Malheur Illustrated history
Chapter III
Schools
The establishment of schools in a stock raising community is usually a slow and difficult task. The reason fro this condition of affairs is to be found, not in the apathy or indifference of these people in educational matters, for the love of knowledge is inherent in the whole American people, but rather in a lack of opportunity. Settlers in these regions are generally widely separated, often many miles apart, and because of this it is almost impossible to gather enough pupils to form a school. The difficulty in organizing schools in mining communities is also well known. Here the reason is not due to lack of population, but to the fact that there are usually few, if any, families in new mining camps and the nature of the work is so exciting and exhilarating that the finer things in life are relegated to the background for the time being in the rush for wealth.
As soon as such settlements as we have mentioned begin to grow and assume permanency, however, the little district school is established at the earliest possible opportunity, and from thence on the general progress of the community may be accurately judged by a reference to the condition of its educational institutions. Then, as settlement gradually continues and the industries become more staple, school houses dot the land and higher educational facilities are provided by the establishment of high schools, academies and colleges.
Malheur county was settled by the two classes heretofore named, miners and stockmen. The former settled the mining districts in the extreme northern portion of the county as early as 1862 and 1863; the latter turned the first stock loose over this range a few years afterward. Such was the sparseness of population and the slow growth of the region, however, that the first public school of which we have any authentic record was not opened until the year 1869. This district embraced all of that portion of Baker county lying south of Eldorado. William Morfitt was active in securing its formation, and served as clerk of the board for several years. The school house was a little frame building and stood in the old town of Eldorado. The first term was held in 1860 and was taught by Terry Tuttle, who it is interesting to note was the first superintendent of schools of Union county. Mr. Morfitt says this first term lasted three months. The next time was taught by a teacher named Ison. Mattie Smith and Belle Small were other teachers of this first school. Soon after the founding of Malheur City this district was abandoned and a new one crated at the latter place, to which the Eldorado school was transferred. This, perhaps, accounts for the fact that there is no official record of this district on the books of the superintendent, the first school district being given there as the one known now as District No. 1.
This district embraced the settlement on Willow creek, and the school house stood about two miles south of where Dell is now situated. On the school records of Baker county it was known as district No. 12, and the date of its organization is given as January 25, 1875. William G. Thomson, the first superintendent of schools of Malheur county, and at present county clerk, taught this pioneer school.
"The school house was a small frame structure," he says "rudely fitted up, and I had probably twenty-five scholars of all ages, sizes and dispositions. I guess we had in our little school every text book ever issued from the press, as I could not begin to name the different authors. Wilson's, McGuffey's and Towne's readers were among the books we used. I taught this school during the first term and held four months, for which the directors paid me $60 a month."
District No. 18, of Baker county, was organized December 10, 1877, on Sucker creek and is now known as district No. 2, of Malheur county. The forth district school to be established within the confines of this county was organized in Jordan Valley on January 3, 1878, and is now known as district No. 3. The records fail to give the dates of the organizing of Nos. 4 and 5, but this took place some time between 1878 and 1881. These schools were situated on the Malheur river near Vale and at Ironside. District No. 6 was first known as No. 23, of Baker county, and was organized at Westfall in 1881. District No. 7 is now abandoned, having been consolidated with No. 24 and was organized March 10, 1882, in the settlement above Vale. Ontario was the next community to establish a school, this district coming into existence September 15, 1883, as district No. 30, of Baker county. Then district No. 32, now No. 9, was organized, being located in the extreme southern portion of the county. No. 10 is situated on Willow creek, near Dell, and the records give the date of its formation as March 5, 1885. No. 11 was organized at Beulah, December 20, 1885; Nos. 12 and 13, in 1886; and No. 14, January 20, 1887.
Thus we have traced briefly the history of the Malheur county schools up to the formation of the county in 1887. As will be seen, there were fourteen districts cut off from Baker county. William G. Thomson was appointed superintendent of schools by Governor Pennoyer and served in that capacity faithfully until the first general election, in 1886, when Frank Moore was elected to that position. It is to be regretted that the earliest detailed report of the county's schools to be found in the superintendent's office is for the year 1895. From a comparative table given in one of the late publications issued by the state superintendent's office, however, we learn that the enrollment in the Malheur schools in 1887 was 278, or an average of nearly twenty pupils to each district. In 1895 the fourteen districts had become twenty-three and there were over 1,000 persons of school age in the county, most of whom were enrolled.
In order that the growth of the schools during these early years may be the more easily traced we will give a summary of the report of Superintendent F.J. Stanton for the year ending in the spring of 1897. By this report we see that there were at that time 1,129 persons of school age in the county, of whom 756 were enrolled, 390 male and 366 female pupils. Thirty-one teachers were employed, twenty two women and nine men, of whom nine held state certificates; seven, first grade; six second grade; and six, third grade. The men drew average salaries of $51, and the women eight dollars less. The average school year taught was four months. The value of school grounds and buildings in 1897 was $15,425; furniture, $2,615, making a total of seventeen in the county. To maintain these schools required $9,998.54 of which $5,446 went to the teachers.
When the present superintendent, B.L. Milligan, assumed charge of the county's educational affairs in July 1898, there were thirty four numerical districts, or more than twice the number there were in 1887. Some of these, however, had been abandoned or consolidated, so that really there were not thirty-four active districts. During Mr. Milligan's occupancy of the office eight new districts have been created, making a total of forty-two, six of which do not maintain schools.
From Mr. Milligan's last report to the state superintendent, that for the year ending in March, 1902, we find there are 1,556 persons of school age in the county, 815 male and 741 female, and that of this number 1,061, or nearly seventy percent, are enrolled as pupils. The average daily attendance for the past year has been 748. Forty-two teachers, twelve men and thirty women, are employed to teach in the thirty-six public schools maintained in the county, and that the standard of the teachers is high may be seen from the fact that of these forty-two teachers, twelve hold state certificates, nine first grade; six second grade; and five, third grade. Thirty of these teachers are enough interested in their work to be readers of educational journals, thereby keeping abreast of the latest and best methods employed by the highest skilled teachers in the country. Two new school houses were built during the year, so that there are now thirty-two school houses, in which an average term of six and a quarter months is taught. Besides these public schools there are four private ones, attended by thirty-two pupils. There are no parochial schools or private academies in the county.
Financially the county schools are in excellent condition, there being a balance of several thousand dollars in the treasury. The estimated value of school property is $23,000. Last year $23,600 were collected for school purposes and $15,752 expended, the teachers receiving $12,791 of this latter amount. Nine of the districts levied a special district tax averaging nine and one-sixth mills each.
Comfortable and commodious schoolhouses are ever a necessary adjunct to good schools, and in possessing both of these Malheur county is indeed fortunate. There is but one log schoolhouse in the county, that in district No. 9 on the Nevada state line, while Ontario now possess an $11,000 brick building, and Vale one of the two stone schoolhouses in the state. Nyssa, Malheur City and Jordan Valley each have provided very comfortable buildings, which are soon to be enlarged.
At the present there is no county high school in the county, but there are two district high schools, one at Ontario and one at Vale, established during the past summer, while the school at Malheur City has been doing advanced grade work for some time. With these two regularly established high schools, this county is unusually well equipped for educational work and nothing augurs so well for a bright future of the county's schools and better illustrates the interest taken by citizens here in the work. The establishment of these higher institutions of learning means that the youth of this county need not go beyond their home for a higher education than that afforded by the public schools and is a strong inducement for the boys and girls to take up this advanced work.
Superintendent Milligan is an experienced and able teacher and to his deep personal interest in the schools and his energy and enthusiasm in building up the system, much credit is due for the present excellent standard maintained in this county. The schools must ever lead the van of progess and all that works for modern civilization.
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©Shauna Williams