforts to extend the State Normal School System 94
VII. The Certification of the Graduates of the State Normal
Schools 98
VIII. The Courses of Study 103
IX. The Academic Departments 132
X. The Training School 143
XL The Library and the Laboratories 148
XII. The Faculty 156-182
President Joseph Baldwin 156
Professor Frank L. Ferris 160
Professor William P. Nason 161
Professor James M. Greenwood 165
President Joseph P. Blanton 168
President William D. Dobson 170
President John R. Kirk 173
The Faculty Roster 177
X
State Normal School History.
XIII. The Rules and Regulations of the School 183
XIV. The Board of Regents, 192
XV. The Campus and the Buildings 198
XVI. The Alumni 208
XVII. Commencements , 218
XVIII. Contests in Oratory and Declamation 225
XIX. The Literary Societies 234
XX. Athletics 243
XXI. Student Publications 246
XXII. The Christian Associations 250
XXIII. Special Events. 254-261
The RebeUion of 1876 254
The Baldwin Silver Wedding 254
Memorial Services 256
Columbus Day 256
Baldwin Day 257
The Inter Normal Contests at Warrensburg in 1898 260
XXIV. The Growth of the School 262-276
The Enrollment 262
The Summer School 264
The Income of the School 267
Index 277
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
President Joseph Baldwin Frontispiece
North Missouri Normal School 28
Professor W. P. Nason 33
Professor J. M. Greenwood 35
The Men who secured the J^iocation of the School at Kirks ville, (Judge
Linder, Judge Sands, and Hon. W. H. Parcels) 57
The First District State Normal School 76
Professor Pickler's Class in Algebra, 1867-68 104
President Baldwin, Professor Nason, and Professor Greenwood 112
Professor Pickler, Mrs. Greenwood, Miss Gleason 113
Some of the Members of the Faculty under President Baldwin
(Professor J. T. Smith, Misses Halliburton, Rowland, and
Comings) 125
Some of the Members of the Faculty under President Baldwin
(Professors Potter, Hamill, Barnard, and Dutcher) 129
Some of the Members of the Faculty under President Baldwin
(Prcrfessors T. Berry Smith and Shryock, Misses Hen-
derson and Thompson) 135
Some of the Members of the Faculty under President Baldwin
(Professors Krall and Baker, Misses Heath and Oldham) 139
Miss Montana Hastings 146
Miss Opheha Parrish 152
President Joseph P. Blanton 169
President William D. Dobson 171
President John R. Kirk 174
Professor Gentry, Miss Owen, Professor Nason, Miss Prewitt, and Pro- 176
fessor Ross 176
Professors Seitz and Paden 178
Professors Nelson and Laughlin 179
Plot of the Campus, March, 1905 199
The Old Building , 202
The Present Buildings, March, 1905 ' 203
The Chapel as it was at first 205
The Chapel as it is today 206
The Class of 1872 ■ 209
The Class of 1887 212
A Group of Normal Students boarding with Mrs. Gooch in the Spring
of 1870 233
President Joseph Baldwin.
(From a photog'raph taken about 1880.)
CHAPTER I.
AGITATION IN MISSOURI FOR A STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
SYSTEM.
Introduction.
The Normal School system was first established in this coun-
try in Massachussetts in 1839. At first it was regarded as an
experiment, but it soon proved a partial success, at least, and
began to be adopted in other parts of the country.
By 1870, the year in which Missouri adopted the state nor-
mal school system, there were throughout the Union at least
seventy-six institutions of various sorts, private and public, which
were devoted, either in part or exclusively, to the work of pre-
paring teachers for the public schools. Of the thirty-six states
then constituting the Union, only five, Arkansas, Nevada, New
Hampshire, Oregon, and Texas, were without schools of some
kind that gave pedagogical instruction. California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachu-
setts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wis-
consin, nineteen states in all, had adopted the state normal school
system, and were each supporting from one to six schools. Iowa
and Missouri had established normal departments in their State
Universities, and Alabama was supporting normal classes in five
different institutions in the state^. From these facts it is seen
that in 1870 more than one-half of the states had legally adopted
the normal school system, and that in nearly all of them there
were schools of some sort, either private or public, for the train-
ing of teachers for public school work.
Very shortly after the first normal school had been established
in Massachusetts, prominent men in Missouri, who had been
2 State Normal School History.
watching the progress of the system, began to advocate its adop-
tion in this state. The agitation which they carried on with in-
creasing vigor for nearly thirty years, and the actual establish-
ment in 1867 of a private normal school at Kirksville by Professor
Baldwin, who from the first planned and worked to have it adopt-
ed ultimately by the state as one of a number of state normal
schools, are the principal factors in the development of a senti-
ment that finally led to the act of the Missouri Legislature in
March, 1870, whereby provisions were made for the establishment
of two state normal schools. As an introduction to this work,
it is proposed to follow the agitation in the state in favor of the
adoption of the system, and then to give some account of the
Kirksville school during the time it was a private institution.
Section I.
Agitation by State Officials.
The longest and most continuous agitation was carried on
by the state officers under whose jurisdiction the public school
system of the state was placed. The Secretary of State had
charge of the matter until 1839, when the office of State Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction was first established^. On the
abolition of that office in 1841^, its duties devolved on the
Secretary of State, and remained with him until 1853, when the
office of State Superintendent was again established^. In 1861
the office was again abolished and the jurisdiction of the educa-
tional system of the state was again placed in the hands of the
Secretary of State. In 1865 the office of State Superintendent was
again restored^ and has been maintained continuously ever since.
From 1842 to 1870, excepting during the war period, recom-
mendations in favor of the adoption of a normal school system,
were made regularly to the state legislature by one or the other
of these two state officials. The influence of these recommenda-
tions, especially those made after the war, we shall see a little
later.
As compared with the Secretaries of State and State Superin-
tendents, the Governors gave very little attention to the matter.
Agitation by State Officials. 3
The first one to take it up was Governor Edwards. Several times
during his administration from 1844 to 1848 he urgently presented
the matter to the Legislature. His successor, Governor King,
briefly alluded to the subject in his inaugural address. Until
1867 no further mention of the matter was made by any Governor,
excepting the very brief allusion of Governor Stewart in 1861 to
the great need of a state normal school system. From 1867 to
1870 the Governors paid only slight attention to the subject in
their messages to the Legislatures.
Because of their official positions and the close connection
between their offices, it has been deemed best to consider together
the recommendations of the Secretaries of State, State Superin-
tendents, and Governors concerning a normal school system for
the state. These recommendations will be considered in their
chronological order, and in order to avoid needless repetition of
the matter that was found in practically all of them, only those
arguments and plans that were new or unique when they were
offered, will be mentioned.
The credit of making the first recommendation in favor of
state normal schools, belongs, as far as the records show, to Sec-
retary of State Minor. In his report for 1842 he stated very
briefly the main argument that was used throughout the entire
agitation for state normal schools, the lack of competent teachers
and the facilities that a state normal school system would afford
in supplying this deficiency. His reports for 1842 and 1845, and
the inaugural address of Governor Edwards in 1844 show very
plainly the undeveloped condition of the educational system in.
the state, especially that of the public schools. Teachers were
poorly paid and very inadequately prepared for their work.
These conditions reacted upon one another. On the one
hand, poor and uncertain compensation gave no incentive for
better preparation on the part of those who attempted to teach.
On the other hand, the lack of preparation and of ability in the
teacher naturally kept the wages low. Hence teachers and teach-
ing were held in disrepute. The public school system was un-
popular with and unsupported even by those who needed it most.
4 State Normal School History.
Hence teachers had httle interest in their work, and the more
capable and aspiring ones were continually abandoning it for
other fields.
In his report for 1842, Secretary Minor called attention to
the fact that those governments which had supported education
best, had encouraged the instruction of teachers by establishing
''Monitorial or Normal Schools," pointing to Holland and Prussia
as prominent examples. There is nothing in this report that
specifically recommended the adoption of such a policy by the
State of Missouri, but it is evident that the Secretary was feeling
his way^. In his next report he recommended definitely the
establishment of a state normal school as a measure to-
wards rectifying some of the evil conditions of the educational
system of the state. He proposed that each student in this school
should be required to promise to teach a certain term in the dis-
trict schools after the completion of his course'^.
As has already been said, Governor Edwards was the first
Governor to advocate officially the state normal school system.
Because of this fact and because of the peculiarity of some of his
ideas, a rather full review of what he had to say concerning the
matter, will be given.
His first utterance on the subject was in his inaugural address
of November 20, 1844. In this address he spoke very vigor-
ously upon the educational condition in the state. He declared
that the importance of education had been sadly overlooked in
the state, ascribing the fact to two reasons: first, educated men
had never suffered from'the want of education and did not properly
appreciate the disadvantages resulting from such a want, while
on the other hand the uneducated had never felt the benefit re-
sulting from cultivation and did not properly appreciate the ad-
vantages of it; second, the length of time that must elapse before
any beneficial result could flow from legislative efforts to increase
the extension of knowledge, had caused men to limit their actions
to what would have results in their own time. He pointed out
that the evil of the time was the want of a general diffusion of
knowledge, and followed this with the suggestion that the adoption
Agitation by State Officials. 5
of a system of preparing teachers for the common schools was the
proper remedy. He declared that only the rich attended the
academies, colleges, and universities of the state, and that of
those attending such institutions, nineteen out of every twenty
went into other professions than that of teaching. He held that
the public school teachers came only from the ranks of the poor,
and that in order to fit them for teaching and to build up the com-
mon schools, public funds should be used. He therefore urged
the legislature to devise a plan for the preparation of efficient
teachers and the establishment of a uniform system of instruc-
tion^.
In his messageof November 16,1846, Governor Edwards again
referred to the subject. This time he based his arguments largely
on industrial grounds. As far as is known, this is the only in-
stance on record where such a line of argument was so emphatical-
ly presented on this matter. The point of departure taken by
Governor Edwards was the backward industrial condition of the
state. He complained that notwithstanding the rich soil and
the genial climate of the state and the amount of labor expended
by the people, the great mass were ''not growing in wealth nor
accumulating many of the comforts or even the necessaries
of life." For this state of affairs he assigned as causes the lack
of skill, science, and the better implements of husbandry^ in the
cultivation of the soil, the over production of certain articles and
the failure to produce other articles that were needed and could be
produced, the lack of manufactures, and the tariff. As partial
remedies for these conditions,' he suggested the following things:
first, the encouragement of the common schools; second, increasing
the variety of the pursuits of the people; third, establishing man-
ufactories; fourth, improving the roads and navigable streams.
He then proceeded to show how these remedies would relieve
matters, saying of the first one: "The common schools would
prepare our population to apply their labor to the best advant-
age, to make and use the improved machinery of the age, and to
avail themselves of the benefits of skill and science in all their
operations." A little later on he said: "The best method of
6 State Normal School History.
encouraging the common schools is to establish an institution for
the preparation of teachers. This can be done on a plan that will
be cheap, effective, and certain, and very useful, not only to the
common schools, but to every department and branch of society."
He closed his message by offering to submit a plan for a state
normal school if the Legislature saw fit to ask for it^.
In reply to this offer, the Legislature asked the Governor to
submit his plan, and on February 6, 1847, he complied with the re-
quest. As the plan is so unlike the one which was adopted in 1870
and is now in operation, it is worth our while, as a matter of
curiosity if nothing else, to note some of its details.
As one might naturally expect from the line of argument
presented by Governor Edwards in his recent message, the plan
combined industrial and educational features very closely. It
provided for the following things:
First. Only such students as were somewhat advanced and
were of good moral and industrial habits were to be received.
Each township of the state was to be allowed to send a student se-
lected by the parents of the district having children in school.
Unfit persons selected in this way were not to be admitted.
Second. The students were to be -required to work about
one-half of their time, so as to make their expenses or more, and
to study the other half. Student labor was to be the chief means
of supporting the school when it should be once established by
the state. The best implements and the most improved machin-
er}^ were to be placed in the hands of the students so as to en-
able them in the time alloted for labor to accomplish as rnuch
as ordinary laborers could do in twice the time.
Third. Every person connected with the school was to be
interested in the profits of the labor of the school. A certain
amount of the profits was to be set apart for the maintenance
of the institution, and the surplus was to be divided among the
officers, teachers, and students. This prospect of sharing in the
profits of the school was intended to arouse the greatest activity
on the part of all connected with the institution.
Fourth. The expenses of teaching were to be diminished
Agitation by State Officials. 7
by placing a large number of students under the same teacher
who would use the lecture method of instruction, and by using
the more advanced students as instructors of the younger classes.
Student teaching would thus give the proper pedagogical train-
ing to prospective teachers.
Fifth. Each student was to be required to teach in the com-
mon schools of his neighborhood for six months without wages, in
consideration of his three years' course in the state normal
school, provided his district desired his services. It was freely
admitted that this arrangement compelled the student to pay for
his training twice, but it was believed that the advantages of the
training and the prospects of rising in the profession of teaching
were so great, that the school would have no difficulty in getting
the kind of young men desired to undertake the work.
In arranging for the equipment of this school, the plan pro-
posed: first, that the grounds should be purchased at public ex-
pense and then improved by the students; second, that the first
buildings should be erected by the state, end that those needed
later should be built by the labDr of the' students; third, that
books, maps, and apparatus should be supplied at first at public
expense, but after that, books and most of the apparatus should
be manufactured by the students; fourth, that implements and
machinery should be provided at public expense at first, but after
the first supply, the machine shops of the school should furnish
what was afterwards needed; fifth, that the pay of the teachers
should be defrayed by a public fund; sixth, that the lodging and
boarding of the students should be provided for in the school and
under school management, and that most of the food supplies
should be raised by the students; seventh, that a steam mill for
grinding bread stuffs and a manufactory of cotton and woolen
cloth and of hemp, should be connected with the school so that
the students might become acquainted with the then new methods
of steam power and make their labor more productive to them-
selves and the school; eighth, that military training should be
had to the extent of at least one drill each week.
As an adjunct to the school above planned, Governor Ed-
8 State Normal School History.
wards proposed another institution, similarly organized, for
women. It is to be noted that at this time teachers were men as a
rule. Hence the normal school plan was drawn to accomodate
only men. This adjunct school for women was to be of direct
help to the school for men as well as of instructions to women.
The male school was to run in the winter months when the young
men were not needed so much on the farms, and the female school
in the summer when the young women would be less exposed.
One of the particular functions of the female school was to be the
making of clothing for the young men of the other school.
In closing his plan for a state normal school, Governor
TEdwards attempted to show how with the initial outlay of money
on the part of the people, the school districts could be continually
supplied with free teachers. As each township was to be entitled
to send a student each year for a term of three years, and to re-
quire in turn the free services of each student thus sent for a
term, there was to be a permanent supply of free teachers for all
the districts that would comply with the requirements^*^.
Governor Edwards returned to the subject again in his last
message to the legislature on December 26, 1848, in which he urg-
ed a consideration of the plan which he had proposed at the preced-
ing session. His arguments were practically the same as before.
He modified, however, his plan in one particular, and that was in
the means of supporting the school. He recommended that the
commutation fee for state militia service should be increased and
the fund thus raised should be applied towards establishing the
school which should have distinct military features in addition
to its pedagogical facilities. He felt that the application of the
militia fund in this way would quiet all opposition, should it
arise, to the increase in the commutation fee. If this plan did
not appear feasible, he suggested combining the school funds
of the townships where they chose to do so. In case this did not
meet the approval of the Legislature, he suggested as a third plan,
uniting the militia and the township funds as far as the townships
thought best. At any rate, the school would be self sustaining
Agitation by State Officials. 9
when once established, and that was to the Governor a great
argument in favor of adopting the plan^i.
On the day following this last message of Governor Edwards,
Governor King was inaugurated. In his address he said that it
might be proper to establish soon a state normal school or a de-
partment in connection with the State University for the prepara-
tion of teachers for the common schools of the state. He ex-
pressed himself in favor of western universities educating teachers
for the west, a policy which was vigorously advocated in a slight-
ly modified form by State Superintendent Starke a little later^^.
Meanwhile Secretary of State Martin had recommended the
adoption of the state normal school system to the legislature in his
reports fc-r 1846 andforl848. He spokeof the success that other
states had had with the system, and of the benefits to be derived
from it. From his language one may infer that the matter was
at that time becoming one of popular interest and gathering a
great deal of support throughout the state^^.
That these recommendations were not without some effect
is evident from the fact that, in the session of the Legislature in
1846-1847, a plan for a professorship of the theory and practice
of teaching in the State University was proposed to the Senate^*,
and that in the session of 1848-1849 a bill incorporating this plan
was passed. This act provided that the county courts should
select every two years one boy to every representative of the
county, between the ages of fourteen and twenty, as a candidate
for admission to the University, and that each candidate should
sign a written pledge on entering that he would teach for at
least two years within the state. Such candidates should be
admitted without charge and should remain in the University
not more than two years. For the support of the normal pro-
fessorship the ''munificient"sum of one thousand dollars should
be annually appropriated^^.
This law was never put into operation. The Board of Curators
of the University declined to create the normal professorship pro-
vided for by the act, on the grounds that the limited number of
10 State Normal School History.
students at the University and its financial conditions were such
that they could not afford to comply with the act^^.
Though the act was deemed inadequate and hence was never
carried out, it is of importance because it was the first bill to be
passed by the Missouri legislature providing for pedagogical
instruction in a state institution, and thus shows that a disposi-
tion to do something along this line had at last arisen. An effort
was made in 1855 to pass a bill making better provisions for the
normal department of the University, but this failed^'^. We shall
see later what the provisions of this bill were. It was not until
1867 that adequate legislation was obtained enabling the Uni-
versity to undertake successfully normal work^^.
Let us return from this digression and take up the line of
thought proposed for this chapter.
Secretary Ewing gave a great deal of attention to the need
of a state normal school system in his reports on the educational
conditionsof the state in 1850 andin 1852. In thefirst one hetook
occasion to criticise the legislation of 1849, which provided for
the establishment of the normal professorship in the University,
and urged that certain changes be made in order that it might
be made operative. Through both reports there ran the old time
complaints that the educational system lacked a sufficient num-
ber of good teachers, for the remedy of which evil the state
normal school system was recommended^Q.
Superintendents Henry, Davis, and Starke, in their separate
reports from 1854 to 1861, laid special emphasis upon the fact
that teaching was not regarded as a profession in Missouri. The
majority of the teachers were still making teaching an expedient
to something else, or were taking it up as an occasional employ-
ment. As a result the character of the work in the schools was
poor, and the public school system was in disrepute. As a cor-
rective for this condition of things, these Superintendents urged
the establishment of state normal schools. Such schools would
give the teachers thorough preparation, and thus tend to ele-
vate teaching into a profession worthy to be placed alongside
other recognized professions.
Agitation by State Officials. 11
They also emphasized the fact that normal schools had been
tried successfully in many other states, and were no longer to be
considered as experiments but as indispensable parts of an efficient
school system^o.
Superintendent Davis favored the Carson bill which was
presented in the Senate in January, 1855. This bill was drawn
on the same lines as the act of 1849 which established a normal
professorship at the University, differing from the latter only in
details. It provided that the county courts should select every
two years one boy not less than sixteen years old as a candidate
for admission into the University; that those admitted should be
boarded at the University at the expense of the state for five years,
with the further provision that they should give bond that
they would repay within eight years the amount expended on
them by the state; and that they should at the expiration of their
course return to their counties and teach in the common schools
for two years^^. This bill did not pass.
The main argument of Superintendent Starke was the neces-
sity of preparing "home teachers for home schools." In his re-
port for 1857 he presented a few statistics on which to bsse this
argument. At that time there were 3,858 organized school dis-
tricts in the state; of this number only 2,889 had teachers, leaving
969 districts destitute. Of the 2,889 teachers, 2,156 were edu-
cated outside of the state, chiefly in the east^-.
Superintendent Starke objected to "foreign or imported
teachers" on the grounds that they were as a rule of an inferior
grade and were more or less adventurous, roaming about from
place to place, with httle or no intention of settling down at any
point. Such a condition as this appeared to him to be intolerable.
As a remedy he proposed that the state make adec[uate provision
for the preparation of home teachers by means of a state normal
school so that the state would not be forced to accept the
inferior grade of "foreign teachers" that were coming into it^^.
This line of argument, which, as we have already seen was
briefly alluded to by Governor King in 1848, ran through every
report of Superintendent Starke from 1857 to 1861.
12 State Normal School History.
Superintendent Starke's position on the state normal school sys-
tem is of interest and importance for other reasons than his watch
word, "home teachers for home schools," He distinctly favored
a separate institution for the training of teachers and not a nor-
mal department engrafted upon an already existing institution.
In his report for 1858, he pointed out that much money had
been wasted in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and
other states through attempts to engraft the normal system upon
existing colleges and academies by means of scholarships granted
by the state to prospective teachers. He attributed the failure
of this scheme to the fact that there was no fellowship between
the students studying for baccalaureate degrees and those pre-
paring for district school work, that one professor could not do
all the work belonging to the instruction of teachers, as it was
attempted in these institutions, and that these schools made no
provision for the training of female teachers who were then be-
ginning to be recognized as the best material for primary work^*.
This position of Superintendent Starke is noteworthy because
he took up the original . idea of having a separate institu-
tion for the training of teachers, and opposed the idea of recent
Superintendents that normal departments in existing institu-
would serve the purpose as well as a distinct normal school.
In his next report, that of December 1859, he advanced a
step further, and advocated not only a separate institution for
the training of teachers, but a number of them scattered about
in various sections of the state. His idea was to have a central
school established at once and to establish gradually four others,
one in each of the corner sections of the state. He pointed to
Pennsylvania's recent success with her three state normal schools,
and declared that this constituted a very good reason why Mis-
souri should adopt some such system^s.
At the time when Superintendent Starke made this report,
a bill which incorporated his ideas concerning the establishment
of a central normal school, was pending in the Senate. It was
defeated, never passing the Senate, as was a similar bill which
was introduced in the previous session^s. The time had not yet
Agitation by State Officials. 13
come for a separate institution for the training of teachers.
Whether these ideas concerning a system of four or five state
normal schools for Missouri were original with Superintendent
Starke or not^ the fact remains that he is the first to make an
official recommendation of such a system, and doubtless his ideas
had some influence upon those who took up the matter after the
war and assisted in getting the state to establish normal
schools.
Superintendent Starke strengthened his argument on the
normal school question in his last report in January 1861, by
pointing out that the number of children of school age and of
those in attendance was rapidly increasing. Admitting that
the number of teachers had been increased and that their salaries
had been raised, he declared that the supply of teachers was yet
inadequate and was bound to remain so as long as the population
of the state increased as rapidly as it had been doing in recent
years. If, as he said, state normal schools were needed, when
the population was not so large, they were all the more needed
when it was growing rapidly^^.
Whatever interest may have been aroused through the efforts
of these state officials, was suspended by the civil war, and it was
not until two years after the war was closed that they returned
to the subject.
The first to resume the agitation was State Superintendent
Parker, who, in his reportfor 1867, declared that the state normal
school was the indispensable link between the public schools and
the university, and urged upon the Legislature the consideration
of a plan that would be presented through an appropriate com-
mittee^s. Just what this plan provided for, we do not know.
Possibly it was embodied in a bill introduced in the House which
was entitled ''An Act to provide for the education of teachers of
the common schools of the state^^." As far as is known, noth-
ing was done at this time beyond referring it to the Educational
Committee.
In his report for 1868, Superintendent Parker offered two
plans. In the first, he suggested that there should be one state
14 State Normal School Histoey.
normal school and that the $132,000 which the state had received
from the sale of the state tobacco warehouse, should be set aside as
an endowment fund for the school. In the second plan, he recom-
mended one normal school for each of the eight congressional dis-
tricts in the state. The burden of establishing these schools
was to rest upon the districts, and that of managing and main-
taining them when they were once established, upon the state.
Among the regulations that were suggested, the most important
were that the selection of -teachers for these schools should be
submitted to the State Board of Education for ratification or
rejection, that the schools should be open to males and females
alike, and that the graduates should be obliged to teach in the
public schools of the state for at least two years^o.
In his next report, that of 1869, Superintendent Parker
abandoned the first of the above plans, and enlarged and modi-
fied somewhat the second one. In the first place he recommended
that there should be six state normal schools instead of eight.
He supported his plan for at least six schools by pointing to
the success that other states had had in maintaining more than
one school. He proposed that the expense of establishing these
six schools should be borne by those counties which, in the opinion
of the State Board of Education and of the Senate, had submitted
the best bids for their location, and that only the support of the
teaching force should be assumed by the State. He further pro-
posed that the State create an endowment fund for the support
of these schools by setting aside either the amount due from the
national government as an indemnity for swamp lands, or fifty
per cent of the proceeds that should be reahzed from the sale of
the public lands yet unsold in the state.
For the management of these schools, he suggested that
there should be for each of them a separate board of directors
composed of one member from each county in the district, or
that there should be for all of them a single board composed of
two members from each of the six districts.
In addition to the usual regulations that the schools should
be exclusively for the training of teachers, that tuition should be
Agitation by State Officials. 15
free, that a model school should be attached to the school, and
that all graduates should teach at least two years in the public
schools of the state, there were two others that were somewhat
unusual. The first provided that no person should be admitted
to any of the schools unless he held a second grade certificate
from a county superintendent. The second provided that the
graduates of these schools should be entitled to diplomas from
the President of the State University ^i.
Sometime before submitting his report for 1869, Superin-
tendent Parker had issued a circular letter to the county superin-
tendents asking their opinions concerning his plan for a state
normal school system. Fifteen county superintendents replied,
heartily endorsing normal schools, most of them approving his
plan. In order that his suggestions might have all the more in-
fluence with the Legislature, he incorporated these replies in his
report for 1869^2. These communications are interesting because
they show that a strong sentiment in favor of state normal
schools was growing rapidly in different parts of the state.
In his report of 1870, Superintendent Parker recommended
that there should be four state normal schools instead of
six, as he had recommended in his previous report, and suggested
that cne school should be established each year, beginning in
1871, until the four had been created^s.
It is interesting to note how Superintendent Parker grad-
ually reduced the number of schools he would have the state
provide. He began by recommending eight, then came down to
six, and finally to four. Possibly he was glad to see the legisla-
ture provide for only two as it did in 1870.
Section II.
Agitation by Teachers in the State.
Some time has been spent in reviewing the plans and sug-
gestions for a state normal school system that were made by the
Secretaries of State, the State Superintendents, and the Governors
from 1842 to 1870. But the agitation on this subject was by no
16 State Normal School History.
means carried on by these officials alone. Several men who were
prominent in the educational work of the state, were expressing
themselves vigorously on the matter, especially after the close
of the war.
Notable among these was President Baldwin, who came to
Kirksville in 1867 and established a private normal school. The
history of this institution will be related later. What is to be no-
ticed at this point is the ceaseless activity of President Baldwin
in interesting the people of the state, especially those in North
Missouri, in the work of preparing teachers for the public
schools, and in securing the proper legislation for the establish-
ment of a state normal school system. Wherever he went, and
there were few points in North Missouri he did not reach between
1867 and 1871, he made known his views. He put his whole soul
into the cause, and what he did contributed very materially to-
wards creating a popular sentiment that was strong enough to
make the establishment of a state normal school system in
Missouri possible.
We are very fortunate in knowing what were some of President
Baldwin's ideas on the management of the system of state normal
schools which he was advocating. In a report which he made to
the State Superintendent in 1870 concerning the condition of
his school at Kirksville, he submitted some views on the manage-
ment of the University and the proposed State Normal Schools
and Agricultural Colleges. After endorsing Superintendent
Parker's plan for a system of six state normal schools, he made
the following recommendations^*;
First. The University, the State Normal Schools, and the
Agricultural Colleges should be separate institutions, each com-
plete in itself. Each should have its faculty, its course of study ,
and its power to confer degrees.
Second. There should be two Boards of Curators for the
management of all of these institutions. One of these boards
should be the financial board which should consist of one member
for each institution. This board should manage the finances of
these schools, and hence should be composed of the best financiers of
Agitation by Teachers in the State. , 17
of the state. The other board should be the literary board,
which should consist of the ablest and best literary men of the
state, one for each institution, and which should attend to all
other matters connected with the literary success of these schools.
Each institution should have an executive committee which
should be composed of its representatives on the two boards, and
which should have extensive duties.
Third. There should be one general law and management
for the State University, the Agricultural Colleges, and the State
Normal Schools.
. Fourth. There should be one extensive central Agricultural
College with a sufficient faculty to furnish a live, practical pro-
fessor for each State Normal School. There should be connected
with each State Normal School an experiment farm under the
charge of an agricultural professor who should be aided by the
faculty of the Agricultural College.
Fifth. Persons of either sex, having the required qualifi-
cations, should be entitled to all the benefits of the University,
Agricultural Colleges, or State Normal Schools without tuition
and without restrictions as to vocation in after life.
Sixth. The literary board should secure, in addition to the
regular faculties, special lecturers of the highest ability.
Seventh. The science of government should be taught and
the most exalted patriotism cherished. "The Bible should be in
the hands, heads, and hearts of all the teachers and students."
Nevertheless these "institutions should be, as far as possible,
removed from the excitement and fluctuations of partisan poli-
tics, and the bitter agitations concerning sectarian tenets. These
institutions should occupy broad, high, common grounds"
Eighth. "Only live, practical, common sense teachers
should be employed."
Ninth. "Salaries should be made dependent on eJEfort and
success."
Tenth. "A general normal school bill should be secured at
all hazards. The most vital interests of the state demand this.
To postpone action longer seems almost criminal. The simple
18 , State Normal School History.
passage of such a bill would enhance the value of property in
Missouri many times the cost of six State Normal Schools. To
insure the passage of such a bill, it should be provided that
state aid would not be extended to any Normal school until such
school shall have been in successful operation at least two years.
The several schools could be located, buildings erected and furnish-
ed, and pioneer faculties, willing to 'labor and wait ' secured. Thus
the work might be well begun by the time our legislators should
deem it safe to extend financial aid."
Eleventh. Provisions should be made for the accumulation
of a large fund, by donation or otherwise, for each institution, to
be used in paying the expenses of indigent, but worthy, students.
Twelfth. The faculties of the normal schools should be well
prepared for county institute work, and one member should be
be required to attend the institutes in his district.
Not one of these recommendations was adopted by the state
when provisions were made in 1870 for a system of state normal
schools. The influence of President Baldwin lay in this case in
stirring up the people to thinking about state normal schools, and
not in planning how they should be organized and correlated
with the other institutions of the state.
Besides President Baldwin there were a number of other men
who were actively lending their influence to the cause of state nor-
mal schools. Among them were Major J. B. Merwin, Editor of
the American Journal of Education (St. Louis), Superintendent
Ira Divoll and Principal W. T. Harris of St. Louis, and Super-
intendent E. B. Neeley of St. Joseph. By means of addresses,
newspaper and magazine articles, and personal solicitations,
these men did much towards awakening an interest in a normal
school system for the state.
The Missouri State Teachers' Association was used as an
important instrument in developing a state normal school senti-
ment. In its first session held in St. Louis in 1856, resolutions
were passed in favor of a state normal school system, and organ-
ized efforts to secure it were begun. Horace Mann was present at
this meeting and did much towards shaping the deliberations of the
Agitation by Teachees in the State. 19
association. Professor Baldwin who was then teaching school
at Savannah, Missouri, was also present, and acted as one of the
Vice-Presidents of the association's. Just what part he played in
the deliberations on the state normal school system, is not known,
but it is of great interest to note that he who figured so prominent-
ly in the establishment of the system some years later, was con-
nected with the Missouri State Teachers' Association in an official
capacity at the time it began its efforts in favor of the system to
which he was destined to dedicate his life.
From 1856 to the breaking out of the civil war, when the
association suspended, it renewed each year the resolutions con-
cerning the state normal school system that were passed at the
first meeting's .
In June, 1866 the association met in St. Louis for the purpose
of reorganizing. The greatest problem before it was how to re-
cover from the disastrous effects of the war upon the educational
system of the state. The association, however, did not stop with
the desire to recover merely what had been lost, but planned for
marked improvements. This is seen in its attitude towards the
normal school question. It appointed a committee to urge upon
the General Assembly at its next meeting the absolute necessity
of establishing a state normal school, and we are assured that
nothing was done more cordially by the association than the
adoption of the resolution which provided for this committee'''.
The committee presented in due time the following memorial'^ :
Memorial of the Missouri State Teachers' Association to
THE General Assembly, for the Establishment op a
Normal School.
"The teachers of the State of Missouri, through the under-
signed committee, appointed for the purpose at the convention
held in St'. Louis, in June, 1866, beg leave to present their mem-
orial, praying your honorable body to consider the expediency
of establishing, at some convenient locality, a normal school, for
the sole purpose of training teachers of both sexes in what per-
tains to their profession. And, in presenting this memorial,
3
20 State Normal School History.
they beg leave to state the reasons which impel them to offer this
request. They feel confident that nothing need be said upon the
paramount importance of a system of public schools in a com-
monwealth like our own; and that anything which can be shown
to be of essential aid in furthering the efficiency of such a system
will meet with your hearty approval. And they feel the more
assured of this when they remember the thorough going legisla-
tion of last year, which conceived and adopted the present school
law of the state. They would respectfully call attention to the
following considerations:"
I.
"That there is a manifest lack of efficient teachers to supply
the present and increasing demand in this state; this is evident
from the fact that the supply comes in large measure, from other
states."
II.
"That there is a lack of institutions which give the special
training requisite to fit the abundant native talent of the state for
the responsible calling of teacher. Notwithstanding the excellence
of this native element, which has been shown by the marked
success it has achieved after proper training, yet the professional
school is wanting, and the want is more keenly felt, because the
dearth of higher institutions in the state extends even to seminaries
and colleges, although these can give only one side of the educa-
tion necessary to a teacher — namely the general culture."
III.
"That the economy of the measure is very obvious. If
teachers were educated and trained in this state, better schools
with less cost would result. For if the best talent is drawn here
from other states, it must be because higher salaries are paid
here than at home. That Missouri must be content with a poorer
grade of teachers, at the same cost that other states pay for better
ones, or else increase a disproportionate expense for the right
quality. By a small comparative outlay, a normal school may
be established that will save this extra cost."
Agitation by Teachers in the State. 21
IV.
"The most enlightened governments.of Europe, consider the
normal school as an essential appendage to the state. Prussia,
since 1735, has increased hernormal schools to fifty. France has
established ninety since 1810; England has forty, and Switzer-
land, thirteen, while the system has been adopted in Saxony,
Hanover, Bavaria, Sardinia, Greece, and Belgium.
"The movement extended to this country during the first
quarter of the present century, and has resulted in establishing
such schools in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Michigan, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Minnesota, Maine, and Wisconsin, as State Institutions;
while the larger cities, Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia,
St. Louis and others, have their own normal schools as a matter
of economy."
"Experience has demonstrated that it is better to have a
school exclusively devoted to the training and culture of teachers,
than to make it the department of another institution. The
department system is not much in vogue since its failure in Ger-
many, and the experiments with it in New York and Kentucky."
V.
"In order to get in a clear light the benefits to be derived
from normal schools, your memorialists further beg leave to
recapitulate briefly the arguments used by its advocates, which
have been confirmed by the test of one hundred years."
1. "There is an obvious distinction between the ability to
acquire knowledge and the ability to communicate it. Again
there is a difference in modes of communication.
A man may be very learned, and able to express his knowl-
edge in rigid scientific forms, while he is utterly unable to explain
any thing so a child can understand it; the teacher, however,
must above all, be able to translate his knowledge into the form
adapted to the youthful mind."
"The normal school is the only school that professes to at-
tempt this art."
22 State Normal School History,
2. "The history of education is made a special object of
investigation in the normal school. All past experience is thor-
oughly discussed, and the causes of success or failure set forth.
It is seen that eminent teachers of all times have followed es-
sentially the same method. It is further seen that this method
involves the waking up of all the faculties to activity; how to
stimulate the mind to self activity in the proper manner; how to
govern the school in accordance with the spirit of our national
idea, by training the pupil to self government; how to avoid
these evil customs that have rendered the name pedagogue odious
from time immemorial : to teach these things constitutes the busi-
ness of a normal school."
3. "Thorough indoctrination in the true principles of in-
structions saves long and unfortunate experience; unfortunate for
the scholars who are practiced upon for the teacher's benefit;
unfortunate for the teacher who is forced to waste his time in
groping 'about in the dark for that knowledge of method which
he might have acquired at the normal school."
4. "The same sentiment that refuses to place confidence in
the uneducated lawyer or physician should refuse to entrust the
children of the community to the care of the empiric, to serve as
waste material upon which he experiments while learning the art
of teaching."
"Moved by these considerations your memorialists respect-
fully pray you to consider the expediency of establishing at some
convenient locality one normal school for the purposes above
mentioned."
"In behalf of the Missouri State Teachers' Association,"
Wm. T. Harris,
Ira Divoll,
E. B. Neeley,
G. P. Beard,
T. A. Parker,
Committee.
It is not known whether the association was holding annual
meetings or not at this time, or whether the subject of state
Agitation by Teachers in the State. 23
normal schools was before the association every time it met.
However, it is known that at its meeting in April, 1868 in St.
Louis, the association again adopted resolutions in favor of nor-
mal schools39. Doubtless the actions of the association on this
matter had their due influence upon the legislators.
NOTES.
1. Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Education, 1870, p. 526.
2. Laws of Missouri, 1838-1839, p. 114.
3. Laws of Missouri, 1840-1841, p. 142.
4. Laws of Missouri, 1852-1853, p. 148.
5. State Superintendent's , Report, 1869, pp. 55-56.
6. Senate Journal, 1842-1843, Appendix, p. 470.
7. House Journal, 1844-1845, Appendix, p. 166.
8. House Journal, 1844-1845, pp. 35-37.
9. House Journal, 1846-1847, pp. 23-26.
10. House Journal, 1846-1847, pp. 189-197.
11. House Journal, 1848-1849, pp. 26-29.
12. House Journal, 1848-1849, p. 38.
13. House Journal, 1846-1847, Appendix, p. 125; Senate Journal, 1848-
49, Appendix, p. 4.
14. Senate Journal, 1848-1849, Appendix, p. 161.
15. Laws of Missouri, 1848-1849, p. 130.
16. Senate Journal, 1850-1851, Appendix, pp. 18-19.
17. Senate Journal, 1854-1855, Appendix, pp. 139-140.
18. Laws of Missouri, 1867, p. 9; Catalogue of Missouri State Univer-
sity, 1867-68, pp. 22-23.
19. House Journal, 1850-1851, Appendix, p. 142-4; House Journal, 1852-
1853, Appendix, p. 288.
20. Senate Journal, 1854-55, Appendix, p. 200 ; Senate Journal, 1855,
Appendix, pp. 139-141; House Journal, 1857. Appendix, pp. 116-8; House
Journal, 1858-59, Appendix, p. 1 ff; Senate Journal, 1859-60, Appendix, pp.
268 ff ; Senate Journal, 1860-61, Appendix, pp. 110-2.
21. Senate Journal, 1855, Appendix, pp. 139-140.
22. House Journal, 1857, Appendix, p. 116.
23. House Journal, 1857, Appendix, pp. 116-8; House Journal, 1858-
59, Appendix, pp. 1 ff.
24. House Journal, 1858-59, Appendix, pp. 1 ff.
25. Senate Journal, 1859-60, Appendix, pp. 268 ff.
26. Senate Journal, 1858-59, pp. 291, 341, 429-30; Senate Journal, 1859-
60, pp. 18, 122, 179, 183, 217.
24 State Normal School History.
27. Senate Journal, 1860-61, Appendix, pp. 110-12.
28. State Superintendent's Report, 1867, pp. 15-18.
29. House Journal, 1867, p. 254.
30. State Superintendent's Report, 1868, pp. 17-20.
31. State Superintendent's Report, 1869, pp. 18-22.
32. State Superintendent's Report, 1869, pp. 64, 69, 74, 90-93, 101-2,
115-6, 123, 126, 130.
33. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, p. 47.
34. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, pp. 117-8.
35. Catalogue of the State Normal School, Kirksville, 1879-80, p. 29.
36. North Missouri Register, Kirksville, Feb. 16, 1871, March 16, 1871.
37. State Superintendent's Report, 1867, p. 15.
38. Ibid, pp. 15-17.
39. State Superintendent's Report, 1869, pp. 16-17.
CHAPTER II.
THE NORTH MISSOURI NORMAL SCHOOL.
Section I.
Cumberland Academy.
For some time we have been following one thread of the in-
troduction, the agitation in favor of a state normal school system.
It is now necessary for us to take up the other thread, the history
of the Normal School at Kirksville as a private institution. In-
asmuch as the school was organized in a building known then as
the Cumberland Academy, and continued to have its home there
for over five years, it is proper that something should be said at
this point concerning the history of the building itself.
The Kirksville Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church at its first session which it held in Kirksville in December,
1859, decided to establish a male and female school in Kirksville
which should be under its supervision and which should be known
as the Cumberland Academy. A Board of Trustees was appointed
and given the power to appoint as many agents as it should deem
necessary to solicit funds for the school. The Board met on
January 4, 1860, in Kirksville and effected the following organiza-
tion: Hon. W. H. Parcels, President; Rev. J. E. Sharp, Secre-
tary; J. G. Oldham, Treasurer. It appointed five agents to
solicit funds with which to erect a suitable school building.
The Board decided to open the school at once without wait-
ing for the building to be erected. Arrangements were then made
for renting a building and for employing teachers. Reverend
Amos Cox of Bloomington, Illinois, a graduate of Cumberland
University, was secured as Principal, and Miss Maria Ellis, a grad-
uate of the Conference Female Cohege of Jacksonville, Illinois, as
Assistant. On March 22, 1860, Cumberland Academy was opened
by these two instructors. The enrollment during the spring was
at least fifty, as the Board reported to the Presbytery in April
26 State Normal School History.
that there were that many in attendance then. It also reported
that the building committee had let the contract for the erection
of a school building, for which over $2,000 had been raised.
The second session of the school opened on September 10,
1860, with the same instructors, but in another building, that is
Professor Nason's school house which stood on the southeast cor-
ner of what are now Buchanan and Florence Streets. In October
the Board reported to the Presbytery that there were thirty-
eight in attendance at the Academy, and that the school build-
ing was in process of erection, most of the carpenter work having
heen completed.
The excitement into which the country was thrown in the
latter part of 1860 and the early part of 1861, proved fatal to the
Cumberland Academy. In a short time after the second session
of the school had opened, it was suspended, and work on the
building ceased, after nearly $6,000 had been expended upon it.
All attempts on the part of the Presbytery to revive the school
and to complete the building failed, owing to the distressed con-
ditions of the country that grew out of the war^.
For some time the building stood incomplete and idle. Late
in the spring of 1862, Miss Virginia Haynes, sister of Mrs. R. M.
Ringo of this place, opened up a school in this building and
maintained it until August 6th, the day of the battle of Kirksville,
when it was broken up for good. Miss Haynes' school was the
only one that occupied the building prior to the normal sehool
which Professor Baldwin organized in it in 1867^.
Finding it impossible to do anything with the building or
the school, the Kirksville Presbytery secured in February, 1865,
an act of the Legislature which enabled them to sell the building
and grounds and apply the proceeds on the indebtedness that had
been incurred^. In pursuance of this act the property was sold
to D. S. Hooper, Samuel Reed, Jr., Nelson Grogan, and Abra-
ham Wolf4.
Efforts were made by these men to get the Christian Church
of this place, which was then without a church building, to pur-
chase the Academy and convert it into a church building, but
Cumberland Academy. 27
these failed. Finally a stock company consisting of several
members of that church bought it in March, 1865, for SISOO^.
For several years this company gave the use of the building to
the Christian Church for religious services without charge. It
also rented it for entertainments of various sorts.
For some time the company tried to get the church to pur-
chase the building. In fact it had bought the property with this
expectation. When it appeared that the church was not dis-
posed to do this, the company began then to think of letting the
building out to some one for school purposes, and, in February,
1867, it arranged to lease it to Professor Baldwin for the normal
school which he had decided to open in the town in the coming
fan.
Cumberland Academy, as the building was known until it
was occupied by the Normal School, was erected on the block
where Mr. R. M. Ringo's residence now stands, on the corner of
Mulanix and Hickory streets. It was a large, two story, frame
building with a tall steeple, facing the west. According to the
original plans the lower floor was to be the chapel in which the
exercises of the school and the religious services of the local
Cumberland Presbyterian Church were to be held, and the upper
floor was to be divided into five class rooms. As has been stated
the Kirksville Presbytery never finished the building. How in-
complete it was when work was suspended on it and how much was
done by those who purchased it from the Presbytery, is not
known. It seems, however, that the lower floor was ready for use
for church services when the stock company acquired it in March.
1865, but the upper floor remained incomplete until the building
was used as a normal school.
In order that the building might be put into suitable use for
school purposes. Professor Baldwin arranged with the stock com-
pany to complete it and make some alterations. He therefore
finished the upper floor and divided the lower one into three or
four class rooms by means of sliding black board partitions which
permitted the whole floor to be thrown open for chapel use and
public exercises. He also built a one story, flat roofed addition
North Missouri Normal School.
Cumberland Academy, 29
on the rear of the original building. This addition contained three
rooms. He replaced the old rail fence, first with a board, and later
with a hedge fence. In view of these extensive improvements,
which were made by Professor Baldwin, the company agreed to
rent the building to him for ten years at the rate of one hundred
dollars a year^.
It was in this building that the Normal School had its home
for over five years; from September, 1867, to January, 1871, as a
private institution, the North Missouri Normal School, and from
January, 1871, to January, 1873, as a state institution. It is inter-
esting to know that at the time when President Baldwin was
working to get the state to adopt his school as one of a number
of state normal schools, he planned to have this old building
serve as a training school and to have the new building erected
near it^. This plan fell through when another site for the new
building was selected.
When Adair County made its bid for the State Normal School
for the First District, it offered to give, among other things, the
building that was being used at the time by tiie North Missouri
Normal School, and the lots on which it stood^. In fulfillment
of this promise the county issued bonds in favor of the stock
holders in the North Missouri Normal School Association for
their shares in this property. The transfer was made to the
Board of Regents on January 3, 1871^.
On November 19, 1873 the Board of Regents sold the build-
ing and lots to M. B. Morris, H. F. Millan, and D. S. Hooper for
$160010.
The main part of the original Normal School building was
burned on the evening of August 24th, 1874. When the fire was
discovered the building was too far gone to save it with the means
at hand. It was thought at the time that the fire was the work
of some incendiaryii. The annex that had been built on the rear
of the original building was saved from the fire, and stood near the
original site for some years when it, too, was burned.
Section II.
Professor Baldwin's Visit to Kirksville.
In February, 1867, Professor Baldwin came to Missouri look-
ing for a suitable location for a normal school .On the thirteenth
day of that month he arrived in Kirksville, and as the result of his
visit, he decided to locate his school here^^. Two men are closely
connected with his coming to visit this place. One of these was
Mr. J. J. Griggsby, the other was Major J. B. Merwin.
Mr. Griggsby was a relative of Prof essor Baldwin and was at
that time living in Kirksville, having come here from Indiana in
1860. Very shortly after settling here he began to write to Pro-
fessor Baldwin, who was then living in Indiana, urging him to
come to this place and open up a school. He continued to write
to him to that effect for several years. Professor Baldwin, how-
ever, did not seem inclined to the proposition, and Mr. Griggsby
had just about decided to stop urging the matter when he heard
that the stock company, that had bought the Cumberland
Academy building, were anxious to get some one to start a school
in it. He suggested Professor Baldwin to them as the very man
for whom they were looking. He was requested by the company
to write to Professor Baldwin in their behalf concerning the matter,
and after waiting some time for a reply, finally got a letter from
him saying he would come out in a few days and look over the
situation.
Meanwhile Major Merwin, who was then Editor of the Amer-
ican Journal of Education in St. Louis, was doing what he could
to interest Professor Baldwin in the educational work of Missouri.
It chanced that he was making addresses before teachers' insti-
tutes in Indiana during the year of 1866, and while engaged in this
work he became acquainted with Professor Baldwin who was
likewise lecturing before the institutes. He was at once im-
pressed with Professor Baldwin's enthusiasm and zeal for schools
and school work, and immediately began to urge him to come to
Missouri, and kept up his solicitations for some time.
Finally Professor Baldwin was induced to make up his mind
Professor Baldwin's Visit to Kirksville. 31
to come and look over the field. He came first to St. Louis and
visited his friend, Major Merwin,for a few days. In this connection
Major Merwin tells an interesting story. When Professor Baldwin
reached St. Louis, he was inclined to select St. Joseph, which was
already a thriving town and advantageously located, as the place
for his school. It is quite likely that he was somewhat acquainted
with this city and vicinity as he had taught at Platte City and
Savannah, Missouri, in the fifties, and perhaps this acciuaintance
may have had something to do with his predilection in favor of
it as the best place for his school. Major Merwin was bitterly
opposed to St. Joseph and did all he could to dissuade Professor
Baldwin from going there. He suggested Kirksville as the best
place in the state for the new school. It is happened that Pro-
fessor Baldwin had lost his traveling money and wanted to borrow
fifty dollars so as to proceed on his journey. Major Merwin
offered to lend him the money on condition that he would go at
once to Kirksville and look over the situation there carefully,
and added that, if he did not like the place, he need not refund
the borrowed money.
As far as is known Professor Baldwin did not visit any other
pbce. After spending two or three days here, meeting the people
and conferring with those who were interested in getting a school
started in the town, he decided that this was the place for his
institution. Arrangements were then made with the stock com-
pany that owned the Cumberland Academy building for its use
for the school. Some account of these arrangements has already
been given.
At the time when Professor Baldwin decided to locate his
school in Kirksville, there was only one normal school in the
state, and that was the St. Louis City Normal School which had
been established in October, 1857, under Superintendent Ira
Divoll and with Mr. Richard Edwards as Principal. The sole
purpose of this school was to prepare female teachers for the
schools of that city^^.
Owing to this fact, the school was strictly local, and hence
the field, as regards the state at large, was unoccupied in 1867,
32 State Normal School History.
To Professor Baldwin there justly belongs, therefore, the credit of
having established the normal school system of the state.
Section III.
The Opening of the School.
Very few subjects connected with the early history of the
school are more interesting than that of the first faculty and the
way in which it was selected. President Baldwin realized that
the success of the school would depend largely on the character
of the members of the faculty, and so acted very deliberately in
choosing his associates. He planned to engage "for each leading
department a young, talented, ambitious teacher, who was will-
ing to devote his life to building up a department of unsurpassed
merit." All teachers were to be engaged for not less than ten
years, and on such terms that "each would feel as much interest
in the success of the institution as if owning it." Furthermore,
when the faculty had been organized, no other member was to
be added except at its unaminous request^*. With these ideas
in mind. President Baldwin proceeded to select five associates
with whose help the school was organized.
The first to be selected were Professor and Mrs. F. L. Ferris
of Idaville, Indiana. Conditional arrangements had been made
with them by President Baldwin for the work before he came to
Missouri in February, 1867, to look over the field for a school.
They had been conducting a private high school at Idaville,
Indiana, at the same time that President Baldwin had been teach-
ing at Burnettsville and Logansport, towns neighboring to Ida-
ville. President Baldwin had visited their school, and was im-
pressed with their ability and skill. He therefore interested them
in his scheme for a school in Missouri, and on his return from
Kirksville made definite arrangements with them for the work.
During his visit in Kirksville in February, 1867, President
Baldwin secured the promise of Professor W. P. Nason, who was
at the time engaged in teaching a semi-public school in Kirks-
ville, that he would become one of the faculty of the new school.
Professor W. P, Nason.
(From a photograph taken about 1880.)
34 State Normal School History.
Had not President Baldwin made conditional arrangements with
Professor Ferris and his wife before he came to Kirksville, Pro-
fessor Nason would have been the first one to be selected.
Early in the spring of 1867 President Baldwin moved his
family from Indiana to Kirksville. Shortly after doing that he
made arrangements with Professor J. M. Greenwood and his wife
to teach in his school. Concerning the making of these arrange-
ments, a very interesting story is told.
In arranging his new home in Kirksville, President Baldwin
decided a milk cow was needed. On making inquiries as to where
he might find a good one, he was directed to the Greenwood farm,
southeast of town. In a few days he drove out to this farm and
found Mr. J. M. Greenwood and his father plowing in the field.
As he had arrived at about noon time, he was invited to go to the
house and take dinner. Meanwhile young Greenwood was sent
by his father to bring in some cows from the pasture. While
President Baldwin was in the house waiting for dinner, he was
attracted by the library which he found there, especially the col-
lection of mathematical books. This opened up to him the fact
that some one in the family was more than a mere farmer. On
inquiry he found that the books belonged to the young /man who
had been sent to bring in the cows and that this same young man
had taught for several years. As a result he began to think of
Professor Greenwood as a possible teacher of mathematics in his
new school. When dinner was over, he went out to look at the
cows, and after much delay finally purchased one and drove her
away.
Later in the spring President Baldwin and Professor Green-
wood met at a county institute in Edina, Missouri. During this
institute President Baldwin outlined fully to Professor Green-
wood his plans for a school, and definitely invited him to become
one of the faculty. Although Professor Greenwood had decided
to discontinue teaching and engage in farming and stock raising,
he reconsidered the matter, and finally concluded to join with
President Baldwin in his enterprise. At about the same time
arrangements were made with Mrs. Greenwood to take charge of
Profesjsuk J. M. Greenwoud.
("From a photograph taken in 1874.)
36 State Normal School History.
the primary department of the new school^s^ With these arrange-
ments the selection of the original faculty of the school was com-
pleted.
After having chosen his associates, President Baldwin began
the work of canvassing the country for students in great earnest-
ness. In this work he was assisted by Professors Greenwood,
Ferris, and Nason, though most of it he did himself. The canvass
included personal solicitation of students, the holding of insti-
tutes, the visiting of schools, and the delivering of lectures and
public addresses of various sorts. It was carried on in sixteen
counties in north east Missouri. Very few parts in this section
were left unvisited^*^. President Baldwin made his trips chiefly
by means of a team and buggy which he purchased in the spring.
So thoroughly did he canvass the country that by the opening of
school in September, both the team and the buggy, according to
the testimony of men yet living, were "literally worn out."
No catalogues were issued announcing the new school. In-
stead of them President Baldwin had large posters printed an-
nouncing his lectures at different points. These posters were sent
ahead of him on his trips and posted in conspicuous places. As a
result he always got a large crowd to hear him wherever he went.
In these lectures he announced to the people what he was
proposing to do, and urged them to give stronger support to the
public school system.
The school opened on September 2, 1867. The students who
gathered were a decidedly heterogeneous mass ; they were of both
sexes, and of all sizes and ages from the primary grade up. As one
of their members has expressed it, they were uncouth, awkwrad,
and untutored, but seriously in earnest. Many of the men had
spent several years in the army and were necessarily far behind
in their education. None of them had any surplus of money to
spend. Most of them were making their own way through school,
and hence knew the precious value of the time and money they
were spending. Judging from external appearances, this was not
a very promising lot of students with which to start a school.
But there was the making of many a man and woman of strength
The Opening of the School. 37
in that body, and fortunately there was at the head of the school
a man who knew how to bring out the very best in those whose
advantages had been meager, but who were willing to strive and
toil.
By the close of the school year the enrollment in the Normal
Department reached one hundred and forty. This, with the
enrollment of one hundred and forty-four in the various grades
of the model school made the total attendance two hundred and
eighty-four. To the President and faculty of the school this was
a very encouraging beginning, though from a financial standpoint
it was not very remunerative to the President. In engaging his
associates. President Baldwin had bound himself to pay each a
certain salary and to bear all the other expenses of the school,
and had agreed to take what was left of the proceeds of the school.
This arrangement was agreed to for three years. The income for
the first year, which came only from tuition fees, was S3, 705; the
expenditures were $4,020. The President incurred a loss of
$315 in addition to his living expenses for a year^^.
Notwithstanding this financial loss, the enrollment was such
as to give the President a basis for his faith in the ultimate success
of the school. Concerning the matter he said: "The success
during the year passes all expectation. That in this war cursed
region three hundred students should enter such a school during
its first year is truly wonderful. The Faculty have consecrated
themselves for life to the grand work of building up a Western
Institution of unsurpassed merits. With all of their ability,
with untiring energy, and with unbounded enthusiasm, they will
labor for its successes."
The second year of the school was much more successful than
the first. The total enrollment was 423, of which 203 were in
the Normal Department and 220 in the various grades of the
Model Schooli9. The increase over the the enrollment of the
previous year was 139. The income for the year was $5,520;
the expenditures were $4,335. Instead of a deficit there was a
surplus of $1,185, and this constituted President Baldwin's salary
for the vear^o.
38 The Opening of the School.
Towards the close of the first year of the school the North
Missouri Normal School Association was organized for the pro-
motion of the school. It was composed chiefly of the members of
the stock company who owned the property which was being
used by the school, and by the men of the faculty. The associa-
tion was incorporated on June 2, 1868^1.
After running for nearly three and one-half years as a private
institution, the school was adopted on December 29, 1870, as one
of the two State Normal Schools as provided for by the bill of
March 19th of that year. This was a consummation which Presi-
dent Baldwin and his chief assistants had been working for since
the beginning of the school, and which he had probably had in
mind from the time he decided to come to Missouri. In the
catalogue for the second year of the school, it was plainly stated
that efforts were being made to make the institution one of a
system of six state Normal schools22. How these efforts were
successfully realized, we have now to investigate.
NOTES.
1. The authority for the preceding facts regarding the Cumberland
Academy is the Record of the Stated Clerk of the Kirksville Presbytery. A
transcript of those portions of the record that pertain to the Cumberland
Academy, is among the archives of the school.
2. Mr. R. M. Ringo is authority for the statements of this paragraph.
3. Laws of Missouri, 1865, p. 178.
4. Abstract of Title to Block 10 in the north east addition to Kirksville.
5. Ibid.
b. Mr. J. H. Morris, one of the stock company, which purchased the
old Cumberland Academy, is authority for the above statements.
7. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, p. 115.
8. Records of Adair County Court, B, pp. 91-92.
9. Minutes of Board of Regents, March 18, 1871.
10. Abstract of Title to Block 10 in the northeast addition to Kirksville;
Minutes of Regents, Nov. 17, 1873.
11. North Missouri Register, Kirksville, Aug. 27, 1874.
12. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, p. 119.
13. Ninth and Tenth Annual Reports of Board of Directors of St. Louis
Public Schools p. 21. This school had a continuous existence from 1857 to
1899 most of the time as a part of the high school system of the city. In
The Opening of the School. 39
1899, it was temporarily suspended. Recently the city voted to establish a
separate City Normal School. This is now in process of organization.
14. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, pp. 115-6.
15. Article by J. M. Greenwood in the Educational Review, April, 1901.
16. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 20.
17. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, p. 119.
18. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, back cover.
19. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1869-70, p. 21.
20. State Superintendent's Report, 1870, p. 119.
21. Record of Adair County Circuit Court, May term, 1868, June 2, p. 439.
22. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 21.
CHAPTER III.
THE ADOPTION OF THE NORTH MISSOURI NORMAL
SCHOOL AS THE FIRST DISTRICT STATE NORMAL
SCHOOL.
Section I.
The Normal School Legislation op 1870.
In March, 1870, the efforts to secure legislation in favor of
the establishment of a state normal school system met with suc-
cess. Prior to that time many attempts had been made to gain
this end, and though they always failed, it will be worth our
while to note briefly, as a sort of introduction to the legislation
of 1870, what these attempts were.
In February, 1859, there was introduced in the Senate a bill
entitled ''An act to establish a State Normal College "i. As far
as is known this was the first time a bill for a separate institution
for the training of teachers was ever introduced. On the third
reading it was postponed until the next session^.
When the legislature met again that fall another bill was in-
troduced in the Senate providing for the establishment of a normal
school. The bill seems to have received some attention, but it
was finally killed^.
The breaking out of the war put a stop to all efforts to es-
tablish the system. When it closed the advocates of the system .
began to marshal their forces and after several efforts succeeded.
The first efforts after the war were made in 1867. In Feb-
ruary of that year two distinct acts were introduced in the Legis-
lature on this matter; one provided for the establishment of a
''State Agricultural and Normal University "^^ -^lie other for "the
education of the teachers of the common schools of the state "s.
As far as the records show no consideration was given these bills.
When the Legislature met in its regular session in January,
1869, preparations had already been made to renew the efforts
The Normal School Legislation of 1870. 41
to obtain legislation in behalf of a state normal school system.
Bills to that effect were soon introduced. On January 25, one
was introduced in the Senate*', and on January 27, the same bill
was introduced in the House'^.
These identical bills provided for the division of the state
into six normal school districts, three north and three south of
the Missouri river. In each of these districts a normal school
was to be established in the county which should offer the greatest
inducement by way of buildings and grounds, provided the build-
ings and grounds should not be less than $25,000 in value and the
grounds should not be less than ten acres in extent. The manage-
ment of these six schools was to be placed in the hands of a Board
of Regents composed of fifteen persons. The State Board of
Education, that is, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General,
and the State Superintendent, were to constitute three of the
members ; the other twelve men were to be appointed by the Gov-
ernor for a term of six years each, and the appointments were to
be made so that one-third of the number were to retire every two
years. The Board was empowered to receive bids for the loca-
tion of the schools and to accept those they thought were best.
For the support of every normal school thus established the
state was to appropriate $5000 annually for the payment of
teachers' salaries. Model schools or schools for practice teach-
ing were to be established in connection with these schools.
Every applicant for admission was to be required to sign a declara-
tion of his intention to follow the profession of teaching in the
public schools of the state, and graduates of these normal schools
were to receive diplomas which would entitle them to teach in any
public school in the state without examination^.
These bills were referred by both the House and the Senate
to their respective Educational Committees. The Senate com-
mittee reported favorably upon the bill, recommending, however,
some slight amendments which were adopted. The bill was then
ordered engrossed but as far as is known nothing more was done
with it that session^. Nothing appears to have been done in the
House with the bill that was introduced there.
42 State Normal School History.
When the Legislature met in adjourned session in January,
1870, the legislation that had been started in the previous session
was taken up by its friends and shortly pushed to successful
completion. The most interesting action took place in the House.
On January, 27th, the Educational Committee of the House
reported a substitute in lieu of the bill referred to it in the session
of 1869. The provisions of the substitute differed from those of
the original bill chiefly in the number of normal school districts
and in the composition of the Board of Regents. Instead of six
normal school districts there were to be four, as follows: the
seventh and eighth congressional districts, except Howard and
Randolph counties, were to constitute the first district; the sixth
and ninth congressional districts, including Howard and Ran-
dolph counties, were to constitute the second district; the fourth
and fifth congressional districts, the third; and the second and
third congressional districts, the fourth. The Board of Regents
was to consist of eleven persons, the Board of Education and
eight others appointed by the Governor, two from each normal
school district, for a term of four years. The other provisions of
the substitute were loractically the same as those of the original
billio.
Efforts were made several times to amend this substitute so
as to include a provision for the creation of a Normal Department
in Lincoln Institute for the preparation of negro teachers.
These amendments were finally withdra\\Ti when a separate bill
was passed by the House providing for the establishment of
Lincoln Institute as a State Normal School for negro teachers^^.
Of the amendments that were proposed, the following were
the most important that were adopted. In the first place the
number of normal school districts was reduced from four to two.
The first district was to be composed of all the counties north of
the Missouri river. The second district was to be composed of
all the counties south of the Missouri river except St. Louis county.
In the second place the membership of the Board of Regents
was reduced from eleven to seven. The seven were to be the
Board of Education and four others appointed by the Governor,
The Normal School Legislation of 1870. 43
two from each of the two normal school districts. In the third
place it was provided that the normal school at Columbia should
not be considered as the one for the first district^^.
The substitute as amended was voted on by the House on
February 14, with 54 for it, and 35 against it, 46 being absent
and 2 sick^^. Inasmuch as the substitute did not receive a con-
stitutional majority it was lost. On February 17 a motion to
reconsider the vote on the substitute of February 14 was carried.
The substitute was then carried by a vote of 73 to 33, 27 being
absent and 4 sicki*. The opposition to the substitute was prac-
tically the same in both votes. Evidently the required major-
ity came from those who were absent the time the first vote was
taken.
When the House bill reached the Senate a number of amend-
ments were made, the most important of which was the striking
out of that provision which authorized the graduates of these
schools to teach in the public schools of the state without further
examination^^. When the bill was returned to the House, the
Senate amendments were adopted^^. The bill as then passed by
the House and the Senate was approved by Governor McClurg
on March 19, 187017. With this act the long struggle for the
adoption of a normal school system by the state came to an end.
The significance of the act can only be understood by keeping
in mind the long agitation on the matter and the repeated at-
tempts to get some favorable legislation.
Doubtless much of the history of this legislation will never
be known. Of the forces that led up to this result, we know
something of those that left traces in the records. But doubt-
less those were only a small part of the whole number of influ-
ences that were set in motion. It appears, however, that, among
those leading in the matter from 1867 to 1870, President Baldwin
was in the very front. How much personal work he did among
the legislators, is not known. Being no politician, he probably
did very little. But he was very active in stirring up senti-
ment among the people and in bringing them to make known
their views on the normal school system to their representatives.
44 State Normal School History.
Among other things employed in this connection, he had the stu^
dents, who were enrolled at the time the bill was being considered,
to write to their Representatives and Senators urging them to
support the bill. These things, doubtless, told considerably in
their influence upon the legislative body.
In following in detail the course of the legislation of 1869 and
1870, several things have appeared as very suggestive and worthy
of some comment.
In the first place there was a gradual reduction in the number
of normal school districts. In the original bill there were to be
six districts, in the substitute which was offered in the House
there were to be four, and in the bill which was finally adopted,
only two. The number proposed in the original bill was the same
as that recommended by President Baldwin and Superintendent
Parker. Just what induced the Legislature to reduce the number
from six to two, is not clear. Perhaps it was the desire to limit
the amount of expenditures; perhaps too, it was thought wise
to start the system with a small number of schools and then found
others if these proved successful and if the need for more arose,
In the second place only one Board was thought of for the
entire system of normal schools, whether there were to be six or
two schools. As the number of normal school districts was de-
creased the number of Regents appointed by the Governor was
decreased correspondingly. It does not appear that any one
advocated a separate Board for each institution. The single
Board system was maintained until 1874 when a law was passed
giving to the First and the Second District Normal Schools each a
separate Board^^^ just as in 1873 the Third District School was
given, at the time of its establishment, a Board of itsown^^. The
merits of the two systems will be considered in another connec-
tion20.
In the third place the law had in mind the establishment of
schools whose chief purpose and whose only reason for existence
was the training of young men and women as teachers in the
public schools of Missouri. This is evident from the articles in
the original bill, the substitute, and the bill adopted, which pro-r
The Voting of Bonds by Adair County. 45
vided for model or practice schools and which required a declara-
tion on the part of the students that they intended to teach in
the public schools of the state. It was not the intention, however,
of making the course of study entirely pedagogical. Provisions
were made for ''lectures on chemistry, anatomy, physiology,
astronomy, the mechanic arts, agriculture, or any other science
or branch of literature, according as the Regents might direct "^i.
Just what the legislators had in mind by this clause, is not clear.
Whatever it may have been, this clause gives to the normal
schools of the state a statutory right of putting under the peda-
gogical training a solid basis in various academic subjects.
In the fourth place it is to be noticed again that the original
bill and the House substitute proposed to give to the graduates
of the two State Normal Schools the authority to teach in the
■ public schools of the state without further examination. In the
bill that was adopted this provision was omitted. It would be
of great interest to know why this was done. Whatever the
reason was, the fact remains that not until 1887 was this author-
ity to teach in the public schools of the state conferred upon the
graduates of the State Normal Schools^s. The history of the
efforts to secure this authority will be related in a later chapter^^.
Section II.
The Voting of Normal School Bonds by Adair County.
As soon as the state normal school bill had been passed by the
Legislature, a movement was started to get the citizens of Adair
county to vote bonds so that the county might be able to make a
bid for the school for the first district. Doubtless the general
outline of the plan for doing this had been drawn long before
the bill was passed, and probably a good deal of agitation had
already been carried on.
The first official step was taken on July 5, 1870. On that
day, the Adair County Court which was composed at that time
of only one Justice, Judge Jacob Sands, issued an order for a
special election which should be held on September 8, for the
46 State Normal School History.
purpose of voting upon the proposition that bonds, not to exceed
$100,000, should be issuedfor "the purpose of securing the loca-
tion of a state normal school at Kirksville according to the act of
the General Assembly, approved March 19, 1870." These bonds
were to run not more than twenty years and to bear interest not
above ten per cent^^.
Public agitation began in the form of a mass meeting of the
citizens of Kirksville on the night of July 24. Speeches were
made by a number of persons, and in them it was stated frequently
that Kirksville could afford to subscribe the $100,000 itself rather
than not get the state normal school at all. A committee of five
was appointed to carry oh the campaign's.
At the time when the county court ordered the above men-
tioned election, there was considerable opposition to the proposi-
tion, particularly among the country people, some of whom felt
that a state normal school at Kirksville would be a Kirksville
institution more than anything else. Moreover, many people
were decidedly opposed to issuing bonds as a matter of principle,
whatever the purpose.
In order to meet this opposition, articles appeared in the
newspapers giving reasons why the county should vote the bonds,
and in addition a systematic and complete canvass of the county
was planned and carried out. In the newspaper articles the
financial phase of the question was more thoroughly discussed
than any other phase. It was estimated that at least four hun-
dred students would attend the school each year and that each
would spend about $250 annually. On that basis, $2,000,000
would be spent in Kirksville in twenty years. These figures were
offered to the citizens of Kirksville for their special considera-
tion, and. much emphasis was placed upon the largeness of the
returns upon the investment that was asked.
It was also argued that a state normal school in Kirksville
would induce families of wealth and culture to settle in the town
for the purpose of educating their children. Their wealth would
add to the amount of taxable property and thus reduce the rate
of taxation in both the town and county. Moreover, their culture
The Voting of Bonds by Adair County. 47.
would add to the development of good society^^.
The work of canvassing the county was done largely by
President Baldwin and Judge Sands. They went from school
house to school house and urged upon the people, who gathered
at these places, a favorable consideration of the proposition. As
the time of the election drew near, arrangements were made for
a series of meetings throughout the county during the week pre-
ceding the election, at Avhich addresses were to be made by a
number of prominent citizens. An announcement to that effect
was made in the Kirksville Tribune of August 25. Meetings
were announced at Hazel Green, Wilmathville, Kirksville, Well's
School House, Troy Mills, Gates' School House, Shibley's Point,
Water's School House, Nineveh, New Hope, Haxby's School
House, and Union School House. Among those who were to
speak were Dr. Gates, Judge Ely, Dr. A. H. John, W. H. Parcels,
Major Linder, Judge Sands, P. F. Greenwood, David Wells, J.
M. Oldham, Dr. Ellis, and Professors Baldwin, Nason, Greenwood,
and Pickler. The announcement closed with this injunction:
"Every man, woman, and child in Adair county should be inter-
ested in the location of the State Normal School at Kirksville —
it is perhaps the last opportunity that we will ever have to secure
the location of a state institution in our midst. Let the vote be
unanimous, and its location is certain^^."
The success of this campaigning is seen in the vote that was
cast on election day. For the proposition 629 votes were cast;
against it, 189^8. The vote by townships was as follows^^;
Townships
For
Against
Benton
413
2
Polk
28
5
Pettis
23
6
Liberty
28
11
Salt River
38
51 .
Wilson
21
48
Clay
37
34
Nineveh
25
8
Walnut
8
13
Morrow
8
11
Total.
629
189
48 State Normal School History.
From this table it will be seen that in Benton township, the
township in which Kirksville is located, the vote was almost
unanimous, only two votes having been cast against the proposi-
tion. In only two townships where the total vote in each was over
75, was there a majority against the proposition.
On comparing this vote of the county in September with that
cast for Governor in the following November, one sees that only
a little over one-half a vote was polled on the bond propositon.
The total vote for Governor was 1494; for Brown, 686; for Mc-
Clurg, 80839. The total vote on the bonds was 818.
Inasmuch as two-thirds of the legal voters voting had declared
in favor of the bond proposition, the county court at its session
on September 12, declared it had been orclered^i. The next
work was that of presenting the bid of the county to the Board
of Regents.
Section III.
The Location of the First and Second District State Nor-
mal Schools.
On the same day that the Adair County Court declared that
the proposition to issue bonds for a state normal school had
carried, it drafted a letter and ordered it to be sent to the State
Superintendent stating that the county was ready to make its
bid and asking that a meeting of the Board of Regents should
be called as soon as possible to consider the same. Judge A. H.
Linder was appointed by the court as its special agent with full
authority to arrange and contract in behalf of the county with
the Board in reference to the matter^s.
Meanwhile arrangements were being made by Pettis county
to offer a bid for the second district school, and when the State
Superintendent received the official notices of Adair and Pettis
counties that they were ready to submit their propositions,
he called a meeting of the Board of Regents. In response to this
call, the Board met in Jefferson City on December 1, 1870. It
was composed of the following persons: State Superintendent
The Location of the First Two Normal Schools. 49
T. A. Parker; Attorney General H. B. Johnson; Secretary of
State F. Rodman; Superintendent E. B. Neeley of St. Joseph
and President Joseph Baldwin of Kirksville, representing the
First District; J. R. Milner of Springfield and General G. R.
Smith of Sedalia, representing the Second District^^^
After effecting organization by electing Superintendent
Neeley President, the Board received propositions for the loca-
tions of the two state normal schools from the various county
delegations that were in attendance.
On behalf of Adair county Judge Linder presented the fol-
lowing definite proposition for the school for the first district^^:
"To the Board of Regents for the Normal schools of the
State of Missouri :
"Gentlemen:
"The undersigned as the Agent of Adair County acting
under and by virtue of an appointment made by the county court
of the said county would respectfully submit the following bid
or proposition to secure the location of the Normal School for
the first district at Kirks ville, Adair County.
"First: Ten acres of land within one mile of the public square
of Kirksville, more or less as may be determined by your honorable
Board, with a building or buildings to be erected thereon, agreeable
to plans and specifications to be submitted by said Board, of the
value of Fifty Thousand Dollars.
"Second: In addition to the above and supplemental thereto,
the building now used by the North Missouri Normal School
and the eight lots upon which it is situated, together with the
furniture, apparatus, library, etc., now used by said school."
(Signed) A. H. Linder, Agent.
General G. R. Smith of Sedalia then submitted a proposi-
tion from Pettis county for the school for the second district's.
In addition to these bids from Adair and Pettis counties
there were others, more or less indefinite, from other counties.
Among them was a proposition from Johnson county for the
second district school, and another from Livingston county for
50 State Noemal School History.
the first district school. The proposition from Johnson county-
was declared to be in such form as to prevent the Board from
entertaining it^s. Just what Livingston county offered is not
shown in the records. It was evidently not satisfactory, for a
resolution was proposed by State Superintendent Parker that
the Board should adjourn until December 15, in order that the
offer of Livingston county or others might be made in suitable
form and that other counties informally represented before the
Board might have the opportunity to complete their offers for
the first district school. This resolution was voted down^^.
The proposition from Adair County was then accepted by a vote
of five to one, thus locating the first district normal school at
Kirksville^s. During the day the bid of Pettis county was ac-
cepted and the second district school was located at Sedalia^^^
The sessions of the Board on the first day had lasted long
into the night. When they closed, the important matter of
locating the two normal schools was apparently settled, but later
events proved that such was not the case by any means. When
the Board met on the next day, December 2, it adopted a resolu-
tion offered by Superintendent Parker whereby the votes by
which the bids of Adair and Pettis counties had been accepted were
reconsidered, and it agreed that it should meet at Sedalia on
December 26 to consider any and all bids for the location of the
schools. President Baldwin was the only one who voted
against this resolution^o. The friends of the counties which
were competing against Adair and Pettis had evidently done very
effective work between the adjournment of the Board on the night
of the first and its session on the morning of the second. After
■taking this action to reconsider matters in full, the Board ad-
journed to meet at Sedalia that evening, in order ostensibly to
give it an opportunity to examine some property which was to
be offered by that city for the second district school^i.
Some very important matters were transacted by the Board
at its meeting at Sedalia on the night of December 2. It arranged
for a meeting of the Board at Kirksville on the twenty second for
the purpose of examining the buildings and grounds contained in
The Location of the First Two Normal Schools. 51
the bid of the county, and it accepted an invitation from War-
rensburg asking it to visit that city. In order that the bids that
were to be submitted by the various counties for the two schools
might be in proper shape, the following rules regulating their
form and contents were adopted^^;
"First. All counties or municipal corporations desiring to
make offers for the location of the Normal schools are required
to present such offers on or before the 26 inst.
"Second. All such offers shall be in cash or buildings and
grounds, or both.
"Third. All subscriptions of counties or municipal corpora-
tions shall be presented by a duly authorized agent.
"Fourth. All private subscriptions shall be accompanied
by satisfactory evidence of the responsibility of the parties.
"Fifth. This Board will not consider any bid or offer for the
location of the Normal Schools, unless the county court of such
county whose bid or offer may be approved and accepted shall
enter into a contract with the Board to the effect that the build-
ings to be erected according to the plans and specifications to be
submitted by the Board, shall be finished and ready for the in-
spection of the Board within two years from the signing and de-
livery of such contract. ' '
These rules were ordered published in the prominent news-
papers of the state, and the secretary was requested to prepare
a synopsis of the proceedings of the Board for publication in the
Missouri State Times^^. Provision was also made that when the
State Superintendent should receive bids for the schools, he
should appoint two members of the Board to examine the property
contained in the bids and report the same to the Board^^^
The effect of the news of the action of the Board upon the
people of Kirksville and Adair county may well be imagined. It
was believed, and is still believed, by a great many who were
active in the matter, that underhand methods were being used
to deprive Kirksville of the school and to force President Baldwin
to close his institution. Fortunately for Adair county she had
the right kind of men to meet this crisis. Between the meeting
52 State Normal School History.
of the Board at Jefferson City on December 1 and 2, and its meet-
ing at Sedalia on the 26, plans were laid for overcoming the com-
petition of the other comities, and for securing the favorable
action of the Board. Among other things, the county court
secured the services of B. G. Barrow as an attorney to contest
the legality of the Board's reconsideration of the location of the
school at Kirks ville.
When the time came for the Board to meet in Sedalia, large
delegations from both Kirksville and Chillicothe went down to
present their claims. In the Kirksville delegation were Judge
Sands, Judge Linder, and W. H. Parcels. Besides these gentle-
men there were two others, both of whom have since become very
prominent in the state, one in educational work and the other in
business and politics, whose chief business was to gather as much
information as possible concerning the plans of the Chillicothe
delegation. Falling in with this delegation on its way to Sedalia,
they gradually drew from it a complete outline of its plans. The
information they derived enabled the Kirksville representatives
to proceed intelligently.
When the Board began its session the matter of locating the
two schools came up at once. One of the earliest resolutions
bearing upon this was presented by President Baldwin to the
effect that the bids, which had been made by Adair and Pettis
counties and on which the location of the normal schools had
been made at Kirksville and Sedalia, should be considered as
before the Board, and that no additional propositions which
should be made by these counties should prejudice their claims to
the locations of the schools at the places named^s. The object of
this resolution is apparent. The competition of other counties
made it practically necessary for Adair and Pettis counties to
raise their bids in spite of their claim that the first action of the
Board constituted a valid contract which was yet binding upon
them and the state. In order, therefore, to forestall any counter
claim that additional offers made by these counties were an ac-
knowledgement that the contracts had been set aside, this reso-
lution was offered, and singularly enough it was carried.
The Location of the First Two Normal Schools. 53
Both Adair and Pettis counties had come prepared to pro-
test against the reconsideration of the location of the normal
schools, and the Board was engaged for nearly one whole day in
hearing these protests and the replies which were made by the
representatives of Johnson and Livingston counties. Adair
county having been given the privilege of presenting her case
first, B. G. Barrow offered the formal protest of the county
and argued the question of the right of the Board to rescind its
action locating the First District Normal School at Kirks ville^^.
Rev. J. G .Dougherty and J. H. Hammond of Chillicothe replied
to Mr. Barrow in behalf of Livingston county*^. John F.Phillips
presented the case of Pettis county and W. H. Blodgett and
A. W. Rogers of Warrensburg replied in behalf of Johnson county^s.
After hearing these arguments, the Board went into private
session. An attempt was made through a resolution offered by
Attorney General Johnson to overrule the objections and pro-
tests which had been entered by Adair and Pettis counties, but
this resolution was tabled and it -was ordered that the bid of
Adair county should be taken up for consideration's.
Judge Linder then presented the following bid^^^
''To the Board of Regents of the State Normal Schools:
"Whereas on the first day of December, 1870, a proposition
was submitted by the undersigned commissioner of Adair county
to your honorable Board, looking to the location of the State
Normal School for the first district at Kirksville in the said county,
which proposition was, then and there, by a resolution of your
Board duly accepted, and the location thereby was, as we claim,
secured at Kirksville; and it further appearing that the said prop-
osition so made and accepted was and is considered by members
of your Board as not being equally favorable to the state in amount
as that offered by Pettis county and Sedalia; and it further ap-
pearing that some of the Board do not consider that the said
amount so offered and accepted is sufficient in amount to fence
and beautify the grounds so given in the said proposition for the
said Normal School, and to purchase a library and apparatus to
make said school a first-class institution;
54 State Normal School History.
"Now claiming a vested right and a valid contract to be ex-
isting between said county and the State of Missouri effectually
securing the said location, and refusing to surrender our right
thereunder, but in order to show our interest in the success and
honor of the enterprise and to show our magnanimity we hereby
in consideration of the promises in behalf of the said county, offer
and tender by way of an additional donation to the said State
Normal School so located, the sum of Eight Thousand Dollars
of bonds of the said county, having twenty years to run at 7 per
cent interest, to be under the control and subject to the dis-
position of the Board for said purposes aforesaid, to be disposed
of at such time and at such price as the court may see fit, and it is
expressly understood herein that this is not to be considered as
any portion of the bid heretofore made, nor in any manner to
operate as a variance or abandonment of the contract heretofore
made as aforesaid, or to operate as a variance or recission of the
said contract."
(Signed) A. H. Linder,
Commissioner for Adair County.
On the next day the bid of Livingston County was received.
It was as folio ws^i;
''To the Honorable Board of Regents of the State Normal
Schools of Missouri:
''Gentlemen:
"The undersigned having been duly constituted and ap-
pointed by the County Court of Livingston County to make the
offer of the said county for the establishment of the Normal
School in the first Normal School district at the city of Chilli-
cothe, hereby offer for and in behalf of the said county of Liv-
ingston, Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000)."
"We are, gentlemen, with great respect.
Your obedient servants,"
J. B. Bell,
(Signed) John Graves,
Edwin McKee,
Agents for the County of Livingston, State of Missouri.
The Location of the First Two Normal Schools. 55
''In addition to the Sixty Thousand Dollars offered by the
county as above set forth, the undersigned offer also, for and in
behalf of the citizens of Chillicothe, city lots to the value of Forty
Three Hundred Dollars ($4300), and lands to the value of Thirteen
Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars ($13,800), the lots and lands
having been duly subscribed for this purpose by the owners
thereof.
"Also one block and a half of land in the center of the city
of Chillicothe with seminary building thereon, in value Ten
Thousand Dollars ($10,000), and adapted for the Normal School
until the permanent building can be erected and prepared for
use, then can be sold and the proceeds applied to furnishing said
permanent building or such other purpose as the Board may
direct ;
"Two blocks of land in the city of Chillicothe, distant two
blocks from the public square, offered by the school board through
the County Court of Livingston County, in value Five Thousand
Dollars ;
"The site of ten acres offered by J. H. Hammond, in value
Seven Thousand Dollars ($7,000), this site being the grove
seen by the committee east of the residence of the said J. H.
Hammond.
" We are, gentlemen, with great respect.
Your obedient servants,"
(Signed) - J. H. Hammond,
J. B. Bell,
John Graves,
Edwin McKee,
R. F. Dunn,
James G. Dougherty,
H. J. Stewart,
J. T. Johnson.
The rivalry between the two counties grew quite animated.
Each was set upon having the school and each was determined to
carry the matter into the courts if the Board decided in favor of
the other. The Board was plainly informed by Mr. Hammond
56 State Normal School History.
of Chillicothe that his county would resist by legal process the
location of the school at Kirksville, and it would base its resist-
ance on the ground that the bid of Adair county was illegal by
reason of the illegality of the election on the normal school bonds^^.
Finally, after having considered the matter for three clays,
the board unanimously voted on December 29 to locate the First
District State Normal School at Kirksville on the terms offered
by Adair county, provided that the site of the school should be
the ten acres adjoining the North Missouri Normal School grounds
and belonging to Edward Parcels, to which a warranty deed
should be made immediately, or, in default of such deed being
made, the grounds offered by Morris and Richter^s.
The credit for securing the location of the school at Kirks-
ville belongs according to the general consensus of opinion to
Judges Sands and Lincler, and W. H. Parcels, and of these three
it was the last who played the important part at the critical
point in the proceedings. When the Board met in Sedalia, three
were known to be in favor of Kirksville and three in favor of
Chillicothe. Though the influence of Mr. Parcels, the seventh
member, Secretary of State Rodman, was induced to vote for
Kirksville^*. This made the matter safe for Kirksville, and
perhaps this explains why the vote was finally unanimous in
its favor.
Among the various things transacted by the Board on De-
cember 30, the most important was the declaration that "the
normal school for the first district be hereby declared established
within the meaning of the law^^. This meant that the North
Missouri Normal School was recognized as a state institution.
Before this action was taken President Baldwin sent to
Governor McClurg his resignation as a member of the Board and
then submitted a copy of the same to the Board. This was
done because of an agreement that had been reached by that
body at its meeting in Jefferson City early in the month, to the
effect that no member of the Board should be eligible as a teacher
in either of the schools until his resignation was accepted by the
Governors^.
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o
o
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O
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t^ W
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58 State Normal School History.
The Board then elected the following persons as the faculty
of the school for the remainder of the current school year: J.
Baldwin, Principal; J. M. Greenwood, W. P. Nason, S. M. Pickler,
Miss Flora Gleason, and Mrs. Amanda Greenwood, teachers.
The Principal was authorized to designate the services of each
teacher57.
Meanwhile the question of the Second District Normal School
had been settled. Propositions had been received from Pettis,
Johnson, and Franklin counties^^. The bid of Pettis county was
finally adopted and the school for that district was again located
at Sedalia^Q^ The school was destined, however, never to be
established there. On April 27, 1871, the Board was induced
to reconsider its action regarding the school, owing to the delay
of Pettis county in meeting its part of the contract, and decided
to locate the school at Warrensburg on the terms offered jointly
by that city and Johnson county^o. The new public school build-
ing was leased for a year, and in this building the Second Dis-
trict State Normal School was first opened on May 10, 1871^^.
The action of the Board in selecting Kirksville as the place
for the First District School was not allowed to go unprotested.
True to the threats of its representatives, Livingston county
proceeded to take action against the Board. This action took the
form of an attempt to get the Legislature to pass such legisla-
tion as would set aside the decision of the Board and deprive
Kirksville of the school. The result was that a legislative com-
mittee composed of two Senators and three Representatives, was
appointed to investigate the matter and report^^.
The committee made a divided report. A majority report
by Representatives Moore and Sloan, and two minority reports,
one by Representative Buller and the other by Senator Benecke,
were submitted. The majority report criticized the way in which
the Board had located the schools and the manner in which it had
organized the one for the first district. It stated that the Board
should have accepted the bids that were on their face the best,
and that it did not lie within the jurisdiction of the Board to in-
quire into the fact whether the bids made by the agents of the
The Location op the First Two Normal Schools. 59
various counties were authoritative and legal. Upon this basis
the majority report concluded that the Board should have ac-
cepted the bids of Livingston and Johnson counties instead of
Adair and Pettis, and that it had not complied with the inten-
tions of the law in securing the most favorable locations in point
of benefit for the state. This report further declared that the
Board had exceeded its powers in organizing the school for the
first district, and in drawing $2500 from the State Treasury for
the support of the same for the first six months before the new
building offered by Adair county had been completed, and that
the Treasurer should not pay anything more for the support of
either of the schools until the provisions of the law concerning
the fulfillment of the contracts had been fully met^3_
The minority report by Mr. Buller concurred in most of the
facts related in the majority report, but differed on the point re-
lating to the jurisdiction of the Board in looking beyond the agents
of the various counties and inquiring into the legality of the bids
they presented. On this basis he justified the action of the Board
in declaring the bid of Johnson county as inadequate, and in
adopting that of Pettis county, though it was his opinion that
the Board would have done well to have postponed the location
of the schools until Johnson county should have had time to have
presented a legal bid^^.
The minority report of Senator Benecke was the most ex-
haustive. It favored the action of the Board in locating the
first district school at Kirksville but had nothing to say regarding
the location of the school at Sedalia. " A full review of the whole
matter from the legislation of March, 1870, up to the location of
the schools in December of that year was given. Concerning the
bid of Livingston county it was declared that it was not in legal
form and could not have been considered by the Board. This
decision was based upon the following facts.
First, the proposition to vote $60,000 in bonds was submitted
to the voters of- Chillicothe township, for which there was no legal
provision. The law of March 19, 1870, provided that counties
60 State Normal School History.
or towns might vote bonds, but made no provision for the voting
of bonds by townships.
Second, the commissioners appointed by the Livingston
county court to present its proposition to the Board, were ap-
pointed in vacation and not in the session of the court, and hence
were not legally qualified to represent the county.
Third, the guarantee of the three citizens of Livingston
county that the $60,000 in bonds would bring $42,000 was not
adequate as the original proposition was without legal existence.
Fourth, the proposition to donate a block of public school
land was without legal basis as there was no law authorizing such
action.
Fifth, Livingston county had not followed the rules of the
Board concerning the manner in which the bids should be
submitted.
Throwing out from the proposed bid of Livingston county the
item of $60,000 in bonds which were valued at $42,000, and the
item of public school land which was valued at $5,000, and grant-
ing that the remaining items were not over valued, the minority
committee considered that the bid was valid to the extent of only
$35,100 and not $82,100 as it purported to be. This estimate
placed it below the cash bid of Adair County by $14,900, to say
nothing of the other items such as the $8000 in Adair County
bonds, the old school building and lots, and the new site.
Concerning the bid of Adair County it was reported that it
was made in legal and proper form and that the items contained
in it were adequate.
On the basis of these facts the minority committee concluded
that the location of the school at Kirksville was legally made and
was just and proper, and that the Legislature had no power to
impair a contract entered into by the agents of the state and the
authorized agents of Adair county^^^
There is no record of the adoption of any of these reports.
They were presented on the closing day of the session and nothing
is stated as to what was done with them.
While the matter was being investigated in the Legislature,
The Fulfillment of the Adair County Contract. 61
it was being discussed in the local papers of Adair and Livingston
counties, and in the Missouri Democrat . "Sit Lux'' wrote for
Chillicothe, and "Lux" replied for Kirksville. The articles de-
fending Kirksville emphasized on the one hand the illegality of
Chillicothe's proposition and the lateness with which she began
to work for the school, and on the other hand the legality of the
bid of Adair county and the years in which she had been working
to secure a normal school system for the state and a state normal
school at Kirksville66_ The old residents of Adair and Livings-
ton counties will probably recall the discussions that were brought
on by this prolonged contest. Very few of the present genera-
tion are aware of the fact that such an interesting contest ever
occured.
Section IV.
The Fulfillment of the Adair County Contract.
According to the original proposition that was made by
Adair county to the Board of Regents, the county agreed to give,
among other things, a building or buildings, worth $50,000, which
should be erected according to such plans upon which the Board
might agree67. There was nothing in this proposition which defi-
nitely specified who should superintend the construction of the
building or buildings. The county court, however, did not care to
assume that responsibility, and it made itself clear on that point
when the Board met to reconsider the location of the schools by
sending in a letter explanatory of its original proposition in which it
was stated that the court would raise $50,000 in cash and turn the
entire amount over to the Board to be used by that body in erecting
the building or buildings^^. When the Board accepted the bid
of the county the second time it did so with the understanding
that it was to construct the building. In doing this it relieved
the county court from any responsibility in connection with the
building and saved it from the very annoying complications
which arose over the erection of the same.
After these arrangements had been made with the Board,
62 State Normal School History.
the county court next undertook to raise the funds necessary to
fulfill its part of the contract. It appointed Mr. W. T. Baird as
special commissioner to negotiate S60,000 of Adair county bonds
in St. Louis on such terms as would realize at least $50,000^^.
Owing to illness Mr. Baird was prevented from accomplishing
the task by the time he was to report, whereupon the court com-
missioned Judge Sands, Presiding Justice of the Court, to do the
work^o. On going to St. Louis, Judge Sands succeeded in getting
propositions from two banking firms, Bartholow, Lewis & Co.
and Taussig, Gempp & Co. Of these propositions the court
decided to accept the one made by Taussig, Gempp & Co'^i. Very
shortly afterwards the court was informed by this firm that it
could not keep its contract, claiming that the election on the
normal school bonds was illegal owing to the indefiniteness of the
proposition which was submitted. The court then turned to
the proposition which had been made by Bartholow, Lewis & Co.,
who had agreed to guarantee the sale of Adair county bonds
bearing ten per cent interest at the rate of eighty-five cents on
the dollar. They had also agreed to advance sums of money
not to exceed $10,000 a month in case the bonds were not sold
fast enought to meet the payments required for the erection of
the building. On May 3, 1871, the court ordered that this prop-
osition should be accepted'^^^ Whereupon sixty-two bonds of
$1000 each were issued'^^^ Of the amount realized from the sale
of these bonds, the Board of Regents received $51,400'^4_ This
amount was used solely for the construction of the new building.
Meanwhile the county fulfilled its promises to issue bonds to
the amount of $8000, the proceeds of which were to be used in
fencing and beautifying the grounds of the school and in equip-
ping it with a library and scientific apparatus. In March, 1871,
these bonds were issued'^^, and at its session in May the court rati-
fied their issuance^^. The amount received by the Board from the
sale of these bonds was $4840. The bonds sold from sixty to
sixty-one cents on the dollar^^.
In addition to the bonds mentioned above, the county issued
others to the amount of $8000 in favor of the several members of
The Fulfillment of the Adair County Contract. 63
the North Missouri Normal School Association in payment for
the old site and building, including the furniture and apparatus,
of the school. This was done in accordance with the terms of the
bid which had been made by the county for the location of the
State Normal School. The Trustees of the Association trans-
ferred the above property to the Board of Regents on January
3, ISTl"^^, and the bonds were issued to the stock holders in the
Association on March 1^9. The building and the lots were sold
by the Board on September 4,1873, the amount realized from the
sale being a little less than SIGOO^^^ What little there was of
furniture and apparatus had already been transferred to the new
building.
From the above facts the following table concerning ^the
Adair county bonds may be drawn up:
purpose of the amount of the amount realized
bonds bonds by the school prom
the bonds
For New Building $62,000 $51,400
For improving grounds, etc. 8,000 4,840
For purchase of old grounds, etc. 8,000 1,600
Total, $78,000 $57,840
Counting the interest paid by the county on these bonds,
the actual amount expended by it was considerably more than
is shown by the above table.
NOTES.
1. Senate Journal, 1858-59, p. 291.
2. Ibid, p. 430.
3. Senate Journal, 1859-60, pp. 18, 122, 179, 183, and 217.
4. House Journal, 1867, p. 244.
5. House Journal, 1867, p. 254.
6. Senate Journal, 1869, p. 137.
7. House Journal, 1869, p. 256.
8. From a copy of the engrossed bill in the archives of the school.
9. Senate Journal, 1869, p. 461.
10. House Journal, 1870, pp. 299-301.
11. House Journal, 1870, pp. 432, 438-9, 443.
64 State Normal School History
12. House Journal, 1870, pp. 444, 449.
13. Ibid, p. 451.
14. Ibid, p. 486; Laws of Missouri, 1870, pp. 134-6.
15. Senate Journal, 1870, pp. 551-2.
16. House Journal, 1870, p. 904.
17. Ibid, p. 1123.
18. Laws of Missouri, 1874, pp. 143-4.
19. Laws of Missouri, 1873, pp. 79-81.
20. See the chapter on "The Regents."
21. Laws of Missouri, 1870, p. 136.
22. Laws of Missouri, 1887, p. 269.
23. See the chapter on " The Certification of the State Normal School Grad-
uates. "
24. Adair County Court Records, B, p. 16.
25. Kirksville, Tribune, Aug. 25, 1870.
26. Kirksville Tribune, Sept. 1, and Sept. 8, 1870.
27. Kirksville Tribune, August 25, 1870.
28. Adair County Court Records, B, p. 35.
29. Kirksville Tribune, Sept. 15, 1870.
30. North Missouri Register, Nov. 17, 1870.
31. Adair County Court Records, B, p. 35.
32. Adair County Court Records, B, p. 35. It should be noted here that
at this time the county court was composed of three Justices instead of one
as had been the case when the proposition to vote an issue of bonds had been
submitted to the people. The Justices were Jacob Sands, A. H. Binder,
and A. M. Gregg.
33. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 1.
34. Ibid, pp. 2-3; Adair County Court Records, B, p. 83. A copy of the
bid is given here in full because there is so much misunderstanding about it.
35. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, pp. 3-4.
36. Ibid, pp. 4-5.
37. Ibid, p. 5.
38. Ibid, pp. 5-6.
39. Ibid, pp. 6-7.
40. Ibid, pp. 6-8.
41. Ibid, p. 7.
42. Ibid, pp. 8-9.
43. Ibid, p. 9.
44. Ibid, p. 9.
45. Ibid, p. 13.
46. Ibid, pp. 16-17.
47. Ibid, p. 18.
The Fulfillment of the Adair County Contract. 65
48. Ibid, pp. 18-19.
49. Ibid, p. 19.
50. Ibid, pp. 19-21. The bid is given in full because so much misunder-
standing about it prevails.
51. Ibid, pp. 21-23; Adair County Court Records, B, pp. 91-2.
52. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, pp. 24-25.
53. Ibid, p. 25.
54. North Missouri Register, Oct. 31, 1872.
55. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 27.
56. Ibid, p. 10.
57. Ibid, pp. 30-31.
58. Ibid, p. 34.
59. Ibid, p. 26.
60. House Journal, 1871-72, pp. 855-860.
61. Catalogue, State Normal School, Warrensburg, 1871-72, pp. 14-15.
62. Laws of Missouri, 1871, p. 202.
63. House Journal, 1871, pp. 744-746.
64. House Journal, 1871, pp. 746-7.
65. House Journal, 1871, pp. 747-757; North Missouri Register, April
27, 1871.
66. North Missouri Register, Feb. 2, and 16, 1871.
67. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 2; Adair County-
Court Records, B, p. 83.
68. MS. Letter from A. H. Linder to Board of Regents, dated Decem-
ber 29, 1870, in the archives of the school.
69. Adair County Court Records, B, p. 115.
70. Ibid, p. 154.
71. Ibid, p. 156.
72. Ibid, pp. 171-2.
73. Adair County Bond Register, Vol. I, pp. 10 ff.
74. Report of the Treasurer of Board of Regents, June 20, 1872.
75. Adair County Bond Register, Vol. I, pp. 5 ff.
76. Adair County Court Records, B, p. 176.
77. Report of Treasurer of Board of Regents, June 20, 1872 and Dec. 21,
1873.
78. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, pp. 42-44.
79. Adair Countj^ Bond Register, Vol. I, pp. 1-5.
80. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, pp. 100-1.
CHAPTER IV.
THE NEW HOME OF THE SCHOOL.
Section I.
The Selection of the Site.
During the meeting of the Board in SedaHa late in December,
some attention was given to the sites of the new buildings that
were to be erected for the two schools. At least four proposed
sites for the school atKirksville were submitted to the Board: first,,
ten acres belonging to Edward Parcels and adjoining the North
Missouri Normal School^; second, fifteen acres belonging to Morris
and Richter, the present site of the schooP ; third, fifteen acres be-
longing to Dodson and Richter and lying between the present
site of the school and the Wabash railroad^; fourth, twenty acres
belonging to John Porter and lying about a mile north of the
square near the end of Franklin street.
The people in Kirksville were divided on the proposed sites.
A great many, especially those connected with the school,, favored
the Parcels tract which adjoined the normal school property
that the county had offered to secure and donate to the state.
If this tract should be selected, the old building could be
utilized, as President Baldwin had long planned, for model school
purposes. Moreover it was within the corporation limits
and most of the town lay out in that direction. Others were
greatly interested in having the new school building located on
the tracts offered either by Morris and Richter or by Dodson and
Richter. Naturally enough those who had property in the south
part of town or south of town, were especially desirous in the
matter. So interested were some in the proposition made by
Dodson and Richter that they subscribed the sum of $840 to be
paid to the Board of Regents to be used for school purposes if
this proposition should be accepted^.
On December 22, 1870, the Board held a meeting in Kirks-
Construction and Dedication of the Building. 67
ville according to arrangements that had been previously made^,.
and inspected these proposed sites and the school itself. At the
meeting in Sedalia during the Christmas holidays, the question of
a site was soon narrowed down to two tracts, the Parcels and the
Morris and Richter tracts. The Porter and the Dodson and
Richter propositions were rejected, the one because the tract was
too far out of town, and the other because the ground offered was
considered too low and poorly situated. The decision was finally
reached in favor of the Parcels tract provided a warranty deed
to it should be made at once, in default of which the site should
be the fifteen acres offered by Morris and Richter^.
The above action of the Board was equivalent to selecting
the Morris and Richter tract, for at that time a suit was pending
against the land owned by Parcels which prevented a clear deed
from being made to the ten acres that were offered'^. After
waiting for nearly three months to give an opportunity for the
transfer of the land owned by Parcels, the Board decided on
March 18, 1871, to accept the land offered by Richter and Morris.
At that time this land lay outside the limits of the town and was
used as a part of a corn field. A ravine ran through the field from
east to west. By building a dam across it near the western edge
of the campus, the present pond was made.
Section II.
The Construction and Dedication of the Buildjng.
As soon as the question of the location of the two schools
had been decided, the Board selected architects and appointed
committees on architecture. Randolph Brothers of St. Louis
were appointed as architects for the building at Kirksville, and
Walsh and Jungenfield for the one at Sedalia^. These architects
were directed to visit the sites of the two schools and prepare
plans and sketches. On February 1, 1871, they laid their plans
before the Board^. After investigating the plans for several days,
the Board decided to empower the building committee for the
First District which was composed of Messrs. Neeley and Barrow,
68 ' State Normal School History.
to accepted the perfected plans for the Kirksville building, to ad-
vertise for and receive bids, and to refer them to the Board at
its next meeting^o.
On April 26, 1871, the Board met to consider the bids that
had been received from ten different contracting firms. The
one made by Griffith and Edwards of Macon, Missouri, was ac-
cepted. The contract price for the erection of the building was
$51,400".
Randolph Brothers were then appointed architectural supe-
intendents of the building, and the building committee of the
First District was authorized to have general supervision of the
erection of the building^^^
Ground was broken for the foundation on the afternoon of
May 17, 1871. The event was attended with a good deal of
ceremony. A large crowd, composed of students who had come
in a body from the school, and of citizens of the town, gathered
at one o'clock at the spot where the new building was to be erected.
The crowd formed a hollow square around a space equal to about
one half of the foundation area. The exercises of the hour began
with a few remarks by Professor Greenwood, in the course of
which he referred to the time when the building would be com-
pleted, and men and women would leave it prepared for life.
Professor Nason offered prayer. President Baldwin then lifted
the first shovelful of earth. This shovelful was placed in a box
which had been brought by Mr. J. A. Richter in which he pro-
posed to plant a rose bush which, as he said, he hoped would
''bloom with the fragrance of magnolias and be fairer than the
flowers of early girlhood." Others participated in shoveling
earth. After a few remarks by President Baldwin, the benedic-
tion was pronounced by the Reverend J. A. Headington^^.
The laying of the corner stone on September 6, was made the
occasion of very extensive ceremonies and a general celebration.
For some weeks the preparations for the event were going on.
Two weeks before the time, the following notice appeared in one
of the Kirksville papers ^^i
Construction and Dedication op the Building. 69
'CORNER STONE LAYING,
September 6, 1871.
BASKET DINNER IN THE GROVE
Let every body get ready and
have their baskets filled for the
occasion.
Programme next week."
Apparently nothing was left undone to make the event a
grand success. Fortunately the weather made it possible to
carry out the plans as they had been arranged. The verdict of
the press was that the day was "the grandest in the history of
Kirksville".
At an early hour people began to arrive from all parts of the
country in carriages, wagons, and on horse back. Many came
by railroad. An excursion train from Macon arrived at 9:30
bringing a large crowd from points south. The regular train
from the south brought a special car from St. Louis which was
filled with ''dignitaries" who were to take part in the exercises,
and other prominent visitors. The regular train from the north
brought also its quota of visitors. The crowd that finally as-
sembled was estimated at 5000 to 8000.
At 9:30 the different orders that were to participate in the
exercises, assembled in their halls; at 10:00 the people repaired
to Wilson's Grove, which stood between what is now called the
City Park and the Square; and at 10:30, the procession started
from the grove to the new normal school grounds. The order of
the procession was as follows:
Kirksville Cornet Band.
Normal School Faculty and Students.
Good Templars; Fairview. Pleasant Ridge, Troy Mills, and
Perseverance Lodges.
Bloomfield (Iowa) Band.
Knights Templars.
Masonic Lodges: Macon, Callao, Bucklin, Atlanta, LaPlata,
70 State Normal School History.
Milan, Unionville, Greencastle, Paulville, Novelty, Queen City,
Coatesville, McGee College, Bloomfield, Kirksville; Occidental,
Pride of the West, Polar Star, and Missouri No. 1 of St. Louis.
Citizens on foot, horseback, and in carriages.
The procession was a half mile in length. It proceeded to
the grounds along the following line of march; starting from
Wilson's Grove it turned east on Harrison street to Mulanix,
thence south on Mulanix to Washington, west on Washington
to Franklin, south on Franklin to Pierce, east on Pierce to High,
south on High to the grounds.
The proceedings at the grounds were as follows:
Marshal of the Day John L. Porter called the Assembly
to order. In the absence of Superintendent Neeley, President of
the Board of Regents, President Baldwin acted as Master of
Ceremonies. Grand Master Garrett spoke briefly stating the
object of the gathering. Grand Chaplain Eagan offered prayer,
and Grand Treasurer Ellis deposited within the niche in the
corner stone a metal box which contained the following articles:
The Holy Bible.
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of A. F. and A. M. of Mis-
souri for 1870.
Constitution and By-Laws of the same.
By-Laws of the Kirksville Lodge, No. 105.
List of officers and members of the same.
Catalogues of the Normal School and of McGee College.
List of State, County, and City Officials.
List of Board of Regents and of Normal School Faculty.
College Mound Record, North Missouri Register, Dollar
Journal, and Missouri Republican.
While the band played Pleyel's Hymn, the stone was lowered
to its place. After it was placed, "the corn of nourishment, the
wine of joy and gladness, and the oil of peace were poured upon
its upper surface."
The officers of the day were:.
Thomas E. Garrett, Grand Master.
J. W. Luke, Deputy Master.
Construction and Dedication of the Building. 71
W. T. Baird, Senior Grand Warden.
D. N. Burgoyne, Junior Grand Warden.
S. L. Ellis, Grand Treasurer.
G. N. Sharp, Grand Secretary.
H. W. Eagan, Grand Chaplain. .
G. W. Sharp, Assistant Chaplain.
M. Randolph, Grand Architect.
John L. Porter, Grand Marshal.
On the conclusion of the exercises at the normal school
grounds, the procession returned to Wilson's Grove where the
basket dinner which the good housewives had prepared, was
served.
After dinner a number of addresses were delivered. Among
those who spoke were President Baldwin, Grand Master Garrett,
State Superintendent Monteith, Professor Guthrie of McGee Col-
lege, and Colonel Norman J. Colman of the Rural World. Pro-
fessor Clark of Jefferson City was to have made an address, but
declined owing to the lateness of the hour. The exercises were
closed by the adoption of a set of resolutions offered by President
Baldwin, in which thanks were extended to those who had
aided in the ceremonies of the day, those who had delivered
addresses, and the railroads for their accomodationsi^.
The day has remained a memorable one in the lives of those
who participated in its festivities, and it is yet spoken of by
them with a great deal of pleasure.
Following the laying of the corner stone, the work on the
building progressed rapidly. By the close of October the build-
ing was said to have "assumed attractive proportions/' and great
crowds of people went out to view it on Sundays^^. The general
opinion was at that time that the building would be completed
and ready for occupation in a few more months. But by the close
of the year it became apparent to all that H would be some tune
before it would be finished. The reasons for this delay are as
follows.
The contract made between the Board and Griffith and
Edwards provided only for the enclosure of the building. Nothing
72 State Normal School History.
was said in the contract about painting, plastering, heating,
black boards, etc. According to it the contractors had engaged to
do nothing more than put in the foundation, erect the walls, and
put on the roof. On their part and that of the architects there
was no misunderstanding as to what should be done, but on the
part of some of the Board of Regents there was a good deal of
misunderstanding. By them it was thought that the contract
provided for a completed building ready for school use; it was not
until after the work had been under way for some months that
they found out just what was in the contract. There were, how-
ever, two members on the Board at the time when the contract
was let who understood what was included in it; they were B. G.
Barrow and E. B. Neeley. In a letter to Mr. Randolph, the
architect, dated December 23, 1871, Judge Barrow set forth the
case stating that, just before issuing the notice calling for bids
for the erection of the building, he and Superintendent Neeley
called upon the architects and had an understanding that the
bids should be only for enclosing the building, and that later
bids for finishing it should be called for. Several reasons were
given for this procedure, the chief one being that the expense
would be much less when the work was done in separate con-
tracts at different times than when it was done under one con-
tract. The advertisements therefore called for bids for an en-
closed and not for a completed building. Superintendent Neeley
concurred in these statements in a note appended to Judge Bar-
row's letteri7.
Notwithstanding this, the Board, at its meeting of February
1, 1872, declared that the architects had assured them that the
plans which had been adopted were for a building which was to
cost not more than $50,000, and that the bids were for a com-
pleted building. It therefore ordered that no additional amount
should be paid to the architects until it could be ascertained what
would be the cost of the completed buildingi^. For a long time
the Board and the architects disagreed on the payment of the
commission claimed by the latter.
The position of the Board was indeed an embarrassing one.
Construction and Dedication of the Building. 73
If it had clearly understood that the contract provided only for
the enclosure of the building, how was it to complete it when the
contract price for this work was equal to the amount received
from the county? If it had misunderstood the contract who
was to blame but it for the misunderstanding? There was
nothing for it to do but to appeal to the Legislature for a suf-
ficient amount to complete the building. As it happened the
building for the Second District School at Warrensburg was also
unfinished, and funds were lacking to complete it. The Legis-
lature had therefore two unfinished buildings on hands. It pro-
ceeded to get at the matter by appointing in January, 1872, a
joint committee to investigate the matter and make a report^^.
The committee made a thorough investigation of affairs both
at Warrensburg and at Kirksville. On March 15, 1872, it made
its report.
Concerning the school at Warrensburg, it reported that the
Board of Regents had contracted with Johnson County to locate
the Normal School for the Second District at Warrensburg on
conditions that the county should provide a site of twenty acres
and erect within eighteen months a building thereon of the cash
value of $200,000; that Warrensburg had voted to subscribe $100,-
000 in bonds to aid the county in the construction of the
building, but that the bonds had not been sold owing to the fact
that their legality had been questioned; that the completion
of the building would require $100,000, the amount that War-
rensburg had voted to subscribe. In view of these facts the com-
mittee recommended that the Legislature pass an act authoriz-
ing towns to vote bonds to aid in the construction of normal
schools, and submitted a bill which provided for the same^o.
This bill was approved on March 30, 187221.
Concerning the building at Kirksville the committee reported
at some length the contract between Adair county and the Board
of Regents regarding the location of the school and the erection
of the building. It laid the blame for the condition of things
upon the Board. In the first place it held that the act establish-
ing the normal school system in the state, contemplated that the
74 State Normal School History.
counties, in which the schools should be located, should erect the
buildings, and that the Board of Regents had not acted in ac-
cordance with the law in requiring Adair county to pay over to
it the entire amount of the subscription and to give to it the
management of the construction of the building. In the second
place, it held that the Board had been negligent in letting the
contract for the building. This negligence was exemplified in
the misunderstanding as to what the plans, specifications, and
contract had called for. Although these had called for only an
enclosed building, only a few of the Board understood them so,
while the majority thought they provided for a completed build-
ing. The committee attributed this misunderstanding of the
greater number of the Board to the deceptive and misleading
methods used by the architect in explaining the plans and speci-
fications submitted by him. But in doing this, it did not excuse
the Board of negligence in the matter.
The committee considered that the contract price was only
a fair compensation for the work that had been done, and that
the contractors had performed their obligations faithfully.
It further considered that Adair county had fulfilled all the
conditions of her contract, and that by the action of the Board of
Regents, the incompleted building for which the county had
furnished the means, was the property of the state.
In view of all these facts the committee felt that it was
nothing but simple justice to Adair county for the state to com-
plete the building thus begun, and to this end recommended that
an appropriation of $50,000 should be made.
In concluding its report the committee spoke of the visit
which it paid to the school in its old quarters and of the favorable
impression that the school, crowded as it was, had made upon the
members22.
In conformity with its recommendation the committee caused
to be introduced a bill providing for an appropriation of $50,000
for the completion of the building at Kirksville, and for a com-
mission, consisting of Jas. M. DeFrance, J. W. DeReamer,and
A. J. Knight, to supervise the expenditure of the money and the
Construction and Dedication of the Building. 75
execution of the work. The commission was provided for in
order that the Board of Regents might not be given another
opportunity to make any more errors in regard to the matter.
The bill met with some considerable opposition. Some said
that Adair county was under obligations to furnish a completed
building and that the additional expense necessary to complete
the one begun, should be borne by the county. Senator Browne
made a speech in the Senate in which he successfully refuted this
argument. He showed that the county had fulfilled every item
of its proposition, and had legally released itself from any obliga-
tion to attend to the erection of the building by having arranged
with the Board of Regents to place in its hands $51,400 in
cash which it was to use in erecting a building. He further
showed that it was the fault of the Board that the contract did
not provide for a completed building. He concluded by spying
there was nothing for the Legislature to do but appropriate the
amount necessary to complete the structure's. Towards the close
cf the session the bill which had been introduced by the investi-
gating committee was passed, end the completion of the build-
ing was thus assured'^. , ;
The commissioners who had been appointed by the Legisla-
ture to supervise the completion of the building, decided to let
the contract for the completion of the building itself first, and
then later to let the contracts for furnishing it with hepting
apparatus, desks, gas fixtures, book cases, etc. On June 3, 1872,
the first of these contracts was let to Sullivan and Dodcls for $24,-
56825. The other contracts, amounting to $24,709.22, were let
in Augustus. Owing to a severe storm on June 7, which tore
away the timbers of the roof, Griffith and Edwards were delayed
in completing the work they had contracted to do'^, and hence
it was not until August that Sullivan & Dodds could begin
upon their contract-^.
During the year it had been planned to have the building
dedicated on the evening of December 26, and the State Teachers'
Association was invited to hold its annual session in Kirksville
at that time and assist in these dedicatory exercises. Early in
76
State Normal School History.
December the speakers for the occasion were announced and an
invitation was issued to all to come and "witness the grand con-
summation of this great enterprise "^s. It seems not to have been
realized until just a few days before the date that had been set
for the dedication, that the building would not be sufficiently
complete to permit of that. Not only was the dedication post-
poned, but the sessions of the Teachers' Association which
were to have been held in the new building, were held in the
Masonic Haliso.
When the work on the building was almost completed, a
The First District State Normal School.
(Taken from an old photograph made a few months after its completion.)
"grand ball" in the chapel was arranged for the evening of Jan-
uary 13 by Mr. Dodd, one of the contractors. A large crowd of
people, young and old, from Kirksville and Macon was present,
and it was reported that the many church members and deacons
present enjoyed looking on the dance, and that some of them looked
"kind of wishful^i."
On Thursday, January 16, 1873, the building was occupied
by the school. It was not entirely completed but the chapel and
enough recitation rooms had been finished to enable the school
to use it. The students marched in a body from the old build-
Construction and Dedication of the Building. 77
ing to the new one, the boys and the girls marchmg together in a
double line. There were no sidewalks and the streets were
covered with ice, causing many to fall down, much to the amuse-
ment of all. The moving to the new building was a most impor-
tant event in the lives of those who were in school at the time,
and it is yet recalled by them with a great deal of delight.
Very little was done the day the new building was occupied
except to drill the students in the use of the desks and in retiring
from the building. Lack of coal is assigned as the main reason
for having no teaching on that day32. One almost feels like say-
ing that the occasion itself would have justified a suspension of
duties.
The building was dedicated on February 13, 187333. The
exercises were attended by a great crowd of students and people
from Kirksville and many from other places. The crowd was
estimated to be at least one thousand.
On the platforms that stood on either side of the west en-
trance of the chapel were seated the special guests of the school.
Among them were most of the members of the Legislative Com-
mittee on Education, State Superintendent Monteith, Dr. R. D.
Shannon, the Members of the Board of Regents, the Faculty, and
many prominent people of Kirksville, including Senator Browne
and Representative Hooper.
The program of the exercises was as follows:
Music — Miss Guipe.
Song — Joy to the World.
Dedicatory Prayer — Professor Nason.
Dedicatory Address — Dr. R. D. Shannon.
Music — -Mrs. Blackman.
Address — President Johonnot, (read by Miss Cumings).
Music — Professor Aspinwall.
Vocal Solo —
Presentation of Bible from the American Bible Society^-
Rev. J. S. Boyd.
Address — The Value of the Normal School — Superintend-
ent Monteith.
78 State Normal School History.
Music — Mrs. Blackman.
Short Addresses by Representative Hooper, Judge Barrow,
President Baldwin and Senator Palmer.
Doxology and Benediction.
The dedicatory address was to have been given by Governor
Woodson. Finding it impossible to attend he sent his private"
secretary, Dr. Shannon, who not only represented him but de-
livered the address.
During the exercises President Baldwin took occasion to
remark that it was just six years ago that evening that he had
made his first address in Kirks ville in which he asserted that if
the people would give his school the proper encouragement it
would become a credit to the state. It was indeed a proud mo-
ment in the life of President Baldwin when he stood before the
people of Kirksville and pointed to the fulfillment of his prophecy.
The building troubles did not cease with the dedication.
Very shortly after the building was occupied it appeared that the
roofing and guttering which had been put on by Griffith & Ed-
wards were worthless. All during the year 1873, the Board
wrestled with the matter. The roof was what was called a com-
position roof, and the gutters were so constructed that they were
lower on the inside than on the outside, and the falling pieces of
slate cut the gutters and let the water run down the walls^*.
The plastering on the ceiling and walls dropped off, the walls
became damp and the foundation began to sink in places^s. The
Board of Regents notified the original contractors to put things
in proper condition, but evidently these contractors did not com-
ply, as we find a record of two contracts with Oxley & Co. of St.
Louis which had been let by the Board, one for reroofingthe build-
ing at $2,287, and the other for reguttering the building at
SI, 33036. There was some talk of a suit against Griffith and
Edwards on their contract^''^ but there is no record that it was
ever brought.
The guttering work was accepted by the Board on June 26,
1873, as being satisfactory^^. The new tin roof was finished in
September. After all the trouble that had been endured in getting
Construction and Dedication of the Building. 79
it on, we are surprised to find it stated that the roof was tested a
few days after it was completed, and that the leakage was found
to be worse than even before^^^ How it was finally remedied is
not known, but matters appear to have been satisfactory by
December of that year^o.
As far as is known this closed the long drawn out series of
troubles that arose over the construction of the building.
NOTES.
1. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 25.
2. Ibid.
3. MS. proposition from Dodson and Ricliter in tlie archives of the school.
4. MS. subscription Ust in the arcliives of the school.
5. North Missouri Register, Dec. 22, 1870; Transcript from Minutes of
Regents, 1870-73, pp. 10-11.
6. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 25.
7. This suit is one of the most famous of the State. The land in tlie case
had formerly belonged to Uriah Skinner. After his death, his widow married
Henry Johnson; they brought suit against E. W. Parcels for dower interest.
Proceedings began in May, 1870 and continued for four or five years, finally
reaching tlie Supreme Court of the United States. Tlie Supreme Court of
Missoui i decided for the plaintiff. The defendant appealed to the Supreme
Court of the U. S. The case was dropped here through a compromise.
8. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 27.
9. ibid, p. 36.
10. Ibid, p. 39.
11. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 49; House Journal,
1871-72, pp. 855-60.
12. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 50.
13. North Missouri Register, May 18, 1871.
14. North Missouri Register, Aug. 17, 1871.
15. North Missouri Register, July 24, Aug. 17,24, 31, Sept. 7, 14 ,21, 1871.
16. Ibid, Oct. 26, 1871.
17. Letter of Judge Barrow with appended note by Superintendent Neeley
is in the archives of the school.
18. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 57.
19. North Missouri Register, Feb. 1, 1872.
20. House Journal, 1871-72, pp. 855-860.
21. Laws of Missouri, 1872, p. 150.
22. House Journal, 1871-72, pp. 855-860.
80 . State Normal School History.
«
23. North Missouri Register, April 18, 1872.
24. Laws of Missouri, 1872, pp. 157-159.
25. North Missouri Register, June 6, 1872.
26. Ibid, Aug. 29, 1872. '
27. Ibid, June 14, 1872.
28. North Missouri Register Aug. 8, 1872.
29. Ibid, Dec. 5 and 12, 1872.
30. Ibid, Dec. 26, 1872, Jan. 2, Feb. 13, 1873.
31. Ibid, Jan. 16, 1873.
32. Ibid, Jan. 23, 1873.
33. Ibid, Feb. 20, 1873.
34. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, pp. 69-70.
35. Ibid, p. 66
36. Ibid, pp. 67, 76, 77, 95-106.
37. Ibid, p. 78.
38. Ibid, p. 82.
39. North Missouri Register, Sept. 18, 1873.
40. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 106.
CHAPTER V.
OPPOSITION TO THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM
SINCE ITS ADOPTION.
The adoption of a normal school system by the state in 1870
by no means put an end to the forces that had opposed the pas-
sage of that act. A long and hard fight had been necessary in
order to establish the system; something of a struggle has been
necessary to maintain it. Time and again serious efforts have
been made to abolish the State Normal Schools, and oftentimes
they were such as to cause some uneasiness on the part of the
friends of the schools. Let us see what some of these efforts
were and what prompted them.
Most of the opposition to the State Normal Schools has cul-
minated in attempts to get the . Legislature to pass acts which
would either abolish them as state institutions or would take from
them certain advantages which had been conferred upon them by
the state.
In attempting to secure their abolition, the usual method
was to have introduced in the Legislature measures providing
for the cessation of state appropriations for their support, and
for the relinquishment of the state's interest in the property of
these schools to the counties in which they were situated. Meas-
ures, embodying either or both of these provisions were introduced
in the sessions of 18711, 18742, 18753, 18774, 18795, 1881^, and
1883'^. Since 1883 only one such measure has been introduced,
and that was in 1895*. It will be noted that most of the efforts
to abolish completely the State Normal Schools were made within
the first ten years of their existence, a period when they should
have received unanimous support, if for no other reason than to
enable them to show by trial whether their existence contributed
anything to the improvement of the public schools or not. In
fact opposition to the system showed itself in the very next session
82 State Normal School History.
of the Legislature following that of 1870 at which time it had
been adopted. That opposition came in the form of a bill intro-
duced by Senator Reed providing for the cutting off of state
support to the State Normal Schools^. At the time that bill was
introduced the First District School had been in operation as a
state institution just two months, and the Second District School
had not been definitely located. Following this effort made in
1871, attempts to bring about the abolition of the system were
made in every regular session of the Legislature until 1883, ex-
cept that of 1873.
The present constitution of the state, which was adopted in
1875, contains no specific provisions for the maintenance of a
state normal school system. It makes provision, however, for
the support of "the State University, now established, with its
present departments" (Article XI, Section 5), and inasmuch as
the Normal Department of the University was already estab-
lished when the constitution was adopted in 1875, the state is
constitutionally bound to give support to at least that part of
the normal school system which is connected with the University.
But there is nothing in this provision concerning the University
which binds the state to support the normal schools that are sep-
arate from the University, though an effort to construe it
differently has been made^o. The State Normal Schools are
based merely upon statutory enactments, and may be legally
abolished at any session of the Legislature. Doubtless this has
had much to do with the efforts to get the Legislature to make
way with them.
From 1883 to 1895 the question of abolishing the State Normal
Schools seemed to have been laid aside as far as legislative action
was concerned. In 1895 the attacks were renewed, and barring
the one nominal effort made in that yesr to get the Legislature
to abolish the state normal school system, the opposition began
to express itself in a new form. Instead of attempts to abolish
the system, attacks were now made against the certification laws
which had been passed in 1887^1 and 1889^2, According to these
laws, the state normal school diploma, conferred on the comple-
Opposition to the State Normal Schools. 83
tion of the four years' course, entitled the holder to teach in
the pubhc schools of the state without further examination, and
the graded certificate, granted on the completion of the two
years' course, entitled the holder to teach the branches named
therein for two years without examination. These laws gave to
the State Normal Schools certain advantages which shortly be-
came the object of attack on the part of a large number of people.
Attacks upon these certification laws began to be made in
the Legislature in 189513, and were repeated in 18971*, 18991^,
190116, and 19051^. They took the form of a measure either to
repeal the certification laws altogether or to extend them so as-
to make the diplomas of other institutions state certificates.
The attacks made in 1895 and 1905 were the most serious. In
1895, through the activity of the private normal schools in the
state, a bill which provided for the repeal of the above certifi-
cation laws, was passed by the Senate. It was only through the
most strenuous efforts that it was defeated in the House. The
attacks made upon these laws in the sessions of 1897, 1899, and
1901 were annoying but not dangerous. The effort made in the
session of 1905 came nearest of all to success. What was known
as the Whittaker Bill which proposed to give to the colleges of
high grade in the state the power to grant unlimited state teachers
certificates, and to first class high schools and academies the
right to grant limited state teachers certificates, succeeded in
passing the House with very little of opposition and the Senate
with none at all. This was the first of the bills affecting the certifi-
cation laws to pass both houses at the same session. It was there-
fore a critical moment, not so much for the State Normal Schools
as for the public school system in general in the state. Happily
Governor Folk very promptly vetoed the bill, giving as his main
reasons for so doing the injustice that would be done to the Nor-
mal Department of the University and to the State Normal
Schools in permitting schools of low rank over which the state
could have no control, to issue certificates, and the great injury
that would come to the public schools of the state in having ill-
prepared teachers licensed by irresponsible institutions!^.
84 State Normal School History.
Opposition to the State Normal Schools has been of various
kinds, all the way from that which sought to abolish them com-
pletely to that which has attempted to interfere in their field of
work. Out of the great variety of opponents, the following
classes are fairly well defined:
1. There are those who have opposed any form of education
that is maintained at public expense, including even the common
schools. Surprising as it may seem to the present generation,
it is a well established fact that not more than thirty years ago
the public school system was decidedly unpopular with a very
large and influential class in the state. Naturally this element
was decidedly opposed to the State Normal Schools and the State
University. Happily the public school system is not unpopular
today excepting among some supporters of the surviving private
academies and among certain religious sects that prefer to main-
tain their parochial schools instead of patronizing the common
schools. Opposition to the public schools, whatever its form may
be, still carries with it opposition to the State Normal Schools.
2. There are those who, while supporting the public school
system, have been opposed to expenditure of any money by the
state for any educational institution above the common schools.
This means that they were opposed not only to the State Normal
Schools but also to the State University.
Some in this class have been opposed to the normal school
system on the ground that professional schools for teachers are
unnecessary. Others who concede that professional training is
necessary to successful teaching in the public schools, contend
that it is not the business of the state to provide this training.
Those holding to this view have usually been friends of the pri-
vate schools of the state, particularly the private normal schools
and the denominational schools. The supporters of the private
normal schools were very active in trying to get the Legislature
to repeal the acts which made the State Normal School diploma and
certificate licenses to teach. Until recently they have been
vigorous opponents of the State Normal Schools, but at the present
they are inclined to be rather friendly. Some of the friends of
Opposition to the State Normal Schools. 85
the denominational schools have at times been against the State
Normal Schools, and the University also, charging them with
spreading infidelity among the students^^. Such charges are
due to a lack of information or a misunderstanding of the actual
condition of things. Of course every friend of the denominational
school has not been an enemy of the State Normal Schools ; some
very strong supporters of the state normal school system have
been and are vitally connected with the denominational schools^o.
3. There are those who have looked upon the State Normal
Schools, and the University as well, as local institutions receiving
large appropriations from the state's revenue and benefiting
chiefly those of the communities in which they are established.
The report of the Legislative Committee of 1889 illustrates the
feeling of this class. Among other things that committee re-
ported that a very large per cent of the students of the University
and the State Normal Schools came from the towns and counties
in which they were severally located. In support of this state-
ment, it submitted the following table^i:
Students attending the University:
From Boone County 125
From other counties 421
Total 546
Students attending the Kirksville Normal School:
From Adair County 114
From other counties ■ . . : 224
Total, 338
Students attending the Warrensburg Normal School:
From Johnson County 303
From other counties 227
Total, 530
Students attending the Cape Girardeau Normal School:
From Cape Girardeau County 113
, From other counties 158
Total, 271
In complaining against this condition of affairs, the Legis-
lative Committee was voicing the sentiments of a large element
in the state that considered that the communities in which these
institutions were located were unduly favored at the expense of
86. State Normal School History.
the other communities. In justice to the institutions and the
communities in which they are located, allowance should have
been made for the residence of many families that had come
temporarily from other places to these communities in order that
the young men and women belonging to them might be educated.
Nevertheless it has always been true, and perhaps always will be,
that a larger per cent of the students come from the county in
which the institution is located than from any other county or
from a good many other counties. It is, therefore, very difficult
to convince this class of people that the State Normal Schools and
the University are not purely local institutions subsidized at the
expense of the whole state. Moreover, they have found special
reasons for their contention when propositions to build public
school houses in the towns in which these institutions are located,
have been defeated, as was the case in Kirksville in the spring
of 188322_ Such defeats have been attributed to the influence
of the state schools located at these places. However, opposition
can not be based on this ground at the present time as Columbia,
Kirksville, and Warrensburg now have good public school build-
ings.
This class of opponents found particular cause for complaint
in the "Model Schools" that were connected with the State Nor-
mal Schools. In the fall of 1881, the school at Warrensburg
established its " Model' '^3^ and in the fall of 1882, the one at Kirks-
ville did the same^^. Later the school at Cape Giardeau es-
tablished its "Model." These model schools were necessarily
and undeniably local. The opposition to them rose almost
solely from that belief that was prevalent in many quarters of
the state, that the State Normal Schools were affording free
instruction for children who ought to be attending the common
schools of the communities in which these State Normal Schools
are situated. It was also believed that the school taxes of these
communities had been considerably lessened because of these
"Models." As a matter of fact a tuition fee has been charged
every year for attendance in the model or training schools until
quite recently, and for a long time the entire expenses of these
Oppositon to the State Normal Schools. 87
schools were borne out of these tuition fees alone. Moreover, the
school taxes of the communities in which the State Normal Schools
are situated, have not been affected by the Model or Practice
Schools^s.
On the ground of undue expense the opposition to the
"Models" was not substantiated. It was, of course, seldom
taken into consideration by this class that something in the way
of a model or a practice school is absolutely essential to the good
training of prospective teachers.
Many of those who opposed the State Normal Schools on the
ground that they are local institutions supported at the ex-
pense of the whole state, lived in the counties neighboring to
those in which these schools are located. In some of these
neighboring counties opposition was out-spoken and bitter. This
was true, for example, in Lewis, Clark, and Scotland counties^'^.
Lewis county was frequently mentioned as a "hotbed" of
opposition to the school at Kirksville^s. Jealously because of
the special advantages enjoyed by the State Normal School coun-
ties, has been assigned as the cause of the opposition of these
neighbors29. Perhaps the many small private "colleges" in the
neighboring counties, especially in Lewis, Clark, and Scotland,
have been largely responsible for this opposition.
It is of interest to note that many of the measures hostile to
the State Normal Schools that have been introduced in the Legis-
lature, have been introduced and supported by representatives from
counties near to those in which the State Normal Schools are sit-
uated. However, all the neighboring counties have not been
opponents of the system. In fact some of the best supporters the
system has had, have been the people of the counties adjoining
those in which the State Normal Schools are situated, and at the
present time much of the opposition that had come from neighbor-
ing counties to the school at Kirksville, has disappeared. The
counties that were formerly among the bitterest in their opposi-
tion, Lewis, Clark, and Scotland, send annually a very large
delegation of students to Kirksville.
88 State Normal School History.
The idea still exists, however, in many places that the state is
unjustified in supporting so liberally the State Normal Schools
and the State University, on the ground that they are largely
local institutions.
4. The last class of opponents that will be noticed differs
from the others that have been considered in that it has not
sought the abolition of the State Normal Schools nor the repeal
of the certification laws, but has endeavored to hamper them in
their various activities.. Complaint has been made by some of
this class that these schools are giving too much attention to
purely academic work and not enough to professional work. This
is based on the assumption that they exist for the sole purpose
of giving instruction in pedagogical subjects and of affording
opportunities in practice teaching. According to this idea,
whatever academic training is necessary for good teaching in the
public schools should be acquired by normal school students
before they are admitted to these schools. The normal schools
are, therefore, considered by such people as unnecessarily dupli-
cating the work of the high schools, academic, and small col-
leges.
Moreover, it -is pointed out that many students who do not
intend to teach, are attracted to the State Normal Schools be-
cause of the excellent academic training that may be had in them,
The percentage of the normal school students who never teach
is very small, and yet it is large enough to give some sort of basis
for the claim that these schools are out of their legitimate line of
work in offering academic courses at all. If they offered only
pedagogical training, it is said, only prospective teachers would
attend, for whom and for no one else, these schools were estab-
lished30.
It is fairly well argeed among authorities in education that
professional training, in order that it may be sound, must be ac-
companied by strong academic training^i. Even granting that,
because of the academic courses, a few students slip in who do
not intend to teach, their pledge to the contrary notwithstanding,
it would not be a sound course to eliminate this training from the
Opposition to the State Normal Schools. 89
normal schools and thus impair the equipment of those who do
go out into the field as teachers. Because the State Normal
Schools of Missouri have not eliminated this academic training,
they have met with an opposition from a certain element which
while it has not sought to abolish or to cripple them, has given
encouragement to those forces that have been working to those
ends.
It should be borne in mind that this opposition to the acade-
mic training in the State Normal Schools, which has been looked
upon as a duplication of work done in high schools, academic,
and colleges, differs very materially from the criticism that has
been most justly made against the elementary training that they
have been and are still offering. It is to be hoped that the day
is not far distant .when the preparatory or sub-normal courses
will be eliminated from our State Normal Schools. When that is
done much will be accomplished towards further elevating the
standard of the work of these schools.
Finally the State University has been more or less of an
opponent to the State Normal Schools since they were established,
particularly during the administration of President Laws^i.
The cause for its opposition has been largely due to the fact that
it has sought to restrict them to the work of training teachers for
the elementary schools only, reserving to itself the work of pre-
paring teachers for the high schools and other secondary schools.
To this sort of a program the State Normal Schools have not been
willing at any time to accede, and the success their students have
had, oftentimes where University students had failed, seemed to
them a justification for their attitude. Since President Laws'
administration the University has not been so insistent upon a
strict division of work between it and the State Normal Schools.
Another thing that made the rivalry between these institutions
so pronounced during the Presidency of Dr. Laws was the exist-
ence of a preparatory department in the University. Inasmuch
as this department and the State Normal Schools were open to
the same class of students, there was more or less of rivalry.
The abolition of this depa,rtment in the early years of President
90 State Normal School History
Jesse's administration has done a great deal toward establishing
the present fairly harmonious relations between these educational
institutions.
The history of this series of opposition to the State Normal
Schools has been marked by two great crises. The first one oc-
curred in 1883. At that time extra efforts to abolish these schools
as state institutions were made, but all in vain^^. Apparently it
it was conceded by the time the Legislature next met that they
were to be permanent institutions. Only one other effort, and
that a very nominal one, has been made since 1883 to abolish
them33_
The second great crisis occurred in 1895. In that year the private
schools of the state, particularly the private normal schools and
the small denominational institutions, succeeded in getting
through the Senate a measure which provided for the repeal of
the law which made the state normal school diploma and cer-
tificate licenses to teach^*. After a very bitter debate in the
House between the friends of the private schools and those of
the State Normal Schools the measure was lost^^.
The success of this measure in the Senate encouraged its
supporters to renew the fight in the session of 1897^^. Plans
were well laid out. Among other things an anonymous circular
was distributed over the state, soliciting the support of all those
who favored the small denominational schools in behalf of the
bill which would take from the State Normal Schools the power
of granting certificates to teach^^. The struggle was not so long
and bitter in 1897 as it had been in 1895. In fact the movement
against the State Normal Schools had reached its height in 1895,
although the opposition did not seem to realize it. Even the al-
most successful attempt in 1905 to certificate the graduates of
other institutions in the state is not to be regarded as so dan-
gerous to the interests of the State Normal Schools as were the
attacks that were made upon them in 1895, because of the lack
at present of so much general hostility to them asexistedin 1895.
That these plans of the opposition did not succeed is due to
the constant watchfulness and activity of the friends of the state
Opposition to the State Normal Schools. 91
normal school system. They stirred up a general sentiment by
means of the press and the State Teachers' Association, and
in addition exerted their influence directly upon those occupj^-
ihg positions of authority and power.
The metropolitan press and many of the influential country
papers were in sympathy with the State Normal Schools. The
papers of St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Joseph, Jefferson City, and
Columbia frequently contained strong editorials in their support,
and oftentimes articles written by prominent educators in the state.
Special mention must be made of the contributions of Superin-
tendent Greenwood, Assistant Superintendent McNeill, Principal
Buchanan and State Superintendent Kirk to the Kansas City pa-
pers in 1895, at which time the struggle in Legislature between the
State Normal Schools and the private normal schools was bitterest.
The State Teachers' Association has always been a strong
supporter of the State Normal Schools, and has frequently ex-
pressed itself in strong terms concerning them. At its meeting
in 1884, when the first great crisis in the history of the state nor-
mal school system was hardly thought to be over by a great
many, a remarkable address, entitled "A Defense of the State
Normal School System," was delivered by Professor Anthony
Haynes. What gives this address its peculiar significance is the
fact that it came from a man who was at the time the head of a
small private school at Boonville, Missouri, and had spent most
of his hfe in such work. So convincing was this address that it
was published in pamphlet form at the request of the association.
Doubtless the wide distribution that was given it, did much to-
ward stirring up a stronger sentiment in the state in favor of the
State Normal Schools.
Among those in the official ranks who gave efficient support
to the State Normal Schools, State Superintendent Shannon must
be mentioned in particular. He was very active in breaking down
the opposition that arose in the Legislature of 1879. A resolu-
tion was passed by the House requiring him to lay before it a
report concerning certain features that were considered objec-
tionable, such as the model school, the evasion by the students
92 State Normal School History.
of their pledge to teach, and the attendance of students from
other states^*. Another resolution called for a report on the
salaries of each teacher in these schools and the amount of tuition
received^^. In submitting his reports in response to these reso-
lutions, Superintendent Shannon took occasion to make a strong
defense for the schools^^^ and he followed this up by active work
among the legislators personally. Notwithstanding the radical op-
position that showed itself in this session of the Legislature, the
bill for the biennial appropriations passed with only seven Senators
and thirty three Representatives voting against it. In view of
this result the faculty and students of the Kirksville school
unanimously adopted a resolution of thanks to Superintendent
Shannon and to the Senators and Representatives who had been
so vigorous in their support of the state normal school system*^.
The success of state normal school graduates as teachers
must not be overlooked in this brief summary of the defensive
forces of the system. All the arguments in the world have been
useless if the students who had been trained in these schools had
not had some considerable measure of success in their work. Not
every student who has gone out from the State Normal Schools
has reflected credit upon them. In fact, it was admitted at a time
when the fight was well on that much of opposition had arisen from
the very poor teaching done by ill-prepared normal school stu-
dents42_ However, the splendid success of the great majority of
the state normal school students*^ has won for these institutions
friends who were once enemies, and has given vmdeniable proof of
the reasonableness of their existence.
NOTES.
1. Senate Journal, 1871, p. 332.
2. House Journal, 1874, pp. 294, 323.
•3. Ibid, 1875, pp. 1351, 1389.
4. Ibid, 1877, pp. 401, 409, 504.
5. Ibid, 1879, pp. 320, 343.
6. Ibid, 1881, p. 301.
7. Kirksville Democrat, March 15, 1883.
Opposition to the State Normal Schools. 93
8. Senate Journal, 1895, pp. 76, 296, 724, 793.
9. Ibid, 1871, p. 332; N. Mo. Register, March 16, 1871.
10. N. Mo. Register, Oct. 7, 1875.
11. Laws of Missouri, 1887, p. 269.
12. Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1889, pp. 1894-5.
13. House Journal, 1895, pp. 360, 761.
14. Ibid, 1897, pp. 309, 857.
15. Ibid, 1899, pp. 100, 360.
16. Ibid, 1901, pp. 110, 262.
17. St. Louis Republic, March 12, 1905.
18. Ibid, March 21, 1905.
19. Normal Message, June 1895, pp. 135-7.
20. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1879-80, p. 31.
21. Report of Legislative Committee, 1889, p. 17.
22. Kirksville Democrat, June 28, 1883.
23. State Superintendent's Report, 1883, p. 108.
24. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1883-84, p. 20.
25. Ibid, 1884-85, p. 22; 1887-88, pp. 22-24; Catalogue, State Normal
School, Warrensburg, 1883-84, p. 124.
26. North Missouri Register, Februar}- 10, 1876; March 1, 1877; Kirks-
ville Democrat, July 19, 1883; August 16, 1883.
27. Kirksville Democrat, August 4, 1887; October 29, 1885.
28. North Missouri Register, March 15, 1877.
29. Catalogue, State Normal School, Warrensburg, 1879-80, p. 23.
The school at Warrensburg actually allowed students to enter without
signing the pledge to teach provided they paid the full tuition which was
something more than that paid by those who signed the pledge.
30. Ibid, 1879-80, pp. 21-22.
31. North Missouri Register, June 21, 1877; Kirksville Journal, July
5, 1877.
32. Kirksville Democrat, March 15, 1883.
33. Senate Journal, 1895, pp. 76, 296.
34. Ibid, 1895, pp. 211, 455.
35. Ibid, 1895, pp. 360, 761.
36. House Journal, 1897, pp. 309, 857.
37. Kirksville Democrat, February 19, 1897.
38. House Journal, 1879, pp. 433-4.
39. Ibid, 1879, p. 441.
40. Ibid, 1879, pp. 493-97.
41. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1879-80, p. 30.
42. North Missouri Register, March 23, 1876.
43. State Superintendent's Report, 1885, p. 13.
CHAPTER VI.
EFFORTS TO EXTEND THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
SYSTEM.
Before a state normal school system was adopted in Mis-
souri, it was the hope of a few at least that the state would ulti-
mately establish several more such schools than we how have.
President Baldwin desired to have six located in different portions
of the state^. State Superintendent Parker at first advocated
eight; later he reduced the number first to six and then to four^.
Others advocated all the way from four to eight schools.
Some of the men who were active prior to 1870 in advocating
the adoption of a system that would embrace a large number of
schools, afterwards made efforts to have additional schools es-
tablished^. It is not known definitely how long they continued
their efforts, nor is it known whether those who have sought in
recent years to extend the system, have been influenced in any
degree by what had been done in earlier years. At any rate, all
attempts to establish more state normal schools have been in line
with the plans proposed by President Baldwin and Superintendent
Parker prior to 1870, and this fact should be borne in mind as we
proceed to see what these attempts were.
The first effort to extend the system met with early success.
On March 22, 1873, a bill was approved whereby provisions were
made for the establishment of a Third District State Normal
School in southeast Missouri*. In October, 1873, the Board of
Regents appointed for this school received bids for its location
from Iron county, from Byrd township in Cape Girardeau county,
and from the city of Cape Girardeau. The Board accepted the
bid made by the city of Cape Girardeau, and on December 3,
1873, it selected the hill known as, Fort B as a site for the build-
ing. It also elected Professor L. H. Cheney of the Second Dis-
trict School as Principal, and Mrs. Frances A. Cheney as Assist-
ant. On December 10, the school opened for the enrollment of
Efforts to Extend the State Normal School System. 95
students in the upper story of the public school building in Cape
Girardeau. It remained there until its building was completed
in January, 1875^.
Since 1873, attempts to establish other state normal schools
have been made in every regular session of the Legislature ex-
cept those of 1879, 1887, 1891, 1899, and 1901. Those sections
of the state that have been particularly active in these attempts
have been the northwestern and the southwestern. Bills to
establish a normal school in the north western part of the state
were introduced in 1874, 1875, 1877, 1887, 1889, 1895, and 19056.
Bills to establish one in the north western part of the state were
introduced in 1874, 1875, 1877, 1883, 1885, 1887, 1889, 1893,
1903, and 1905^. Frequently separate bills providing for the
establishment of normal schools in several different parts of the
state were introduced in the same session. This was the case in
1887 Avhen independent bills for the establishment of state normal
schools in the northwestern, southwestern, and southern parts of
the state, and in St. Louis, were introduced^. Again in 1889
these same bills, except the one for St. Louis, were again intro-
duced^. In one of these it was proposed to establish at once five
new ncrmal schools in different parts of the state^o.
Oftentimes these bills provided for the location of these
proposed schools in certain cities or counties. This is indicative
of the activity of these communities in securing an extension of
the system. The cities that were mentioned in the bills as the
places where the proposed normal schools should be located were
as follows: St. Louis^^, Carthage^^^ Eldorado Springs^^, Lamar^^,
Pierce City^^, in southwest Missouri; SpringfiekU^^ and Marsh-
fiekU'^ in southern Missouri ; Plattsburg^^, Maysville^^, and Mary-
ville^o in northwest Missouri. Efforts were made in behalf of
some of these cities in several different sessions. For example, St.
Loitis was designated as the place for a state normal school in
the bills introduced in the sessions of 1873, 1874, 1885, and 1887;
Plattsburg in 1875 and 1877; Maryville in 1887, 1889, and 1895.;
Vv^grren county and Nodaway county have each been designated
once in different bills as the proper places for such schools. ,.-
98 State Normal School History.
In all thirty two different bills providing for the establish-
ment of additional state normal -schools have been introduced since
1873. Some of these bills never got any further than the com-
mittees to which they were referred. Several of them were
ordered engrossed in one or the other of the Houses, but finally
failed of passage. Some were passed in one house but failed in
the other, as was the case in 1887, 1895, and 1897. Three of
these bills have succeeded in passing both houses. The first
was passed in the session of 1903, and provided for the establish-
ment of a school in southwestern Missouri. This bill was vetoed by
Governor Dockery^i. The other two have just been passed by the
session of 1905, and at the present writing, March, 1905, they are
in the hands of Governor Folk. If he approves them, the two
new schools will probably be established at Webb City and at
Maryville22. The probabilities are he will sign one of them, and
possibly both.
NOTES.
.1 Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1869-70, p. 24.
2. State Superintendent's Report, 1868, pp. 17-20; 1869, pp. 18-22;
1870, p. 47.
3. American Journal of Education, February, 1874, p. 11; March 1875,
p. 8.
4. Laws of Missouri, 1873, pp. 79-81.
5. Catalogue, State Normal School, Cape Girardeau, 1873-74, p. 12;
North Missouri Register, October 9, 1873.
6. House Journal, 1874, pp. 556, 1048; 1875, pp. 604, 661; 1877, pp.
124, 137, 171, 178, 1027; 1887, pp. 642, 1042; Senate Journal, 1887, pp. 184,
379; 1889, pp. 52, 477; House Journal, 1889, pp. 79, 1010; 1895, pp. 142,
1223; St. Louis Republic, March 14, 1905.
7. Senate Journal, 1874, p. 176; 1875, pp. 170, 262; House Journal,
1875, pp. 335, 592, 595; 1877, pp. 126, 158, 881, 1039; 1883, pp. 126, 881;
1885, pp. 508, 715; 1887, pp. 100, 805; Senate Journal, 1887, pp. 382, 401,718;
House Journal, 1889, pp. 79, 1010; Senate Journal, 1889, pp. 52, 477; 1893,
pp. 37, 322; House Journal, 1893, pp. 74, 635; 1903, p. 961; St. Louis Republic,
Maich 20, 1905.
8. House Journal, 1887, pp. 195, 697; Senate Journal, 1887, pp. 184,
379, 382, 718.
Efforts to Extend the State Normal School System. 97
9. House Journal, 1889, pp. 29, 30, 33, 79, 135, 1009, 1010.
10. Ibid, 1887, pp. 195, 697.
11. Senate Journal, 1873, p. 413; House Journal, 1874, p. 79; 1885, pp.
221, 1031; 1887, pp. 195, 617.
12. House Journal, 1875, pp. 355, 592, 595.
13. Senate Journal, 1887, pp. 382, 718.
14. Ibid, 1889, pp. 52, 477.
15. House Journal, 1897, pp. 390, 895.
16. Ibid, 1875, pp. 355, 395.
17. Ibid, 1887, pp. 195, 617.
18. Ibid, 1875, p. 661; 1877, pp. 124, 137.
19. Ibid, 1887, pp. 184, 379, 642, 1042.
20. Senate Journal, 1887, pp. 184, 379; 1889, pp. 52, 477; House Journal,
1895, pp. 142, 1223; St. Louis Republic, March 14, 1905.
21. House Journal, 1903, p. 961.
22. St. Louis Republic, March 14, 1905.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CERTIFICATION OF THE GRADUATES OF THE
STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.
By virtue of laws passed by the Missouri Legislature in 1887
and in 1889, the diploma which is conferred on graduation from
any of the Normal Schools of the state, entitles the possessor
to teach in the public schools of the state without further exami-
nation, and the certificate which is conferred on the completion
of the elementary course, entitles the holder to teach two years
in the public schools of the state^. An interesting bit of his-
tory is connected with these certification laws.
At the time when the state adopted the normal school sys-
tem, the authority to examine teachers and to grant certificates
was vested in the State Superintendent and the County Superin-
tendents, and remained solely with them until 1887. The certi-
ficates conferred by the State Superintendent entitled the holders
to teach without further examination. Those conferred by the
County Superintendents entitled the holders to teach in the
counties for which they were given for a limited period of time.
They were of two grades, corresponding roughly, according to
the requirements, to the second and third grade county certi-
ficates of todays.
Up to 1887 those completing the different courses in the three
State Normal Schools who sought to teach, .were subject to the
above rules and regulations, unless special arrangements were
made in their behalf by the State Superintendent.
The first^ instance on record of any such special arrangement
is a letter from State Superintendent Monteith to the County
Superintendents, dated July 12, 1872. In this letter Superin-
tendent Monteith recommended to the County Superintendents
that they "honor the Normal diploma by granting to its pos-
sessor a certificate without examination "*. The term diploma
seems to have been applied at that time to both the certificate
The Certification of the Graduates. 99
that was conferred on the completion of the two and the three
years' courses, and the diploma that was conferred on the com-
.pletion of the four years' course^. If the County Superintend-
ents followed this recommendation, the state normal school grad-
uates in the various courses received certificates to teach which
were good for not more than two years.
As far as is kno-v^/n, it was not until State Superintendent
Shannon's administration that certificates were conferred directly
by the State Superintendent upon those completing the various
courses in the three Normal Schools of the state. Beginning irt
July, 1878, he issued certificates to those completing the chfferent
courses of these schools, and kept up this practice until the close
of his second administration in December, 18826. Upon those
completing the two and the three years' courses, he conferred cer-
tificates which entitled them to teach two and three years re-
spectively. Upon those completing the four years' course, he
conferred a life certificate'^.
It should be noted that it was the custom at the time for each
of the State Normal Schools of Missouri to have its candidates for
the diplomas and certificates of the school examined first by the
faculty and then by an examining committee composed of the
State Superintendent and the Presidents of the three schools.
This arrangement seems to have been made first in 1875-76^.
It was continued for ten years, that is down to 1884-85 inclusive^.
Though the examinations by the committee were primarily for
the purpose of determining who should receive diplomas and cer-
tificates from the schools, they served secondarily the purpose of
permitting the State Superintendent to determine personally the
fitness of these candidates for the various certificates he might
grant. The announcement was made regularly in the catalogues
from 1879-80 to 1885-86 inclusive, that those passing the examina-
tions of the committee would, "upon application to the State
Superintendent, expressly declaring their intention to teach in
the public schools of Missouri," receive certificates to teach ac-
cording to their qualificationsio.
In the fall of 1883, it appeared as though this arrangement
L.ofC.
100 State Normal School History.
would be discontinued as far as the school at Kirksville was con-
cerned. In January, 1883, W. E. Coleman became State Superin-
tendent. Owing to some personal matters between him and Pres-
ident Blanton, he announced that he would discontinue
granting certificates to the graduates in the various courses of
this school^i. Notwithstanding this announcement, Superin-
tendent Coleman continued to grant certificates to those who
passed the examinations of the committee^^.
These examinations by the committee were decidedly un-
popular with the students and the faculty of the school. In
May, 1885, the faculty adopted resolutions condemning them
and asking the State Superintendent to adopt another plan for
certificating the graduates of the schooU^.
In June, 1885, the State Superintendent and the Presidents
of the State Normal Schools agreed upon a plan whereby the old
system of examinations by the committee was abolished, and a
written examination near the close of school by the State Super-
intendent was to be substituted^*. This arrangement was car-
ried into execution only once, that is, in June, 1886. Before
another year rolled around, the matter had been taken out of the
hands of the State Superintendent by the Legislature.
When the General Assembly met in January, 1887, plans had
already been laid for securing legislation which would settle the
question of certificating the graduates of the State Normal Schools.
A bill covering the matter was drafted by President Blanton, and
was lobbied through largely by him. It passed the Assembly
without any particular difficulty and was approved on March
24, 1887. The act provided that "the normal diploma conferred
upon completing a four years' course shall entitle its holder to teach
school in any county in this state without further examination,
until annulled by the Board of Regents or Curators granting
the same, or by the County School Commissioner, or State Super-
intendent of Schools, for incompetency, cruelty, immorality,
drunkenness, or neglect of duty, and the graded certificate now
granted upon the completion of the two years' course shall, in
like manner, entitle the holder to teach the several branches of
The Certification of the Graduates 101
study named therein for a period of four years from the date of
graduation, unless such certificate be sooner annulled by said
Board, or County School Commissioner, or State Superintendent
of Schools for one or more of the causes above specified/' Pro-
vision was also made for the application of the provisions of this
act "to the Normal Department of the University of Missouri,
and of Lincoln Institute "i^. This law was amended in 1889 so
as to reduce the term of years that the holder of an elementary
certificate might teach from four years to two ^6.
This legislation was a matter of great gratification to the
friends of the State Normal Schools, and especially pleasing to
the students. Immediately on the approval of the first certi-
fication bill, the students of the Kirksville school presented to
President Blanton a very fine cane as a token of their apprecia-
tion of his activity in securing its adoption^^.
Some account has already been given of the attacks that
have been made upon these certification laws in the various
sessions of the Legislature. Whether they will be renewed in
the near future, it is not possible to foretell.
NOTES.
1. Laws of Missouri, 1887, p. 269; Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1889,
pp. 1894-95.
2. Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1870, pp. 1251, 1260-61.
3. In June, 1870, State Superintendent Parker issued state certificates
to the young men of the Nortli Missouri Normal School who completed the
course corresponding to the elementary course of tlie State Normal Schools
of today. The certificates granted by the State Superintendent were
printed on the reverse side of the "diplomas" that were conferred by the
school on these youug men. This is reaUy the first instance on record of
the State Superintendent recognizing the "diploma" of a Normal Scliool
in Missouri, but as the diploma thus recognized came from a private institu-
tion, it is disregarded in the account that is given in this chapter concerning
tlie certification of graduates of the State Normal Schools.
4. Catalogue, State Normal School, KirksAdUe, 1873-74, p. 24.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid, 1878-79, pp. 21-22. See Catalogues from 1880-81 to 1883-84
in loco.
102 State Normal School History.
7. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1879-80, pp. 18-19.
8. Minutes of Faculty of State Normal School, Kirksville, May 18 and
19, 1876; North Missouri Register, Feb. 24, and March 15, 1876.
9. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1876-77, p. 21; 1877-78,
p. 22; 1878-79, pp. 21-22; 1879-80, p. 16; 1880-81, p. 16; 1881-82, p. 16; 1882-
83, p. 17; 1883-84, p. 20; 1884-85, p. 16.
10. Ibid, 1879-80, p. 16; 1885-86, p. 16; also from 1880-81 to 1884-85
inclusive, in loco.
11. Kirksville Journal, Nov. 23 and 30, 1883.
12. Letter from State Superintendent Carrington, Jan. 20, 1905, in the
archives of the school.
13. Minutes of Faculty of State Normal School, Kirksville, May 11, 1885.
14. Ibid, Sept. 10, 1877 to Sept. 6, 1886, p. 286.
15. Laws of Missouri, 1887, p. 269.
16. Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1889, pp. 1894-5.
17. Kirksville Democrat, March 31, 1887.
18. See chapter on "Opposition to the State Normal School System."
CHAPTER VIII.
THE COURSES OF STUDY.
A good deal of space has been used in relating the history of
the founding of the school and of its struggle for existence. It
is now time for us to turn from these matters to its curriculum,
which after all is the vital part of the institution. The story of
its founding and its effort to maintain itself may be ever so
interesting, but it is meaningless unless the school has been en-
gaged in such work as to justify its existence. It is, therefore,
necessary, if we are to understand its real history, to spend some
time in examining its courses of study and its means for giv-
ing instruction in these courses.
The courses of instruction of the school when it was estab-
lished as a private institution purported to cover the whole field
of school work from the primary department to that of the col-
lege inclusive. The elementary work was done in what was
known as the Model School which was divided into three depart-
ments, the Grammar, the Intermediate, and the Primary.
According to the announcements made in the early cat-
alogues of the school concerning the "Model", it had been
established "in order that there might be a school exhibiting the
best methods of teaching, discipline, and classification which the
Normal students could visit, and in which they could take part
as instructors"^ Apparently the ''Model" was related to the
school then in much the same way as the Training School is re-
lated to the school today. In reality it sustained a very different
relation. In the first place, the teaching in the ''Model" was done
entirely by regular members of the faculty and not by the stu-
dents. In the second place, it was attended not only by children
whose parents lived in Kirks ville, but by many who were grow-
ing up into manhood and womanhood, some of whom came from
quite a distance. This was particularly true of those in the
grammar department, as will be seen from glancing at the lists
of students who were in the "ModeP'^. The reason for this con-
dition is very obvious. The public school system of the state was
104
State Normal School History.
very poor at the time, and many boys and girls had not had the
opportunity of obtaining the elementary training that was neces-
sary in order to proceed with the work in the normal department.
Moreover, the civil war which had closed only two years before
the opening of the school, had delayed many from making a start
in their education. The "Moder' served, therefore, as a means
of preparing a very mixed class of students who needed
Profesi^or Pickler's class in Algebra, 1867-68.
(.Reproduced inexact size from a faded i^hotograph.)
Top row, reading to the right, A. J. Hynds, H. W. Beatty, H. C. Langley, C.
Pierce, B. F. Heiny, J. T. Casper: bottom row, M. W. Smith, T. B. DeWitt, J. M.
Swallow, A. Bowen, V. Stine, S. M. Pickler.
preparation for work in the normal department, in addition to
affording the students of that department an opportunity to ob-
serve the methods used by skilled instructors in elementary work^.
Above the Model School several courses of study were
arranged. The most extensive was the Modern College and
Normal Course which covered a period of four years. The sub-
jects in this. course were arranged in six groups as follows*:
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The Courses of Study. 107
This course was prescribed for those wishing to secure the
highest degree offered by the school. There was practically no
election of studies allowed. It is true it was announced that the
ancient or the modern languages might be taken in place of the
higher mathematics^, but the provisions for giving instructions
in these languages were so uncertain in the early years of the school
as to make this substitution or election practically impossible.
For those who could not remain to complete the four years'
Modern College and Normal Course, an abridged course extend-
ing through two years was arranged by omitting the "subordi-
nate subjects." What was meant by "subordinate subjects"
was not stated. To those who could remain only a short time,
presumably less than two years, it was permitted to select those
studies which they might think would be of the most value to
them^.
During the first year of the school there was added a Busi-
ness Course which included instruction in bookkeeping, com-
mercial arithmetic, commercial law, penmanship, phonography,
English grammar, political economy, practical teaching, elocu-
tion, and orthography. This course extended through one year,
and instruction in its subjects was given by various members of
the faculty and Mr. F. M. Harrington who was announced to
teach commercial law'^.
A series of degrees was arranged. To those who should
successfully complete the sophomore year in any of the college
courses, the degree of Bachelor or Mistress of Science would be
granted, and to such who had taught and managed a school suc-
cessfully for one term, the degree of Bachelor or Mistress of Ele-
mentary Didactics. To those who should complete any four
years 'course in the collegiate department, the degree of Bachelor of
Arts would be given, and to such as had been teachers the additional
degree of Bachelor or Mistress of Scientific Didactics. To those
teachers who should attend two terms, a certificate would be
given^.
As far as is known degrees- were conferred only once while
the school was a private institution. In June, 1870, a class of
108 State Normal School History.
fifteen young men graduated in a course corresponding to the
elementary course of today. Upon each member of the class was
conferred the degree of Bachelor of Science and Elementary
Didactics^, a degree that seems to have been manufactured by
combining the two kinds that were offered to those who should
complete the sophomore year of any of the college courses.
The claim of the school to give instruction of the rank of
college work has led to some investigation of the matter. A
comparison of the courses offered by the school for 1868-69
with those offered by the State University for the same year^o
has been made, and the results have led unhesitatingly to the
conclusion that the school was attempting to do more than was
within its power. In point of requirements for admission and
for graduation, and in point of equipments, such as faculty, libraries,
and laboratories, the school was far behind the University.
Doubtless an examination of the catalogues of the other insti-
tutions of higher learning that were in existence in the state at
that time, would show that the school was also behind them in
the same points. Because of these facts the school may be
criticised for pretending to do what was beyond its equipments
and capacity, and for granting degrees which represented work it
could not and did not do.
Notwithstanding this criticism, it must be said, in justice to
the school and those engaged in its founding, that the work in
certain lines was very thorough. This was particularly true of
the courses in mathematics, Enghsh, and subjects pertaining to
pedagogy. It was the aim of President Baldwin to give the stu-
dents a strong academic training on which to base the training
in teaching, and though the courses of study of the school have
been considerably changed since the institution was founded,
they have always borne the strongly academic character that
was given them at the very start. The school was established
primarily for the training of teachers. But from the very outset
it was seen that this work consisted not merely in instructing
them how to teach, but in a very large degree what to teach. In
some states where the educational facilities are of uniformly
The Courses of Study. 109
high grade the normal schools may confine their work to instruc-
tion ' in pedagogy and to practice teaching. But even under
such favorable conditions, it is considered best by very high
authorities to make the work of the normal schools both acade-
mic and pedagogical. This view is based upon the fact that
many of the best methods of teaching are learned by the stu-
dents by being under good teachers whose only duty is to give
academic instruction. If this doctrine of the function of the
normal schools is sound at a time when the educational condition
of the state is fairly good in most of its parts, it was much more
sound at a time when the educational condition of the state was
very poor as it was when Professor Baldwin came to Missouri.
The State Normal Schools of Missouri have been uniformly saved
from the pedagogical heresy that their function has been merely
to instruct in the methods of teaching. For this salvation a great
deal of credit is due to the founder of the normal school system
of the state. Perhaps it may be said by some that the bad edu-
cational conditions of Missouri in 1867 determined Professor
Baldwin's course in the matter, so that he could not choose to do
otherwise than combine academic and pedagogical training.
Granting even that, it is much to his credit that he had the good
sense to see what was necessary in order to make the normal
school work sound. This policy of his was of great value
to the state, for it is possibly an undisputed fact that the educa-
tional ideas he began to put into operation in his school at Kirks-
ville nearly forty years ago, have contributed more than any other
one thing to give to the state normal school system of Missouri
the form that it now has^^.
When the school was adopted as a state institution in De-
cember, 1870, the Board of Regents made no immediate change
in the courses of study that had been in operation in the school
since it had opened in 1867. The Board, however, arranged
shortly afterwards that President Baldwin should make what-
ever changes he thought desirable, the same to go into effect at
the beginning of the new school year^2_ j^ order that the
changes that were made may be seen, the course of study that
went into operation in the fall of 1871 is here given^^.
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114 State Normal School History.
A comparison of this new course with the old one, presented
on pagesl05-6, will show that they were much the same in outline,
the chief differences being in the arrangement of the order of the
subjects in the different groups, especially the professional group.
It should be noted, however, that Latin to the extent of two
terms, that is one-half year, was required of all in the sophomore
year, and that two more years might be taken by any one so
electing in lieu of the higher mathematics.
As far as it can be determined from the catalogue announce-
ments, it seems that the work in the various groups was some-
what better than it had been in previous years. In two of the
groups some noted improvements were made. The science work
was beginning to be organized on a laboratory basis. The announce-
ment was made that a "sufficient" sum of money had been ap-
propriated by the Regents for the purchase of "all necessary
chemical and philosophical apparatus," and that a hbrary had
been founded. At the same time friends of the school were
requested to make donations of books, periodicals, and specimens
of natural history^^.
The professional work of the school was considerably im-
proved in both its theoretical and practical phases. The theoret-
ical phase was improved through a rearrangement of the order in
which the pedagogical subjects were to be pursued. The prac-
tical phase was developed through an increase in the methods
whereby the students were to gain more experience in the work
of teaching. Accordingly the following methods were devised^^.
1. The Model School Method. This provided that the stu-
dents should observe the operations of a graded school and take
part therein as teachers. As has already been seen this sort
of method had been in operation, theoretically at least, since
the opening of the school.
2. The Normal Class Method. This provided that for one
day in every two weeks certain students appointed from time to
time should act as teachers of the Normal classes under the di-
rection of the regular teachers.
3. The Training Class Method. This provided that during
The Courses of Study. 115
certain terms the principal should present particular methods to
his entire class and then divide it into sections of convenient size.
These sections were to meet separately in various rooms for
reciprocal practice, and later they were to meet as a class for re-
ports, criticisms, discussions, and suggestions.
4. The Reciprocal Method. This provided that classes in
all branches should be divided into sections and that for a short
time during nearly every recitation one member of each sec-
tion should act as the teacher of the class.
5. The Faculty Method. This provided that the members
of the senior class and other students of marked ability and pro-
ficiency should be selected as members of the faculty. They
were to attend all the meetings of the faculty, aid in managing
the school, and conduct one class each, during two or more terms.
The success with which these methods were carried out
varied. The model school method was evidently never carried
out completely, as the "Model," up to the time it was abolished
in December, 1873, was never organized so that the students could
participate in its teaching. As far as its pedagogical work was
concerned, it remained solely a place for observing methods of
teaching. It was not until the Model School was restored in
November, 1882, that it became a practice school for prospective
teachers. That feature of the faculty method which permitted
the student teachers to participate in the deliberations of the
faculty, was not long maintained. However, students have been
used as assistants in the various departments from that time to
the present. Of the other methods some use seems to have
been made as late as 1880-81 at least^^, but with what success
it cannot be said.
In addition to these changes which were made in 1871-72
one other should be noted. The business course was abolished,
but book-keeping was made a required study and was regularly
included in the courses of study until 1878-79. Since that year
book-keeping has been occasionally required, but the business
course has never been restored.
Under this new regime four degrees were to be offered,
116 State Normal School History.
two of which were undergraduate and two, graduate. The degree
of Bachelor of the Elements was to be conferred upon those gradu-
ating in the elementary course, and the degree of Bachelor of
the Sciences and Arts upon those graduating in the scientific
course. The degree of Master of the Elements and Teacher of
Elementary Didactics was to be conferred upon those who taught
successfully during two full years after taking the degree of Bach-
elor of the Elements, and the degree of Master of the Sciences and
Teacher of Scientific Didactics was to be conferred on those who
had taught two full years after taking the degree of Bachelor of
the Sciences and Arts. In addition to these degrees, the one
year certificate was to be given to those who completed the
studies of the first year^^.
During the period from September, 1871 to June, 1881,
when President Baldwin left the school, a few changes were made
in the courses of study, some of which were rather important.
In the first place, the elocution and the art groups were con-
solidated in 1875-76, and thereafter less attention was given to
the subjects contained in them^^.
In the second place, two years of Latin became definitely
established in 1875-76 as a required part of the courses of studyi^.
Prior to that time Latin had occupied a very unimportant place
in the curriculum, the maximum amount required having been
only one-half year. From 1875-76 to 1883-84 every student
graduating in the advanced course, or the four years' course,
was required to have at least two years of Latin.
In the third place, the Model School was abolished in De-
cember, 1873, owing to a lack of patronage and the heavy ex-
pense incurred in maintaining it^^. It was not reorganized until
November, 188221. Its abolition in 1873 affected the pedagogical
work of the school very little, as it has already been shown that
it had afforded no opportunity for practice teaching on the part
of the students. Experience in teaching was obtained by them
during this period of ten years when the school was without a
''Model", by means of the training class, the normal class, and
the faculty methods as were outlined above. "Normal Insti-
The Courses OF Study. 117
tutes" were held by the faculty for a number of years, at least
from 1875-76 to 1877-78, for the purpose of discussing various
educational problems and exhibiting certain methods of teach-
ing22. The more advanced students seem to have attended these
institutes at least for a while.
In the fourth place a new series of degrees was arranged for
in 1871-72 to take the place of the series devised in June, 1871.
This new series included three undergraduate degrees and one
graduate degree. Upon those completing the course of the first
two years, the degree of Bachelor of Elementary Didactics would
be conferred; upon those completing a course of three years,
the degree of Bachelor of Scientific Didactics; upon those com-
pleting the full course of four years, the degree of Bachelor of
Philosophic Didactics^^^ The first two of these degrees were
given regularly until the close of the year 1880-81. After that
they were discontinued for good. The third of these degrees was
changed in 1873-74 to Bachelor of Arts and Philosophic Didac-
tics, and in 1875-76 to Bachelor of Arts and Didactics. This
degree was conferred regularly until 1883-84^4. The certificate
for one year's work was provided as usual^s
In addition to these undergraduate degrees, arrangement
was made in 1871-72 for granting an "honorary diploma" to such
graduates as continued their studies and taught successfully
two full years^^. No mention is made concerning the degree that
such a diploma conferred until 1874-75, when it was announced
that the degree of Master of the Course Completed would be
conferred upon those obtaining the graduate diploma^^. In
1876-77, an attempt was made to create a post-graduate depart-
ment. A course of study for graduates consisting of subjects in
pedagogy, literature and histary, mathematics, natural sciences,
Latin and philology, and art, was prescribed. It was said that
the course might be successfully completed in two years by gradu-
ates while at their work teaching, or in one year if they were in at-
tendance at the school. To such as would complete this course
the degree of Master of Arts and Professional Teacher would be
given. The object of this course were "to stimulate the gradu-
118 State Normal School History.
ates to continuous and well directed effort and to fit teachers for
special positions "28. In 1879-80 the degree was changed from
Master of Arts and Professional Teacher to Master of Arts and
Didactics^Q.
This custom of the school in granting post-graduate degrees
on the basis of successful teaching and private study was in accord
with the custom of most of the schools of the time. In fact there
are some coheges which yet grant post-graduate degrees on a
similar basis. This school has only recently made its graduate
degrees represent real and tangible resident work.
The two, three, and four years' courses appear to have be-
come fairly satisfactory to the faculty by 1875-76. In the cat-
alogues for 1874-75 and 1875-76 mention is made of the careful
revisions of the courses that had been made in the previous years,
and the view is repeatedly expressed from 1875-76 to 1880-81
that they were well adapted to the needs of the students and
the state^o.
In the catalogue for 1874-75 mention is made of a Sub-Nor-
mal or Preparatory Departmental. This is the first time such a
department is ever mentioned under this name. The work of
the Sub-Normal Department as announced in the catalogue for
1874-75 was to extend through two years. It included such
subjects as "Common School Arithmetic, Geography, U. S. His-
tory, Reading, Penmanship, Drawing, Vocal Music, Grammar,
Composition, Elements of Botany, Zoology, etc." Many of
these subjects appeared in the tabulated courses in the same
catalogue as studies in the Freshman year.
What intention the authorities had in arranging this course,
is not known. Whatever it may have been, the course was not
maintained long. In February, 1875, it was announced that it
would be abolished at the beginning of the fourth term of the
current yearns. As no further mention of this department was
made in the catalogues until 1885-86, we may conclude that it
was aboHshed at the time announced. The majority of the sub-
jects constituting the outlined preparatory course of 1874-75
remained until 1885-86 as freshman studies.
The Courses of Study. 119
Beginning in 1872-73; the students were classified in sections
which were lettered A, B, C, D, E, F. Section A was composed
of the students of the fourth year, the seniors, and Section B
of those of the third year, the juniors. Section C was composed
of those of the third and fourth terms of the second year, and
Section D of those of the first and second terms of that year.
Section E was composed of those of the third and fourth terms
of the first year, and Section F of those of the first and second
terms of that yearns. This classification continued until 1897-
98 when it was displaced by the terms seniors, juniors, soph-
omores, and freshmen.
During President Blanton's administration which extended
from September, 1882 to June, 1891, three very important changes
were made in the courses of study.
The first of these changes was brought about by requiring
of all who sought to graduate a certain amount of practice teach-
ing in the Model School which was re-established in November,
1882. At first the amount required of every applicant for either
a certificate or a diploma was one hour per day during twenty
weeks or one-half of the year in which he graduated^'*. In
1885-86 the amount was increased to four hours a clay for twenty
weeks3^,but this was evidently found to be too burdensome for
in the next year the amount of practice teaching was reduced
from four hours a day for twenty weeks to four hours a day for
ten weeks^s. This amount was not altered until after 1898-99.
The second of the changes made in the courses of study in
President Blanton's administration was the increase in the amount
of Latin required. We have seen that in 1875-76 it was arranged
that two years of Latin should be required of all students gradu-
ating in the advanced course. In 1883-84 this requirement was
raised from two to three years. One of these three years of Latin
was required of those graduating in the elementary course^^.
This arrangement remained practically the same throughout
President Blanton's administration.
The third change was brought about by the introduction
in 1885-86 of a preparatory course consisting of two terms of
120 State Normal School History.
ten weeks each. This course was arranged by taking certain
subjects from the work of the first year and requiring them for
entrance to the normal courses^s. In 1886-87 this preparatory
course was extended to four terms., or one year, by taking still
other subjects from the first year. It then consisted of arith-
metic, geography, grammar, composition, music, physiology,
reading, and United States history. The classes in this depart-
ment were divided into sections H and G^^.
This process of taking certain subjects from the first year's
work in order to form a preparatory course, necessitated moving
down certain subjects in the other three years to the years just
below. This re-arrangement gave room for the additional work
that had been required in Latin and in practice teaching since
1883-84. Attempts had been made to carry this additional work
in the years 1883-84 and 1884-85 without lengthening the time
of the course, but doubtless the task proved to be a difficult one
and the result unsatisfactory. When the requirements in prac-
tice teaching were quadrupled in 1885-86, it was found absolutely
necessary to make room for all this extra work. This room was
found by forming the preparatory course of one half year in 1885-
86, and in extending it to one year in 1886-87.
The three changes above outlined resulted in raising the
standard of the normal courses quite materially. The years
during which these changes were made form, therefore, a rather
important epoch in the history of the school.
The effort made during President Blanton's administration
to interest the graduates of the high schools, academies, and col-
leges in the strictly professional studies of the school must not
be passed without some mention. In 1885-86 the professional
studies of both the elementary and advanced courses were so
arranged in the schedule of daily recitations as to permit
graduates of other institutions to take them in the course of a
single year^o. This arrangement was maintained throughout the
remainder of President Blanton's administration. Those who
took advantage of this arrangement were entitled to the regular
certificates or diplomas of the school provided they passed sat-
The Courses of Study. 121
isfactory examinations on the literary subjects of the courses.
In 1892-93, the second year of President Dobson's adminis-
tration, an attempt was made to expand upon President Blan-
ton's scheme. Two special professional courses, one elementary
and one advanced, were offered to graduates of other institutions.
Each of the courses covered a half year's work. In each there was
required a certain amount of reading in pedagogical literature in
addition to the regular class work in professional subjects. On
the completion of these courses the certificate or the diploma was
to be issued, provided satisfactory grades on the academic sub-
jects had been submitted from other schools or had been made
by special examinational.
These schemes were never popular with the persons for
whom they were designed. Students coming from high schools
and academies found it desirable and necessary to enter the
courses regularly and take academic and professional subjects
together. The dropping of these schemes after 1892-93 is suffi-
cient proof that there was no demand for them.
In the matter of degress, the only change made under Presi-
dent Blanton was the substitution in 1883-84 of the degrees of
Bachelor of Scientific Didactics and Master of Scientific Didactics
for Bachelor of Arts and Didactics and Master of Arts and Didac-
tics respectively^^. These degrees remained until 1902-03*3.
No change of importance was made in the course of study
during President Dobson's administration. It is true that in
June, 1899, at the close of his administration, a very important
change was made, but as the execution of it fell to his successor.
President Kirk, and as the change was not in accordance with
President Dobson's convictions, it may be best to consider it as
a part of President Kirk's administration.
Reference is here made to the substitution of two prescribed
courses, called the Latin and the English courses, in place of the
old single prescribed course**. Prior to this time there was only
one way to graduation. Every body went through the same
course which was prescribed from beginning to end. The new
courses that were adopted by the Board of Begents for the school
122 State Normal School History.
in June, 1899, had been agreed upon by State Superintendent
Carrington and Presidents Dobson, Howe, and McGee of the
three State Normal Schools at a meeting which they held in Jeffer-
son City in the spring of 1899'*5. In justice to President Dobson
it must be emphasized that he opposed the adoption of the
new courses throughout the entire meeting, and gave his consent to
them only when they had been adopted by a majority. The
prime mover in the matter was State Superintendent Carrington.
The reasons for adopting these new courses were at least
two. In the first place, the courses of study of the schools were
somewhat unlike and growing more so every year, and it was
thought desirable to have them as nearly alike as possible. The
first instance on record of an attempt having been made to bring
about uniformity in the courses of the these schools was in De-
cember, 1875, when a conference was held by State Superintend-
ent Shannon and the Presidents of the three schools^^. At this
conference a uniform course of study for the three schools was
agreed upon and afterwards adopted. This made practically
little change in the course already in operation in this institu-
tion's. Apparently the three schools maintained their courses
with some degree of uniformity for a number of years after this
agreement of December, 1875^8, but later they began to differ.
Frequent attempts had been made prior to this conference of
1899 to bring about uniformity once more, but with no success.
In the second place it was found desirable to make it possible
for the students to graduate without requiring . them to take
Latin. To this end a course was arranged which omitted Latin
altogether, and increased the work in history and science. This
course was called the English course.
In making these changes the State Normal Schools of Mis-
souri were only falling into line with the higher institutions of
learning of the country which were quite universally adopting
the elective system. As yet the principle of election was adopted
by them in a most circumscribed way. Election then was be-
tween two courses, nothing more. Real elective courses did not
come until a few years later.
The Courses of Study. 123
The courses as instituted in 1899-1900 were as follows*^:
SUB-NORMAL SCHOOL COURSE.
FIRST SEMESTER.
Reading, Political and Physical Geography, Mental and Practical Arith-
metic, U. S. History and American Classics.
SECOND SEMESTER.
English Grammar, Ph^^siology and Hygiene, Elementary Algebra, Civil
Government and American Classics.
(Drill Classes in Orthoepy, Orthography and Penmanship are organized
for those who are noticeably deficient in these subjects.)
NORMAL SCHOOL COURSES.
FRESHMAN YEAR.
FIRST SEMESTER.
LATIN COURSE. ENGLISH COURSE.
1. English Classics. 1. English Classics.
2. Latin. 2. Physical Geography.
3. Algebra. 3. Algebra.
4. Reading and Voice Culture. 4. Reading and Voice Culture.
5. School Economy. 5. School Economy.
SECOND SEMESTER.
1. English Classics. 1. English Classics.
2. Latin. 2. Agriculture.
3. Plane Geometry. 3. Plane Geometry.
4. Drawing. 4. Drawing.
5. Psychology and Principles of Edu- 5. Psychology and Principles of Edu-
cation, cation.
SOPHOMORE YEAR.
FIRST SEMESTER.
1. English Composition and Analysis. 1. English Composition and Analysis.
2. Latin. 2. Ancient History.
3. Biology. 3. Biology.
4. Vocal Music. 4. Vocal Music.
5. Pedagogy. 5. Pedagogy.
SECOND SEMESTER.
1. Rhetoric. 1. Rhetoric.
2. Latin. 2. Mediaeval and Modern History.
3. Biology. 3. Biology.
4. Drawing or Vocal Music. 4. Drawing or Vocal Music.
5. Observation and Practice in Train- 5. Observation and Practice in Train-
ing School. ing School.
124 State Normal School Histok^ .
JUNIOR YEAR.
FIRST SEMESTER.
1. English History. 1. English History.
2. Latin. 2. English.
3. Chemistry. 3. Chemistry.
4. Solid Geometry. 4. Solid Geometry.
5. Mental Science and Child Study. 5. Mental Science and Child Study.
SECOND SEMESTER.
1. American History and Government. 1. American History and Government.
2. Latin. 2. Enghsh.
3. Chemistry. 3. Chemistry.
4. Plane Trigonometry. 4. Plane Trigonometry.
5. Moral Science and Graded Schools. 5. Moral Science and Graded Schools.
SENIOR YEAR.
FIRST SEMESTER.
1. English Literature. 1. English Literature.
2. Latin. 2. Political Economy.
3. Ph5^sics. 3. Physics.
4. Higher Algebra. 4. Higher Algebra.
5. Observation and Practice in Train- 5. Observation and Practice in Train-
ing School. ing School.
SECOND SEMESTER.
1. English Literature. 1. English Literature.
2. Latin. 2. Drawing.
3. Phj'sics. 3. Physics.
4. History and Philosophy of Educa- 4. History and Philosophy of Educa-
tion, tion.
5. Observation and Practice in Train- 5. Observation and Practice in Train-
ing School. ing School.
Since the beginning of President Kirk's administration
several very important changes in the courses have been made.
In 1900-01 the sub-normal department was reduced from
one year to a half year by discontinuing instruction in certain
subjects and by confining the work to reading, physical geogra-
phy, arithmetic, U. S. history, grammar, and physiology^o. This
forced those students who needed instruction below these sub-
jects to get it elsewhere.
Attempts were soon made to extend the principle of elec-
tion that had been introduced into the new courses of 1899-1900,
PROFKSSUK J. T. (SMITH
MISS HELEN HALLIBURTON
MISS KATE ROWLAND
MISS HATTIE COMINGS
Some of the Members of the Faculty Undeii President Baldwin.
(From photographs taken while they were in the Pchool.
125 State Normal School History.
The first result of these attempts was the announcement in the
catalogue for 1901-02 that two additional courses which should
be called Latin Course II and English Course II, were in con-
templation for the year following. These new courses differed
from the old ones in allowing a little election between certain
subjects in certain years. For example, the Latin Course II
permitted a student to choose either geometry or zoology in the
sophomore year, either geometry or trigonometry in the junior
year, and physics, or trigonometry and college algebra, or Eng-
lish and American constitutional history in the senior year. The
English Course II permitted a student to elect college algebra
and analytics or English and American constitutional history
in the second year. In both courses the student could choose
manual training, drawing, or music in the sophomore year.
At the same time an elective course was announced as under
advisement. This proposed to require of each student three
units of pedagogical work, and permit him to elect fourteen units
of academic work and two units of drill work such as reading and
physical culture, manual training, drawing, etc. A unit was
defined as a year's work, five hours a week, in any subject^^.
In 1902-03 the new Latin and English courses and the elec-
tive course went into operation^^^ gy this act the school placed
itself squarely abreast the times as far as the elective principle
is concerned. Like most other institutions it adopted the elec-
tive principle gradually, and in so doing produced the least dis-
turbance. The old Latin and English courses were retained
when the changes were made in 1902-03 for the purpose of per-
mitting those who had begun them to finish them. They and the
new Latin and English courses are retained at the present time as
convenient forms for those students to follow who do not care to
arrange for themselves a purely elective course.
In April, 1904, a conference consisting of State Superintend-
ent Carrington and Presidents Kirk, Craighead, and Dearmont
of the State Normal Schools was held in St. Louis for the purpose
of planning a revision of the courses of study of these schools.
Notwithstanding the uniform courses that had been adopted only
The Courses of Study. 127
five years previous the schools were again becoming divergent
in their curricula. In fact the uniform courses drawn up in that
conference had been modified slightly by each of the schools at
the time of their adoption in order to suit local conditions, and
had afterwards been considerably changed. It was felt by
several members of the conference that it was to the best interests
of the schools to have the courses more nearly uniform than they
were. Moreover, it was felt that some changes should be made
in the divisions of the school year, the credit given for high school
work, etc. Hence this conference was called.
After much debate, the conference agreed upon a plan
which was based upon another that had been worked out by the
faculty of the Warrensburg school. In justice to President Kirk
it should be said that he opposed to the end of the conference
the changes that were proposed, and only, after they had been
somewhat modified, did he give his consent to them, and then
very reluctantly.
The conference recommended that each of the schools should
adopt the following plan^^:
1. The school year of forty-eight weeks shall be divided into
four quarters of which the Summer School shall be one quarter.
2. Thirty-six weeks work in any subject, five days in the
week, with fifty minute recitations, shall constitute one unit.
3. Eighteen units shall be required for graduation in the
Normal Course, of which the following shall be constants and shall
be required of all students: Pedagogy, 3; English, 2; Mathe-
matics, 2; History, 1; Science, 1.
4. The remaining required units shall be elective, subject to
the restrictions of the following recommended courses. A. Reg-
ular Course: Pedagogy, 3; Academic Subjects, 13, including the
six non-pedagogical constants above given; Special Subjects, 2.
B. Special Course: Pedagogy, 3; Academic Subjects, 9; Special
Subjects, 6.
5. Eight units shall be required for graduation in the A. B.
course, in addition to the requirements for the regular Normal
course, five of which shall be selected from the following: Latin,
128 State Normal School History.
Greek, German, French, Mathematics, History, Enghsh, Science;
and graduate work must be an extension of the student's major
or alhed minor subjects.
6. Graduates of approved, first-class, four-year high schools
shall be given credit for ten units on the regular Normal course;
graduates of approved, second class, three year high schools shall
be given credit for seven units on the regular Normal course;
graduates of approved third class two-year high schools shall be
given credit for only four units on the regular Normal course.
7. All students who bring teachers' certificates shall be ad-
mitted to the Sub-Normal classes without examination.
This plan was adopted by the Boards of Regents of the three
schools. The plan, however, was put into operation in the Kirks-
ville school only in part, owing to certain modifications made by
President Kirk. Those features which provided for dividing the
school year of forty-eight weeks into four quarters and for de-
fining a unit in a subject as thirty-six weeks, five recitations a
week, with fifty minutes to a recitation, were put into actual
operation. But the number of units required for graduation in
any advanced course was left as it had formerly had been. Nom-
inally the number is eighteen as according to the adopted plan,
but in reality the number is nineteen. This is due to the fact that
one of the eighteen units recommended by the plan, is in-
cluded in the sub-normal or preparatory year. In addition to
the requirements of the sub-normal year, eighteen units are re-
quired for graduation. By making this arrangement the standard
of the Kirksville school has been slightly raised above that of
the other schools which adopted the plan completely.
Moreover, no attempt was made to carry out the scheme of
credit for high school work. The school follows its own plan of
crediting such work which it has made use of quite successfully
for some years^"^.
A change in the degrees conferred has been made in President
Kirk's administration. In May, 1903, the degrees Bachelor of
Pedagogy and of Master of Pedagogy were substituted in place
PROFESSOR B. 8. POTTER PROFESSOR J. U. BARTSTARD
PROFESSOR S. S. HAMILL PROFESSOR C. H. DUTCHER
Some of the Members of the Faculty TTnuer Fkesident Baldwin.
(From photographs taken while they were in the f^chool.)
130 State Normal School History.
of Bachelor of Scientific Didactics and Master of Scientific Didac-
tics^s.
Before drawing any conclusions on the courses of study, let
us notice carefully the means the school had at its disposal for
carrying these into operation. That will occupy us in the next
chapter.
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 11; 1869-
70, p. 11.
2. Ibid, 1868-69, pp. 18-20; 1869-70, p. 19-20.
3. Professsor Nason is authority for these facts.
4. Ibid, 1868-69, pp. 4-5; 1869-70, pp. 4-5.
5. Ibid, 1868-69, pp. 6 and 10; 1869-70, pp. 6 and 10.
6. Ibid, 1868-69, p. 10.
7. Ibid, 1868-69, pp. 14-16.
8. Ibid, 1868-69, p. 22.
9. Fourth annual circular of the North Missouri Normal School.
10. Catalogue, University of Missouri, 1868-69, pp. 11-13.
11. For President Baldwin's ideas on the function of the normal school,
see his commencement address delivered in Kirksville in June, 1871, in the
Catalogue of the State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, pp. 28-33.
12. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 35.
13. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, pp. 8-9.
16. Ibid, p.20.
15. Ibid, pp. 15-16.
16. Ibid, 1872-73, p. 14; 1875-76, p. 21; 1876-77, p. 23; 1877-78, p. 25;
1878-79, p. 24; 1879-80, p. 21; 1880-81, p. 18.
17. Ibid, 1871-72, p. 11.
18. Ibid, 1875-76, p. 17.
19. Ibid, p. 17.
20. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 106.
21. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1883-84, p. 20.
22. Ibid, 1875-76, p. 21; Minutes of Faculty for 1877-78 contain fre-
(|uent notices of the "Normal Institutes."
23. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1872-73, pp. 7 and 11.
24. Ibid, 1874-75, p. 16; 1876-77, p. 20; 1884-85, pp. 6-7.
25. Ibid, 1872-73, p. 11.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid, 1874-75, p. 16.
The Courses of Study. 131
28. Ibid, 1876-77, pp. 20-21.
29. Ibid, 1879-80, pp. 18-19.
30. Ibid, 1874-75, p. 16; 1875-76, p. 19; 1876-77, p. 19; 1877-78, p. 21;
1878-79, p. 20; 1879-80, p. 17; 1880-81, p. 15.
31. Ibid, 1874-75, p. 31.
32. North Missouri Register, Feb. 25, 1875.
33. Catalogue, State Normal School, KirksAdlle, 1873-74, pp. 26-31.
34. Ibid, 1883-84, p. 20.
35. Ibid, 1885-86, p. 16.
36. Ibid, 1886-87, p. 17.
37. Ibid, 1883-84, p. 17.
38. Ibid, 1885-86, p. 19.
39. Ibid, 1886-87, pp. 20-21.
40. Ibid, 1885-86, p. 21.
41. Ibid, 1892-93, p. 26.
42. Ibid, 1883-84, pp. 6-7.
43. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June, 1902, pp. 38-39.
44. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1899-1900, pp. 11-13.
45. Ibid, pp. 13-14.
46. State Superintendent's Report, 1875, p. 13.
47. North Missouri Register, Jan. 13, 1876.
48. State Superintendent's Report, 1881-82, p. XII.
49. Catalogue, State Normal School, 1899-1900, pp. 11-13.
50. Ibid, 1900-01, p. 25.
51. Buhetin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June, 1901, pp. 30-31.
52. Ibid, June, 1902, pp. 19-22.
53. BuUetin, State Normal School, Warrensburg, June, 1904, pp. 28-29.
54. BuUetin, State Normal School,|Kirksville, June, 1902, pp. 27-31.
55. Ibid, pp. 38-39.
10
CHAPTER IX.
THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS.
A well regulated school of today is organized with several
distinct departments. In each of these departments, instruction
is given in only one subject or a group of closely allied subjects,
and over each there presides a specialist who gives his whole
time to this work and to nothing else, and who may have one or
more assistants. This institution has been a long time in getting
itself organized on this sort of a basis. How the work of the
school was done before the present organization was attained,
and why the departmental system was so slow in arising, will
occupy our attention largely in this chapter.
While the school was a private institution, departments, accord-
ing to the above definition, were absolutely lacking. No member of
the faculty confined his instruction to one subject or even a group
of closely allied subjects. Each was compelled to teach a variety
of subjects which were oftentimes very dissimilar. A glance at the
way the work was divided among the teachers in any one year
will illustrate this fact. Let us take the year 1868-69. In that
year President Baldwin taught the professional subjects, elo-
cution, and Greek; Professor Nason taught English, history,
natural science, and Latin; Professor Greenwood, mathematics
and physiology; Professor Pickler, bookkeeping, penmanship,
and mathematics; Professor Ferris, geography, penmanship, and
drawing, and in addition acted as Principal of the Model School^.
Perhaps each of these teachers actually taught one or two other
subjects in addition to these that were assigned to them in the
catalogue.
In September, 1871, that is very shortly after the school had
become a state institution, a beginning was made towards or-
ganizing the pedagogical, English, and mathematical depart-
ments on a modern basis. This was done by relieving President
Baldwin, Professor Nason, and Professor Greenwood of the
The Academic Departments. 133
subjects which they had been forced to teach except those that
pertained to pedagogy, English, and mathematics, and by assign-
ing to them respectively those subjects^.
The professional or pedagogical department was fairly well
organized at this time. It is true that certain subjects were in-
cluded in this department which are not considered today as
essentially pedagogical, some of which are not given by the school
at all at present; nevertheless some member of the faculty has
from that time to this given his whole teaching time to instruc-
tion in the courses in pedagogy. When the President of the
school has served in this position, he has usually had an assist-
ant.
Only a beginning, however, was made in 1871 towards or-
ganizing the English and the mathematical departments. The
courses in history were taught as a usual thing by the professor
of EngHsh until 1879-80, at which time other provision was made
for that subject^. It was not until that year, therefore, that
the English department was definitely established.
Physics and astronomy were considered as courses in applied
mathematics and were taught regularly by the professor of mathe-
matics until 1899-1900, except the years 1888-89 to 1890-91 in-
clusive, when he was relieved of physics and given chemistry in-
stead^. The mathematical department as it exists today began
to take shape in 1899-1900. In that year the professor of mathe-
matics was relieved permanently of physics and astronomy, the
former having been joined with chemistry to constitute another
department, the latter having been dropped from the course of
study altogether. Unfortunately he was forced to teach physiol-
ogy in that same year, and this compels us to set as the date for
the definite establishment of that department the year 1900-01.
In that year the professor of mathematics taught pure mathe-
matics only for the first time in the history of the school.
In 1879-80 the department of geography and history was
organized^. Prior to that date the subjects that were taken to
constitute this department, had been taught by different teachers
in connection with other work. Generally history had been
134 State Normal School "History.
taught by the professor of English, while physical geography
fell usually to some one who was teaching some of the natural
sciences. The department of geography and history remained
apparently distinct until 1887-88 when elocution was added to
the subjects taught by the professor of geography and history^.
In 1892-93 civil government was also added^. This combina-
tion of elocution, history, geography, and civil government re-
mained the work of one teacher until 1899-1900 when the depart-
ment of history and political economy was organized. In
1900-01 the department of European history was established.
In the same year a beginning was made towards organizing the de-
partment of American history and government. It was not
definitely formed until 1903-04, at which time the professor of
American history and civil government was relieved of the
classes in Latin that he had been forced to teach.
The department of natural science seems to have had its
definite beginning in 1880-81^. In that j'-ear it appears that
all the subjects grouped under that heading were assigned to
one professor who used his entire time in giving instruction in
them. Prior to that year, chemistry, geology, zoology, physiol-
ogy, and botany, subjects which constituted this department,
were divided among a number of teachers w^ho taught, in addi-
tion to their quota of these subjects, a number of other things,
although it is possible that in 1876-77 all the natural sciences were
taught by one instructor who gave his whole time to them^. How-
ever that may be, it was not until 1880-81 that this sort of an
arrangement became regular.
The natural science department remained as organized in
1880-81 until a beginning was made towards organizing the three
distinct science departments of today. The first step in that
direction was taken in 1899-1900 when chemistry was separated from
the natural science department and joined with physics which was
taken from the department of mathematics. This was the be-
ginning of the present department of physical science^o Owing
to the fact that the professor of physics and chemistry was com-
pelled to assist in mathematics and psychology in 1899-1900, it
MISS M. T. HENDERSON
PROFESSOR T. BERRY SMITH
MISS EMMIR THOMPSON
PROFESSOR J. W. SHRYOCK
Some of the Membees of the Faculty Under President Baldwin.
(From photographs taken while they were in the school.
136 State Normal School History.
was not until the next year when he was reheved of this extra
work that the department was definitely established. This de-
partment will quite likely be divided very shortly into two de-
partments, one in physics, the other in chemistry.
Out of the group of subjects left in the natural science de-
partment after chemistry had been detached in 1899-1900, there
have grown up the departments of zoology and of agriculture
and botany. After a number of temporary arrangements had
been made from 1900 to 1902, the two departments were definitely
established in 1 902-031 1.
It was not until 1891-92 that the Latin department was
definitely organized^^. Up to that year Latin had been taught
by various instructors who had been forced to give their atten-
tion to many other things. Since that year at least one pro-
fessor has given his entire time to instruction in Latin.
Courses are being offered today by this institution in German,
French, Greek, and library work^^^ but none of these constitutes
a department. The German classes are taught by a man who
gives only a portion of his time to the institution, and the classes
in French, Greek and library work are taught by teachers in the
school who are also engaged in other departments.
Courses are also' given in elocution, music, manual training,
drawing, gymnasium work, and military tactics^^. The courses
in elocution, music, and manual training are organized into fully
developed departments; the other courses are yet without ade-
quate departmental organization. Instruction in music and
elocution has been offered by the school ever since it was founded,
but the departments of music and of elocution are of recent date.
Courses in manual training have been given only five years, dur-
ing which time they have always constituted a distinct depart-
ment.
In attempting to show how slowly the present departments
of the school have been established, something has been said in-
cidentally of the division of those subjects that had not been
organized into departments among various members of the fac-
ulty. Sometimes these arrangements resulted in queer com-
The Academic Departments. 137
binations of subjects. A few examples will show what some of
them were likens. In 1871-72 geography, botany, history, and
reading were assigned to Mrs. Greenwood; Latin, vocal music,
and history of art to Miss Gleason; and elocution, logic, book-
keeping, and mathematics to Professor Pickler. In 1872-73 chem-
istry, geology, and history were assigned to Professor J. T. Smith;
and geography, language and drawing to Miss Halliburton. In
1873-74 chemistry, geology, and Latin were assigned to Pro-
fessor Dutcher; vocal music, penmanship, and gymnastics to
Professor Williams ; natural science and drawing to Miss Comings ;
and elocution, rhetoric and esthetics to Professor Hamill. In
1874-75 elocution, logic and bookkeeping were assigned to Pro-
fessor Barnard. In 1875-76 Latin, physical geography and botany
were assigned to Miss Henderson; vocal music, American lit-
erature, and physiology to Professor Williams; chemistry, zoology,
geology, and civil government to Professor Dutcher. In 1877-78,
natural science and Latin were assigned to Professor T. Berry
Smith. In 1879-80, rhetoric, composition, methods, and Latin
were assigned to Miss Heath. In 1880-81 Latin and mathematics
were assigned to Professor Paden. In 1882-83 natural science
and vocal music were assigned to Professor Gentry. In 1883-84
Latin and work in several departments were assigned to Pro-
fessor Gentry; and physiology and mathematics to Professor
Paden. In 1887-88 geography, history, and elocution were as-
signed to Miss Owen. In 1891-92 political economy and chemis-
try were assigned to Professor Muir. In 1892-93 chemistry and
pedagogy were assigned to Professor Muir; and elocution, history,
civics, and geography to Miss Owen. Other examples might
have been given but these suffice.
Generally it was convenience that determined the grouping
of the subjects that were assigned to the teachers. This is seen
very clearly by noting the changes that were made in the groups
of subjects assigned to the same teachers from year to year, a
few examples of which are here given^^
Professor Barnard taught in this institution from 1874-75
to 1886-87. He never had less than three different subjects.
138 State Normal School History.
Of these, elocution was always one, and another was usually
logic. The third subject was first bookkeeping, then English,
then civil government, and finally methods. In one year he had
professional work as a fourth subject.
Miss Henderson taught Latin, physical geography and
botany in 1875-76 and 1876-77; geography, penmanship, draw-
ing, and some of the natural sciences in 1877-78; geography and
history in 1879-80 and 1880-81.
Professor Paden taught physiology and mathematics in
1879-80; Latin and mathematics from 1880-81 to 1882-83; physiol-
ogy and mathematics in 1883-84; and mathematics in 1884-85.
Miss Mary Prewitt was assistant in the Model School in
1883-84; assistant in several departments from 1884-85 to 1886-87;
assistant in mathematics from 1887-88 to 1903-04. Frequently
she taught classes in English and in bookkeeping while acting
as assistant in mathematics, even as late as 1903-04.
Professor Gentry taught natural science and vocal music
in 1882-83; from that year to 1890-91 inclusive he taught Latin
and one other subject which was mathematics, logic, physics, or
music as the case might be. Beginning in 1891-92 he has taught
Latin exclusively.
Miss Owen taught geography and history from 1882-83 to
1886-87 inclusive; in 1887-88 elocution was added to her work,
and in 1892-93 civil government was also added. She taught
this combination of four subjects from 1892-93 to 1898-99 in-
clusive; from that year to 1903-04 inclusive she taught reading
a,nd physical culture and occasionally assisted in English.
Professor Muir taught methods and acted as Principal of the
Model School in 1890-91; political economy and chemistry in
1891-92; chemistry and pedagogy in 1892-93; and pedagogy in
1893-94.
Professor Swanger taught English in 1887-88 and 1888-89;
physics and English in 1889-90; physics, natural science and
mathematics in 1890-91; mathematics from 1891-92 to 1893-94
inclusive.
From these examples it will be seen how the same instructor
.''•-'«
PKOFESSOB G. W. KHALL
MISS ALICE HEATH
MISS ADA OLDHAM
PROFESSOR W. H. BAKER
Some of the Members of the Faculty FJniier Presikent Baldwin.
(From photographs taken while they were in tlie pcliool.)
140 State Normal School History.
was frequently shifted from one subject to another, especially
in the early years of the institution. But it must not be under-
stood that in recent times there have been no mixed combina-
tions of subjects and no shifting from one subject or group of sub-
jects to another. Even since President Kirk began his admin-
istration, these combinations and these shif tings have occurred
several times. In 1899-00 Professor Norton taught physiology
and mathematics; Professor Weatherly taught chemistry, physics,
geometry, and psychology; Miss Hall, history and English; Miss
Westlake, history, civil government and mathematics^^. As has
already been stated Miss Owen and Miss Prewitt both taught
English in addition to their regular work in recent years. At pres-
ent time Miss Barnes is teaching English, drawing and gymnastics,
and Professor Carroll is teaching French, English, gymnasium
work and military tactics. The most noticeable cases of shift-
ing are those of Miss Parrish and Miss Barnes. Both were
transferred from the Training School in 1903-04, the former
having been assigned to the library and the classes in French, and
the latter to the above miscellaneous group of subjects.
These conditions together with the undeveloped depart-
ments of French, German, Greek, drawing, and gymnastics
leave the school incomplete in its departmental organiza-
tion. The large appropriation for salaries made by the recent
legislature will probably enable the school to organize several
new departments at once, and thus add to its efficiency.
The question naturally arises why have the departments
been so slow in being established. In response to this question,
at least two reasons may be given.
1. Usually funds have been lacking so that it has not always
been possible to engage a faculty large enough to give each
member a distinct department. This was particularly true of
the early period of the school's history. Indeed it has only been
within the last five years that the appropriations have been large
enough to permit of as many distinct departments as now exist.
2. When the school was established in 1867 the idea pre-
vailed that the members of the faculty should be able to teach
The Academic Departments. 141
a number of subjects rather than be specially qualified in any
one. It was felt that specialists were abnormal in their training
and would not give the best results, especially with students who
were preparing for public school work.
In this connection it should be borne in mind that at that
time many a subject that now constitutes a whole department
in itself, was far from being developed. This is particularly true
of the sciences and history, both of which were taught largely
from text books only. The undeveloped condition of these sub-
jects oftentimes made it impossible to treat them as separate
departments. Moreover, as instruction in many of them was
largely from text books, an active teacher might soon qualify
himself to teach most of them. It was therefore of little incon-
venience to the teachers to be shifted from one subject to another
as we saw many of them were in the early clays of the school.
Even after many of these subjects had been developed
enough to justify placing them in the hands of specialists who
would give their entire time to them, and after the revenues of
the school had begun to be increased, the old idea that normal
school teachers ought to avoid specialization prevailed for a long
time among those who had charge of the administration of the
school. For a while, even President Kirk, under whose admin-
istration the organization of departments has gone on most rapid-
ly, advocated this idea, and during his first year purposely put
it into operation in several instances.
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 2.
2. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 6.
3. Ibid, 1879-80, p. 6.
4. Ibid, 1889-90, pp. 2-3; 1890-91, pp. 2-3.
5. Ibid, 1879-80, pp. 6, 25.
6. Ibid, 1887-88, p. 3.
7. Ibid, 1892-93, p. 5.
8. Ibid, 1880-81, pp. 3, 21-22.
9. Ibid, 1876-77, pp. 6, 24-26.
10. Ibid, 1899-00, p. 4.
142 State Normal School History.
11. Ibid, 1900-01, p. 3; Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirks ville, June,
1901, p. 3; June, 1902, p. 1.
12. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1891-92, p. 3.
13. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June, 1904, p. 30.
14. Ibid.
15. See the faculty lists in the catalogues of the school for the years men-
tioned in this paragraph.
16. See the faculty lists in the catalogues of the school for the years men-
tioned in the next seven paragraphs.
17. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1900-01, pp. 28-29.
CHAPTER X.
THE TRAINING SCHOOL.
The foregoing chapter has dealt altogether with the academic
departments of study. No mention was made in it of the Train-
ing School, or the Model School as it was sometimes called, in
order that special attention, which its importance justifies, might
be given it here.
As has already been brought out in the chapter on "The
Courses of Study," a Model School was established in connection
with the school when it was founded in 1867, and was maintained
until December, 1873. It has also been made clear that this de-
partment served not only to exhibit to the students of the normal
department the best methods of teaching as used by the
skilled instructors who were employed to conduct it, but also to
prepare many students who were somewhat advanced in years
for the work in the normal department. This Model School
was never a practice school for prospective teachers. It always
purported to be an actual "model school^.
This school was divided into three departments, the primary
the intermediate, and the grammar departments, each of which
covered two years work. When it was first established. Professor
F. L. Ferris was Principal of the grammar department, Mrs. L. D.
Ferris of the intermediate department, and Mrs. Amanda Green-
wood of the primary department. These teachers remained in
charge of these departments for three years^. V/e have no in-
formation as to how the " Model " was organized or who conducted
it in 1870-71 and 1871-72. Miss Kate Rowland was Principal of
the Model School in 1872-73 and Miss Stephan from September
to December, 18733.
The enrollment for the different years was as follows^:
1867-68, 144. 1870-71, 68.
1868-69, 220. 1871-72, 48.
1869-70, — . 1872-73, 53.
Sept. to Dec, 1873, 33.
144 State Normal School History.
From this table it will be seen how much the enrollment of
the last year was reduced from that of the first two years, and how
the enrollment for the period after the school had been made
a state institution gradually dwindled. It is not surprising
then that President Baldwin and Miss Stephan recommended to
the Board of Regents in their meeting in December, 1873 that the
Model School should be suspended, and that the Board acted in
accordance with that recommendation^.
It was evidently not the intention of President Baldwin or
perhaps of the Board to give up permanently the idea of having
a Model School. This is seen in the fact that the faculty list in the
annual catalogues contained until 1878-79 inclusive a blank space
for the name of the Principal of the Model School who it was
doubtless thought would be selected after the school had begun
its year's work^.
The Model School was not restored until November, 1882,
over a year after President Baldwin had left the school. The
credit for its restoration belongs largely to President Blanton
who took charge of the administration of the school in September,
1882, though there are evidences that the matter had been thought
of by the school even before he had been elected to the Presi-
dency. The faculty discussed it at least once in a very serious
manner in February, 1882, but finally reached a decision to make
no recommendations concerning the matter to the Board^. In
the spring of that year Acting President Nason went to Warrens-
burg to assist in examining the candidates for graduation in the
State Normal School of that place. While there he had an oppor-
tunity to observe the workings of the Model School which had
been established in connection with it at the first of that
school year. On returning to Kirksville, Professor Nason began
anew the agitation in favor of such a school at Kirksville. When
Professor Blanton was elected President, he took up the matter
with vigor and early success. On November 13, 1882, the Model
School was reopened under the supervision of Miss S. Augusta
Jayne'^.
The school was during its first year without any special
The Training School. 145
quarters of its own, having been accommodated in the various
rooms of the building. In September, 1883, it was installed in
the rooms which had been newly fitted up in the basement during
the previous summer. The basement had up to that time been
used only for the heating apparatus. Through a special appro-
priation of $3500 which the Legislature made in April, 1883^,
several rooms were built in it and the ground immediately sur-
rounding the building was terraced as it is today. In these new
quarters the Model School remained until it was removed to the
annex that was built on the northeast of the main building in
190110.
Unlike the Model School which existed in the early years of the
school, the one which was re-established in 1882 gave opportu-
nities for practice teaching by the students of the normal depart-
ment from the very start. Indeed it is doubtful whether the term
"Model School" was a proper one to use for it. It was in reality
a Practice or Training School and not a "Model." It was not
until President Kirk's administration that the name was changed
to Training SchooU^.
The "Model" as re-established was organized at first into two
departments, the primary and the junior departments, each of
which covered three years of work^^. In 1885-86, the senior
department, which covered two years of work, was added.
As far as is know^n no change of any importance in the work
or organization of the Model School was made during President
Dobson's administration. Under President Kirk a number of
changes have been made, owing largely to the increase in the ap-
propriations. In addition to the new quarters that were secured
when the annex was built in 1901, the apparatus used in the
work of the school and the teaching force have been con-
siderably enlarged. There are now a supervisor, a grammar
and a primary critic teacher, and a kindergarten teacher.
Prior to 1900-01, there had been only a supervisor, or principal,
with occasionally one assistant. The kindergarten department
was established in 1900-01 and has proved to be a very important
part of the Training School . In all probability better results on the
146 State Normal School History.
part of both the children and the student teachers are being
reaUzed now than in any other period of the history of this depart-
ment of the school.
At the present writing, March, 1905, another new depart-
ment in the Training School is being planned. Arrangements
are being made for the immediate erection on the campus of a
MISS MONTANA HASTINGS.
Supervisor of the Training School since September,
1903.
model, rural school house. The equipments will be modern, and
yet of such a character that they may be installed in any rural
district in the state. The entire cost of the completed building
will not exceed one thousand dollars. In this building will be
gathered as miscellaneous a lot of children as can be found in. the
town who will receive instruction at the hands of a specially com-
The Training School. 147
petent teacher for the work. The school will be in every respect
a model school. It will serve to show the students of the normal
department how a good rural school should be conducted, and
at the same time it will exhibit to the people of the state what may
be done in the way of a building with modern equipments in any
part of the state, for not over one thousand dollars. It is planned
to have this model rural school open for Avork next September.
When it is established, it will be the most unique institution in
the educational world. Nothing like it now exists. The idea
was conceived by President Kirk who has been making for years
a special study of the needs of the rural schools.
The Principals, or Supervisors, of the Training School since
its re-establishment in 1882 are as follows^^:
Miss S. Augusta Jayne, 1882-83 to 1886-87.
Professor J. T. Muir, 1887-88 to 1888-89.
Miss Marguerite Pumphrey, 1889-90 to 1893-94.
Mrs. Anna Seitz, 1894-95 to 1897-98.
Miss Mary DeWitt, 1898-99.
Miss Opheha Parrish, 1899-1900 to 1902-03.
Miss Montana Hastings, 1903-04 to
NOTES.
1. See pages 103-104.
2. Catalogues, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 2; 1869-70, p. 2.
3. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1872-73, p. 6; N. Mo.
Register, Sept. 18, 1873; Transcript Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 106.
4. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 20; 1869-70,
p. 21; Catalogue, State Normal School. Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 27; 1872-73,
p. 29; 1873-74, p. 31; 1874-75, p. 14.
5. Transcript from Minutes of Regents, 1870-73, p. 106.
6. See faculty lists in catalogues from 1874-75 to 1878-79 inclusive.
7. Faculty Minutes, Feb. 17, 1882.
8. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1883-84, p. 20.
9. Laws of Missouri, 1883, p. 6.
10. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June, 1902, p. 6.
11. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1901-20, p. 7.
12. Ibid, 1883-84, pp. 23-25.
13. See the faculty lists in the catalogues of the school from 1882-83 to
1904-05 inclusive.
11
CHAPTER XI.
THE LIBRARY AND THE LABORATORIES.
Among the most important equipments of a school are the
Ubrary and the laboratories. Generally the efficiency of the work
done in any school may be determined by the character of these
equipments which it affords. This institution was forced for a
long time to work with very meager library and laboratory
facilities. Why this was so and how a start has been made
towards adequate equipments on a modern scientific basis will
occupy us in this chapter.
The library of the school was first mentioned in the second
annual catalogue in which it was referred to as a " distinguishing
feature^". In what sense it was such at that time it would be hard
to say, as there is no evidence that it began to have an existence
until 1871^. The first definite statement concerning the library
was contained in the catalogue giving the announcements for
1872-73. There it was stated that about one thousand volumes
of standard works had been secured by purchase and donation^.
It was a long time before any increase in the size of the library
was announced.
When the school occupied its new building in January, 1873,
the library was divided into three parts, the general, the refer-
ence, and the professional libraries. Each of these was installed
in a separate place. The general library was kept in the room
in the tower north of the chapel, and contained "choice standard
works." An American Encyclopedia, several dictionaries, and
''many leading text books" constituted the reference library,
and were placed in cases on the platform in the chapel. It was
announced that it was intended to make this the most extensive
library of its kind in the west, and it was hinted that this end would
be accomplished through donations from the different publishers
of "this country and Europe." The professional library was
kept in the "Principal's room," and was designed to embrace
"all the books and reports that could aid the teachers. 4"
The Library and the Laboratories. 149
At the same time the library was organized on the above
basis, it was arranged to use the chapel as a reading room during
certain hours of the day. There were placed on file in it a few
newspapers and sometimes some magazines for the use of the
students^.
Very shortly after the school became a state institution, the
United States government made it a depository for its various
publications, and still continues to do so.
Each year some member of the faculty was elected librarian.
Upon him fell the task of keeping the general library open on cer-
tain days, and attending to the letting out and receiving of books.
All of this work was performed by the librarian in addition to his
regular duties as a teacher^. It appears, however, that he was
sometimes assisted by student monitors'^.
The above arrangement of the library with its three divi-
sions, each in a separate room, and with some member of the
faculty acting as librarian, remained unchanged down to the be-
ginning of President Kirk's administration. However some
growth was made during the administrations of Presidents Blan-
ton and Dobson. Brief mention must be made of this.
Under President Blanton the library was considerably en-
larged. This was particularly true of the division known as
the general library. It was President Blanton 's ambition to get
the students to read widely in the best of literature. To this end
he used whatever funds were available for the library in pur-
chasing books on fiction and history. There was no particular
intention that these books should be used in the preparation of
work in the classes in literature and history; their purpose was
for general culture mainly. The catalogue of the library
that was printed at the close of President Blanton 's adminis-
tration, shows that it contained over two thousand classified
books in addition to about as many more government publica-
tions and other unclassified books^. The report of the librarian
in 1890 in which the number of books drawn out for four years
was given, shows that the library was being used extensively,
and that the reading habit among the students was growing from
year to year^.
1"50 State Normal School History.
During President Blanton's administration the literary socie-
ties were induced to purchase books of their own and keep them
in their own halls. Some of these libraries contained a fairly
large number of books.
The most important improvement made by President Dob-
son was the removal of the general library from the room in the
tower to a room of about the same size just west of the chapel,
and the fitting up of room number twenty, which adjoined the
new general library room, as a reading room. By removing the
partition, the two rooms were thrown into one. Arrangements
were then made for keeping the library open during school hours
every day in the week, so that the students were enabled to make
use of the library books in the reading room at any hour in the
day, instead of being limited to drawing out books at a few
specified times in the week. Moreover, the newspapers and mag-
azines that had been kept on file in the chapel were now placed
in the new reading room^o.
Meager as these equipments were, great praise must be paid
to Presidents Baldwin, Blanton, and Dobson for what they ac-
complished. They did all that could possibly be done with the
means at their command. Not one cent did they receive frojn
the Legislature for the support of the library. The money spent
for books during their administrations was raised by means of
entertainments by the faculty and by the societies, by lectures,
by donations, by excursions, and the like. For a short time dur-
ing President Baldwin's administration the proceeds from the
rental or the sale of the text books which the school kept, were
used for increasing the libraryii. Sometimes the amount raised
by the above means would come to several hundred dollars in the
course of a year, but frequently the amount would be very small.
It was provided in the act which was passed by the Legislature
in 1873 legalizing the sale of the original property of the school,
that one third of the proceeds realized from the sale might be
used for the purchase of books^^. It is possible that a part of
these proceeds was used in starting the library, but no record to
that effect has been found. The persistent refusal of the Legis-
The Library and the Laboratories. 151
lature until 1899 to appropriate anything to the support of the
library, is the cause for its slow growth. What was done up to
that year merits, therefore, all the more our hearty appreciation.
The wonderful development of the library during President
Kirk's administration has been made possible by the special
appropriations that have been made by the Legislature. When
he came to the school in the fall of 1899, he found that the $2500
which had been appropriated by the Legislature for the library
and the laboratories a few months before, was practically intact.
Small though this appropriation was, it was enough to begin the
reorganization of the library and the laboratories.
The first step taken was the formation of departmental
libraries. This was accomplished by taking from the general
library those books that might be I'sed as references in the classes
and placing them in special l^ook cases in the rooms of the differ-
ent departments. Those departments in greatest need of new books,
were each given a part of the available library fund with which
the same might be purchased. One of the objects in forming
departmental libraries was to bring the students into daily con-
tact with reference .books, and this, it was said, would be best
attained under the circumstances by having the books in the differ-
ent recitation rooms under the care and keeping of the teachers
in charge^^
The library continued as thus organized for four years.
During this period the growth was slow but steady. In 1901, the
Legislature appropriated only $1000 for libraries and laboratories.
The number of books purchased in the next two years was not
very large. But the appropriation in that year for a new build-
ing had a most important bearing on the library, inasmuch as
this building when completed contained a spacious library room.
In 1903, an appropriation of $5000 for equipping this new
library room with fixtures and books was secured. These pro-
visions have made it possible to begin the organization of the
library on a modern, scientific basis. Under the direction of
Miss Parrish, who was made librarian in June, 1903, the depart-
mental libraries have been merged into the general library and
152 State Normal School History.
the books have been classified and catalogued according to the
Dewey decimal system.
The aim has been to build up a working library. To that
end many duplicate copies of such books as may be used by the
students in the preparation of their class work, are purchased. It
is considered a better investment to buy many duplicates of a
MISS OPHELIA PARRISH.
Under whom the present organization of the library
was effected.
fewer number of excellent hand books than to buy single copies
of a greater number of titles.
Although it has been less than two years since the library
has been reorganized, it has already outgrown its new quarters.
Plans are in contemplation for an increase of room in the near
future. Probably the whole of the present floor on which the
The Library and the Laboratories. 153
library is located will be used for it. In case this is done, its
efficiency will be more than doubled. The appropriation for the
library made by the recent session of the Legislature, while it
was not as large as asked for, will make it possible to add many
hundred volumes. If financial support is continued in adequate
amount for a few more years, the library will become one of the
most serviceable of its kind in the country.
The history of the laboratories of the school has been very
much like that of the library. From the first the "apparatus"
was spoken of as a "distinguishing feature" of the institutioni^^
but there is no evidence that any laboratories existed until 1871-72.
In the catalogue for that year it was announced that "the Regents
have placed a sufficient sum of money in the hands of the Faculty
to purchase all necessary chemical and philosophical apparatus".!^
The growth of the laboratories from this small beginning was
very slow. This was due to the fact that no appropriation was
made for the purchase of scientific apparatus until 1899. Up
that year all the money expended for laboratory appliances was
derived from entertainments like those given for the library, and
from the incidental fund. Though this fund amounted to several
thousand dollars each year, it was drawm upon for so many things
that the amount that could be used for the laboratories was
very small. Donations of various kinds, particularly of speci-
mens, were frequently received.
The small room that stands directly east of the chapel was
the place where all the apparatus and specimens for the study of
the sciences were kept. This room was called the cabinet room
or the museum. In the course of a few years it was filled with
apparatus and geological, botanical, and zoological specimens.
Many of these specimens were contributed by the students who
gathered them during the vacations and brought them to the
school at the opening of the following terms^^.
The cabinet room was the only laboratory which the school
afforded until the heating plant was removed in 1899 from the base-
ment and installed in its present quarters to the rear of the building.
After that was done, two rooms were fitted up in the basement,
154 State Normal School History.
one for chemistry, the other for physics. Some increase was made
in the apparatus used in these laboratories, but until 1899 the
amount was very small. Notwithstanding that, some very excel-
lent work was done in them owing to the skill of the men who had
them in charge. Experiments in the X-rays were performed in the
physics laboratory very shortly after they had been discovered!'^.
Until recent years, as has already been noted in another
chapter, all the sciences except physics, which was joined to mathe-
matics, were grouped in one department called the natural science
department. With the formation of the three distinct depart-
ments of physics and chemistry, of zoology, and of botany and
agriculture, there has been an increase in the number of labora-
tories and in the equipments of each. This improvement has been
made possible by the special appropriations that have been made
by the Legislature since 1899.
The new building, for which a special appropriation of $50,000
was made by the recent Legislature, will be used largely by
the science departments. In it all the laboratories and recitation
rooms of these departments will be located. This additional
room will add greatly to their efficiency.
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 22.
2. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 20.
3. Ibid, 1872-73, p. 20.
4. Ibid, 1873-74, p. 20.
5. Ibid, 1873-74, p. 21; N. Mo. Register, Jan. 14, and Feb. 18, 1875.
6. Faculty Minutes, Feb. 1, 1871; Aug. 30, 1873; Aug. 31, 1874; Sept.
13, 1875; Sept. 10, 1877; Sept. 5, 1879; Aug. 30, 1880; Sept. 5, 1881.
7. The Tattler, Jan. 23, 1875.
8. Preface in the Catalogue of the Library of the State Normal School
Kirksville, 1891.
9. Kirks^d^e Journal, June 26, 1890.
10. KirksviUe Democrat, Aug. 13, 1897; Normal Message, Sept. 1897,
p. 24.
The Library and the Laboratories. 155
11. Fourth Annual Circular of the North Missouri Normal School: Cat-
alogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 7; 1872-73, p. 3.
12. Laws of Missouri, 1873, p. 79.
13. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1899-1900, p. 7.
14. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, pp. 22-23.
15. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 20.
16. Ibid, 1872-73, p.. 20; 1873-74, p. 21; 1874-75, p. 26; 1878-79, p. 28;
1879-80, p. 24.
17. Kirksville Democrat, March 27, and April 3, 1806
CHAPTER XII.
THE FACULTY.
In this chapter it is planned to give a sketch of the founder
of the school, of each of his associates in its establishment, and
of each of the succeeding Presidents, and to give a complete list
of all those who have been regular members of the faculty with
their terms of service in the school.
President Joseph Baldwin.*
Joseph Baldwin was born at New Castle, Pennsylvania on
October 31, 1827^. On his mother's side he was of Scotch Irish
descent, on his father's side of Quaker descent. Tradition has
it that the founder of the Baldwin family in this country came
with William Penn to Pennsylvania.
His early education was obtained in the district school, and
his preparatory education for admission to college at Bartlett
Academy, Newcastle, Pennsylvania. In 1848 he entered Bethany
College, Virginia, from which he was graduated with the A. B.
degree in July, 1852. Among his instructors in this institution
was Alexander Campbell, then in his prime.
In August, 1852 he was married to Miss Ella Sophronia
Fluhart of Ohio. Immediately after their marriage, they came
to Missouri, and in the fall he opened the Platte City Academy in
Platte county of this state. In the next year, he and his wife
undertook the management of a ladies' boarding school at Savan-
nah, Missouri, and maintained it for three years. In 1856 he
helped to organize the Missouri State Teachers' Association in
St. Louis, and was elected Vice President. The meeting was
attended by Horace Mann, from whom he drew a great deal of
helpful and stimulating inspiration.
After having spent four years in Missouri, he returned to
his native state and spent one year there, part of his time con-
*For a picture of President Baldwin, see the frontispiece.
The Faculty. 157
ducting the Lawrence County Normal School and the rest of the
time attending the Millersville Normal School. From Pennsyl-
vania he went to Indiana, where within the next ten years he
conducted several private Normal Schools; one at Burnettsville
from 1857 to 1859, one at Kokomo from 1859 to 1863, and one at
Logansport from 1864 to 1867. The interval between his schools
at the last two places was spent in the Union army.
The story of his coming to Kirksville in 1867 and opening a
Normal School in the building known as Cumberland Academy
and maintaining it as a private institution for over three years,
has already been told^. There has also been related much of his
life from the time the school became a state institution down to
the close of his administration, inasmuch as whatever history
the school had during that period centered largely about his per-
sonality. There remains only to relate briefly his career after
leaving Kirksville, and to make some estimate of his life and
character.
In the summer of 1881, President Baldwin was elected to the
Presidency of the Sam Houston Normal Institute at Huntsville,
Texas. He had been engaged by the commissioner of the Pea-
body Fund to go to Texas in July of that summer and do insti-
tute work. While he was there the above election took place. Though
greatly regretting to leave Missouri, President Baldwin felt that
it was best to accept the position that was tendered him. Con-
ditions in Texas were then very much as they had been in Mis-
souri in 1867 when he came to Kirksville to establish a normal
school. The Sam Houston Normal Institute was at the time the
only State Normal School in Texas, and had been established
only two years. There was a chance to open up a field that was
practically new, and that appealed very strongly to the pioneer
instincts of the man. This was not, however, his onlj^ reason for
going. For some years he had been the object of petty jeal-
ousies and harassing persecutions, and he had come to realize
that his position in this institution was being undermined by some
who assumed to be his friends. There was before him, therefore,
the prospect that this opposition, which was altogether unde-
158 State Normal School History.
served, would result in his being displaced some time sooner or
later. Doubtless this and his natural aversion for any conflict
in which his own personal interests were involved, had very much
to- do with his decision to leave the state and accept the Texas
proposition.
President Baldwin remained with the Sam Houston Normal
Institute for ten years, from 1881 to 1891. At the beginning of
that period the school had a faculty of seven teachers and an
attendance of 200. At the close, it had a faculty of eleven
teachers and an attendance of 398^. These are some of the evi-
dences of the success that attended the work of President Bald-
win in his new field.
In 1891 he was elected to the newly created chair of pedagogy
in the University of Texas, and was continued in this position
until 1897 when he was made Professor Emeritus of Pedagogy in
that institution. He died on January 13, 1899 in Austin, Texas,
where he was buried.
The life of President Baldwin is an illustration of what a man
with a few great ideas and the willingness to work, may accom-
plish. It can not be said of him that he was a broadly learned
man or a man of great versatility. Yet it must be acknowledged
that as the result of long and deep thinking on some of the funda-
mental educational questions of the day, he reached some very
sound and definite conclusions of his own, for the realization of
which he spent the whole of his life. This constitutes the basis
of his greatness.
He believed most firmly in the absolute necessity of the very
best possible elementary and secondary education, and to this end
he advocated a thorough and scientific preparation of the teach-
ers for that work. The efforts which he put forth to bring about
these results have had a marked influence upon the educational
systems of Indiana, Missouri, and Texas.
As has already been said he was by instinct a pioneer. To
him there was something decidedly fascinating in a field of labor
that had been heretofore unoccupied. By nature he was emi-
nently fitted to arouse enthusiasm on the part of others for a new
The Faculty. 159
system, and to lead them to assist him in getting it adopted. As
an organizer of new work he was not surpassed.
However, his success in further developing an established
work was not as great as in initiating it. For this he was not
always solely responsible. Had he received the support he should
have received from the Board of Regents in the last years of his
administration in this institution, he might have done much more
than he did.
Very few school Presidents have been able to command and
maintain the loyalty and respect of the students as he did. He
attained this through the confidence he placed in them and the
sympathetic interest he took in their ambitions and enterprises,
thus making each student feel that he was his personal friend.
This explains why his name has always been held in sacred mem-
ory by those who were under his direction.
The frank and unsuspecting nature of the man made him
liable to be imposed upon by designing persons. Thinking all
men were as honest as himself, he frequently found himself badly
defrauded and abused. Occasionally he was led into situations
which gave his enemies an opportunity to attack and abuse him
while at the same time he generally refused to defend himself
or to expose those who were injuring him. He was not without
faults. He was but human. However, in the light of the great
service which he did for the state and the purity of the motives
that always actuated his life, these imperfections appear as in-
significant.
His work was not confined to the school room. He
was frequently before the public as a platform orator, speak-
ing chiefly on educational topics. He was an elder in the Chris-
tian church and occasionally preached and performed other re-
ligious services. There were very few districts in northeast Mis-
souri in which he had not spoken to the people in some way or
other. He was very active in the educational associations of
the state and nation, and appeared frequently in their discussions.
He was a frequent contributor to some of the leading educational
journals, at one time assisting in the editing of the American
160 State Normal School History.
School Journal. He wrote two works on pedagogy; one was en-
titled ''School Management," the other, ''Elementary Psycholo-
gy." These books have been used extensively in this country and
were adopted by the government of Canada for the schools of that
country. His "School Management" was translated into Spanish
for use in the schools of Mexico and the Republics of South America.
In making up her list of great benefactors, Missouri must
always include the name of Joseph Baldwin. Coming to the
state at the close of a war that had greatly injured it, he spent
fourteen years of the best period of his life in building up its
school system, and in that time "accompHshed more for the cause
of popular education than any other man in the state." As
yet formal recognition has not been made of his services to the
state. It is hoped that the time is not far distant when something
may be done towards the erection of a monument which will be
worthy of the man and the work he did for the people of this
state.
Professor Frank L. Ferris.
It is a matter of serious regret that this sketch must be brief,
owing to the fact that all efforts to obtain material sufficient for
a complete account of Professor Ferris and his wife have failed.
It is also a matter of regret that no pictures of them have ever
been found.
Professor Ferris was born about 1840 in the state of New
York. After his marriage, he and his wife were engaged in teach-
ing private schools in several towns in Indiana, among which
were Idaville, Burnettsville, and Logansport. It was while they
were at the last two places that President Baldwin formed their
acquaintance and frequently visited their schools. Being highly
pleased with the work they were doing, he consulted with them
regarding his contemplated normal school in Missouri, even before
he decided to come to the state to seek out a location. Just be-
fore starting on his trip which finally brought him to Kirksville
in February, 1867, he made conditional arrangements with them
to the effect that if he should decide to establish a school in this
state they would assist him in the work.
The Faculty. 161
These conditional arrangements were made permanent as
soon as President Baldwin came to definite conclusions as to what
he was going to do. Professor Ferris and his wife moved to Kirks-
ville during the spring of 1867, and during the summer he assisted
President Baldwin, Professor Nason, and Professor Greenwood
in canvassing this part of the state for students for the new
school.
Professor Ferris was Principal of the Model School that was
connected with the institution and taught the subjects in the
grammar department of the "Model" and in addition geography,
penmanship, and drawing in the normal department. Mrs.
Ferris was the principal teacher in the intermediate department
of the Model School. They remained with the institution nearly
three years.
After leaving the school, Professor Ferris was Principal of
the Kirksville public schools for at least one year .He finally
moved west on account of his health, and died of consumption
in Denver on November 18, 1873*. His wife survived him sev-
eral years.
Professor Ferris was an excellent teacher. He was an
ordained minister in the Universalist church, but never served a
congregation as pastor.
On coming to Kirksville to begin his work in the North Mis-
souri Normal School, he interested two of his young friends in
Indiana to come to this school, and to board with him and his
wife. One of these young men was Mr. B. F. Heiny, who is still
living in Kirksville and is cashier of the National Bank of Kirks-
ville. From him most of the data in this sketch has been ac-
quired. The other young man was Mr. H. C. Langiey, now a min-
ister in California,
Professor William P. Nason.*
William Pinckney Nason^ was born in Fairfield District,
South Carolina, on May 16, 1824. Until he was twenty four years
old, he lived on the farm, most of the time with his parents. His
*For a picture of Professor Nason, see )iage 33.
162 State Normal School History.
■elementary education was acquired in the district schools of his
neighborhood. On leaving the farm in 1849 he spent most of the
year in school, part of the time in a small college at Fayetteville,
Tennessee, and part of the time in an academy in Oktibbeha county,
Mississippi. In the summer of 1855 he attended South Hanover
College in Indiana. This closed his career as a student in school.
His first teaching was done in Pontatoc county, Mississippi
in the fall of 1849. When he finished this work, he decided to
explore Texas, and so spent from January to August, 1850 in
roaming over Texas on a mustang. In the fall of that year he
went to Oktibbeha county, Mississippi, and taught a school there
for two winters.
After this experience in teaching he decided he would study
medicine, and actually made a start in that direction. The
death of his favorite brother who was a physician, caused him to
give up the idea altogether. He then returned to teaching and
continued in the profession regularly until 1887.
From 1852 to 1867 he was engaged in district or private
school work in a number of states. In the winter of 1852-53 he
taught in Switzerland county, Indiana, and from the fall of 1853
to the spring of 1857 he was engaged in a district school in Carroll
county, Kentucky.
In the spring of 1857 he left Kentucky in company with his
fellow townsman, Mr. W. T. Baird, and came to Kirksville, Mis-
souri. They had been induced to come here by some friends who
had preceded them to this county. They made the trip by boat
from Carrollton, Kentucky to LaGrange, Missouri, and by horse-
back from the latter place to Kirksville, arriving here on March
22, 1857.
Immediately on reaching Kirksville, Professor Nason secured
a school three miles northwest of town, and taught it during that
spring and summer. In the fall he opened a school in Kirks-
ville and continued it until the fall of 1860. This school was
held at first in a rented building, but in 1858 he built a school
house of his own on the northeast corner of Buchanan and Florence
streets. The building was a one story affair, and was arranged
The Faculty. 163
so that it could be divided into three recitation rooms or be opened
out as one room. The school was supported in part by what
public revenues existed for public education, but chiefly by
tuition fees. The enrollment was as high as one hundred and
thirty at one time, and two or three assistants were always em-
ployed.
In the fall of 1860 Professor Nason rented his building to the
Kirksville Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian church,
in which the Academy, which the Presbytery had already
organized, was to continue until its new building, then in process
of erection, was completed. He spent the winter of 1860-61
in teaching a country school northeast of town. In the follow-
ing winter he resumed his school work in Kirksville, making use
of his own building, Cumberland Academy having meanwhile
died out.
In the summer of 1862 he moved to Wisconsin and taught in
Dartford and vicinity until March, 1865, when he returned to
Kirksville where he held a spring and summer school. In the
fall of that year he went to Kentucky and taught a three months
school, and then went back to Wisconsin and taught a school for
a few months in the vicinity of his former schools of that state.
After making a visit to his father's family in Mississippi in the
spring of 1866, he returned to Kirksville, and in the fall opened
a school in the Free-Will Baptist church which stood then on the
site of the present M. E. Church, South.
He was engaged in this school when Professor Baldwin came
to town in February, 1867 in search of a suitable location for a
normal school. He very shortly agreed to become one of the fac-
ulty of the new school, in fact he was the first of the local teachers
with whom Professor Baldwin made arrangements for that purpose.
For twenty years he was connected with the school, serving most
of the time as Vice President and one year, 1881-82, as Acting
President. He had charge of the classes in English and generally
taught a number of other subjects until at least 1879-80.
He was a strict disciplinarian, and it frequently fell to his
lot to administer the rules regulating the conduct of the students.
12
164 State Normal School History.
Many an old student will remember his experience in ''Number
Six" for being tardy at school. He was exacting in the require-
ments of the class exercises, and was very open in his criticism
of those who failed to come up with their duties. Notwithstand-
ing this sternness in the class room, he was greatly loved and re-
spected by the students. His" sincerity, his sympathetic interest
in the welfare of the students, and his exemplary life won the
esteem and confidence of all who came under his direction.
On severing his connection with the school, he took up
pastoral work, serving several different charges in the Cumber-
land Presbyterian Church in this section of the state. He had
been ordained as a preacher in that church in 1869, and frequently
filled various engagements while teaching in the Normal School.
During 1870-71 he supplied the C. P. Church in Kirksville, under-
taking however none of the pastoral work. He gave up his pas-
toral engagements in 1892 and has never assumed any other since
that time, though he has frequently officiated at various religious
services and does so yet occasionally.
In 1889 he became interested in a private school at LaBelle,
Missouri, called Western College, and continued in that until Feb-
ruary, 1891, when he was forced to give it up owing to ill health.
This proved to be his last school work.
In June, 1902, the Board of Regents, at the recommendation
of President Kirk, made Professor Nason, Professor Emeritus of
Ethics, and ordered that his name should appear in the faculty
list of the school under this title during the remainder of his life.
In doing this the Board has placed itself on record as recognizing
his valuable services in the first twenty years of the institution,
much to the satisfaction of his friends and former students.
Professor Nason has been twice married. His first wife was
Miss Sarah Cowan of Wisconsin, to whom he was married on
January 23, 1859. She died on February 10, 1864. On June
12, 1866, he was married to Mrs. Thompson of Kirksville, both
ot whom are still living in this place, full of years and of honor.
The Faculty. 165
Professor James M. Greenwood.*
James Mickleborough Greenwood^ was born in Sangamon
comity, Illinois on November 15, 1837. His youth was marked
with a great deal of privation, owing to the disastrous effects of
the panic of 1837 on the possessions of his father. He attended
the district school of his neighborhood from the time he was ten
until he was sixteen. During this period he showed his fondness
for mathematics, that branch of learning for which he has since
made himself particularly famous.
In 1852 he came with his father's family to Adair county,
Missouri, settling on a farm southeast of Kirksville. Here he
found the educational advantages very poor, perhaps less than
those of his old home in Illinois. The nearest school was seven
miles distant, so that his study in the next few years was carried
on almost exclusively at home. To the small family library which
contained a few standard English authors, he added a few
volumes which he purchased from the library of a man who had
recently died, using the proceeds from the sale of a calf in making
the purchase. Among these books were Vergil, Stoddard's
Latin Grammar, Salkeld's First Spanish Book, Butler's Analogy,
Olmstead's Philosophy, and Davies' Algebra, Geometry, and
Surveying. By studying these books, unaided and alone, he
managed to make a start in Latin, Spanish, and the higher
mathematics. In addition to this, he read everythiiig he could
beg, buy, or borrow within miles of where he lived. All these
books were of a serious nature. Up to his twenty-seventh year
he had read only two novels. Meanwhile he spent a good deal of
his time in working on the farm and hunting, thus contributing
to his physical strength.
He first thought he would prepare himself for the legal pro-
fession, and actually made a start in that direction, but shortly
give up the idea and took to teaching. His first school was in
Adair county. Owing to his youth, being only sixteen years old
at the time, some of the students sought to give him trouble, but
he succeeded in overcoming all diffi<;ulties.
*For a picture of Professor Greenwood, see page 35.
166 State Normal School History,
In 1859 he entered a Methodist Seminary at Canton, Mis-
souri, at that time one of the strongest educational institutions
in the northeastern part of the state. There he made a splendid
record as a student. Being queerly dressed he was made the
object of ridicule by some of the other students, but this only in-
creased his efforts to excel in his work. In April, 1858, he was
compelled to withdraw from school owing to ill health, and never
entered again.
After leaving the Seminary, he spent several years on his
father's farm. On November 1, 1859, he was married to Miss
Amanda McDaniel, who was then teaching in Kirks ville. In 1862
he enlisted in the Missouri militia and served in it for over a year.
During the winter of 1863-64 he taught school in Lima, Illinois.
At the close of this work, he re-enlisted in the Missouri militia
and remained in it until December 10, 1864.
He then returned to Adair county and was employed to teach
a three months school near his home. Owing to the small pox
which broke out in the neighborhood, he had to give up this school
long before it was due to close, whereupon he obtained employ-
ment for a short time in the Circuit Clerk's office in Kirksville.
The next two years, 1865-1867, were spent in teaching, the first
one at Lima, Illinois, and the second in Knox county, Missouri.
At the close of the school in Knox county, he returned to his
father's farm and prepared to settle down to farming and cattle
raising, having about given up altogether the idea of teaching.
But in a very short while he was interested in the normal school
which President Baldwin had decided to open in Kirksville, and
he and his wife consented to become members of the faculty.
The story of the arrangements that were made between Pres-
ident Baldwin and Professor Greenwood and his wife has already
been told'^.
Professor Greenwood and his wife remained with the school
until June, 1870. They then resigned to take charge of Mount
Pleasant College at Hunstville, Missouri, to which position they
had been unanimously elected without application on their part.
They were connected with this institution until January, 1871,
The Faculty. 167
at which time they returned to Kirksville and resumed their
work in the Normal School, it having been made a State institu-
tion the month before. At the time when the school was adopted
as a state institution, the Regents informally offered the Presi-
dency to Professor Greenwood, but he declined it on the ground
that acceptance would be equivalent to ingratitude to President
Baldwin.
His connection with the school was a very close one. He
shared very actively in the labors of President Baldwin in the
annual canvass in this part of the state for students, and was very
prominent in the campaign in Adair county on the voting for the
bonds to secure the adoption of the school as a state institution.
His teaching was scholarly and inspiring. Many an old student
of the early days of the school will testify to the helpfulness which
he derived from contact with him.
In June, 1874, Professor Greenwood resigned his position
in this school, having been elected unanimously and without his
application, to the Superintendency of the Kansas City Public
Schools, a position which he still occupies. When he went to
Kansas City, he found the schools in a great deal of discord but
in a short time he succeeded in bringing about harmony, and thus
put the schools on a sound basis. Under his management the
the public school system of that city has come to be regarded as
one of the strongest and best in the country.
Superintendent Greenwood is a mathematical scholar of
some note, having established his reputation in that line through
his teaching and his mathematical treatises. He has written a
number of pedagogical works in addition to numerous magazine
articles on a great variety of educational topics. He has been
very prominent in the Teachers' Associations of the state and
nation, having held the Presidency of each association in addi-
tion to a number of other offices, and having appeared frequently
in the programs of both. His executive ability has been highly
exemplified in the successful management of the schools of Kansas
City for over thirty years.
Mrs. Greenwood severed her connection with this institution
168 State Normal School History.
in June, 1872. She died in Kansas Cit}^ a little over a year ago.
President Joseph P. Blanton.
Joseph Philip Blanton^ was born in Cumberland county,
Virginia, on January 29, 1849. His father was a large planter and
owned numerous slaves. On the death of his mother when he
was seven years of age, he was sent to Kentucky and placed under
the care of his brother, the Reverend L. H. Blanton, then pastor
of the Presbyterian Church at Versailles. He attended a public
school near Danville, and later the Academy at Versailles. At
the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861, he returned to his home
in Cumberland county, Virginia. Here he attended "Oldfield"
schools, and prepared for college under private tutors.
In the autumn of 1864, he entered the Freshman class of
Hamp den-Sidney College. The conditions upon which students
were permitted to attend college in Virginia at that time, were
that they should be enlisted as provisional soldiers of the Con-
federacy; they were furnished with arms and munitions of war
by the government, were required to drill two hours a day on the
campus, and were subject to the call of the government to de-
fend exposed places and repel the raids of the enemy. He con-
tinued in college under these conditions until the spring of 1865
when he joined the Army of Northern Virginia on its retreat from
Petersburg to Appomattox. After the surrender he returned
home, and in the fall of 1865 re-entered college, from which he was
graduated in 1869 with the A. B. degree. In 1881 upon the pre-
sentation of a thesis, his alma mater conferred on him the A. M.
degree, and in 1897 the degree of LL. D. was conferred by Central
University of Kentucky.
After his graduation in 1869, he went to Kentucky and taught
two years in country schools, one near Paris and the other near
Lexington. In 1871 he was elected to the chair of Latin and
Greek in Watson Seminary at Ashley, Pike county, Missouri. In
1874 he became the Principal of Parker Seminary of Troy, Mis-
souri, and two years later combined the seminary with the public
schools of the place. Students came from long distances to at-
PRESIDENT JOSEPH P- BLANTON
(From a crayon portrait made in 1886.)
170 State Normal School History.
tend this school, many from New Orleans and the southern part
of Louisiana.
In 1870 he was elected to the Superintendency of the public
schools of Mexico, Missouri. He thoroughly re-organized these
schools and developed them to a high degree of excellence. Among
other things, he introduced the study of vocal music into all the
grades as early as 1879. No other schools of the state except St.
Louis were, at the time, teaching this subject. He also founded
a public school library, which the Board of Education named
in his honor.
In the summer of 1882 he was elected President of the State
Normal School at Kirksville, where he remained for nine years.
Being a man of brilliant literary attainments he devoted him-
self to encouraging the students to do a great deal of general
reading in the very best of literature. To this end, he made extra
efforts to enlarge the library and succeeded in placing in it over
one thousand volumes of standard works in addition to what
had already been acquired. His administration is also marked
by an increased activity in the work of the literary societies, by
the introduction of the military system of discipline in the school,
and by the re-establishment of the "Model School "in which nor-
mal students were given actual training in teaching.
In 1891 he resigned the Presidency of this school to accept
the chair of Pedagogy in the University of Missouri. Subse-
quently he was elected Dean of the Department of Education in
the University, Avhich position he resigned in the fall of 1898 to
accept the presidency of the University of Idaho.
In 1900 he abandoned educational work and engaged in the
life insurance business in San Francisco, California. At present
he is the General Agent of the Prudential Life Insurance Compa-
ny for Missouri, and resides in Columbia.
President William D. Dobson.
William Davis Dobson^ was born in Tusculum, Tennessee,
on November 27, 1848. His boyhood was spent on the farm,
and like all farm boys he received his elementary education in
PRESIDENT WILLIAM D. DOBSON
(From a photograph taken about 1895.)
172 State Normal School History.
the district school. For a short time before the civil war he at-
tended the academy of Tusculum College, but was forced to
remain out of school during the whole of the period of the war.
In 1866 he entered Greenville and Tusculum College of Green-
ville, Tennessee. This institution had been formed by the union
of the Greenville and the Tusculum colleges, and is today one of
the oldest institutions of learning in the country, having been
founded over one huDclred years ago. He was graduated from
it in June, 1870, with the B. S. degree.
After leaving college, he studied law for two years at Green-
ville and was admitted to the bar at that place in 1872. In
August of that year, he came to Missouri with the intention of
practicing law, but he was shortly led to change his plans and
take up the profession of teaching. His first school in this state
was at Lindley in Grundy county. He spent the year 1872-73
in this school. In the fall of 1873, he was elected first assistant
in the public school of Trenton, Missouri, under Superintendent
R. C. Norton, and served in that capacity for two years. When
Superintendent Norton was elected to the chair of mathematics
in the State Normal School at Vv^arrensburg in the summer of
1875, Professor Dobson was elected to the Superintenclency of
the Trenton school, which he retained until June, 1880. From
Trenton he went to CarroUton and served as Superintendent
there from 1880 to 1890. During this period he was County
Commissioner of Carroll county for nearly six years. In 1890
he was made Superintendent of the Moberly schools, and in the
following year he was elected to the Presidency of the State Nor-
mal School at Kirksville to succeed President Blanton.
President Dobson remained at the head of the school until
June, 1899, when he was placed in charge of the newly created
department of history and political economy. He held that
position for one year, at the end of which he severed his connec-
tion with the school and began the study of osteopathy in the
American School of Osteopathy. He was graduated from this
institution in June, 1902, and was immediately elected to the
chair of chemistry in the school, which position he still fills.
The Faculty. 173
President Dobson has been honored by his ahiia mater,
Greenville and Tusculum College, with two honorary degrees;
the degree of A. M. was conferred upon him in 1878, and that of
LL. D. in 1893. The last was granted as a recognition of his
literary and professional abilities and his success as a teacher.
During his Presidency of this institution he placed particular
emphasis upon the professional work of the school, and dis-
couraged in every way the attendance of those students who did
not intend to teach at all. He made special efforts to re-enlist
the interest and support of the students of President Baldwin's
administration, in which he met with much success. He took a
special pride in the care of the campus and succeeded in mak-
ing many very important improvements in it.
President Dobson was very active in the State Teachers'
Association of Missouri for many years, and served as President
in 1890. He has been a prominent member of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church for several vears. He was married to Miss
Mantie Britton on July 5, 1878.
President John R. Kirk.
John Robert Kirk^o was born in Bureau county, Illinois,
on January 23, 1851. In 1856 his father moved his family to
Missouri and settled on a farm in Harrison county. He received
his early education in the district schools of his neighborhood and
in the Bethany High School. He entered the State Normal
School at Kirksville in April, 1873, and attended at irregular in-
tervals until he was graduated in June, 1878.
As a teacher he has filled a variety of positions. In 1873-
74 he taught a rural school in Harrison county and in 1875-76
he was first assistant in the school at Moulton, Iowa. He was
Superintendent at Bethany from 1876-81, at Moulton, Iowa,
from 1881-85, and at Bethany again from 1885-88. In 1888-89,
he served as Principal of the Adams School in Kansas City.
From 1889 to 1891 he was teacher of mathematics and history
in the Kansas City High School. The next two years he spent
as Superintendent at Westport, returning to the Kansas City
High School in September, 1896.
PRESIDENT JOHN B. KIRK
(From a photograph taken in 1901.)
The Faculty. 175
From January, 1895, to January, 1899, he served as State
Superintendent of schools, havmg been elected to that, office in
the fall of 1894 on the Republican ticket. At the expiration of
his term of office, he was made Examiner of High Schools for the
University of Missouri, which position he retained until July,
1899. when he resigned to accept the Presidency of the State Nor-
mal School at Kirksville.
President Kirk has been aggressively active as an advocate
of many educational reforms, including music, drawing, manual
training, agriculture and other forms of art and of industrial edu-
cation in all kinds of schools. He has also advocated elective
courses of studies and the rational use of all forms of college
athletics, including daily gymnasium work for girls and field work
for young men. He has taken great interest in the work of the
rural schools. His model for rural school houses is probably
more extensively used than any other in the country.
For years he has been actively identified with the State and
the National Educational Associations and other educational
organizations. He is probably as well known in the educational
circles of the country as any other man in the state.
He has been an ardent student all his life, particularly in
pedagogical subjects. He has frequently pursued courses in the
Universities of Missouri and of Kansas at the same time he was
teaching. He has traveled extensively both in America and
Europe.
As President of this institution his administration has been
particularly successful, both educationally and financially. He
has been very skillful in presenting the needs of the school to the
Legislature, and has done a great deal personally towards getting
favorable consideration of the same. Through these increased
appropriations, he has been able to enlarge the faculty and add
to the equipments of the school quite materially.
He was married to Miss Rebecca Idella Burns on July 15, 1875.
PROFESSOR GENTRY MISS OWEN
(lb82- ) (1882-iy04j
PROFESSOR NASON
(1867-1887)
MISS PREWITT PROFESSOR ROSS
(1883-1904) (1880-1900)
The Faculty.
177
The Faculty Roster.
The original faculty of the North Missouri Normal School
was composed of the following persons: Joseph Baldwin, W. P.
Nason, J. M. Greenwood, F. L. Ferris, Mrs. Amanda Greenwood,
and Mrs. L. D. Ferris.
The following is a complete list of the members of the faculty
in the order of their appointment from the beginning to the
present time with the period of service of each member^i:
Sept.
Sept.
Jan.,
Sept.,
Sept.,
Sept.,
Sept.,
Sept.
Joseph Baldwin,
W. P. Nason,
J. M. Greenwood,
F. L. Ferris,
Mrs. Amanda Greenwood
Mrs. L. D. Ferris,
S. M. Pickler,
Rev. J. S. Boyd,
Rev. John Wayman,
George Frankenberg,
Mrs. J. S. Boyd,
Sue Thatcher,
A. H. John,
Frank M. Fiuhart.
Laura Gleason,
Mary Norton, (Mrs. McClellan,)
Hattie Comings, (Mrs. J. R. Milner,)
J. T. Smith,
C. H. Bigger,
Helen Halliburton, (Mrs. McReynolds,)Sept.
Kate F. Rowland, Sept.
Mollie Bowen, Sept.
Mary Woodsworth, Sept.
Mrs. Mary Blackman, Sept.
H. F. Wilhams, - Sept.
S. S. Hamih, Sept.
C. H. Butcher, Sept.
Miss Stephan,
Mary Murtfeldt,
Mrs. Mary Williams,
W. H. Baker,
J. U. Barnard,
Sept., 1867 to June, 1881.
Sept., 1867 to June, 1887.
/ Sept., 1867 to June, 1870.
t Jan., 1871 to June, 1874.
Sept., 1867 to June, 1870.
, 1867 to June, 1872.
, 1867 to June, 1870.
1868 to June, 1873.
1868 to June, 1869.
1868 to June, 1870.
1868 to June, 1869.
1868 to June, 1870.
1868 to June, 1870.
Sept., 1869 to June, 1870.
Sept., 1869 to June, 1870.
Jan., 1871 to June, 1872.
Sept., 1871 to June, 1872.
Sept., 1872 to June, 1874.
Sept., 1872 to June, 1873.
1872 to June, 1873.
1872 to June, 1875.
1872 to June, 1873.
1872 to June, 1873.
1872 to June, 1873.
1872 to June, 1875.
1872 to Mch., 1876.
1873 to June, 1874.
1873 to Sept., 1877.
Sept., 1873 to June, 1874.
Sept., 1872 to June, 1874.
Sept., 1873 to June, 1874.
Sept., 1874 to June, 1875.
Sept.. 1874 to June, 1887.
Sept.
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13
180 State Normal School History.
B. S. Potter, Jan., 1875 to June, 1879.
M. T. Henderson, Sept., 1875 to June, 1882.
Emmir Thompson, (Mrs.Hannah,) Sept., 1874 to Dec. 1875.
G. W. Krall, Sept., 1875 to June, 1879.
Alta Wescott, (Mrs. McLaury,) Apr., 1876 to June, 1876.
J. W. Shryock, Apr., 1876 to June, 1882.
Helen E. Swain, Sept., 1876 to June, 1877.
T. Berry Smith, Sept.. 1877 to June, 1878.
E. R. Booth, Sept., 1879 to June, 1880.
C. H. Ford, Sept., 1878 to June, 1882.
Ahce Heath, (Mrs. C. W. Proctor,) Sept., 1879 to June, 1881.
John T. Paden, Sept., 1879 to Aug., 1884.
Ada Oldham, Sept., 1879 to June, 1882.
Anna H. Grigg, Sept., 1879 to June, 1880.
M. M. Thomas, Sept., 1878 to June, 1879.
E. B. Seitz, Sept., 1879 to Oct., 1883.
Chas. Ross, Sept., 1880 to June, 1900.
Martha W. Prewitt,(Mrs. Doneghy,) Sept., 1881 to June, 1882.
J. P. Blanton, Sept., 1882 to June, 1891.
Ermine Owen, Sept., 1882 to June, 1904.
Mrs. A. E. DeVine, Sept., 1882 to June, 1883.
B. P. Gentry, Sept., 1882 to present.
S. Augusta Jayne, Nov., 1882 to June, 1887.
Hortense Snyder, Nov., 1882 to June, 1884.
C. S. Sheldon, Sept., 1883 to June, 1893.
O. E. McFadon, Sept., 1883 to June, 1886.
Mary T. Prewitt, Sept., 1883 to June, 1904.
P. A. McGuire, Sept., 1883 to June, 1884.
Carrie Eggleston, Feb., 1884 to June, 1885.
G. W. McGinnis, Sept., 1884 to Feb., 1886.
Miriam B. Swett, Sept., 1885 to June,1888.
Libbie K. Miller,(Mrs. Traverse,) Sept., 1885 to June, 1886.
J. I. Nelson, Feb., 1886 to Feb., 1891.
W. F. Dann, Sept., 1887 to June, 1892.
J. T. Muir, Sept., 1887 to Jan., 1894.
F. A. Swanger, Sept., 1887 to June, 1894.
Mary Wight, Sept., 1888 to June, 1889.
Marguerite Pumphrey,(Mrs. Smith,) Sept., 1888 to June, 1894.
^ ^, r Sept, 1888 to Feb., 1889.
Edgar S. Place, | gept_^ IggO to June, 1891.
Clara Figge, Sept., 1889 to June, 1891.
R. B. Arnold, Sept., 1891 to June, 1897.
Carrie Hatton, Sept., 1890 to June, 1891.
The Faculty.
IJ
W. D. Dobson,
Sept.
, 1891 to June, 1900.
Marian Shackelford,
Sept.,
, 1891 to June, 1892.
G. H. Laughlin,
Sept.,
, 1892 to Nov., 1895.
C. W. Proctor,
Sept.,
, 1893 to June, 1897.
J. W. Forquer,
Sept.,
, 1893 to June, 1898.
R. C. Norton,
Jan.,
1894 to June, 1900.
J. H. Scarborough,
Sept.,
, 1894 to June, 1899.
Mrs. Anna E. Seitz,
Sept.,
, 1894 to June, 1898.
Wilham Richardson,
Jan.,
1896 to June, 1900.
L. S. Daugherty,
Sept.,
, 1897 to present.
Halhe Hall, (Mrs. E.M.
Violette,)
Sept.,
, 1897 to June, 1902.
Ruby Westlake,(Mrs. Freudenberger,) Sept., 1897 to June, 1900.
J. E. Weatherly,
Kathryn Garwick, (Mrs. Rogers),
Margaret DeWitt,
John R. Kirk,
Ophelia A. Parrish,
E. M. Violette,
J. T. Vaughn,
Carrie Ruth Jackson,
A. P. Settle,
H. Clay Harvey,
M. Winnifred Bryan,
Frances Tinkham,
Cass Baer,
Ahce Adams, (Mrs. W. J. Shepard,)
Susie Barnes,
Luther Winchester,
W. J. Shepard,
W. P. Nason, (Professor Emeritus,)
Montana Hastings,
E. M. Goldberg,
Sadie Westrope,
M. Olive Greer,
T. Jennie Green,
R. M. Ginnings,
D. A. Lehman,
J. D. Wilson,
Blanche Scott,
Lizzie Fowler,
Margaret Linton,
S. S. Carroll,
Minnie Brashear,
Sept., 1899 to present.
Sept., 1898 to Jan., 1900.
Sept., 1898 to June, 1899.
Sept., 1899 to present.
Sept., 1899 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1900 to June, 1903.
Sept., 1900 to Aug., 1903.
Sept., 1900 to present.
Sept., 1901 to June, 1902.
Sept., 1902 to Aug., 1903.
Sept., 1902 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1903 to present.
Sept., 1904 to present.
Sept., 1904 to present.
Dec, 1904 to present.
Other facts concerning the faculty will be brought out in
connection with the. chapter on the ''Growth of the School."
182 State Normal School History.
NOTES.
1. The data used in this sketch have been drawn largely from a mem-
orial prepared by Superintendent Greenwood on the life of Dr. Baldwin which
was published in the N. E. A. Proceedings, 1899, pp. 23-24. The conclu-
sions reached on his life and character are the author's.
2. See pages 30-38.
3. Reports of the U. S. Commissioner of Education,' 1881, p. 382; 1891,
p. 1454.
4. North Missouri Register, Dec. 14, 1873.
5. Professor Nason has corroborated all the facts contained in this
sketch concerning himself.
6. Most of the facts in this sketch have been taken from HoUister and
Norman's "Five Famous Missourians" in which one whole chapter is de-
voted to Professor Greenwood, and from the sketch of him in the Cyclopedia
of Missouri History. Professor Greenwood has vouched for the reliability
of most of the facts related in these two accounts.
7. See pages 34-36.
8. The facts in this sketch of President Blanton have been corroborated
by him.
9. The facts in this sketch of President Dobson have been corroborated
by him.
10. The facts in this sketch of President Kirk have been corroborated
by him.
11. This list has been compiled from the faculty lists in the catalogues
and biilletins of the schools from 1868-69 to the present time.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE SCHOOL.
In considering the administration of the school, it will be
necessary to begin with January, 1873, the time when the school
moved into the building which had then been newly constructed,
owing to the fact that the details of the rules and regulations of
the school prior to that time are practically wanting. In order
that the matter may be presented in the clearest manner possible,
it will be considered according to the administrations of the four
Presidents of the school.
Among the regulations of the school during President Bald-
win's time, was the requirement that all the students should be
present at the chapel exercises which were held early in the
morning. The first thing that was done in these chapel exercises
was the calling of the roll. This was accomplished through the
divisions into which the students were grouped. Every student
was numbered and assigned to divisions, each of which had its reg-
ular place in the chapel. Lentil a few years ago the floor of the
chapel was arranged very differently from the way it is now.
The platform was long and narrow and stood at the west end of
the chapel, part of it on one side of the west door and part on the
other side. The seats were arranged in ten long rows, all facing
the west. The students of each row constituted a division.
When the students came into the building in the morning they
went first to the wardrobes and thence directly to the chapel.
The young ladies sat on one side of the room, the young men on
the other. While the students were seating themselves, the mem-
bers of the faculty took their places on the platform, each one
just in front of the division which was in his charge. When
order was had, the roll was called by the faculty division leaders
through the student section leaders. Each division was sub-
divided into two or three sections. For each of these sections a
student was appointed as leader. On the signal from the division
184 State Normal School History.
leader, the different section leaders of that division arose, noted
those absent from their sections, and reported those absentees
usually at once by calling out their individual numbers to the
division leader. This process was repeated for each of the divi-
sions^. The roll of the school was thereby called in two or three
minutes at the most, a much shorter time than was required by
the old method of actually calling all the names alphabetically
as had been the custom when the school occupied the North
Missouri Normal School building. The regular chapel exercises
followed the roll call.
At the close of the days' work the students again assembled
in the chapel. It- is not clear whether the roll was called at this
session or not. From this afternoon assembly the students dis-
persed to their homes or boarding places.
Promptness at roll call was greatly emphasized. As a sort
of encouragement to the practice of that virtue, penalties of
various sorts were imposed for irregularities in attendance. At
one time it was ordered that the doors of the chapel should be
locked when the signal for the roll call should be given^. Those
coming while the chapel exercises were going on, were to remain
down stairs in the wardrobes until the close of the exercises, and
then be brought into the chapel and be publicly reproved by the
President. Those coming after the chapel exercises were over,
were to be reproved the next day. In addition, five per cent was
to be deducted from the deportment for each tardiness^. Later
it was ordered that tardy students should forfeit the privileges
of the school for the whole day and have their names read out in
chapel*.
The divisions were used as convenient means of lecturing
the students concerning their conduct. The records state fre-
quently that the division leaders were instructed to meet their
divisions, evidently in different class rooms, and advise them
about their conduct^.
The rules about leaving the building during school hours
were very strict. Every one was required to be in the building
during every recitation period of the day, unless excused by some
The Rules and Regulations of the School. 185
member of the faculty. To provide for those who chanced to
have any vacant periods, study classes were instituted. These
classes were held in the chapel. At first they were presided over
by students who were selected by the faculty for that purpose^.
This arrangement did not work satisfactorily. Study classes
were, therefore, abolished and every student was required to take
as many recitations and drills as there were recitations periods
in the day''. Later the study hall was revived, but it was put in
charge of different members of the faculty^.
The rules concerning communication during school hours
were likewise very strict. Students communicating with each
other during recitation hours, either in the rooms or in the halls,
were likely to suffer a reprimand before the faculty or some other
penalty^. So essential to the good of the school was non-commu-
nication during school hours considered, that a clause incorpora-
ting a promise to abstain from communication, was included in
1872-73 in the pledge which every student was required to take
on entering school. The pledge had heretofore included merely
a promise to comply with the general regulations of the school
and to remain in school until the close of the term, and a declara-
tion of the intention to teach in the public schools of the state.
The clause on the general regulations was amended in 1872-73
so as to read as follows: "1 pledge my honor to use my best
efforts to comply with the regulations of the school requiring
regularity, promptness and decorum, and prohibiting unneces-
sary noise, immorality, and communication during school hours^o, "
The coupling of offenses in the last line is interesting.
Though the demerit system, whereby each offense or viola-
tion had its specific penalty, was not in vogue during President
Baldwin's administration, the deportment of the students was
reckoned in percentages and was affected by the violations com-
mitted. The idea of President Baldwin was to have as few rules
as possible. The great principle, "Do right," was made to take
the place of arbitrary rules^i. Penalties were seldom prescribed
in advance of the violations of rules. Generally each case wag
taken up and disposed of according to its peculiarities and with
r ■
186 State Normal School History.
the view always to discouraging its recurrence. However, there
is evidence that towards the close of President Baldwin's admin-
istration there was a tendency towards the demerit system.
This is seen in his recommendation to the faculty that each mem-
ber should note down in a memorandum book the violations of
the rules by the students, so that it might be possible to determine
what the deportment of the candidates for graduation would be.
Any student having below 90 per cent in his deportment was
ineligible to graduation i2_
A system of school tactics which provided in detail for the
uniform management of the classes, was worked out and adopted
in 1879. This system prescribed how the students should go to
the board from their seats, how they should return to their seats,
when they should raise their hands and when they should lower
them, in what order they should be dismissed, and so on^^. It
is true the system was adopted primarily as the proper method
for the management of the common schools. But it is to be re-
membered that according to the ideas of the times, whatever
suited the common schools was equally suitable for the normal
schools. Moreover, there are evidences that the details of this
system were carried out in the management of this school at
least towards the close of President Baldwin's administration^^.
This fact is interesting to us because it shows again the tendency
at this time to a rigid and uniform system which was character-
istic of the next two administrations of the school.
Shortly after President Blanton took charge in September,"
1882, he completely re-organized the administration of the
schoolis. His re-organization was along the line of rigid rules,
uniform penalties, and strict surveillance over the students by the
faculty. The system which he thus fastened upon the school re-
jnained for nearly twenty years.
The first change introduced had to do with the divisions.
The students were grouped in divisions according to their ad-
vancement in school. Each division met in the room of its leader
early every morning and spent forty minutes in study. At 8:25
the roll was called by the teacher in charge. After the roll call,
The Rules and Regulations of the School. 187
the students in company with their division leaders marched to
the chapel for devotional exercises^^. There was no attempt to
seat the students in the chapel by the new divisions. The young
men sat on one side, the young ladies on the other. Generally
they were arranged so that the smallest sat in front and the
largest in the rear. At the close of the chapel exercises the
students marched to various rooms where their first recitations
were held.
Study classes were maintained usually in the chapel for those
who happened to have vacant periods during the day. These
classes were presided over by students at times and at other times
by members of the faculty^^.
In the first part of President Blanton's administration, the
students assembled in the chapel at the close of the day for dis-
missal as it had long been their custom to clo^^. But very shortly
they were required to meet at the close of the day in their division
rooms and there answer to a second roll call^^. From these
division rooms they marched out of the building to their homes.
The duties of the division leaders were considerably in-
creased by this new arrangement. In addition to keeping a
record of those who were tardy at roll call or absent altogether,
and advising those in their charge as to matters of conduct^o,
the division- leaders collected the weekly study reports of the stu-
dents, saw that the students signed the pledge that was printed
on their program cards, or certificates as they were then called,
looked after those that were sick, and placed "gems of literature"
on the black board in the division rooms^i. Every Monday
morning short passages from the best of literature were placed on
the board. At the end of the week the students were required
to recite these "gems" from memory. Sometimes they were
recited in the chapel either by individuals or by divisions^^.
Later the duty of giving lessons in spelling and etymology was
added to these other duties of the division leaders^^^
Mention has been made of the weekly reports of the stu-
dents. These were an innovation. Each student was required
to state in a report each week how many hours he had recited,
188 State Normal School History.
how many hours he had studied, what Sunday school and church
services he had attended^*. These reports were abandoned in
a few years^^. As far as is known, this is the only feature of the
newly organized system that was given up by President Blanton.
The most interesting change that was made was that regard-
ing the deportment of the students. By this change the demerit
system in all its rigor was established. According 'to this sys-
tem definite rules of conduct and definite penalties for every
violation of these rules, were established. The penalties were
usually assessed by deducting so much from the deportment
grade, some of which were as follows^^:
1. Absence from school without excuse, 10 per cent.
2. Tardiness in the morning, 5 per cent.
3. Leaving lines without permission, 3 per cent.
4. Talking, laughing, or other disorder in the line, 3 per cent.
5. Talking in the halls at any time except at rests, 3 per cent.
6. Heavy walking over the floors of the building, 3 per cent.
7. Talking or any disorder in the wardrobes, 3 per cent.
8. Spitting on the floors or stairways, 3 per cent.
9. Throwing paper or litter on the steps, in the hall,
or on the yard, 3 per cent.
10. Failure to go at once to studyroom in the morning, 3 per cent.
11. Any irregularity or disorder about the halls, ward-
robes, or grounds not mentioned in the preceding
statements, 10 per cent.
12. Disorder or talking in study classes, 3 percent.
Special effort was made to enforce the rules concerning con-
duct in the halls. In order that the violators of these rules might
be detected, members of the faculty were stationed early in the
morning as monitors in the halls and in the wardrobes to observe
the students as they passed to their division rooms and as they
later marched into and from the chapeP^.
Each week the members of the faculty reported to the di-
vision leaders the disorders they had seen in the halls, wardrobes,
chapel, study hall, and classrooms, and whatever disorders out-
side the building that had come under their notice^s. On an
The Rules and Regulations of the School. 189
immense blackboard which stood above the chapel platform, a
copy of the record of these reported disorders was made. In this
way the student came to know which of his disorders had been
detected, and how much he had to suffer for them. Violations of
the rules affected not only the standing of the individual who
committed them, but also the standing of the division to which
he belonged^^. By making the standing of the whole division
depend upon the conduct of its various members, it was thought
that a rivalry would be developed among the divisions which
would result in checking the misconduct of the individuals.
Inasmuch as a rank of 85 per cent in deportment made one
liable to suspension from school, it did not take many violations
of the rules to bring a student face to face with the faculty to show
reasons why he should not be suspended^o. As might be expected
the records show that suspensions were frequent.
Such a system as has been described was undoubtedly injurious
to the moral development of the students and was certainly fruit-
ful of needless worry and care on the part of the teachers. The
rigid rules were a constant temptation to violations. The system
of espionage under which the students were placed, inclined them
to evasions of the rules.
The motive that prompted the establishment of such a strict
military system was undoubtedly good. It was said that most of
the failures on the part of teachers were due to a lack in dis-
ciplinary powers. In order, therefore, that all prospective teach-
ers might learn the art of discipline, they were to be subjected
while students in the normal school to strict rules, uniform
penalties, and systematic supervision in all the details of their
school life^^. Evidently it was not realized that such a system
tended to weaken the individuality of the student, and to make
the relation of teachers to the student more like that of a watch-
ful drillmaster than that of a sympathetic director or leader.
When President Dobson took charge of the school in Sep-
tember, 1891, no change was made in the system as it had been
left by President Blanton, and as far as is known no material
alteration was made in it throughout his administration.
190 State Normal School History.
When President Kirk came to the school in September, 1899,
a complete reformation was at once effected. Divisions, study
hall, and fixed penalties were all swept away^s.
Instead of reporting to division leaders, the students go at
once on entering the building to their first recitation. Instead
of gathering in one place for study during vacant periods, they
study wherever they see fit. In place of the many rules regu-
lating the conduct of the students, there has been substituted the
general principle of good behavior. With the passing of these
numerous rules, there has passed also the mihtary system of
demerits. The result of these changes has been to remove the
restraint that had been placed upon the students by the system
of minute faculty surveillance, which constantly tempted many
of them to violations just for the sake of violations, and to give
to them a large measure of freedom in their conduct, which has
constantly encouraged them to proper behavior.
This is not to be interpreted as meaning that certain definite
requirements are not now placed upon the students. For example,
promptness in attendance in classes and at the chapel exercises
is as much of a requirement today as ever. But the enforcement
of these requirements is secured not through a system of defi-
nite rules and penalties, but through an appeal to the stu-
dents' sense of what is just and proper in regard to these mat-
ters. The motive that is developed is that of doing right, not
that of avoiding penalties. The success of this system of general
rules and of large freedom on the part of the student is its strongest
defense. During President Kirk's administration there has been
less of misconduct than at any other period in the history of the
school. Cases of disorder have arisen, but they have not been so
frequent nor have they been so flagrant as in the past. For
the improvement of the conduct of the student body in these
later years, much credit is to be given to the system which puts
a student upon his honor and gives him an opportunity to de-
cide for himself as to what is the proper thing to do.
The Rules and Regulations of the School. 191
NOTES.
1. Faculty Minutes, Dec. 4, and 26,1873; Feb. 27,1875; Jan. 23,1876;
Feb. 6, 1877; Sept. 13, 1878; Jan. 29, 1879.
2. Ibid, Sept. 25, 1873.
3. Ibid, Dec. 7, 1874.
4. Ibid, Dec. 15, 1876.
5. Ibid, Sept. 11, 1879; Sept. 25, 1879.
6. Ibid, Jan. 30, 1873.
7. Ibid, Jan. 19, 1874.
8. Ibid, Jan. 29, 1879.
9. Ibid, May 10, 1871; Sept. 14, 1873.
10. Enrollment Book, 1872-73, p. 101.
11. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 21.
12. Faculty Minutes, Sept. 8, 1879.
13. Ibid, Oct. 12, 1877.
14. Ibid, Jan. 25, 1875; Nov. 11, 1879; Sept. 9, 1880.
15. Ibid, Nov. 14, 1882; Jan. 7, 1884.
16. Kirksville Democrat, Nov. 23, 1882.
17. Faculty Minutes, April 5, 1886.
18. Kirksville Democrat, Dec. 23, 1882.
19. The roll books of the divisions show markings for both morning and
afternoon roll calls.
20. Faculty Minutes, Nov. 5, 1883.
21. Ibid, Sept. 15, 1884; Sept. 22, 1883; Sept. 29, 1884; Feb. 18, 1889.
22. Ibid, Sept. 25, 1882; Jan. 3, 1884; Kirks^^lle Democrat, May 8, 1884;
Oct. 23, 1884; Nov. 12, 1885.
23. Faculty Minutes, Sept. 8, 1890.
24. Kirksville Democrat, Nov. 23, 1882.
25. Faculty Minutes, Oct. 4, 1886.
26. This list of penalties was found in the back of Professor Paden's
division register for 1882-1883.
27. Faculty Minutes, Oct. 4, 1883; Feb. 11, 1884.
28. Ibid, Nov. 19, 1883.
29. Ibid, March 20, and 27, 1882; Professor Barnard's division register
for 1883-84, fly-leaf.
30. Faculty Minutes, Jan. 15, 1884.
31. Ibid, Sept. 9, 1887.
32. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1900-01, p. 34
CHAPTER XIV.
THE BOARD OF REGENTS.
The government of the school is vested in a board of regents,
the present organization of which differs quite materially from
what it was originally.
According to the act of the Legislature of 1870 which pro-
vided for the establishment of the first two normal schools of the
state, the government of both of these schools was placed in the
hands of a single Board of Regents consisting of seven persons.
It included the members of the State Board of Education, that
is the State Superintendent, the Secretary of State, and the At-
torney General, and two other persons from each of the two
normal school districts, who were appointed by the Governor.
In making the first appointments two of the regents were ap-
pointed for two years and the other two for four years. There-
after all appointments, except those to fill vacancies, were to be
for four years^.
The First and the Second District Normal Schools remained
under the control of a single board, as originally organized, until
1874. In that year a law was passed which provided for a sep-
arate board for each of the two schools. Each board was to con-
sist of seven members, six of whom were to reside in the district
for which they were appointed, and one of whom was to be a
resident in the county in which the Normal School for such dis-
trict is located. The State Superintendent was made an ex-
officio member of each of the boards. The term of each appointed
regent was extended from four years to six years, and it was so
arranged that two of these members should be appointed every
two years^.
The substitution of two boards, one for each of the two
Normal Schools, in place of the single board for both of them, was
evidently in accord with the wishes of the schools. At least this
was true of the Kirksville school, as the faculty voted on Decern-
The Board of Regents. 193
ber 12, 1875 in favor of a separate board for each of the two
schools, and ordered that this expression of its opinion be for-
warded to Governor Woodson and State Superintendent Mon-
teith in response to letters which they had written to the faculty
on the matter^.
The Third District Normal School which was provided for
by an act of the Legislature in 1873, was placed under the con-
trol of a separate board^. Doubtless this measure had something
to do with the abolition of the single board for the First and Second
District Schools and the creation of a separate board for each
school.
The question has been frequently raised since this arrange-
ment was made whether it would not be better after all to have
all three of the Normal Schools of the state under one single Board
of Regents. Doubtless there are some very good reasons for having
that sort of an arrangement, but apparently there are as many
good reasons, if not more, for having a separate board for each
school. Uniformity of courses, regulations, and the like might
be more easily maintained by one board of control for all the
schools, and it is apparently desirable that there should be some
degree of uniformity in these things. But at the same time the
incentive for one school to excel the others might be largely taken
away by this sort of an arrangement. While the three schools
are in no sense competitors and should never become such, yet
each has its own peculiar work to perform in its own section of
the state, and local conditions must always determine more or
less its administration. Moreover, it would be undoubtedly a
serious disaster to the educational system of the state if each
school should have no desire to excel the others in the character
of work done and results obtained, and in all probability this
desire would be considerably checked if the three schools were
under one board of control.
The Boards of Regents for the three schools were, up to 1889,
generally composed of men of the same political party as that
in power in the state. In that year a law was passed which pro-
vided that not more than four of each board, including the State
194 State Normal School History.
Superintendent of Schools, should belong to the same political
party, and the Governor was instructed in his subsequent appoint-
ments to change the personnel of the board so as to bring about
this desired end as soon as possible^. This arrangement did much
to eradicate whatever tendencies there were to strict partisan-
ship, and has largely prevented its recurrence.
The officers of the Board are President, Vice President, Sec-
retary, and Treasurer, each of whom is elected for a term of two
years. The Secretary has usually been some member of the
Board. The Treasurer has always been some one outside of the
Board. From 1871 to 1893, W. T. Baird was Treasurer. Since
1893, the Treasurership has rotated among R. M. Ringo, B. F.
Heiny, and W. T. Baird, each holding the office for two years in
the order named^.
The Board holds its regular annual meeting at the close of
the school year, and generally holds a mid-year meeting, some-
time in January or February. The election of the faculty occurs
at the regular annual meeting'^.
The Board has two standing committees, the executive com-
mittee and the committee on teachers, text books, course of study,
catalogues, and library. These committees consist of three mem-
bers each and are appointed by the President of the Board for a
term of two terms. The executive committee has authority to
supervise the buildings and grounds, to direct all necessary and
unforeseen repairs and improvements, and to purchase supplies
for the same. The committee on teachers, text books, course of
study, catalogues, and library has the authority to examine into
the character and qualifications of applicants for positions as
teachers, to report upon the work of the faculty,, to recommend
changes in the courses of study and in text books, to supervise the
publication of the catalogues and to plan means for developing
the library.
There is annually appointed an auditing committee to in-
vestigate the records, books, and accounts of the Secretary,
Treasurer, and Executive Committee, and report its finding to
the Board.
The Board of Regents.
195
The President of the school is an ex-officio member of the
standing committees, but has no vote in any of their proceedings.
The Board is required to make an annual report in August
to the State Superintendent concerning the condition of the
school. It is also required to make a biennial report to the Legis-
lature at the opening of each session. This report must contain
an itemized statement of the expenditures of the biennial period
and an estimate of the needs of the school for the next two years.
As a usual thing the Regents have been very active in securing
the needed appropriations from the Legislature for the work of
the school.
The original board was composed of the following persons:
First District — E. B. Neeley St. Joseph.
J. Baldwin Kirksville.
Second District — G. R. Smith Sedalia.
J. A. Milner Springfield.
State Board of T. A. Parker State Superintendent.
Education — Francis Rodman Secretary of State.
H. B. Johnson Attorney General.
The following is a complete list of the Regents of the school,
their addresses, and the length of the terms which they have
served or have yet to serve:
E. B. Neeley, St. Joseph, Dec, 1870, to Jan., 1874
J. Baldwin, Kirksville, Dec, 1870, to Jan., 1871
G. R. Smith, Sedalia, Dec, 1870, to Nov., 1871
J. R. Milner, Springfield, Dec, 1870, to Jan., 1874
T. A. Parker, State Supt., Dec, 1870, to Jan., 1871
Francis Rodman, Secy, of State, Dec, 1870, to Jan., 1871
H. B. Johnson, Atty. Gen., Dec, 1870, to Jan., 1871
B. G. Barrow, Macon, Jan., 1871, to Apr., 1871
Ira Divoll, State Supt., Jan., 1871, to June, 1871
N. G. Ferguson, Louisiana, Apr., 1871, to Jan., 1874
John Monteith, State Supt., June, 1871, to Jan., 1875
E. F. Weigel, Secy, of State, Jan., 1871, to Jan., 1874
A. J. Baker, Atty. Gen'l., Jan., 1871, to Jan., 1873
E. A. Zeundt, Jefferson City, Nov., 1871, to Jan., 1874
H. Clay Ewing, Atty Gen'l., Jan., 1873, to Jan., 1874
J. M. DeFrance, Kirksville, Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1875
Bartlett Anderson, Memphis, Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1877
G. L. Osborne, Louisiana, Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1876
14
196
State Normal School History.
D. S. Hooper,
J. M. McKim,
John Oldham,
R. D. Shannon,
Andrew ElHson,
A. M. Alexander,
J. D. Vincil,
W. B. Hays,
Ben Eli Guthrie,
J. S. Erwin,
T. C. Campbell,
W. E. Coleman,
Sumner Boj^nton,
E. 0. Hannah,
•George Giller,
George Hall,
A. D. Risdon,
L. E. Wolfe,
M. W. Laughlin,
John R. Kirk,
0. J. Chapman,
R. N. Bodine,
Scott J. Miller,
J. W. Martin,
C. C. Fogle,
S. M. Pickler,
A. W. Mullins,
W. T. Carrington,
J. M. Hardman,
G. A. Goben,
Reuben Barney, Sr.,
Reuben Barney, Jr.,
John H. Wood,
Kirksville,
Newark,
Kirksville,
State Supt.,
Kirksville,
Paris,
Mexico,
Lancaster,
Macon,
Kirksville,
Kirksville,
State Supt.,
Greencastle,
Moberly,
Kirksville,
Trenton,
Kirksville,
State Supt.,
Monroe City,
State Supt.,
Breckenridge,
Paris,
Chilhcothe,
Kirksville,
Lancaster,
Kirksville,
Linneus,
State Supt.,
Edina.
Kirksville,
Chillicothe,
Chillicothe,
Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1877
Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1891
Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1880
Jan., 1875, to Jan., 1883
Jan., 1875, to Mch
Jan., 1876, to Jan.
Jan., 1877, to Jan.
Jan., 1877, to Jan.
Jan., 1878, to Jan.
Jan., 1880, to Jan.
Jan., 1883, to Jan.
Jan., 1883, to Jan.
Jan., 1887, to Jan.
Jan., 1889, to Jan.
Jan., 1891, to Jan.
Jan., 1891, to Jan.
Mch., 1891, to Jan. ,1893
Jan., 1891, to Jan., 1895
Jan., 1893, to Jan
Jan., 1895, to Jan
Jan., 1895, to Jan
Jan., 1895, to Jan
Jan., 1897, to Jan., 1907
Jan., 1897, to Jan., 1903
Jan., 1899, to Jan., 1901
Jan., 1899, to Jan., 1905
Jan., 1899, to Jan., 1911
Jaii., 1899, to Jan., 1907
Jan., 1901, to Jan., 1907
Jan., 1903, to Jan , 1909
Jan., 1903, to Mch., 1903
Apr., 1903, to Jan., 1909
Jan., 1905, to Jan., 1911
1891
1883
1878
1899
1889
1891
1887
1891
1895
1895
1897
1903
1899
1899
1899
1897
Shelbina,
Regents McKim, Ellison, Alexander, Hays, Guthrie, Erwin,
Boynton, Hall and Mullins have each served more than one term.
State Superintendent Shannon and Coleman served each two
terms, and Superintendent Carrington is now in his second term.
To Judge W. B. Hays belongs the credit of having been on the
Board longer than any other member, having served twenty two
years. Dr. J. M. McKim and Judge Andrew Ellison are next in
length of service, having been on the Board seventeen and sixteen
years respectively. Regents Boynton, fSHTTP, and Barney, Sr.,
died while members of the Board.
The Board of Regents. 197
NOTES.
1. Laws of Missouri, 1870, pp. 134-6.
2. Ibid, 1874, pp. 143-4.
3. Faculty Minutes, Dec. 12, 1873.
4. Laws of Missouri, 1873, pp. 79-81.
5. Ibid, 1881, p. 1894.
6. See the lists of the members and officers of the Board of Regents in
the catalogues from 1871-72 to the present time.
7. The authority for this paragraph and the two following is the Rules
of the Board of Regents, adopted in June, 1899.
8. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 3.
9. See the lists of the members of the Board of Regents in the catalogues
from 1871-72 to the present time. Judge Barrow and Superintendent Divoll's
names do not appear in these lists. Their membersliip is verified by the
Minutes of the Regents.
CHAPTER XV.
THE CAMPUS AND THE BUILDINGS.
The campus of this institution was donated to the state by
Messrs. Morris and Richter of this city. It contained originally
fifteen acres. The opening up of streets along the north and south
ends have cut it down to about fourteen acres. As it was a corn
field at the time it was donated, a great deal of work was neces-
sary in order to make it suitable for school purposes.
The first improvements were begun in the spring of 1873,
shortly after the school had occupied its new building. This
included fencing, grading, the laying out of walks, the making
of a lake out of the ravine that ran from east to west across the
campus, and the building of two bridges across the lake. The
expense thus incurred was paid for out of the funds of the school^.
The next improvement was that of planting trees and putting
the campus down in blue grass. As far as is known all the trees
of the campus were donated either by prominent nurserymen or
by the faculty and the students. The work of planting them was
done largely by the faculty and the student themselves. Nearly
every student in school in the year or two following the occupa-
tion of the building, had something to do with the securing and
planting of a tree^. A number of classes planted groups of trees,
the most noted of which was the group of evergreens planted by
the class of 1876 in the shape of a star^. A few of the trees of
this group are still standing near the lake west of the bridge.
The work of planting trees was continued regularly every
spring for several years, and was renewed occasionally until
1887. It was frequently the case that the setting out of a tree
was made the occasion of certain formal ceremonies or exercises*.
The part thus played by the students in the beautifying of
the campus developed in them a peculiar attachment for it which
those of a later time can not fully appreciate. Many an old stu-
dent has derived a great deal of pleasure by returning to the
SCHOOL
GARDEN
JANITOR'S RESIDENCE
ATHLETIC FIELD
^
Plot of the Campus, March, 1905.
(Scale, 160 feet to the inch.)
200 State Normal School History.
campus and visiting the tree which he planted and for which he
cared while in school.
Sometime during the year 1887-88, Professor M. G. Kern of
the U. S. Agricultural Department visited the school and, after
carefully investigating the grounds, made a design showing how
the needed improvements should be made. For several years
efforts were made to get the Legislature to appropriate funds to
carry this design into effect, but all in vain^. Instead of being
improved, the campus was allowed to fall into neglect towards
the close of the eighties. Doubtless the lack of funds was the
chief cause for ithis condition of things. But the campus appears
to have been more or less abused through the privilege extended
to certain persons in town to use it as a pasture ground for their
cows at night, and it was frequently strewn with litter that had
been left from the picnics that were held there.
When President Dobson took charge of the school in Sep-
tember, 1891, among the first problems he took up was the campus.
He succeeded in doing a great deal towards improving it. It was
closed as a pasture and picnic ground, and many of the trees
were removed where they had grown up too thick. A special
appropriation was secured from the Legislature for the granitoid
walk which runs from the main entrance on the street directly
to the building, and for an iron bridge across the lake'^. The
new walk took the place of numerous, winding gravel and cinder
walks, and the new iron bridge took the place of the old wooden
one. At the same time the lake was extended to the east, and
deepened and widened on the west.
It is a great misfortune that certain changes have been
made in recent years which have materially and perhaps per-
manently injured the appearance of the campus. The annex
which was built in 1901, was located in such a way as to prevent
it from showing itself to the best advantage and at the same time
has ruined the stately appearance of the old building. The
laying out of the athletic field in the northwest corner of the
campus, essential as it is to the welfare of the school, has marred
the natural beauty of the grounds.
The Campus and the Buildings. 201
The main building was originally heated by a hot air furnace
which was located in the basement^. In a few years this was
exchanged for a hot water plant^. In 1883 the present system
of steam heat was installed^*^. A few years later the boilers were
moved from the basement and put in an engine house south of
the building^i. The system was enlarged and modified in 1901,
when the annex was built^^.
Some important changes have been made in the chapel.
The desks which w^ere first used as seats were taken out of the
chapel in 1893 and the present opera chairs were put in their
placei3_ The platform stood originally at the west end of the
chapel, partly on one side of the door at that end and partly on
the other. In the fall of 1899 the platform and the seats were
arranged as they are today. The gallery at the east end was built
in 1894i4_ An extension of the gallery along the south side will
be made in a short time.
The pictures of the chapel which accompany this chapter
give a very good idea of the original and the present arrange-
ments.
The basement of the main building was originally used for
the heating plant only. In 1883 the unused portions were fitted
up for the model schooU^. When the heating plant was moved
from the basement, the space it had occupied was fixed up as a
chemical laboratory and was used for that purpose until 1899.
When the annex on the northeast of the main building was com-
pleted in 1901, the training school, excepting the kindergarten
department, was transferred to it.
At the present time the main building contains on the base-
ment floor the agricultureal laboratories, the kindergarten de-
partment, a recitation room in English, and toilet and store rooms;
on the first floor, the manual training department, the zoological
laboratory, and recitation rooms in mathematics, history, Latin,
and pedagogy; on the second floor, the Y. M. C. A. rooms, the
Philomathian hall, the music room, the chemical laboratory and
recitation room, and the chapel; on the third floor, the Senior
and the Websterian halls, and the elocution room. The annex
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204 State Normal School History.
contains on the basement floor the gymnasium and the recita-
tion rooms of the lower grades of the Training School; on the
first floor, the President's office and the recitation rooms of the
upper grades of the Training School; on the second floor, the Y.
"VV. C. A. room, the physical laboratory, recitation rooms in English
and the library.
In the last report of President Kirk to the Legislature, the
value of the buildings, grounds, and equipments was estimated
as follows^S;
1. Value of buildings .' $75, 000.00
2. Value of boiler house, smoke stack, and tunnel 1, 500.00
3. Value of boiler plant, three tubular boilers 3, 150.00
4. Value of books and furniture in library 5, 500.00
5. Value of laboratory appliances and fixtures 2, 500.00
6. Value of furniture exclusive of library furniture. ... 3, 000.00
7. Value of campus 30, 000.00
Total, $120,650.00
The estimate on the buildings is far below their actual cost.
The main building cost $100,000 and the annex $30,000. The
difference between the cost and estimated value of this item alone
is $55,000.
The Legislature of 1905 appropriated $50,000 for a new
building. At the time of this writing, March, 1905, it has not
been definitely decided where it will be located. There is a
strong desire on the part of some that it be attached to the
main building on the west. When completed it will be used largely
for the sciences. It will also include the administrative offices
of the school and a gymnasium for boys. It will greatly relieve
the crowded condition of the other buildings and will make
possible some needed rearrangements in the recitation rooms.
In addition to these improvements a model rural school
house is to be erected immediately, mention of which has already
been made.
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The Campus and the Buildings. 207
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1873-74, p. 5.
2. Ibid, 1874-75, p. 3; North Missouri Register, April 2, 1874.
3. North Missouri Register, April 27, 1876.
4. Ibid, March 13, 1876; Kirksville Democrat, April 15, 1886; June 3,
1886; May 14, 1887; Faculty Minutes, March 17, 1882; Catalogue, State Nor-
mal School, Kirksville, 1888-89, p. 36.
5. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1888-89, p. 36; 1889-90,
p. 37; 1890-91, p. 36.
6. Kirksville Democrat, Sept. 23, 1892; Dec. 9, 1892; Mch. 20, 1893.
7. Ibid, June 7, 1895; Aug. 30, 1895: Laws of Missouri, 1895, p. 20.
8. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1871-72, p. 5.
9. Ibid, 1875-76, p. 3.
10. Ibid, 1883-84, p. 29.
11. Laws of Missouri, 1887, p. 6; 1889, p. 3.
12. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1901-02, p. 42.
13. Laws of Missouri, 1893, p. 20; Kirksville Democrat, May 12, 1893.
14. Kirksville Democrat, July 20, 1894.
15. Laws of Missouri, 1883> p. 6.
16. Biennial report of the State Normal School, Kirksville, for 1903-
04, to the Legislature of 1905 p. II.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE ALUMNI.
This institution has every reason to be proud of its grad-
uates. Barring a few instances, the young men and women,who
have pursued its courses of study to the end,have reflected great
credit upon the school.
The material is not at hand to make a definite statement as
to the exact percentage of graduates who have pursued the pro-
fession of teaching, but it is safe to say that it is very large.
Through these graduates, the influence of this institution has
been plainly felt in the educational system of this state and also
of many other western states, particularly of California. During
the seventies many of the graduates of this school were induced
to go to California, and in a short time they began to exercise a
strong influence upon the public school system of that great state.
It is in Missouri, however, that the school has had its greatest
influence, and this is as it should be. Its graduates have occu-
pied many of the most important positions in the public school
system of the state. They have filled some of the best superin-
tendencies outside of St. Louis and Kansas City, they have been
Principals in the ward schools and teachers in the high schools
of many of our best cities, including both St. Louis and Kansas
City. Since 1883 graduates of this school have filled the office
of State Superintendent. Many of the graduates have been very
active in the State Teachers' Association and have done much
towards moulding its opinions on various educational matters.
Of those who never took up the profession of teaching at
all or turned from it after a few years, many have risen to prom-
inence in other professions in this and other states, and are today
reflecting great credit upon their alma mater.
The graduates of the school are given as follows by classes^.
210 State Normal School History.
Post Graduates.
degree master op arts and of philosophic didactics,
1874— *0. P. Davis.
1875— *W. E. Coleman, W. N. Doyle, C. B. Daughters, J. C. Stevens
DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS AND PROFESSIONAL TEACHER.
1876— J. U. Barnard, C. W. Bigger, Thomas Cloyd, J. M. White.
DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS AND DIDACTICS.
1878— J. F. Chandler, Ada Oldham, C. W. Thomas.
1879 — Jennie Burton, G. W. CuUison, Ella Carothers (Mrs. Dun-
egan), W. T. Carrington, N. B. Henry, Maggie Thompson
(Mrs. Henry), E. E. Hohopeter, R. S. lies, A. R. Orr, W. H.
Vaughn.
1880 — John Barton, Julia Lester (Mrs. Bos worth), Manlove Hall,
John R. Kirk, Lowa Phelps (Mrs. Murdy), F. P. Primm,
Thos. E. Sublette, Serelda Gilstrap (Mrs. Thomas).
1881— J. C. Doolev, *S. D. Ellis, C. L. Ebaugh, H. McGarry, *C.
M. Polley, G. A. Smith.
1882— A. B. Carroh, J. A. Guttery, *J. S. McGhee, I. N. Matlick,
Flora Northrup (Mrs. Scheurer), S. H. Soper, Duke E.
Wright (Mrs. Herron), W. E. Tipton, A. B. Warner.
1883— T. S. Cox, C. E. Foster, W. R. HoUoway, Lulu Sharp (Mrs.
Corley) .
DEGREE MASTER OF SCIENTIFIC DIDACTICS.
1884— W. B. Anderson, Olivia Baldwin, S. A. Conway, F. W.
Guthrie, Charles Riggie, R. R. Steele.
1885 — Cora Baldwin, Selden Sturges.
1888— H. C. Long.
1889— Aven Nelson.
1892 — Wm. D. Grove, Mary Trimble Prewitt, F. A. Swanger.
1893 — Adaline Bell, Frank Wisdom Hannah, Marguerite Pumphrey
(Mrs. Smith), Walter H. Payne, Louise M. Trimble, John
A. Whiteford.
1894— R. B. Arnold, C. W. Bowen, Fannie Gentry (Mrs. Lobban).
1896— Minnie Brashear, W. L. Riggs, J. H. Grove, J. A. Koontz.
1897 — Fannie K. McCoy, Sophia C. Y/atson.
1899— Z. Fletcher Wharton.
1900— A. B. Coffee, Geo. M. Laughlin, Anna M. Wood.
1901— Thos. J. Kirk, G. W. Pendergraft, A. P. Vaughn.
1902— Essie Holmes, H. H. Laughlin.
"^Deceased.
The Alumni. 211
degree — master op pedagogy.
1903 — E. Alta Allen, Mayme Foncannon, Mabel Gibbons, R.
Emmett Hamilton.
1904— Ada Greenwood McLaughlin, Alethea Ringo, Frances
Miller, Nora B. Phillips.
Graduates.
degree bachelor of philosophic didactics.
1872— *0. P. Davis, W. N. Doyle, W. F. Drake, I. N. Matlick,
J. T. Smith, J. C. Stevens, *Vincent Stine, Selden Sturges,
1873— C. W. Bigger, *W. E. Coleman, C. B. Daughters.
DEGREE BACHELOR OF ARTS AND PHILOSOPHIC DIDACTICS.
1874— W. H. Baker, J. U. Barnard, G. W. Cullison, iThomas
Cloyd, Sue Forsythe (Mrs. Eaton), Helen Halliburton
(Mrs. Sam McReynolds), Julia Lester (Mrs. Bosworth),
*Emmir Thompson (Mrs. 0. E. Hannah), J. M. White.
1875 — J. R. Bradley, Jennie Burton, B. T. Hardin, R. S. lies,
*A. H. Jamison, *J. S. McGee, J. S. McPhail, A. R. Orr,
F. P. Primm, Lizzie Roe (Mrs. Carpenter), C. W. Thomas,
Alta Wescott (Mrs. McLaury).
1876— John Barton, J. F. Chandler, SalHe C. Callaway, (Mrs.
Larkins), W. T. Carrington, W. C. Ferrell, N. B. Henry,
E. L. Harpham, E. O. Larkins, Ada C. Oldham, Lowa
Phelps (Mrs. Murdy), H. C. Rutherford, *Minnie Smoote,
0. M. Thompson, Maggie Thompson (Mrs. Henry).
1877 — Ella Carothers (Mrs. Dunnegan), Irene Cumberlin, Serelda
Gilstrap (Mrs. C. W. Thomas), E. E. Hollopeter, W. D.
Oldham, R. V. Seward, W. H. Vaughn, E. H. Walker.
1878— Anna Baldwin (Mrs. G. W. Sublette), J. C. Dooley, *S. D.
Ellis, Charles L. Ebaugh, *H. A. Fink, Rebecca E. Hubbell,
Manlove Hall, John R. Kirk, H. McGary, *C. M. Polley,
G. W. Sublette, Thomas E. Sublette.
1879— W. B. Baker, Cora B. Baldwin, (Mrs. Hastan), A. 0. Da-
man, Anne Dysart, Addie M. Green (Mrs. Britton), Rice
Knox, R. E. Oldham, C. P. Perham, G. A. Smith, A. B.
Warner, Z. F. Wharton.
1880—1. F. Atterbury, Olivia A. Baldwin, A. B. Carroll, C. E.
Foster, T. L. Herbert, H. Johnson, Flora Northrup (Mrs.
Scheurer), *S. H. Soper, W. E. Tipton, Edmonia D. Wright
(Mrs. Herron).
1881— W. B. Anderson, T. S. Cox, Ada M. Greenwood (Mrs. Mc-
Laughlin), E. H. Hatch, W. R. Holloway, W.F.Link, R. B.
15
The Alumni. 213
Loudon, L. S. Mitchell, E,. F. Sallee, D. D. Sayer, Lulu
B. Sharp (Mrs. Corley).
1882— J. O. Allison, Nellie Bagg (Mrs. Glaize), S. A. Conway, Ida
Frankland, F. W. Guthrie, J. L. Holloway, J. W. Jones,
C. Higgle, R. R. Steele.
1883 — J. S. Erwin, Aven Nelson, Lura Owen (Mrs. Lon Mitch-
ell), J. N. Pemberton, Mary T. Prewitt, Lottie T. Spencer
(Mrs. O'Neil.)
DEGREE BACHELOR OF SCIENTIFIC DIDACTICS.
1884— R. W. Barrow, J. D. Brown, B. F. Carroll, S. A. Crook-
shanks, Miriam Davis (Mrs. Mitchell), Mary Griffith, J. H.
Grove, J. F. Hohday, R. E. Johnston, H. C. Long, W. H.
Miller, Libbie K. Miller (Mrs. Traverse), Carrie Randall
(Mrs. Thwing), H. B. Shaiii, Mamie Sharp (Mrs. Simpson),
F. A. Swanger, Nettie Willard (Mrs. Hovey).
1885— R. B. Arnold, R. E. Barnard, A. M. Boyd, C. C. Childress,
Silas Dinsmoor, W. W. Griffith, W. D. Grove, Mary Howell
(Mrs. Finegan), AUie Link (Mrs. Whitacre), 0. M. Mitchell,
F. M. Patterson, Fannie Riggs (Mrs. Long), Isom Roberts,
J. J. Steele.
1886 — S. P. Bradley, A. J. Bradsher, J. J. Brmiimitt, Jennie
Edwards, Ella Evans, Kate Funk (Mrs. Simpson), Nannie
Garrett, *Fannie Graer (Mrs. J. W. Martin), G. M. Hohday,
Etta L. Johnston (Mrs. Kiggins), A. E. Kennedy, C. M.
Kiggins, Mary L. Northcutt (Mrs. Locke), L. M. Phipps,
Stacy G. Porter (Mrs. Miller), W. T. Porter, A. L. Pratt,
J. F. Pratt, *L A. Price, J. A. PuUiam, Paul Sanford, J.
M. Simpson, Minnie Smith (Mrs. Fowler) , T. J. Updyke,
J. J. Watson, J. D. Wilson.
1887 — G. Bellamy, Adaline Bell, Charles Cornelius, Mollie Cham-
bliss, W. B. Edwards, Andrew Erickson, G. W. Fisher,
Georgia Funk (Mrs. Meyers), Ella Funk, Mattie Hannah
(Mrs. Humphreys), U. G. Humphreys, A. L. Holiday,
W. L. Holloway, G. E. Jamison, Nannie Key (Mrs. Dufur),
Eugene Link, E. D. Luckey, C. K. McCoy, Geo. F. Nason,
Marguerite Pumphrey (Mrs. Smith), Belle Plumb, Walter
A. Pavne, Ella Rolofson, Laura Seals, *Ida Thompson
(Mrs. Price).
1888— E. E. Barnett, H. S. Bruce, Molhe Chancellor, E. L. Cooley,
Lissie Funk, George R. Funk, Sallie Gex (Mrs. Roberts),
H. C. Harvey, Morgan H. McCall, Fannie Mackoy, A. L.
McKenzie, Lula Patterson, Marie W. Patterson, D. L.
Roberts. Prudie Risdon (Mrs. Tihery), Molhe Reed (Mrs.
214 State Normal School History.
Cooley), Minnie Reed, S. M. Snodgrass, Alma Smith
(Mrs. J. B. Dodson), Pauline C. R. Stone (Mrs. Rozelle),
Eva White.
1889 — Isabel Ellison (Mrs. Vinsonhaler) , Wm. Eiring, Fannie
Heald, C. W. Haman, Frank Hannah, E. T. Hubbard,
Genie Nolan, George H. Owen, Lucv Patterson (Mrs.
Motter), W. L. Riggs, Ella Woods, W. W. Walters.
1890 — J. T. Aldridge, Emma Ammerman, C. W. Bowen, Julia B.
Ellison (Mrs. Hill), Charles Eiring, Fannie Gentry (Mrs.
Lobban), Sue Greenleaf, George Gex, Nina Heald (Mrs.
McClure), Lizzie Harvey, Emma Poe, Adelia Richmond,
Louise M. Trimble, John A. Whiteford, Emily Watson.
1891— Geo. Finley Burton, E. 0. Doyle, C. P. Guthrie, Jennie
Green, Mary Gerard, J. C. Hennon, Kate Hammond,
Lillian H. Heald (Mrs. Richmond), Blanche Heiny, *W. A.
Muir, Rosa Patterson (Mrs. West), J. E. Petree, Allie
Ross (Mrs. Suggett), Ida Stafford (Mrs. Geo. F. Burton),
C. A. Savage.
1892 — Catherine Allen, Minnie Brashear, Ruby Dorothy Bowen
(Mrs. J. A. Cooley), Jennie E. Cole, Robert Lee Eberts,
Nellie Matilda Evans, Thomas Alonzo Hays, Cassandra
Emma Hubbard, Evan Richard Jones, Metta May McCall,
Louis Edward Petree, Geo. Arthur Radford, Oliver Stigall,
*Caddie Smith, Lundy Byron Smith, Lida Athleen Shultz
(Mrs. Risdon), Ellen Eliza Van Home, Sophia Campbell
Watson, Anna Stafford Western.
1893— Charles Bagg, Delia Baird, L. Ahce Bond (Mrs. Christie),
Clarence Alva Blocher, *Maggie Crawford, Allie Davis,
Mae DeWitt (Mrs. Hamilton), Martha DeWitt, Emeline
Fee, Meade Ginnings, Benjamin F. Guthrie, Mamie Har-
rington (Mrs. Schwartz), Ruth Jeffers, James Alva Koontz,
Chas. Murphy, *John R. Musick, John Davis Marr, Camile
Nelson, *Henry E. Patterson, Calvin Henry Paul, J. T.
Ronald, Alethea Ringo.
1894 — Geo. Washington Atterberry, Hubbard Blair, Wm. Batch-
elar, Mary Porter Burks, Alice Elzira Downing, Warren
Mitchell Duffie, William Samuel Eller, Lena Edelen, Julia
Emma Freeland, Mary Marguerite Fisher, Benjamin
Franklin Gordon, Lina Gore, George Mark Laughlin, Francis
Marion Motter, Sadie Martin, John Wilfley Oliver, Martha
Owen, William Charles Thompson, Lena Minerva Trow-
bridge (Mrs. Payson), Anna Wood.
1895 — Fred William Alexander, James Perry Boyd, Thomas
The Alumni. 215
Austin Craghead, Enoch Marvin Drinkard, Samuel Rodgers
Dillman, Alva E. Dowell, Dorothea Caroline Foncanon
(Mrs. E. C. Grim), Ezra Clarence Grim, Jesse Bird Hatcher,
Kate Bell Hawkins, Anna C. Hill (Mrs. Wright), Louis
Ingold, Lycla McKay, Frances Miller, Joe Shelby Maddox,
James Thomas Mc(jee, John Henry Nolen, Maud Owen,
Fred Benjamin Owen, Gertrude Phillips, Lena Lucile
Storm (Mrs. Emory Green), Ambrose Dudley Veatch,
Julia Alberta Wardner.
1896 — Frank Buckner, Ida Brashear, Manville Carothers, Jennie
Huffman, Homer A. Higgins, J. A. Hook, Arthur Lee,
Mabel Mennie, George Byron Novinger, Louise Rex,
Ledrew Esper Ryals, Nell Stone (Mrs. Brace), Zorado
Snelling, Arthur T. Sweet, S. E. Seaton.
1897— W. S. Boyd, John C. Bohne, P. E. Burns, C. C. Blue, E. C.
Bohon, Aida Evans (Mrs. Buckmaster), Fred Fair, E. E.
Funk, Mayme Foncannon, Harry L. Green, J. L. Gallatin,
Myrtle Harlan, Ada Harlan, Frank Heiny, John H. Hoefner,
Virginia Holderman, Essie Holmes, Eugene Lake, C. W.
Murphy, Milton McMurry, H. E. Neese, Martha Petree,
Victor Parrish, 0. A. Petree, *McDonald Petree, F. H.
Potter, Nora Phillips, G. W. Pendergraft, Saida Ragsdale,
Carrie Reynolds (Mrs. Conner), A. H. Smith, Lilah Town-
send, S. E. Terpening, A. P. Vaughn, W. I. Woodson.
1898 — Amy Brown, Claude S. Brother, Ardella Dockery, Sallie
Davis, May Evans, A. D. Foster, A. S. Faulkner, Kate
Holdswortii, Hattie Lyon, R. N. Linville, J. D. Luther,
*0. H. Lind, Birdie Miller, JuHa McBeth, Lilly Northcutt,
Anna Pile, Albert Pratt, Ethel Ringo (Mrs. J. E. Weather-
ly), Mary Sullivan, W. E. Shirley, Ray Seitz, W. B. Thorn-
burg.
1899— Cordelia Ashlock (Mrs. Brown), Pansy Bowen (Mrs. H. H.
Laughlin), Delos Austin Bragg, Cora C. Buchanan, Gwyn
H. Baker, Ellen J. Crockett, Lottie Christine, Lida Corken,
Ada Carnahan, John A. DeTienne, Jean Eames, Ida May
Finegan, Mabel Gibbons, J. A. Goodwin, Oscar Ingold,
Wm. Horace Ivie, Mayme Lorenz, Bess Hannah Link, Zoe
McDowell, G. W. Pauly, Mrs. Lena Pauly, Julia Louise
Porter (Mrs. Garth), Jessie Ray, Frank K. Surbeck, E.
Claude Smith, John B. Stigall, Nannie Thomas, Britt
Payne Taylor, Jas. Hornbuckle Turner.
1900 — Alice Adams (Mrs. W. J. Shepard), Susan Luella Ander-
son, Florence Baker, Susie Barnes, E. Grace Omer (Mrs.
216 State Normal School History.
Bohrer), Genevieve Bovard, J. A. Carmack, Adah Blanche
Caskey, W. Lemuel Cochrane, Leota Lillian Dockery,
Joseph C. Dougherty, Ella Evans, Alice Foncanon, E. H
Gipson, Blanche Hall, Robert Emmett Hamilton, Davella
Hendricks, Jacob Wilhelm Heyd, Essie Hill, Vida Jenkins,
Roxana Howard Jones, Harry H. Laughlin, N. June Lemon,
Sadie Lemon, Emma Long, Elsie Mae Martin, N. F. Mc-
Murry, Mary MiUer, J. C. Moorman, Myra Mills, May E.
Northcutt, Walker S. Pemberton, Lida Powell, Sunie
Roberts, Mathilde B. Rombauer (Mrs. Henry), Elea B.
Scott, Rose A. Shantz, Rosa May Smith, Stella Stone, P. 0.
Sansberry, Mary A. Talbot, James Harrison Turner, Fred
W. Urban, William C. Urban, Jessie B. Vaughn, Inez
Webber, Sadie Westrope, Virginia Louise White (Mrs.
Graham), Lena Wilkes.
1901— Eff a Allen, Edna Baker, Basil Brewer, Artie Keller Cleave-
land, Anna Margaret Earhart, Cassius V. Eaton, Anna
Ely, T. M. Evans, Eugene Fair, Alta Lee Gih, Mary C.
Greenwood, *Mabel Gilhousen, Wannee A. Hall, G. L.
Hawkins, Vena Hennon, M. Braxie Hull (Mrs. Alsdorf),
E. Gertrude Johnston (Mrs. Oliver Stigall), Nelson Kerr,
Robt. L. Kirk, Thos. J. Kirk, Alta Lorenz (Mrs. Eugene
Fair), Mittie W. Mason, F. L. McGee, Elmer A. McKay,
T. M. Mitchell, Pearl Moulton, Susan Nicholas, Lettie
Petree, Nora Elma Petree, Mary Porter, Minnie Reed,
Erma Reedal, N. Reuben Riggs, Lucy Rudasill, Robert
A. Scott, Enoch B. Seitz, B. P. Six, J. A. Taylor, Leonard
M. Thompson, Cora L. Walker, Mamie Willard, Bessie S.
Wittmer, Jessie M. Wright.
1902— Mattie Adams, E. Alta Allen, H. T. Allen, S. W. Arnold,
Sara F. Buchanan, George Crockett, M. E. Derfier, C. E.
Dickson, Fanny Dulaney, Bert L. Dunnington, *Sadie M.
Elwood, Bertha Evans, Marcy Carmen ' Fisher, Francis J.
Gibbons, Ottie M. Greiner, Ahce F. Erwin, Clyde Hennon,
Frank Heyd, T. W. Imbler, M. Elizabeth Johnston, Maud
M. Kennen, Clara Miller, A. R. Morgan, LiUian Neale,
N. H. Randall, Ida F. Ray, Audrey D. Risdon, Eva Rob-
bins, Libbie Smith, Isadore Smoot, Martha E. Sparling,
David Stanley, J. M. Stelle, Geo. J. Stringer, Jennie Town-
send, June Wack, Gertrude Watson, Eunice Wilkes.
DEGREE BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY.
1903 — Grover C. Allen, Bertha Allison, Kate Ashlock, Loa E.
Bailey, Ray Barker, Clara Blackwell, Jessie Brewer,
The Alumni. 217
Leona Brown, Clay L. Carter, G. N. Dance, Roy L. Gard-
ner. Ada 0. Harmon, Gertrude Heller, Chas. A. Heryford,
Russell E. Holloway, Cloe F. Johns, Grace Jones, I. Allen
Keyte, Lucy C. Kirby, Eunice Virginia Link (Mrs. P. W.
Bonfoey), R. V. Markland, Thos. Marksbury, Mabel Mc-
Hendry, Carrie Mills, R. L. Minton, Blanchie Moore, L. A.
Moorman, vS. E. Morlan, N. Mabel Owen, 'Lelah Popple-
well, Tilden Powell, Eugenia Ringo, L. D. Roberts, Grace
Rucker, Susie Sailing, Christine Tall, Sarah E. Thomas,
Myrtle Traughber, Lillian Louise Weedon, Bessie Wells
(Mrs. Grant), Edna Edith Wilson.
1904 — Charlotte Bain, V/. J. Banning, Clara Belle Bassett, Vera
Blake, M. A. Boyes, Roma Brashear, Eleanor Breier,
Margaret Brewer, Sam C. Brightman, DeEtta Broad-
bent, Sallie Brown, J. E. Burch, S. E. Calvert, S. A. Coff-
man, Cora Collier, Daphne Crawford, Cannie Damron,
Lucie Davis, Julia Estelle Dockery, C. V. DowTiing, F. W.
Dralle, Hallie Eisiminger, E. J. Ford, Leon Fraizer, Lura
Gilbreath, C. T. Goodale, Harry Hall, Eula Hull, Lena
Hutcherson, Ida Jewett, Louise Johnson, Ruble Kay, D;
Kittel, Lydia Koennemann, Bessie Leazenby, Anna Lotter,
H. A. Lemon, V/. M. McClain, J. A. Miller, Lowa Miller,
Herbert Mitchell, Fred Morgan, Jessie Nicholas, E. J.
Powell, Mrs. Tilden Powell, Julia Proctor, C. A. Roberts,
William Robertson, W. J. See, Daisy Seaber, Raymond
Shoop, Tress Surbeck, May Spivey, C. E. Temple, Cather-
ine Zimmerman.
NOTES.
1. This list of graduates has been carefully compiled from catalogues
beginning with the one for 1872-73. It is, therefore, free from many of
the errors that have been appearing in the lists of graduates in the cata-
logues and bulletins of late years.
CHAPTER XVII.
COMMENCEMENTS.
Inasmuch as the closing exercises of the early years of the
school were very different from what they are today, it will be of
interest to note what they were at first and trace the changes that
have been made in them from time to time.
At the close of the first year, 1867-68, there were no gradu-
ates. Hence the closing exercises were very brief. As far
as our information goes they were confined to oral examinations
which were held on the last two days of the session. As these
examinations were intended as a display rather than a test from
which the final standing of the students was determined, the pub-
lic was cordially invited to attend them. The newspapers of the
time state that a large number responded to the invitation^.
No record has been found of the closing exercises of 1869
and of 1870. In all probability they consisted largely each year
of the above mentioned public examinations. It is likely that
those of 1870 included some sort of an ''exhibition" in which
the fifteen young men, who were graduated that year in the
''modern college course abridged," participated^.
The closing exercises of 1871 were the first held after the
school had been adopted as a state institution. From the news-
paper accounts of them at the time, there seems to have been
some extra efforts to make them befit the newly endowed insti-
tution. There were no graduating exercises, but there were the
usual public oral examinations which extended through five days,
and in addition there were, during the evenings of the week, " ex-
hibitions ' ' by the students and addresses by men who were prom-
inent in the educational and political circles of the state. Among
those who were specially mentioned for their addresses were
Superintendent W. T. Harris, then of St. Louis, Major J. B.
Merwin of the American Journal of Education, and President
Baldwin^.
Commencements. 219
The closing exercises of 1872 differed from those of preceding
years in that they inckided, in addition to what had come to be
the customary events of the season, the graduating exercises of
the first class in the four years' course. The closing exercises
of this year constituted, therefore, the first regular commencement
of the school. The program included not only an oration from
each of the eight members of the graduating class, but also an
oration from each of the four young men who were graduating
in the three years' course and from three representatives of the
two year's class who had been chosen by the faculty for that duty.
In all there were fifteen orations besides the address by State
Superintendent Monteith and the presentation of the diplomas
by President Baldwin*.
This arrangement formed an important precedent. From
1872 to the present time the four and the two years' classes have
had some sort of graduating exercises in which all the members
of the classes or certain ones designated by the faculty took
part, and from 1872 to 1892 the representatives of the three
years' class appeared regularly at some time during the com-
mencement exercises. At first it was the custom for the
representatives of these three classes to perform their duties
at the same gathering, but later these duties were divided so as
to occur at two or more different times. Until recent years the
faculty always designated those or most of them at least, who
should take part in these exercises.
The commencement of 1873 was the first to be held in the
present chapel. It is further distinguished from those of former
years by the introduction of the annual reunion^. The reunion
was an informal social gathering of the old students who had re-
turned for the commencement exercises, and of the students who
were just finishing the year's work. It was held in the chapel,
generally on the evening of the day on which the graduating ex-
ercises of the four years' class had been given. For several years
after the reunion was established, it constituted one of the most
enjoyable features of the commencement season. Usually a pro-
gram, which was more or less informal and which aimed at enter-
220 State Normal School History
tainment only, was rendered. A regular number on this pro-
gram, in the early years at least, was the promenade which some-
times lasted as long as two hours®. Reunions seem to have been
held regularly from 1873 to 1900'^. Since 1900 they have been
discontinued.
As far as is known, the commencement of 1874 was the first
to include among its events a special entertainment by one of the
literary societies. The honor of introducing this feature belongs
to the Philomathean Society^, and as it happens the entertain-
ment given at this time by this society was its first effort in public.
This entertainment set another important precedent; for until a
few years ago it was the custom for one and sometimes for two
of the societies to present a special program during commence-
ment week, or just immediately preceding it^.
During the commencement week of 1875, the first annual
entertainment by the Alumni Association was held. This associa-
tion had been formed in June, 1874, but nothing was clone at that
time beyond organizing and arranging for the program for the
next year^". This program was rendered one evening during the
commencement week of 1875. It consisted of varied literary
exercises by certain members, the most important of which was
an address by the President of the association^i. Since 1875
the Alumni association has held some sort of an annual gathering
every year excepting 1900 and 1904. At these gatherings the
annual entertainment has been a fairly regular feature. The
program has usually consisted of addresses by different members
of the association, one of which has been the annual address by the
president^^. Once or twice an address by some orator of national
reputation was substituted for the numerous addresses of the
members of the association^^. At different years, arrangements
were made for two or three conferences during the afternoons of
commencement week, in which various pedagogical problems
were discussed^^. These conferences were generally interesting
and profitable to those who attended. Beginning in 1877^5, the
alumni association has generally provided some sort of a repast
for those in attendance and their invited guests. These repasts
Commencements. 221
have been all the way from the simplest refreshments to a very
formal banquet.
By 1875 a regular program of events for the commencement
season, had become fairly well established. These events in-
cluded public oral examinations which were yet intended more
for display than for determining the final standing of the students,
literary society entertainments, graduating exercises of the different
classes, addresses by prominent speakers, meetings of the alumni
association, and annual reunions. No change of any importance
was made in the above list of events until 1883.
During President Blanton's administration some important
changes were made in the exercises of the commencement season.
In the first place, the baccalaureate sermon was introduced. The
first one was delivered in 1883 by the Rev. Mr. Wilkie of Col-
umbia!^. Since that year the baccalaureate sermon has been a
regular event of every commencement^'^. In the second place, the
public oral examinations were abolished in 1883-84 and have
never been revived. In the third place, the contests in oratory
for the Regents medal and in declamation for the Baird medal
were moved down to the commencement week instead of being
held some weeks or months before that time. This change was
made in 1886^^. From that year down to a few years ago when
they were discontinued, these contests formed very important
features of the commencement program.
The only change of any importance in the events of commence -
ment week during President Dobson's administration was the
dropping out of the exercises of the three years' class in 1892.
This class had not received diplomas or certificates since 1884, but
the custom of having it present a program at commencement
time was continued until 18921^.
The field day exercises which were established in 1895 and
which have been held regularly every year [since, have
usually been held some days before the opening of the com-
mencement season, and hence cannot be properly considered as
among the events of the commencements.
With the exception of the elimination in 1892 of the exercises
222 State Normal School History.
of the three years' class, the program of commencement events
remained unchanged from 1887 to 1900.
In 1900 and 1901 a number of radical changes were made in
the commencement program. In the first place, each of the
classes adopted the custom of having class day exercises apart
from their graduating exercises. The former have consisted of
the orations and essays which had formerly been given at the
graduating exercises, and other numbers such as declamations,
musical selections, class histories, and the like. These duties
have been performed by persons selected solely by the class.
The graduating exercises have been given over to the address to
the class by some prominent speaker whom the class had chosen,
and to a very informal presentation of diplomas. In the sec-
ond place, the exercises by the literary societies and the con-
tests in declamation and oratory, the reunions, and the custom
of assigning first and second honors in the graduating classes
have been discontinued.
From the foregoing account we have seen that the closing
exercises of the school began with public oral examinations, that
they were gradually extended until they included a great variety
of events, and that since 1900 the tendency has been to shorten
the commencement season and to simplify the exercises. No
effort has been made to relate the details of each commencement.
Such would have necessitated much repetition. Peculiar in-
terest, however, is attached to the commencement of 1893 be-
cause of "Baldwin Day." This matter will be considered in the
chapter on ''Special Events."
The salutatorians and valedictorians of the graduating classes
from 1872 to 1899 inclusive, during which time it was customary
to award commencement honors on the basis of scholarship, are
as follows^O;
Commencements.
223
Class
Salutatorian
Valedictorian
1872
J. T. Smith
J. C. Stevens
1873
C. W. Bigger
W. E. Coleman
1874
Helen Halliburton .
J. U. Barnard
1875
Alta Wescott
R. S. lies
1876
W. C. Ferrill
John Barton
1877
W. D. Oldham
Serelda Gilstrap
1878
Anna Baldwin
John R. Kirk
1879
Annie Dysart
A. B. Warner
1880
A. B. Carroll
W. E. Tipton
1881
D. D. Sayers
W. R. Holloway
1882
R. R. Steele
J. L. Holloway
1883
Mary Prewitt
Aven Nelson
1884
R. W. Barrow
Libbie Miller
1885
R. B. Arnold
Silas Dinsmoor
1886
Nannie Garrett
Mary Northcutt
1887
G. W. Fisher
E. D. Luckey
1888
David Roberts
Frances Mackoy
1889
Ella Woods
G. H. Owen
1890
John Whiteford
Louise Trimble
1891
Ida Stafford
J. E. Petree
1892
R. L.Ebberts
Ellen Van Home
1893
Meade Ginnings
B. F. Gutherie
1894
Lena Edelen
F. W. Motter
1895
Dollie Foncanon
E. C. Grim
1896
S. E. Seaton
Nell Stone
1897
Mamie Foncanon
Martha Petree
1898
A. B. Pratt
A. S. Faulkner
1899
B. P. Taylor
Lottie Christine
NOTES.
1. Kirksville Journal, June 18, and July 2, 1868.
2. Fourth annual circular of the North Missouri NormalSchool.
3. North Missouri Register, June 1, 15, 22, 29, and July 27, 1871.
4. Ibid, June 20, and July 4, 1872.
5. Ibid, June 19, 1873.
6. Ibid, July 2, 1874; June 24, 1875; June 22, 1876; June 28, 1877.
7. See the calendars of events in the catalogues of the school from 1877-
78 to 1899-1900.
8. North Missouri Register, June 18, 1874.
9. See the announcement of the society entertainments in the cata-
224 State Normal School History.
logues of the school.
10. Alumni Record, Vol. I, p. 15.
11. The Tatler, Kirksville, June 19, 1875.
12. Alumni Record, Vol. I, pp. 15, 17.
13. Ibid, pp. 47, 65.
14. Commencement programs for 1879, 1888, 1892, 1893.
15. Alumni Record, Vol. I, p. 19.
16. Kirksville Democrat, June 21, 1883.
17. Ibid, June 17, 1886.
18. The baccalaureate preachers to the school have been as follows-
1883, Rev. W. Y. Wilkie; 1884, Rev. Dr. Pope Yeaman; 1885, Rev. Dr. John
Mathews; 1886, Rev. Dr. H. B. Ridgeway; 1887, Rev. Dr. W. H. Black;
1888, Rev. J. H. Garrison; 1889, Rev. Stephen Green; 1890, Rev. Dr. S. M.,
Neill; 1891, Rev. Geo. W. Miller; 1892, Rev. Dr. M. J. Breaker; 1893, Bishop
E. R. Hendrix; 1894, Rev. Dr. B. P. FuUerton; 1895, Rev. Dr. W. H.
Black; 1896, Rev. Dr. WiUiani Short; 1897, Rev. Dr. T. D. WaUace; 1898,
Rev. Dr. A. S. Embree; 1899, Rev. W. J. WiUiamson; 1900, Rev. Dr. I. S.
Hopkins; 1901, Rev. Dr. W. H. Black; 1902, Rev. I. N. McCash; 1903, Rev.
W. H. Starr; 1904, Rev. Dr. E. C. Gordon.
19. Faculty Minutes, Jan. 21, 1892.
20. The names of the. salutatorians and valedictorians of the various
classes have been secured largely from the newspaper accounts of the com-
mencements from year to year.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CONTESTS IN ORATORY AND DECLAMATION.
Contests for prizes in oratory and declamation were unknown
in this school until 1880. In that year Judge A. J. Ellison founded
a contest in oratory, and Mr. W. T. Baird founded one in decla-
mationi. In the course of time many other contests were estab-
lished by other persons and maintained by them for many years.
At the present, however, none are maintained. As these con-
tests were of much interest to the students at the time they were
given, it has been thought advisable to give some attention to
them.
The prize in oratory was presented by different persons at
different times. From 1880 to 1882 it was given by Judge A. J.
Ellison^, from 1883 to 1893 by the Board of Regents^, and from
1894 to 1901 by Mr. R. M. Ringo^. The prize offered by Judge
Ellison was a twenty dollar set of Shakespeare; that offered by
the Regents and by Mr. Ringo was a twenty dollar gold medal.
This contest was at first open to both the young men and the
young women of the junior and senior classes. Later it was
confined to the young men only of these classes. The contest-
ants were elected by the literary societies. From 1880 to 1885
these contests were held on February 22; from 1886 to 1901
they were held sometime during commencement week.
The winners of the contests in oratory were as follows^:
Ellison Prize:
1880— Edmonia D. Wright.
1881— Edwin Hatch.
1882— J. L. Holloway.
Regents Medal:
1883— Aven Nelson.
1884— V/. C. Long.
1885— W. T. Porter.
1886— L. M. Phipps.
226 State Normal School History.
1887— F. B. Christie.
1888— H. S. Bruce.
1889— J. S. Arnote.
1890— J. C. Hennon.
1891— E. R. Jones.
1892— A. D. Veatch.
1893— J. A. Koontz.
RiNGO Medal:
1894— T. A. Craighead.
1895— F. W. Alexander.
1896— C. S. Brother.
1897— B. P. Taylor.
1898— J. B. Stigall.
1899— J. G. Brown.
1900— Enoch Seitz.
1901— Nelson Sears.
The contest in declamation which was established by Mr.
Fiaird in 1880, was open at first to the young men and women of
the sophomore class^. In 1889 a special contest in declamation
for young men was established, and after that year the Baird
contest was confined to the young women of the sophomore
class"^. The contestants were elected by the societies. The prize
was at first a fifteen dollar set of English poets, later it was a
fifteen dollar gold medal. The contest was held in the first years
sometime early in May, but in later years, it was given during
commencement week. It was discontinued after 1900.
The winners of the Baird declamatory contest were as fol-
lows^:
1880 — Miss Jennie Dodson.
1881— Miss Nettie Willard.
1882 — Miss Fannie Riggs.
1883— Miss Kate Clark.
1884 — Miss Laura Featherstone.
1885— Miss Ida Fowler.
1886— Miss Alma Smith.
1887 — Miss Jessie Burton.
Contests in Oratory amd Declamation. 227
1888— Miss Fannie Gentry.
1889— Miss Kitty Allen.
1890 — Miss May me Harrington. •
1891— Miss Mattie Blanton.
1892— Miss Mabelle Etter.
1893 — Miss Grace Jamison.
1894— Miss Anna McAffee.
1895 — Miss Cora Buchanan.
1896— Miss Ardella Dockery.
1897— Miss Kathryn Maxwell.
1898— Miss Lucy Rudasill.
1899 — Miss Josephine Buchanan.
1900— Miss Eloise Duty.
In 1889 another declamation contest was established for the
young men of the sophomore class. The reason that was assigned
for this special contest for young men, was that the young ladies
had been regularly successful in winning the prize offered by Mr.
Baird. In order, therefore, that the young men might have a
chance to win a medal in declamation, Mr. E. W. Stephens of
Columbia established in 1889 a contest for them^. It has just
been noted above that in the same year the Baird contest was
confined to the young ladies. The prize in the new contest was
a fifteen dollar gold medal. For the first two years it was given
by Mr. Stephens; from 1891 to 1893 and from 1898 to 1900 it was
given by the faculty of the school, who paid for it out of the library
fund; from 1894 to 1897 it was offered by Mr. F. A. Swanger. The
prize has been variously known as the Stephens, the Library, and
the Swanger medal. The contestants were elected by the literary
societies. The contest was always held sometime early in May.
It was discontinued after 1900.
The winners of this declamation contest were as follows^°.
Stephens Medal:
1889— C. B. Foncanon.
1890— J. C. Burton.
Library Medal:
1891— Ben Scofield.
228 State Normal School History.
1892— Frank Harris.
1893— B. P. Taylor.
SwANGER Medal:
1894— A. B. Elliott.
1895— S. M. Payne.
1896— Ray Seitz.
1897— L. E. Floyd.
Library Medal:
1898— J. G. Brown.
1899— M. A. Romjue.
1900— M. D. Boucher.
Besides these regular contests, there~were a few others which
were maintained for short periods of time. In 1889, a second
oratorical contest was founded by the firm of Font and Bean who
offered a twenty dollar gold medal for the best oration on some
patriotic subject^ i. In the following year, this firm was dis-
solved, and the prize was given that year by the Zetosophian
Society^2_ jf it was ever offered afterwards, no record has been
found of the fact. The winners of the prize have not been
ascertained.
In 1888 an essay contest was founded by Dr. G. A. Goben
and was maintained by him for three years, the prize being a
twenty dollar gold medal. The rules of the contest were some-
what unusual. At the beginning of the school year, the Presi-
dent of the school announced a list of subjects from which
each contestant chose the subject on which he would write. At
a given day in the following April, all the contestants met in the
chapel and there wrote their essays without notes or help of any
kindi3. In April, 1890, these rules were changed so that the
contestants were allowed to write their essays privately and with
whatever help and notes they cared to use. The change was
made because the end sought under the original rules had not
been realized inasmuch as the contestants had been in the habit
of preparing their essays beforehand, committing them to mem-
ory, and then reproducing them from memory on the day of the
contesfi^. The prize for this contest was given by Mr. H. G.
Contests in Oratory and Declamation, 229
Parcell in 1891^^, after which it was discontinued. A full list of
the winners has not been secured.
In 1898 and 1899, another essay contest was maintained
by Funk and Wagnall, who offered a thirty dollar set of Musick's
Novels for the best essay on some subject in American history.
The prize was won by Miss Janie Anderson in 1898 and by Mr.
L. M. Cox in 189916.
In 1885, a prize of fifteen dollars in money was offered by
the President and the Secretary of the school to the student who
would pass the best examination on a certain prescribed course
of reaclingi'^. One of the principal efforts made by President
Blanton while connected with the school was to get the students
to read extensively in the best literature. In order that they
might be encouraged to do this, he drew up at the beginning of
each year a strong course of reading and offered a prize to the
student who should pass the best examination on it at the close
of the year. The prize was given regularly until the end of
President Blanton 's administration's. Unfortunately no record
of the winners of the prizes has been found.
In 1895 a prize in spelling was established by President
Dobson and Professor Ross, the secretary of the faculty. The
prize was a Webster's Unabridged Dictionary and was offered
to the one who made the best grade in spelling for twenty weeks.
It was given regularly until the end of President Dobson's
.administration's. A complete list of the winners has not been
found.
In addition to these contests which were all strictly local in
<5haracter, there were two others which were connected with the
Inter Normal Oratorical and Declamatory Association of Mis-
;souri. This association was founded in March, 1897 by the three
.State Normal Schools of the state. Its chief object was to hold
each year contests in oratory and in declamation, in each of which
each Normal School of the state was to be represented by one
cbntestant^o. The winner of the oratorical contest was to repre-
sent the state in the Inter State Contest which was maintained
by the Normal Schools of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, and
Hissouri^i.
230 State Normal School History.
In order that the school might be represented to the best
advantage m the state association, a local oratorical league was
formed in the fall of 1897^^ Under the constitution adopted,
this association was composed of all the students of the school,
and oratorical and declamatory contests were held annually to
determine who should represent the school in the Inter Normal
contest of the state^^.
The first contests of the local league were held on January
14,1895. The contest in oratory was won by Mr. B. P. Taylor and
that in declamation by Miss Cora Buchanan^^. In the Inter
Normal contests which were held at Warrensburg on March 25,
both representatives of this institution won. These contests
were attended by a large delegation of students from Kirksville.
As the representative of Missouri, Mr. Taylor took part in
the Inter State Normal Contest which was held in Normal,
Illinois, on May 6. First honors in this contest were awarded
to the representative from Kansas. Mr. Taylor was given first
rank in delivery by all the judges, and tied with the representa-
tive from Wisconsin in thought. However, on casting up the
ranks by percentages, Mr. Taylor was awarded third rank^s.
On March 31, 1899 the second annual contest of the Inter
Normal Association of Missouri were held in Kirksville. A large
delegation of students came from Warrensburg and a small one
from Cape Girardeau. The representatives of the school were
Mr. O. K. Ingold in the oratorical and Miss Hazel Musick in
the declamatory contest. The oratorical contest was decided
in favor of Mr. Mc El vain of Warrensburg. Miss Musick won
for the school the first honors in declamation^e.
The third annual contest of the Inter Normal Association
were held at Cape Girardeau. Only a small delegation attended
from this school. The representatives were Miss Lena Wilkes
in declamation and Mr. M. A. Romjue in oratory, both of whom
were awarded second rank. First honors went to Mr. Veath of
Cape Girardeau in declamation and to Mr. Whitelaw of War-
rensburg in oratory 27.
Because of the financial failure of these contests at Cape
Girardeau, they were discontinued.
Contests in Oratory and Declamation. 231
The period when contests m oratory and declamation were
at their height in this institution, was during the administrations
of Presidents Blanton and Dobson. The discontinuance of
these contests is largely due to President Kirk who holds that
much more is to be gained from debates than from orations and
declamations. He furthermore disapproves of the motive which
the prizes in the oratorical and declamatory contests usually
develop in the contestants^^. His administration has, therefore,
been marked by an increased interest and activity in debates.
This is seen in the debating clubs that have been organized in
the school and in public debates that have been held between
the clubs and between this institution and the State Normal
School of Nebraska.
The debates with the State Normal School of Nebraska
were maintained for four years, beginning in May, 1901. Two of
them were held in Peru, Nebraska, and two in Kirksville. The
honors were evenly divided when these debates were discontinued,
each school having won two of them. The representatives
of this institution were L. M. Thompson, B. P. Six, and L. C. Rust
in 190129; W. T. Allen, Leon Fraizer, and M. E. Derfler in 190230;
L. A. Moorman, J. A. Murphy, and Gertrude Heller in 190331;
and A. M. Swanson, Leon Fraizer, and Ida Jewett in 1904^2.
In 1901 the representatives were chosen by the literary societies;
in the other years they were selected by a series of preliminary
debates, each society or debating club having its share of con-
testants. Usually the faculty chose two from the student body
at large as contestants.
It is a matter of regret that these debates were discontinued.
They were the means of stimulating the students to much of strong
thinking and brought the schools of the two states into close and
friendly relations.
NOTES.
1. Faculty Minutes, Feb. 28, 1879; Catalogue, State Normal School,
Kirksville, 1879-80, p. 27.
2. Ibid.
3. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1883-84, p. 26; also
subsequent catalogues under the subject "Medals" until 1893-94.
232 State Normal School History.
4. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1894-95, p. 10; also sub-
sequent catalogues under the subject "Medals" until 1900-01.
5. Kirksville Journal, Feb. 26, 1880: Graphic, Feb. 25, 1881: Journal,
March 2, 1882: Democrat, March 1, 1883; Feb. 28, 1884; Feb. 26, 1885; June
17, 1886; June 16, 1887; June 14, 1888: Graphic, June 14, 1889: Journal,
June, 19, 1890; June 11, 1891: Democrat, June 17, 1892; June 16, 1893; June
15, 1894; June 14, 1895; June 12, 1896; June 11, 1897; June 10, 1898; June
16, 1899; June 15, 1900.
6. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1879-80, p. 27.
7. Faculty Minutes, Apr. 21, 1890.
8. The names of the winners for the years 1880 to 1897 were secured
from the program of the contest in 1898. The names of the winners from
1898 to 1900 were secured from the Kirksville Democrat, June 10, 1898;
June 16, 1899; June 15, 1900.
9. Kirksville Journal, May 9, 1889; Faculty Minutes, Apr. 21, 1890.
10. Kirksville Journal, May 9, 1889; May 8, 1890; May 7, 1891: Demo-
crat, May 13, 1892; May 12, 1893: Journal, May 10, 1894: Normal Message,
May-June, 1895, p. 126: Democrat, May 8, 1896; May 14, 1897; May 13, 1898:
Normal Message, May, 1899, p. 118: Democrat, May 17, 1900.
11. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1889-90, p. 34.
12. Faculty Minutes, Feb. 10, 1890.
13. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1888-89, p. 32.
14. Faculty Minutes, Mch. 31, 1890.
15. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1890-91, p. 23.
16. Ibid, 1898-99, p. 8; program of commencement of 1899.
17. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1887-88, p. 30.
18. Ibid, 1891-92, p. 34.
19. Ibid, 1894-95, p. 10; 1898-99, p. 8.
20. Normal Message, Sept.-Oct., 1897, p. 25; Apr., 1898, p. 74.
21. Constitution, Inter State Normal League, p. 14.
22. Normal Message, Sept.-Oct., 1897, p. 25.
23. Constitution, Oratorical League, Kirksville, (adopted Oct. 25, 189T
pp. 2, 4, 8.
24. Normal Message, Jan., 1898, p. 119; Mch., 1898, p. 37.
25. Kirksville Democrat, May 13, 1898.
26. Normal Message, Apr., 1899, pp. 82-83.
27. Ibid, Apr., 1900, pp. 103-106; Mch., 1900, p. 60.
28. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June 1901, p 39
29. Mnameion, 1901, p. 73.
30. Echo, 1902, p. 133.
31. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June 1903, p. 24.
32. Echo, 1904, p. 171.
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CHAPTER XIX.
THE LITERARY SOCIETIES.
The history of the Hterary societies of the school begins with
the first year of its existence. In that year, the Normal Literary
Society was organized^, and since then the institution has never
been without several literary societies or debating clubs.
In the eight years of the school, a great many literary so-
cieties have been formed. How many there were in all is not
known. The order in which they were founded, as far as our in-
formation 'goes, is as follows: Normal, Newtonian, Excelsior,
Independent, Philomathean (formerly called the Baldwin Insti-
tute), Nason Institute, Phi Alpha, Philadelphia, Tyro, Nucleus,
Nonpareil, Nota Bene, Qui Vive, Centennial Sisters, Senior, and
Zetosophian. Many of these societies died very shortly after
they had been organized. Others maintained themselves with
much credit for several years before succumbing. Out of the
entire number, only two, the Philomathean and the Senior So-
cieties, have survived to the present time. Not one of the societies
which were organized while the school was a private institution
lasted more than ten years. The oldest society in school today
dates back to 1873 at which time the school had been a state in-
stitution for over two years.
Concerning the first society, the Normal Literary Society,
very little is known beyond the fact that it was organized in the
first year of the school and that traces of it are found occasionally
down to 18722.
Concerning the second society, the Newtonian, a few inter-
esting facts have been found^. It was organized in the fall of
1868, and was composed of many of the strongest students in
school. Among them were W. N. Doyle, J. T. Smith, J. C. Stevens,
0. P. Davis, G. W. Cullison, W. L. Bristow, G. C. Lyda, and
Selden Sturges. This society was given to holding frequent
public debates which aroused a great deal of interest on the
Literary Societies. 235
part of the students and the people of the town. Among these
public debates was a series between the members of the society
and some of the citizens of the town early in 1875 on the question
of "high license" which was then being agitated in the commu-
nity.
During the year 1875-76, the society declined rapidly, owing
to the fact that the members who had been connected with it and
had maintained it by their activity for so long a time, were all
graduated by June, 1875. Some effort was made to reorganize
it in January, 1876, but that proved ineffective, as the society
appears to have dropped out of existence after the close of
the school year 1875-76.
The Excelsior Society was organized in all probability in
1868-69 and continued until about the close of 1875-76. It was
the great rival of the Newtonian and had a lifetime apparently
equal in length with it*.
By the spring of 1872, four societies were in operation. These
were the Normal, the Newtonian, the Excelsior, and the Inde-
pendent^. The latter appears to have been organized during
1871-72. By the spring of 1873, there were eight societies. They
were the Newtonian, the Excelsior, the Baldwin Institute, the
Nason Institute, the Phi Alpha, the Tyro, the Nucleus, and the
Nonpareil^. Apparently the Normal and the Independent So-
cieties had died, or perhaps they had been merged into one of
the new ones. This large increase in the number of the societies
was due to the fact that the faculty had decided that the students
should be organized into as many societies as there were mem-
bers of the faculty.
Of the new societies that were then organized, only one
developed into anything of importance. That was the Baldwin
Institute'^. It was so named because it fell to the lot of Presi-
dent Baldwin to take charge of those who had held out against
the decree of the faculty that all the students should join some
society, and organize them into one. Among those who were
the original members were Chas. W. Thomas, W. T. Carrington,
Thomas Jamison, W. R. Springer, J. L. Wilson, F. B. Stout, R. H.
236 State Normal School History.
Waggener, W. E. Tompkins, and Miss Flora Harvey. Accord-
ing to the testimony of one of this number, those who consti-
tuted the charter members of the new society were a very indiffer-
ent and unpromising set of students. The young men were
known as a "rough house crowd." Notwithstanding all these
facts, the society soon grew into a strong organization. During
1874-75, it changed its name from Baldwin Institute to Philo-
mathean Society, and from that time to the present it has been
an important factor in the life in the school.
The faculty's plan of establishing as many societies as there
were members of the faculty did not succeed. Within two years
the number of societies had been reduced from eight to four^,
and apparently every student had not joined some society through-
out these years, the regular announcements in the catalogues that
every one should do so, to the contrary notwithstanding^. In
the fall of 1877, a new means of enforcing compulsory member-
ship in the societies was adopted. It was arranged that all stu-
dents who were not working members of some of the regular
societies, should be required to spend at least one hour each Friday
afternoon in rhetorical exercises under the direction of the mem-
bers of the facultyi'\ The enforcement of this arrangement
made the literary societies of the time over crowded. In order
to relieve the situation, two new societies were organized by the
students. These were the Senior and the Zetosophian Societies.
On November 2, 1877 a petition was presented to the faculty
by a group of students asking that they be permitted to organize
a literary society which should be known as the ''Senior Society."
The faculty immediately granted the request^^. Some time dur-
ing the same day on which the petition was granted by the fac-
ulty, the petitioners met in room number five and effected a tem-
porary organization by electing Mr. J. C. Dooley, Chairman, and
Miss Alice Orr, Secretary^^. The petition as it appears upon the
records of the society bears the names of thirty-five men and
nineteen women, but it is thought these names constitute the first
year's membership and not merely those who actually presented
the petition to the faculty^^. The first few meetings were taken
Literary Societies. 237
up in perfecting the organization of the society. It was not until
November 23 that its first literary program was ; rendered^*.
This society is still existing and is in a flourishing condition.
Sometime during the year 1877-78, evidently during the
middle of the year, the Zetosophian Society was organized. Mr.
D. N. Kennedy is the only one of the charter members whose
name is known. The society was named by Professor T. Berry
Smith, who was then a member of the faculty and who is now
professor of chemistry and physics in Central College at Fayette,
Missouri. On being asked by the students who organized the
society to suggest a name, he recommended Zetosophian, a word
which he had coined from two Greek words, zeto, to seek, and
sophia, wisdom, and had given to a literary society in Prichett
Institute at Glasgow, Missouri, in 1871 while a student there.
This suggestion was adopted, and the society was forthwith called
the Zetosophian Society^^. This organization remained until
the fall of 1901 when it. was permanently dissolved.
K '. With the establishment of these two societies in 1877-78,
that gave the school at least six societies provided none of the
older ones had died out during the year. However, in a short
time, at least by 1882-83, there were only three societies, tLe
Philomathean, the Senior, and the Zetosophian^^. If any other
literary societies have been organized in the school since that
date, no record has been found of them. The catalogues from
1883-84 to 1900-01 mention only the three above named.
It remains now to say something about matters of common
interest to all of the societies.
Up to five years ago they were under strict faculty super-
vision. Members of the faculty were expected to attend regu-
larly the meetings of the different societies at different times, and
to offer advice pertaining to the work that was being done. Often-
times they were assigned duties on the programs, and sometimes
they served as society officers. Reports were regularly made by
them to the faculty as a whole, concerning the condition of the
societies^'''.
As far as is known, membership in the societies was optional
238 State Normal School History.
with the students in the first years of the school. In a short time
after it became time a state institution, the policy of compelling
the students to belong to the societies was adopted. As has
already been seen, this was the occasion of the formation of several
new societies and ultimately of the "rhetoricals." The "rhetor-
icals" were at first for the benefit of those who would not vol-
untarily join a society. The work performed in them was sim-
ilar to that done in the societies and was under faculty super-
vision. By 1883-84, at least, membership in the societies was
restricted to the more advanced students, and the " rhetoricals "
were then reserved for those who would not join a society or were
not eligible^^. Any member of a "rhetorical," after having been
connected with it long enough to show fitness for membership in
some literary society, might secure from the President of the
school, on the recommendation of the rhetorical leader, a certifi-
cate of dismissal from the " rhetorical' " and of - permission to
apply for membership in the society of his choice. This was
the arrangement for several years, beginning at least as early as
1895-96^^. Miss Owen and Miss Prewitt had charge of the " rhetor-
icals" for years.
The regulations which compelled the students to belong to
either a society or a rhetorical and which placed both organiza-
tions under faculty control, made the duties performed in them
a part of the regular school exercises. This arrangement was
defended on the ground that the prospective teacher needed some
special training in public speaking, which was sometimes demand-
ed of the teacher in the common schools, and in apt and impressive
expression in the task of teacning^o.
The societies held their meetings during the first few years
of the school on Friday evenings. Soon the custom arose to hold
them on the afternoons of the last school day of the week, either
Friday or Saturday as the case might be, from two or three to
five o'clock. Under President Dobson's administration the
meetings were held on Friday afternoons during the last two
regular recitation periods of the day, the work of the whole school
having been suspended for that time every week.
Literary Societies. 239
This system of faculty supervision, of required membership
either in some society or in a "rhetorical," and of sessions during
school hours was vigorously opposed by President Kirk from
the beginning of his administration^!. The system was there-
upon abandoned. Members of the faculty were no longer re-
quired to attend the society meetings, membership became once
more optional with the students, ''rhetoricals" were abolished,
and the literary sessions of the societies were held at night. As
to the effect of these sweeping changes upon the societies, some-
thing will be said later in this chapter.
The meetings of the societies of the early clays of the school
were usually held in the various recitation rooms of the build-
ing. The Newtonian Society held its session one year in the
public school building. As far as is known this is the only in-
stance when a society used any other building than that of the
school for its regular weekly meetings.
The Senior and the Zetosophian Societies secured halls on
the third floor during 1881-8222. The Philomathean Society
apparently secured the hall it occupies today on the second floor
at about the same time. On obtaining permanent quarters, each
society began the work of making them comfortable and inviting.
In this work, a great deal of rivalry existed among the societies,
especially in the early nineties. Each hall w^as nicely papered,
curtained, and carpeted; each was fitted up with suitable furni-
ture, including chairs, tables and secretaries. Very shortly each
purchased an organ, and later a piano. Everything was done to
give the halls the appearance of a home and to make them at-
tractive to the members and to visitors. Appropriate dedicatory
exercises were held on occupying the halls for the first time or on
the completion of extended improvements which were subse-
(juently made.
The meetings of the societies have always been open to vis-
itors. In fact visiting the societies was, until recent years, en-
couraged by the faculty, and the societies felt themselves highly
complimented if their meetings were attended by numerous vis-
240 State Normal School History.
itors. " Remarks from visitors " has long constituted one of the
regular events of the sessions.
The work done by the societies was of the usual character.
The weekly programs consisted of essays, declamations papers,
orations, debates, music, etc. At times, the music was furnished
by orchestras or choirs organized in the societies as well as that
rendered by individual members. In the early years of the school,
a great deal of prominence was given to the debate. As time passed
on, the other features were emphasized more than the debate.
Occasionally the program included an unusual number, such as a
charade; such was generally for amusement alone.
In addition to their weekly meetings, the societies have been
accustomed to give annual entertainments, in the preparation of
which they have spent much of their time and energy. The pro-
grams on these occassions have generally consisted of two parts.
The first part has been made up of the usual literary numbers.
The second part has usually consisted of some play or a part of a
play; at times something rather heavy was attempted, not always
with the greatest of success. Occassionally two or more societies
would unite in giving a joint entertainment. Generally a small
admission fee was charged for these entertainments, and the money
realized was used to defray expenses of the entertainments or to
aid in the regular work of the societies.
The contests in oratory and in declamation were, as has already
been seen^^^ usually confined to the members of the societies.
The various contestants were chosen either by elections in the
societies or by preliminary contests. The contests were first
held in 1879-80 and were continued until 1901-02 inclusive.
Much that has been done towards maintaining the student
publications of the school, has been done through the literary
societies. This matter will be discussed in a subsequent chapter^*.
There are at the present time two literary societies, the Phil-
omathean and the Senior, and three debating clubs, the Webster-
ian, the Claytonian, and the Demosthenonian. The debating
clubs are composed of men only and have been organized
within the last six years. Their origin has been due largely to the
Literary Societies. 241
policy of President Kirk, who, on coming to the management of
the school in the fall of 1899, discarded the policy of former ad-
ministrations towards the literary societies^^. He not only
opposed compulsory membership in the societies and faculty
supervision over them, but he also believed that the students
were spending too much energy on the kind of work that was
then being done in these societies, and that it would be best to
employ that energy in class room work and in debates. The im-
mediate effect of this sudden change was the lessening of inter-
est in the societies. Under this decline of interest, one of the
societies, the Zetosophian, succumbed in the fall of 1901. It was
not until two or three years had elapsed that the other societies
adjusted themselves to the new order of things. Since then,
they have taken on new vigor, much to the profit of the mem-
bers. There is promise at present of a long life of usefulness
on the part of both of these societies.
At the same time the societies were passing through this
change, debating clubs were organized. Four in all have been
established, the Websterian, the Claytonian, the Twentieth
Century, and the Demosthenonian. Of these only one, the
Twentieth Century Club, has suspended. These clubs have been
the means of developing the debating powers of the young
men who have composed them. They have given good evi-
dence of this training through 'the public debates which have
been held between the clubs and between this school and the
State Normal School of Nebraska.
The Websterians, now occupy the hall which was formerly
the Zetosophian hall. The other two debating clubs have as yet
no special halls of their own.
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 2.3.
2. Ibid, 1868-69, p. 23; North Missouri Register, Dec. 28, 1871; Cat-
alogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1872-73, p. 23.
3. Mr. R. S. lies, one of the members of this society, is authoiity for
242 State Normal School History.
the facts concerning it. Mention is frequently made of it in the newspapers
of the time. See also the catalogues of the school for 1869-70, p. 23; 1871-72,
p. 21; 1875-76, p. 28.
4. See catalogue references as given in foot note 3.
5. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1872-73, p. 23.
6. Ibid, 1873-74, p. 31.
7. Mr. C. W. Thomas, one of the charter members of the society, is the
principal authority for this paragraph. See his letters, dated April 25 and
May 17, 1904, in the archives of the school. See also Normal Message, Sept.-
Oct., 1897, p. 32; Mnameion, 1901, p. 51.
8. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1875-76, p. 28.
9. Ibid, 1876-77, p. 28.
10. Ibid, 1877-78, p. 30.
11. Faculty Minutes, Nov. 2, 1877.
12. Records of Senior Society, 1877-81, p. 10.
13. Ibid, p. 9; Sen-Zet-Phi, 1894, p. 88.
14. Records of Senior Society, 1877-81, pp. 10, 11, 14, 16.
15. Zetosophian Message, 1893, p. 2; Normal Message, Mch., 1895, p. 45.
16. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1883-84, p. 28.
17. See the catalogues of the school under heading "Literary Societies"
tfom 1868-69 to 1898-99 inclusive. The faculty minutes show the manner
of the supervision of the faculty over the societies.
18. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1883-84, p. 28.
19. Ibid, 1895-96, p. 9; 1896-97, p. 8; 1897-98, p. 22; 1898-99, p. 7.
20. Ibid, 1887-88, p. 30; in loco in other catalogues from 1888-89 to 1898-
99 inclusive.
21. Ibid, 1899-00, p. 6.
22. Records of Senior Society, 1881-85, pp. 9, 11, 13, 17, 21, 25, 27;
Sen-Zet-Phi, 1894, p. 55.
23. See the chapters on " The Contests in Oratory and Declamation."
24. See the chapter on "The Student Publications."
25. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksvihe, 1899-00, p. 6; 1900-01
p. 33; Bulletin, June, 1902, p. 37; June, 1903, p. 24; June, 1904, p. 18.
CHAPTER XX.
ATHLETICS.
Since the beginning of the school, some attention has always
been paid to some form of indoor and outdoor athletics. Until
recent years the greatest emphasis was laid upon the former.
The earliest form of these indoor exercises was calisthenics.
Mention is made of them in the second annual catalogue^, and it
is evident that they were maintained continuously as a regular
part of the work of the school down to 1899^. For many years:
the daily drill in calisthenics came at about ten o'clock in the
morning. Later the time was changed to the noon hour. The
whole school was compelled to assemble for these exercises which
lasted about fifteen or twenty minutes. They were abolished in
the fall of 1899.
The work in the elocution classes included some form of
light gymnastics, at least since 1892^. For this work, some
special apparatus was secured.
The school was without a gymnasium until December, 1901,
at which time the annex on the northeast of the main building
was completed. In this annex, a gymnasium room, 40 feet wide,
60 feet long, and 24 feet high was built*. A beginning has been
made towards equipping it with the proper apparatus. At the
present, voluntary classes in gymnastics are formed each quar-
ter, and are directed in their work by certain members of the
faculty. In all probability, the new building, for which an
appropriation was made by the Legislature of 1905, will contain
another gymnasium room which will be used exclusively by the
young men. The present one will then be used by the young
women only.
The outdoor sports that have been maintained by the stu-
dents of this institution, are baseball, football, basket ball, tennis,
and field day exercises. In the early days of the school, base
ball seems to have been the only form of outdoor athletics, in
17
244 State Normal School History.
which the students indulged. It further appears that all match
games in base ball were then confined to teams that were made
up in the school. Not until recent years have they been played
with other schools.
The old fashioned football made its appearance in the school
as early at least as 1882^. It was a very popular game/ and was
decidedly beneficial as it allowed the participation of many stu-
dents in it. Later when the Rugby game became popular in
other institutions in the state, all attempts to introduce it in this
school were strongly opposed by the President, and it was not
until the fall of 1899 that it was allowed to be played. For the
last few years, the school has been able to maintain a fair football
team and to keep it free from professionalism. Games in re-
cent years have been played with college and university teams
only. In them the school has met with fairly good success.
Basket ball has been popular with both the young men and
the young women at times in recent years, but tennis has never
appealed to them in any noticeable way for any length of time.
Ever since 1895, Field Day has been held each year during ■
the month of May or June under the auspices of the Normal
Athletic Association. The exercises of the day have included
dashes, hurdles, jumps, shot put, hammer throw, discus throw,
pole vault, and the like. Sometimes some miscellaneous events
have been included, among which the faculty race has frequently
been an enlivening feature of the day.
Generally prizes have been offered by the citizens of the
town for each event in the field day exercises, and also a medal
has been awarded since 1895 to the contestant who received the
highest number of points in the various events. The winners
of this medal have been as follows: 1895, F. B. Owen; 1896,
Frank Connor; 1897, Willie Seitz; 1898, Henry Bledsoe; 1899,
Alva Willoughby; 1900, W. 0. Daniel; 1901, Enoch Seitz; 1902,
George Crockett; 1903, J. A. Miller; 1904, John Sparling.
In the early days of the school the outdoor games were played
on the campus. When the campus grew up with trees, these
games and exercises were held outside. In 1903, a large athletic
Athletics. 245
field was made in the northwest corner of the campus by clearing
away the trees and levelling the ground.
In addition to the above forms of physical exercises, the
military department, which was organized in the fall of 1904,
affords a very important means of physical development. It is
intended to make it a very important part of the school.
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, North Missouri Normal School, 1868-69, p. 23.
2. Ibid, 1869-70, pp. 22-23; Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirks-
ville, 1873-74, p. 18; see also the daily programs in the catalogues from 1883-
84 to 1898-99 inclusive.
3. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1892-93, p. 41.
4. Bulletin, State Normal School, KirksviUe, 1902-03, p. 6.
5. Kirksville Democrat, Sept. 28, Nov. 23, and Nov. 30, 1882; May'
3, 1883.
6. Normal Message, April, 1895, p. 94; May-June, 1895, p. 101.
7. Kirksville Journal, May 23, 1895: Normal Message, June, 1896, p.
140; May, 1897, pp. 126-127: Kirksville Journal, May 26, 1898: Normal
Message, June, 1899, p. 126.
CHAPTER XXI.
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS.
An account of the enterprises of the students of the school
would be incomplete if it did not include something about their
publications.
It was a long time before the students maintained publica-
tions which were distinctly their own. In the early years of the
school they were accustomed to make extensive use of the col-
umns of the North Missouri Register and the Kirksville Journal,
the two newspapers of the town. The "Normal Column" appeared
in both of these papers in the the early seventies, and was main-
tained for five or six years with considerable regularity^. Each
of the editors of these papers secured each year the services of one
or two students to edit the "Normal Column" in his paper.
Generally the student editors for the two papers showed a great
deal of rivalry. The "Normal Columns" contained accounts
of the happenings in school, papers on various subjects, chiefly
pedagogical, and occasionally letters from old students. At
times it served as a sort of teachers' bureau^. Gradually the
articles took on a good deal of hostility towards the management
of the school, and because of this, the Regents ordered that no
student should act as editor of these columns^. For some time
after this rule was passed, the columns were edited by old normal
students who were out in the field teaching. They still contained
items about the school, though these items were sometimes a week
or two old. Because of the amount of normal news that was
contained in these columns, many of the students on leaving school
were in the habit of subscribing for these papers, and were thus
enabled to keep in touch with the affairs at school. The "Nor-
mal Columns" were discontinued in 1877.
Since that year accounts of various events have appeared
from time to time in the local papers, but no attempt has been
made to revive the normal column in which minor matters as
Student Publications. 247
well as those of more importance might be recorded through reg-
ular student editors.
The first student publication of the school was the ''Mid-
summer "4. This was a sheet of four pages, and was issued in
June, 1888 by the rhetorical class, number five. It contained
some news items of the school, but was largely taken up with the
best papers that had been written by members of the ''rhetorical"
during the year that was just closing. It was the intention to
make this an annual publication, but it was never carried out.
In June, 1893, the Zetosophian Society issued a souvenir
publication, entitled the Zetosophian Message^. It was a large,
paper bound magazine, and contained thirty pages which were
filled chiefly with papers by the members of the society and
items concerning the principal events of the year. The most
valuable article in it was a sketch of the society by one of its old
members. The original intention of the society was to issue this
publication at the close of each school year, but by the time
June, 1894 rolled around, it changed those plans and united with
the other two societies in publishing a magazine which was called
the Sen-Zet-Phi^. This name was formed by joining the initial
syllables of the names of the three societies. The Sen-Zet-Phi was
larger than the Zetosophian Message of the year before, but the
matter contained in it was of the same character. It was intended
by the societies to publish this magazine as an "annual" each
June, but the establishment of a monthly paper at the opening
of the school year caused them to give up this plan.
This monthly paper was called the Normal Message'^. It was
published from September, 1894 to April, 1900. For sometime
prior to its establishment, it was felt by many of the students that
there was a need for such a publication. Some agitation on
the subject was begun in the societies in the spring of 1894, but
it was not until September, 1894 that the societies adopted plans
for the publication of a monthly paper. Among other names
suggested for it was "Sen-Zet-Phi," but finally the name "Nor-
mal Message" was chosen. The paper contained on an average
from twenty-five to thirty pages a month. Two volumes appeared
248 State Normal School History
each year. News items from the societies and from the school in
general, papers by the students, and occasional articles con-
tributed by members of the faculty, made up its contents from
month to month. The editors-in-chief in- the order in which they
served were F. J. Storm, A. D. Veatch, A. H. Smith, B. P. Taylor,
A. S. Faulkner, A. B. Pratt, O. H. Lind, W. H. Ivie, E. C. Smith,
J. C. Moorman, and J. M. Stelle. The Message suspended pub-
lication in April, 1900, because of the lack of support by the stu-
dents and of the discouragement by the administration of the
school. Since then no effort has been made to revive it.
The first illustrated year book, the Mnameion, was issued in
June, 1901. It was due to the enterprise of Mr. Olney Bondurant,
who personally assumed the financial losses it entailed. The
book contained pictures of the Board of Regents, the members of
the faculty, the classes, the societies, and the various athletic
teams. Appropriate sketches accompanied the various pictures.
Since 1901, two other year books have been published. They
have borne the title of "The Echo." The first one was issued
in May, 1902, and was due largely to the efforts of Mr. J. M.
Stelle, the editor-in-chief. The second appeared in May, 1904.
Mr. W. J. Banning was the editor-in-chief and President Kirk
was the financial manager. The two numbers of the Echo
compare favorably with the ''annuals" of the leading colleges in
point of matter and style. It is to be hoped that this publica-
tion will appear regularly.
The various student publications are an important source
of information concerning the history of the school. In them one
may get very good ideas of what the students were thinking,
their organizations, and their manner of life in school. Fortu-
nately a complete file of these publications has been acquired,
and are now a part of the archives of the school.
NOTES.
1. See the North Missouri Register from 1871 to 1877. The files of
the Journal have been destroyed; some of the Normal Columns of one or two
Student Publications. 249
years were preserved by Mr. John R. Musick and put into a scrap book
which is today in the archives of the school.
2. North Missouri Register, May 18, 1876.
3. Ibid, July 1, 1875.
4. Copies of this pamphlet are in the archives of the school.
5. One copy of the Zetosophian Message is in the archives of the school.
6. Two copies of the Sen-Zet-Phi are in the archives of the school.
7. A complete file of the Normal Message is in the archives of the school.
8. Copies of the year books are in the archives of the school.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS.
There are connected with the school at the present time two
rehgious organizations which are maintained solely by the stu-
dents. These are the Young Men's Christian Association and
the Young Women's Christian Association.
As yet these associations are not ten years old, the Y. W. C. A.
having been organized in May, 1895 and the Y. M. C. A. in March,
1896. Prior to that time there may have been occasional re-
ligious organizations connected with the school. There is strong
evidence that such an organization existed in the latter seventies
and the early eighties^. However, it was composed of both
young men and young women and had no connection with the
state Y. M. or Y. W. C. A. organizations. If any other religious
association was maintained in the school prior to 1895, no traces
of it have been found.
The Y. W. C. A. of this institution was organized on May
16, 1895 by Miss Helen Barnes, State Secretary. The associa-
tion started with a membership of 74, of whom 67 were active
members. Miss Zoe Snelling was the first President^.
The association was scarcely organized when the school
closed for the summer vacation. On the opening of school the
following fall, only 14 active and associate members returned to
take up the work^. Notwithstanding this discouraging outlook,
the little band of young women continued the work that had been
begun, and succeeded in laying the foundation for the present
organization.
The membership for the different years has been as follows:
May-June, 1895, 74; 1895-96, — ; 1896-97, 55; 1897-98, 29; 1898-
99, 49; 1899-00, 36; 1900-01, 44; 1901-02, 106; 1902-03, 128;
1903-04, 199; 1904-05, 175.
The Presidents of the Y. W. C. A. have been as follows:
1894-95, Miss Zoe Snelling; 1895-96, Miss Cora Childress (Mrs.
The Christian Associations. 251
Ginnings); 1896-97, Miss Tillie McGinnis; 1897-98, Miss Margaret
Lindsey; 1898-99, Miss Lyda Corken; 1899-00, Miss Susie Barnes;
1900-01, Miss Mattie Sparling and Miss Mittie Mason; 1901-02,
Miss Rose Wells; 1902-03, Miss Eunice Link (Mrs. Bonf oey) ;
1903-04, Miss Tress Surbeck and Miss Elsie Kirk; 1904-05, Miss
Ina Holloway and Miss Jessie Murray.
The Y. M. C. A. was organized on March 3, 1896 by Mr.
Gordon who was then State Secretary of Missouri. It began
with a charter membership of 37, of whom 34 were active mem-
bers. Mr. J. W. Hatcher was the first President*.
The membership for the different years has been as follows^:
March to June, 1896, 39; 1896-97, 56; 1897-98, 44; 1898-99, 29;
1899-00, 74; 1900-01, 90; 1901-02, 104: 1902-03, 130; 1903-04,
168; 1904-05, 131.
The Presidents of the Y. M. C. A. have been as follows^:
March to June, 1896, J. W. Hatcher; 1896-97, C. W. Murphy;
1897-98, 0. H. Lind; 1898-99, J. A. DeTienne; 1899-00, S. W.
Arnold; 1900-01, T. M. Mitchell; 1901-02, C. T. Goodale; 1902-03,
C. T. Goodale; 1903-04, C. T. Goodale and V. E. Dickson; 1904-05,
W. M. Wells.
The work of the two associations is very similar. It is direct-
ed along religious and social lines. Religious services are held
every Sunday afternoon by each association. Usually these
meetings are led by different student members. Joint meetings
of the two associations are held monthly, generally for the con-
sideration of some topic in connection with missions. In addi-
tion to these devotional exercises, classes are organized in each
association for the study of the Bible and of missions. Usually
these classes have been conducted by student leaders.
The social work of the associations is an important factor
in the life of the school. It begins at the opening of every school
year through the reception committees that meet the incoming
new students at the trains and assist them in getting boarding
places and in arranging their work. Receptions are occasionally
given by each of the associations during the year, through which
means the students are brought into pleasant social contact with
252 State Normal School History.
each other. There is at least one joint reception given each year
by the two associations to the whole student body.
The associations were at first without any halls or rooms of
their own, owing to the crowded condition of the school. They
were accustomed to hold their religious meetings in the different
society halls or in some of the rooms in the churches in the town.
However, when the annex on the northeast of the main building
was completed in December, 1901, it became possible to assign
to the associations the quarters they have at present''. The
Y. M. C. A. has two rooms on the second floor of the main build-
ing west of the chapel. The Y. W. C. A. has one room on the
second floor in the northwest corner of the annex. Each asso-
ciation fitted up its quarters with appropriate furnishings. On
completing the repairs necessary to make its hall suitable for use,
theY. M.C. A. held special dedicatory services on March 29, 1902.
At these services, addresses were made by State Secretary Burt
and College Secretary Moore^. These halls are used for the
various gatherings of the associations and as reading rooms.
They are under the direction of appropriate committees.
During the summer of 1903, the Y. W. C. A. rented a house
in town and fitted it up as an association house. In this house
one member of the faculty and some of the leading members of
the association have their rooms. This enables them to direct
its work more efficiently. In this house the State Secretary and
other association guests are entertained, and in it many Bible
classes hold their meetings. The house serves as out-in-town
headquarters for the association^.
Since 1899-00, the Y. M. C. A. of this institution has main-
tained jointly with the association of the American School of
Osteopathy a lecture course. The object of this course has been
primarily to bring to the town each year a series of lectures and
entertainments of high rank. The course began with four num-
bers but has long contained six numbers each year. So far the
associations have realized something in the way of net proceeds,
but the making of money has been an entirely secondary object^".
The associations have for a number of years sent delegations
The Christian Associations. 253
to the Lake Geneva Conferences during the summer. The Y. M.
C. A. has always had a good representation at the state conven-
tions, and the Y. W. C. A. had the same when that association
maintained state conventions. These conferences and conven-
tions have been the means of inspiring the delegates and indi-
rectly awakening a new interest in the work on the part of the
entire membership.
In November, 1903, the State Y. M. C. A. Convention met
in Kirksville in response to the urgent invitation of the associa-
tions of this school, of the A. S. 0., and of the high school.
There was a large attendance of delegates from all over the state,
and a strong program was rendered. The local associations were
generous in their hospitality, having arranged not only for the
entertainment of the delegates but for several social functions, in-
cluding a banquet for the student delegates. The business men
of the town tendered a banquet to the delegates from the city
and the railroad associations. The convention was an important
event in the life not only of the students but of the community^!.
NOTES.
1. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1879-80, p. 28; Kirks-
ville Democrat, December 12, 1884.
2. Normal Message, October, 1895, p. 42.
3. Ibid.
4. Records of Y. M. C. A. 1896-1902, pp. 1-6.
5. Ibid, pp. 1, 19, 31, 48, 60-61, 100-02, 124-30, 154-61, 188-93, 54-55;
1903-04, pp. 86-99.
6. Mnameion, 1901, p. 67.
7. Bulletin, State Normal Scliool, Kirksville, June, 1902, p. 11.
8. Echo, 1902, p. 85.
9. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June, 1904, p. 21.
10. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1900-01, p. 35; Bulletin,
June, 1901, p. 41; June, 1902, pp. 15-16; June, 1903, pp. 20-21; June, 1904,
p. 88.
11. Ibid, June, 1904, p. 19.
CHAPTER XXIII.
SPECIAL EVENTS.
In this chapter it is proposed to relate certain interesting and
yet disconnected events in the history of the school, for the nar-
ration of which no suitable opportunity was found in the pre-
ceding chapters.
The Rebellion of 1876.
An interesting incident is connected with the commence-
ment of 1876. It grew out of the dissatisfaction of the young
men of the two years' class over the selection of their representa-
tives on the commencement program. The faculty had chosen
three young ladies and one young man as the representatives of
this class. The young men of the class protested strongly against
this unequal representation of the two sexes.
Realizing the humor in the situation, the young men of the
senior class planned a practical joke on their disgruntled school-
mates. Accordingly they hauled an old cannon from the town
to the campus one evening, put a placard on it bearing this dire
threat, "Justice or Blood — Boys of the Two Years' Class," and
pointed it towards the President's office. The joke was the source
of much amusement to all the students and the faculty. It even
inspired one student who was poetically inclined to pen a few
rhymes about it. Some said that the faculty was led to recon-
sider its first decision about the representation of the class and
to vote to have three young men as well as three young ladies as
representatives, because it feared the wrath of the indignant
sophomores^.
The Baldwin Silver Wedding.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the wedding of President
Baldwin and his wife was celebrated in the Normal chapel on
Wednesday evening, October 31, 1877^. A general invitation
had been extended to the public to attend. At an early hour the
chapel was filled to overflowing by the friends of President Bald-
win and his wife.
Special Events. 255
Special decorations had been made for the occasion. The
platform was decorated with plants and cut flowers. A great
arch was erected in the middle of the platform, from the center
of which was suspended a wedding bell. Festoons of evergreens
were arranged in appropriate places about the chapel.
After the assembly had gathered, it was announced that
President Baldwin and his wife would receive their friends in the
reception room. After greetings had been exchanged, the guests
returned to the chapel. Whereupon Professor Shryock played
a wedding march during which the wedding procession entered
the chapel. First came Professor Nason, then the children of
President and Mrs. Baldwin who strewed flowers in the pathway
of their parents who came immediately after them. The children
took their places on the right end of the platform, while Presi-
dent and Mrs. Baldwin stood beneath the arch. The ceremony
was then pronounced by Professor Nason.
Following the ceremony, a program was rendered. This
consisted of musical selections, among which was an original
song especially prepared by Professor Shryock for the occasion,
an original poem, Avhich had also been especially written for that
occasion, by Professor T. Berry Smith, and congratulatory ad-
dresses. Among these addresses was one by Mr. J. M. DeFrance
of Kirksville, who in behalf of the citizens of the town presented
to President Baldwin and his wife an elegant silver tea set as a
token of their appreciation of the services they had rendered the
community. Congratulations on behalf of the students were
extended by Miss Hubbell.
When the program had been completed, a clamor was raised
in the audience on the part of some for a speech from President
Baldwin, much to his embarrassment. Professor Nason relieved
the situation by coming forward and explaining that President
Baldwin was a timid bride groom and could not respond.
The company very shortly dispersed after the completion of
the program. The occasion proved to be a very pleasant one and
showed very plainly the affection with which President Baldwin
and his family were held by the community.
256 State Normal School History.
Memorial Services.
Four members of the faculty died while in the service of the
school. They were Professor Seitz, Professor Paden, Professor
Nelson, and Professor Laughlin. Special memorial services were
held in the normal chapel for the first two of these.
The services in memory of Professor Seitz were held on Sun-
day afternoon, October 21, 1883, about two weeks after his
death^. An immense audience filled the chapel. Special ad-
dresses were made by President Blanton, Professor Nason, and
Rev. Dr. Mitchell. A life size portrait of Professor Setiz which
the students had had made, was presented to the school by Mr.
J. H. Grove of the senior class. The portrait was accepted by
President Blanton.
The memorial services for Professor Paden"*, who died on
August 16, 1884, were held on Sunday afternoon, November 2.
The program consisted chiefly of a sketch of Professor Paden
by Professor Barnard, and addresses by Professor Nason and by
President Osborne of the Warrensburg Normal School under
whom Professor Paden had graduated. President Blanton was
to have made one of the principal addresses but was deterred by
sickness. A life size portrait was presented by Mr. W. D. Grove
on behalf of the students to the school. At the close of the ser-
vices in the chapel, a large number went to the cemetery and
decorated the grave.
Columbus Day.
The four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America
by Columbus was fittingly celebrated by the schools and the
citizens of Kirksville^. The exercises included a procession
through the streets of the town and a program in the normal
chapel. The procession was comiDOsed of the students from the
Normal School, the Business College, and the public schools, of
the Knights of Pythias, of a drum corps, and of other citizens
from the town. After marching over the principal streets of the
town, the procession filed into the normal chapel where the fol-
lowing program was rendered:
Special Events. 257
1 . Song Public School
The Star Spangled Banner.
2. Essay '. Miss Marguerite Crawford
Representative from Philomathean Society.
3. Declamation Mr. W. L. Hamrick
Representative from Zetosophian Society.
4. Music Normal Band
5. Recitation Miss Gertie Baum
Representative from High School.
6. Recitation and Gymnastics,
Representatives from Model School.
7. Recitation Miss Ella Graves
Representative from Senior Society.
8. Address Professor W. R. Holloway
Representative from High School Faculty.
9. Address Professor G. H. Laughlin
Representative from Normal Faculty.
10. Music— My Country 'tis of Thee.
The crowd in attendance was estimated at about one thous-
and five hundred.
Baldwin Day.
Of all special days in the history of the school, no other has
been of as much interest to the early graduates and students of
the school as ''Baldwin Day," June 13, 1893.
The idea of having President Baldwin visit the school and
of making his visit the occasion of a special demonstration, was
conceived by President Dobson who, very shortly after taking
charge of the school in the fall of 1891, became impressed with
the necessity of stirring the interest of the alumni in the institu-
tion up to what it had been in former years. It was felt that
nothing would accomplish that end more effectively than to have
President Baldwin visit the school at some early commencement
season and to invite the graduates and former students of the
school, particularly those of the early years, to return to their
alma mater and participate in the festivities of the occasion. At
first, it was planned to have President Baldwin to attend the
258 State Normal School History,
commencement of 1892, and an invitation to that effect was sent
to him by President Dobson. This invitation was accompanied
by letters from about fifty graduates who expressed their hope
that it would be accepted. Owing to previous engagements,
President Baldwin was prevented from accepting the invitation,
but he gave his promise to attend the commencement of 1893
and authorized the making of an announcement accordingly^.
The Alumni Association at its meeting in June, 1892 passed
resolutions heartily endorsing what the faculty and regents were
doing to renew the interest of the alumni in the school, and pledged
its hearty co-operation in the plans for the visit of President
Baldwin the next year"^.
In due time, the faculty set apart Tuesday, June 13, of the
commencement week of 1893, as ''Baldwin Day," and appointed
a committee composed of certain persons in Kirksville who had
been students in the school in its early days, to cooperate with
the committee on "Baldwin Day" that had been appointed by
the Alumni Association^.
In March, 1893, this local committee issued a circular letter
to the former students of the school inviting them, especially
the " Baldwin students " to attend the exercisesof "Baldwin Day."
Efforts were also made to have present as many as possible of the
members of the faculty who were connected with the school under
President Baldwin. Plans were made for the entertainment of
the old students who would accept the invitation^.
In response to this invitation, a large number of the students
of former days gathered in Kirksville on the day appointed,
June 13. No other occasion in the whole history of the school
has attracted such an attendance of the old students as did this
one. Many came from distant states, some coming from the Pa-
cific coast, while every section of our own state was represented.
The exercises of "Baldwin Day" began at ten o'clock in the
morning and continued until late in the afternoon. Immense
audiences filled the chapel throughout the day. Badges bearing
the picture of President Baldwin, Blanton, or Dobson were worn
by the old students present according to the President under
Special Events. 259
whom they studied or graduated while in the school. Mr. S. M.
Pickler, who had been one of the teachers in the school in its
earliest years, acted as master of ceremonies. The morning ex-
ercises consisted largely of addresses of welcome by Professor
Nason on behalf of the citizens of the town and the old students,
and by President Dobson on behalf of the faculty and the students
of the time, and of a response by President Baldwin. These
speeches were largely reminiscent and often very affecting. One
account states that "during the speeches nearly every eye grew
dim."
Plans had been made to have a big picnic dinner on the
campus at noon, but these were spoiled by a heavy rain which
came up just about noon time. Tables were hastily improvised
in the recitation rooms on the first floor and the dinner was served
on them.
At two o'clock, the exercises were resumed in the chapel.
Most of the afternoon was occupied by brief remarks from many
of the old students in response to the query "Where are you 'at' "
and "What are you doing." Among those who responded to
these queries were Rev. Robert Waggener of Kansas City, Mr.
C. C. Fogle of Lancaster, Mr. G. W. Sublette of Minneapolis;
Mrs. Amelia Brown of Edina, Mr. C. W. Thomas of Woodland,
California, Mr. W. T. Carrington of Mexico, Mr. C. H. Murphy of
San Francisco, Mr. J. T. Ronald of Seattle, Mr. J. T. Smith of
Livingston, Montana, Mr. W. E. Tipton of Armour, South Da-
kota, Mr. A. B. Warner and Mr. G. W. Cullison of Harlan, Iowa,
Mrs. Julia Bos worth and Mr. John R. Musick of Kirks ville. It
was late in the afternoon when these reminiscent speeches were
finished^o. By the close of the day, many an old student had been
made to live over the happy scenes of his school life "in the old
Normal," and all had been made to rejoice in seeing and hearing
once more their former friend and instructor, President Baldwin.
On Wednesday evening, President Baldwin delivered the
annual address to the Alumni Association, speaking on "Edu-
cational Economyi^" Following this address, was the annual
alumni banquet in the Masonic hall. Special efforts were made
260 ~ State Normal School History.
to make this banquet noteworthy because of the presence of Pres-
ident Baldwin. Over two hundred and fifty guests were present.
Toasts were responded to by President Dobson, Mr. W. E. Tipton,
Mr. Robert Barrow, Mr. W. T. Carrington, President Baldwin,
Mrs. Edmonia Herren, Judge George Hall, Mr. J. F. Chandler,
and Mr. J. T. Ronald. Professor G. H. Laughlin presided as
toastmasteri^.
On the following day, President Baldwin took leave of Hs
friends and former associates. Many of them he never saw again.
In a little over five years he was dead. In order that the proper
respect might be paid to his memory, the Alumni Association at
it meeting in June, 1899, adopted resolutions setting forth its
admiration of his life and work, and devoted one entire evening
to memorial services in his honor. Several who had been his
close acquaintances, among whom were President Dobson, Mr.
John R. Kirk, Mr. J. T. Chandler, and Professor Norton, spoke
in eulogy of the departed founder of the school and of the normal
school system of the state^^.
The Inter Normal Contests at Warrensburg in 1898.
The Inter Normal Contests in oratory and declamation were,
as has already been seen in another connection, held for the first
time in March, 1898 at Warrensburg. Great preparations were
made by the students of this institution for these contests.
Over two hundred of them went by a special train to Warrens-
burg to lend enthusiasm to the occasion. Happily both the
oratorical and the declamatory contests were won by the repre-
sentatives of this school, Mr. B. P. Taylor and Miss Cora
Buchanan, much to the gratification of the Kirksville students
who were in attendance.
The success of the representatives of the school was made
the occasion of considerable demonstration in Kirksville. The
returning party from Warrensburg was greeted at the station
by a large crowd of students and friends in the town. The en-
thusiasm of the crowd showed itself in the usual student yelling
and waving of colors. Among other things a carriage had been
Special Events. 261
provided for the distinguished members of the returning party,
President Dobson, Miss Owen, Mr. Taylor, and Miss Buchanan.
On getting into the carriage, they were driven around the
square, followed by a large procession of students. At the
south east corner of the square, the procession stopped, and
President Dobson and Mr. Taylor made short speeches in re-
sponse to the gracious welcome that had been extended.
The celebration was renewed by the students when they
met the next Monday morning in the chapel. Various members
of the faculty made brief remarks about the contests, and Mr.
Taylor, at the invitation of President Dobson, responded in a neat
speech^^.
NOTES.
1. North Missouri Register, May 25, June 1, 22, 29, 1876.
2. Ibid, Nov. 8, 1877.
3. Kirksville Democrat, Oct. 25, 1883.
4. Ibid, Nov. 5, 1884.
5. Ibid, Oct. 28, 1892; Faculty Minutes, Oct. 3 and 6, 1892.
6. Catalogue, State Normal School, Kirksville, 1892-93, p. 48.
7. Alumni Record, Vol. I, p. 73.
8. Faculty Minutes, Feb. 27, 1893.
9. A copy of the circular letter that was sent out by the local com-
mittee is in the archives of the school.
10. Kirksville Democrat, June 16, 1893; Journal, June, 15, 1893; Grapliic,
June 16, 1893.
11. Kirksville Journal, June 15, 1893.
12. A program of this banquet is in tlie archives of the school.
13. Kirksville Democrat, June 16, 1899.
14. Normal Message, April, 1898, pp. 69-72.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE GROWTH OF THE SCHOOL.
The Enrollment.
As a concluding chapter to this work, it has been thought
well to present a few tables which will in a way show the growth
of the school.
Generally the public judges a school's growth solely by its
enrollment of students from year to year, and it ranks the differ-
ent institutions of the same grade according to their enrollment
lists. This method may and may not be fair. Sometimes the
enrollment may be considerably swelled and yet the facilities for
work may be inadequate for the great numbers enrolled or many
of the students may be unprepared for what they are attempting.
If this should be the case, the increase in the enrollment would be
a sign of decline rather than one of progress. Generally speak-
ing, the increase in the enrollment of students in this institution
and the facilities for work have gone on hand in hand, so that
the following table fairly represents the growth of the school from
the beginning to the present ;
*The Model School was suspended from Dec, 1873 to Nov., 1882.
tNo diploma or certificate has been issued to the juniors since June, 1884.
JCounting the enrollment of 196 in the branch summer schools at Monroe
City, Kahoka, Savannah, and Tarkio in the summer of 1902, the total en-
rollment for 1902-03 was 1159.
§The enrollment in the Model School for 1869-70 is not known; hence
the total enrollment as given falls short of what it actually was.
The Growi-h of the School.
263
Year.
Fac-
ulty
Post-
Gradu-
ates.
Gradu-
ates.
Undergraduates
receiving certificates
or diplomas.
Enrollment.
Juniors.
Sophomores
Normal
Department.
Model or
Training Sch.
Total.
1867-68
6
—
—
—
—
140
144
284
1868-69
12
—
—
— ■
—
203
220
423
1869-70
12
—
—
15
263
§
263
1870-71
—
—
—
—
321
68
389
1871-72
7
—
8
4
13
434
48
482
1872-73
12
—
3
10
14
470
53
523
1873-74
10
1
9
10
21
668
33
701
1874-75
9
4
12
18
42
709
*
709
1875-76
10
5
14
14
28
627
*
627
1876-77
9
—
8
12
18
592
*
592
1877-78
8
3
12
8
27
534
*
534
1878-79
10
10
10
17
49
458
*
458
1879-80
11
8
11
14
45
513
*
513
1880-81
11
6
11
14
32
492
*
492
1881-82
10
8
9
13
42
481
*
481
1882-83
11
4
7
17
40
446
103
549
1883-84
12
6
17
27
51
501
181
682
1884-85
12
2
14
-t
47
475
182
657
1885-86
12
—
26
— t
40
413
126
539
1886-87
11
—
25
-t
35
421
111
532
1887-88
11
1
21
— t
58
490
169
659
1888-89
13
1
12
— t
40
505
121
626
1889-90
12
—
15
— t
44
520
100
620
1890-91
13
—
15
— t
49
560
100
660
1891-92
12
3
19
— t
28
596
107
703
1892-93
11
6
22
-t ■•
32
606
112
718
1893-94
12
3
20
— t
30
562
94
656
1894-95
12
—
23
— t
41
620
102
722
1895-96
12
4
18
— t
42
623
115
738
1896-97
12
2
35
— t
26
719
105
824
1897-98
13
—
22
— t
35
737
108
845
1898-99
13
1
29
-t
43
739
103
842
1899-00
14
3
48
— t
113
742
92
834
1900-01
15
3
43
— t
58
753
102
855
1901-02
18
2
38
— t
84
757
94
851
1902-03
19
4
41
— t
65
784
179
963
1903-04
24
4
55
— t
58
958
175
1133
1904-05
25
Total
94
672
178
1405
20,432
3,247
23,679
264 State Normal School History.
The Summer School. '
One of the things that have contributed to an increase in the
annual enrollment in the last ten years has been the summer
schools. Perhaps it will not be out of place to say something
here concerning their history.
Of the many changes that have been made in the educational
system of the country in recent years, the summer school is among
the most important. Beginning as an accommodation for those
teachers who wished to spend their vacations in special study,
it has come to be a regular part of the school work of many in-
institutions throughout the country, the benefit of which is en-
joyed not only by teachers but by many other classes of students.
Missouri schools were not long in responding to the demands
that were made for summer schools. The State University held
its first summer school in 1894, and as far as it is known, this was
the first one in the state. In 1895, this Normal School held its
first summer school. The matter had been discussed by the
faculty prior to the summer of 1894, but nothing was done until
December, 1894, when plans for a school the following summer were
adopted by the faculty and were later approved by the Regents.
According to these plans, the summer school opened on June
24, 1895 for a period of six weeks, six days in the week. Courses
in Latin, mathematics, English, science, and pedagogy were
offered. Those who desired to be credited on the records of the
school for the work which they did during the summer were
limited to two subjects. In each of these two subjects a semes-
ter's credit was given. A tuition fee of $12 was charged if two
subjects were taken; $8 if only one. These fees were collected
by one of summer teachers who acted as treasurer. The ex-
penses of the school and the amount each teacher received for
his services were pro-rated according to the number of students
enrolled in his classes^.
The summer school remained a private affair among certain
teachers in the institution until 1900. In that year the Board of
Regents began to assume control of it. A uniform incidental
fee of $10, payable in advance to the Treasurer of the Board, was
The Growth of the School. 2^5
charged of every student. The amount received from the sum-
mer school incidental fees was divided among the teachers accord-
ing to the number of classes taught by them. The other expenses
of the school were provided for out of the general incidental
fund of the school. In addition to these changes, the courses of
study were extended and the teaching force increased to nine
instructors^.
The special appropriations that were made by the Legis-
lature in 1901 and in 1903 for the summer school made it possible
to reduce the incidental fee from $10 to $5, and also made it
possible to employ nearly the entire faculty on full salary. More-
over, the term has been extended from seven and one half weeks
to twelve weeks, five days in the week. Students have been per-
mitted since 1903 to take four subjects, not more than three of
which should require daily preparation. The amount of credit
for each subject has been, as before, one semester*.
In 1902, the school established four branch summer schools^.
These were at Kahoka, Monroe City, Savannah, and Tarkio.
For two years, the State University had been conducting branch
summer schools in different parts of the state with some con-
siderable success, and it was felt that the Normal Schools should
undertake the same kind of work.
Each of the branch schools at Kahoka, Monroe City, and
Savannah was under the direction of a member of the faculty;
the one at Tarkio was under an experienced graduate of the school.
The school at Tarkio was the only one to prove a financial success.
This fact and the opinion that it would be best to concentrate the
energies of the institution in one summer school, are the cause
for the discontinuance of the branch summer schools.
Beginning in the summer of 1905, an important change will
be made in the amount of credit for work done in the summer
school. According to the arrangements which went into effect
in September, 1904, the regular school year has been divided into
three quarters of twelve weeks each, instead of two semesters of
eighteen weeks each. The summer quarter will be twelve weeks
long, and credit given for work that quarter will be the same
266 State Normal School History.
as that given for any other quarter^. By this arrangement,
no difference will hereafter exist in the character of the work
of the different quarters of the year.
The enrollment of the summer schools from 1895 to 1899 in-
clusive can not be ascertained with accuracy from the records.
It was always small, generally in the neighborhood of fifty. The
enrollment since 1899 has been as follows''':
1900—107.
1901—200.
1902—384 (At Kirksville, 188; at branch schools, 196.)
1903—352
1904—394.
The Growth of the Schools. 267
The Income of the School.
Another index to the growth of the school is its income.
While the school was a private institution its maintenance de-
pended solely upon tuition fees. Since becoming a state institu-
tion its income has been derived from two sources, from appro-
priations by the State Legislature and from the incidental fees
which have been paid by the students.
The following table shows the amounts of the appropriations
from January, 1871, to the present and the purposes for which
these appropriations were made:
268
State Normal School History.
K
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The Growth of the School. 269
The appropriations for repairs were for tlie following purposes:
1883-84— Painting, $2,431.60; roof, $250.00; heating plant, $10,000.00;
total, $12,681.60.
1887-88— Engine room, $1,227.00; boilers, $900.00; flooring and ceiHng,
$999.50; total, $3,126.50.
1889-90— Engine house, boilers, etc., $2,873.00.
1893-94— Seats for the chapel, $1,500.00.
1895-96— Repairs, $1,000.00; improvements, $3,000.00; sidewalks,
$1,250.00; total, $5,250.00.
1897-98— Ceiling, $1,727; smoke stack, $840.00; flooring, $725.00; roof,
$2,000.00; tower, $988.00; total, $6,280.00.
1899-00— Tower, $1,000.00.
1901-02— Sewer, $200.00; closets, $350.00; repairs, $600.00; floor, $400.00;
heating plant, $3,000.00; total, $4,550.00.
1903-04^Furniture, $1,000.00; improvements, $250.00; repairs and
painting, $2,000.00; total, $3,250.00.
1904-05 — General repairs and improven)ents, $11,260.00; furniture,
$500.00; total, $11,760.00.
The appropriations for buildings were for the following purposes:
1871-72 — Completion of the building which the Board of Regents had
begun to construct with the $51,400.00 in cash donated by Adair coun-
ty,$50,000.00.
1883-84 — Building nine rooms in the basement for the use of the Model
School, $3,284.00.
1901-02 — Erecting new building (the annex on the northeast of the
main building), $30,000.00.
1904-05— Erecting another new building, $50,000.
For the purpose of comparison, the following tables showing
the appropriations for the other two State Normal Schools are
given on the following pages.
270
State Normal School History.
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The Growth of the School
271
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State Normal School History.
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The Growth of the School. 273
Some correction in these tables needs to be made. The amounts
actually received by the three schools have not equalled exactly
the amounts appropriated.. The difference between the amounts
received by this school and tlie amounts appropriated for it, has
never been great ; neither has it been great for the other two schools
until the past two years. In 1903, appropriations were made
for new buildings at Warrensburg and at Cape Girardeau. These
buildings were not completed within the biennial period for which
the appropriations were made; hence it was necessary to re-ap-
propriate the portions of the original appropriations that had not
been expended. By reason of this, a part of the appropriations
for buildings at the two schools has been counted twice in the
above tables.
The exact difference between the total amount appropriated
for each institution from January, 1871 to December, 1904 in-
clusive and the total amount expended by each institution from
these appropriations, is as follows^:
Amount Appropriated Amount Expended
Kirksvihe, $538, 795 . 30 $535, 440 . 42
Warrensburg, 612, 430 . 00 582, 796 . 71
Cape Girardeau 601 , 734 . 00 522, 455 . 25
Total, $1,752,959.30 $1,640,692.38
This furnishes the correction needed to give the proper idea
concerning the tables mentioned above, not including, however,
the appropriations for 1905-06 as it cannot be known until Jan-
uary, 1907, h-ow much of these appropriations will be actually
drawn out by the schools.
As has already been indicated, a part of the income of
the school has been derived from incidental fees which have been
paid by the students. The following table exhibits the amount
that has been received from these fees and from other miscellane-
ous sources from January, 1871, to January, 1905.
274
State Normal School History.
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276 State Normal School History.
From the tables presented in this section and in another
chapter^, the following summary showing the receipts of the
school from all sources and for all purposes from January. 1871,
to January, 1905, may be drawn up:
source amount
Adair county S 56,240.00
State of Missouri 535,440.42
Incidental fees 230,469.65
Miscellaneous 6,611.75
Total $828;761.82
NOTES.
1. This table has been carefully compiled from the catalogues of the
school from 3^ear to year.
2. Faculty Minutes, April 9, Dec. 17, 1894; March 7, 1895; Normal
Message, Sept., 1895, p. 6.
3. Circular of the Summer School of the State Normal School, Kirks-
ville, for 1900.
4. Ibid, 1901; Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, April, 1902;
March, 1903; Sept., 1903.
5. Bulletin, State Normal School, Kirksville, June, 1902, p. 18.
6. See pages 126-128.
7. Bulletin, State Normal School, June, 1901, p. 38; June, 1902, p. 37;
June, 1903, p. 84; June, 1905, p. 76.
8. State Auditor's Report, Jan., 1903, pp. 592-93; Biennial Report of
First District State Normal School for 1903-04, pp. 29-31; Ibid for Sec-
ond District State Normal School, pp. 23, 26-27; Ibid for Third District State
Normal School, pp 41-42.
9. See page 63. The $1600 item on this page is included in the mis-
cellaneous fund in the last table in the book.
INDEX.
Adair county bonds for State Nor-
mal School, 45-48, 61-63; bids
for State Normal School, 48-54,
58-61.
Agitation for state normal school
system, 2-18.
Alumni, the, 208-217.
Alumni association, the, 220-221,
258, 259, 260.
Athletics, 243-245.
Appropriations, State, for complet-
ing building in 1872, 74-75; for
library and laboratories, 149-153;
for new building in 1903, 151;
for new building in 1905, 154,
204; for the First District, 268-
269; for the Second District, 270;
for the Third District, 271; for
the three Districts, 272.
Baccalaureate preachers, 221, 224,
note 18.
Baird medal winners of, 226-227.
Baldwin Day, 257-260.
Baldwin Institute; see Philomathean
Society.
Baldwin, President, plans of, for
state normal school system,
16-18, 94; Vice-President of
State Teachers' Association, 19;
plans for model school, 29; in-
vited to come to Missouri, 30-31;
visits Kirksville, 31; canvasses
for school, 36; financial loss
during first year of school, 37;
efforts to secure state normal
school legislation, 43; canvasses
Adair county for normal school
bonds, 47; member of original
Board of Regents, 49, 50, 52,
56; speaks at corner stone lay-
ing, 71; views on pedagogical
training, 108-109; changes course
of study, 109-119; library, US-
ISO; sketch, 156-160; rules and
regulations of school, 183-186;
commencements, 218-221; silver
wedding, 254-255.
Buildings, 68-81, 144-145, 201-204.
Bonds of Adair county for State Nor-
mal School, 45-48, 61-63.
Blanton, President, secures certifica-
tion, laws, 100-101; changes
course of study, 119-121; re-
stores Model School, 144; library,
149-150; sketch, 168-170; rules
and regulations of school, 186-
189; commencements, 221; con-
tests, 231.
Bids for State Normal Schools, 49-51,
53-55, 59-60.
Calisthenics, 243.
Campus, the, 67, 196-200.
Canvassing for the school, 36.
Carson bill, the, 11.
Certification, the, of graduates of
State Normal Schools prior to
1887, 98-100; laws of 1887 and
1889, 100-101; attempts to re-
peal these laws, 82-83, 90-91.
Chapel, the, 201.
Class day, 222.
Columbus day, 256-257.
Commencements, 218-223, 257-60.
Construction of old building, 68-76,
74-75.
Controversy between Adair and Liv-
278
State Normal School History.
ingston counties, 50-51, 53, 55-56
58-61.
Contests, 221, 225-231, 229-30, 240,
260-261.
Corner stone, laying of, 68-71.
Courses of study at the beginning,
105-109; changes in, since 1871,
109-128; opposition to, 88-89;
in the summer school, 264-266.
Cumberland Academy, 25-29.
Davis, State Supt., recommendations
of, for state normal school sys-"
tem, 10-11.
Debates and debating clubs, 231,
240-241.
Dedication of building, 1873, 77-78.
Degrees, 107-108, 115-116, 117-118,
121, 128-130.
Departments, Academic, 132-141.
Dobson, President, views of, con-
cerning courses, 121-122; librarj%
150; sketch, 170-173; campus,
200; commencements, 221-222
contests, 231; plans Baldwin
Day, 257.
Edwards, Governor, plans of, for
state normal school system, 4-9.
Echo, 248.
Ellison prize, winners of, 225.
Enrollment, tlie, 37, 85, 143, 262-263,
266.
Entertainments by literary societies,
220, 240.
Ewing, Secretary, urges adoption of
state normal school sj'stem, 10.
Examinations, the, b}^ examining
committee, 99-100; public oral,
218, 221.
Extension of the state normal school
system, 94-96.
Excelsior literary societ}^ the, 235.
Faculty, the original, 32-36; in Jan-
uary, 1871, 58; assignment of
subjects, 137-140; Training
School teachers, 143-145, 147;
sketches, 156-175; roster, 177-
181; favors separate Boards of
Regents, 192-193; annual elec-
tion, 194; supervision over liter-
ary societies, 236-237, 239; in-
crease, 263.
Ferris, Professor, 32, 36, 143, 160-161.
Field day, 244.
Finances of the school, 267-276.
Goben medal, 228.
Graduates, the, 92, 211-217, 263.
Greenwood, Professor, 34-36, 47,
58, 91, 165-168.
Griggsby, J. J., 30.
Growth of the School, the, 262-276.
Haynes, Miss Virginia, school of, 26.
Haynes, Professor, address of, 91.
Henry, State Supt., recommenda-
tions of for state normal school
system, 10.
Incidental fees, 264-265, 274-275.
Income of the school, 267-276.
Inter Normal Contests, 229-30, 260-
261.
Johnson countj^ bid for State Normal
School, 49-50, 58.
Johnson vs. Parcels, 74, note 7.
King, Governor, alludes to need of
state normal school system, 9.
Kirk, President, defends State Nor-
mal Schools in 1895, 91; changes
courses, 121-130; Training School
145-147; model rural school,
146-147; library, 151-153; sketch
173-175; rules and regulations.
Index.
279
190; commencements, 222; con-
tests and debates, 231.
Laboratories, 153-154.
Lecture course, Y. M. C. A., 252.
Library, 148-153.
Library medal, winners of, 227-228.
Lincoln Institute, 42.
Linder, Judge, 47, 49, 52-54, 56.
Literary societies, 220, 234-241.
Livingston county bids for State
Normal School, 49-50, 52-55,
59-60; invokes legislative inter-
ference, 58-61.
Location of First and Second Dis-
trict Schools, 48-56, 58-61.
Martin, Secretary, recommends state
normal school system, 9.
Medals, 225-229.
Merwin, Major, 18, 30-31.
Midsummer, the, 247.
Minor, Secretary, recommends state
normal school system, 3-4.
Military department, 245.
Mnameion, 248.
Model School, the; see the Training
School.
Model rural school, 146-147.
Monteith, State Supt., 71, 77, 98.
Nason, Professor, 32-34, 36, 47, 58,
144, 161-164, 255, 256.
Newtonian literary society, 234-235,
239.
Normal column, 246.
Normal literary society, 234.
Normal Message, 247-248.
Normal professorship for the State
University, 9-10.
Norinal school legislation, attempted,
prior to 1870, 12-13, 40; act
of 1870, 40-45, 192.
Normal school system, attempts to
abolish, 81-82, 90; attempts to
extend, 94-96; in U. S. in 1870,
1, 21.
North Missouri Normal School, 36,
38, 56.
North Missouri Normal School asso-
ciation, 29, 38, 63.
Opening of North Missouri Normal
School, the, 36.
Opposition to State Normal Schools,
81-92.
Oratorical league, the, 230.
Paden, Professor, 256.
Parcels, W. H., 52, 56.
Parker, State Supt., plans of, for
state normal school system,
13-15, 94; issues certificates to
class of 1870, 101, note 3.
Pedagogical courses, 114-116,119-121.
Pettis county, bid of, for State Nor-
mal School, 49, 58.
Philomathean literary society, 220,
235-237, 239.
Post-graduate courses, 117-118; post-
graduates, 210-211, 263.
Private schools, opposition of, to
State Normal Schools, 83-85,
87, 90-91.
Rebellion of 1876, the, 254.
Regents, Board of, 48-51, 56, 66-68,
71-73, 109, 128, 192-196, 246,
264-265.
Regents medal, winners of, 225-226.
Report of legislative committee of
1871, 58-61; of 1872,73-74; of 1887,85.
Reunions, 219-220.
Rhetoricals, 236, 238-239.
Ringo medal, winners of, 226.
Rules and regulations, 183-190.
Salutatorians, 223.
Sands, Judge, 45, 47, 56, 62.
280
State Normal School History.
Second District State Normal School,
58, 192, 270, 272-273.
Seitz, Professor, 256.
Senior literary society, 234, 236-
237, 239.
Sen-Zet-Phi, 247.
Shannon, State Supt., 77, 91-92, 99.
Site of the School, 56, 66-67.
Smith, Professor T. Berry, 237, 255.
Special Events, 254, 261.
St. Louis City Normal School, 31,
38, note 13.
Starke, State Supt., recommends
state normal school system, 10-13.
Student pubhcations, 240, 246-248.
Stephens medal, winners of, 227.
Sub-normal department, 118-120,
124.
Summer school, 264-266.
State Superintendent, 2, 192, 193.
Swanger medal, winners of, 228.
Teachers' Association, State, 18-23,
75-76, 91, 208.
Third District State Normal School,
94-95, 193, 271-273.
Training School, 86-87, 103-104, 115-
117, 143-147, 263.
University, State, 89-90, 101, 264.
Undergraduates receiving diplomas
or certificates, 263; see also
degrees.
Valedictorians, 223.
Vote of Adair county on normal
school bonds, 47-48.
Y. M. C. A., 250-253.
Y. W. C. A., 250-253.
Zetosophian Uterary society, 228, 237,
239, 241, 247.
Zetosophian Message, 247.
^Y 22 1905