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East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana |
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LOUISIANA STATE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND
By L. R. Devine, President
One of the oldest public institutions in the state, the Louisiana State School for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind was established in 1852 and at the time of its opening was the fourteenth school of its kind in the United States. The original building for the Louisiana State School for the Deaf, at Baton Rouge situated on an exceptionally lovely tract of land was made possible through the generosity of Francis Dubose Richardson, a former member of the State Legislature who was born in 1811 and died in 1900. The building was near the Mississippi River and was a target for shells fired from Federal gunboats during the Civil War. For a short time during the period when Federal forces controlled Baton Rouge and its vicinity, this old original building was utilized as a hospital by Union forces and history records that inmates of the school at that time were used as attendants for wounded and sick soldiers of the northern army. During the four years immediately following the close of the Civil War, the building was utilized for class room work and dormitory purposes in the operation of Louisiana State University.
At various periods of its glamorous history, the State School for the Deaf has been used for instruction of both the blind and deaf, but with the final completion of the school for the blind some years ago this school reverted to its original purpose as an institution of learning for those whose auditory handicaps rendered instruction in the ordinary public school impossible.
Students from six to twenty-one are admitted free of charge and all necessary books and supplied are provided by the state without cost. The school has had thirteen executive officers and at present a teaching staff of fifty-one. Present enrollment contemplates an average of ten students to each teacher.
The State of Louisiana through its legislature has been generous in appropriations for the splendid institution which for many years has been rendering such outstanding service to those afflicted with deafness. A building program which provided for three entirely new buildings, was completed in 1939 at a cost of nearly a half million dollars. These improvements brought the school's physical plant to a high state of efficiency and placed the institution in the very front rank of similar state schools.
Under the building program recently completed, every thing possible was done to preserve the beautiful and grandeur as well as the harmony of the older buildings. Grounds have been beautifully landscaped and the gardens surround the school constitute one of the real beauty spots of the state's capital city and yearly attract thousands of visitors. Many beautiful old Magnolia trees, sturdy oaks and other vegetation add to the quiet charm and attractiveness of this great institution.
