[From Thompson & West's History of Nevada 1881, With Illustrations And Biographical Sketches Of Its Prominent Men And Pioneers, pp. 219-233]

SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 219

CHAPTER XXXI.

[BY D. K. SESSIONS.]

Sketch of Pioneer Schools—Scarcity of Data—Sources of Revenue—Buel Shoe Fund—Report of First Superintendent—School at Virginia City--Sierra Seminary at Carson—Territorial Law Relative to Text-books—Teachers' Wages—Adobe School Houses—Statistical Exhibit of 1864—State University —Mining College—United States Land Grants—Elko Selected as the Site—Scarcity of Pupils—Efforts of First Principal—Regents of—Liberality of Congress—Public School Fund—State Educational Officers—County School Boards—Duties of State Superintendent—Compulsory Education—Non-sectarian Schools—Private Schools—Catholic Orphanage —List of School Officers—List of Teachers—Qualification of Teachers—Colored Children—Negroes, Chinese and Indians—Returns of Teachers and School Trustees for 1880 —Value of School Property — Financial Transactions of Schools by Counties.

            DATA for the compositions of the beginning of school history are scarce and hard to collect. The chief reliance for this information is the "oldest inhabitant." Few of the old pioneers are left, and those who still linger, have better memories for events more startling than for the affairs of rudimentary education. From 1859, and up to this date, when all Nevada was a county of Utah Territory, and thinly settled in occasional fertile spots by Mormons, nothing definite can be known with regard to the condition of education in the sage-brush land.

            What incidental scraps of such information might have been obtained, have not been acquired for the reason that those who have been depended on to make the necessary research in their respective localities, have, in almost every instance; failed to assist the writer in this undertaking. The most then that can be done is to give an outline of the school history of this State—a skeleton as well fleshed as the conditions render practicable.

            The first report of Superintendent of Public Instruction, made to the State Legislature, was made by A. F. White, December 12, 1864. He speaks of this report and the condition of public school education as the third that had been made, the two preceding having been made annually to the Legislature of the Territory. These cannot now be found. From Mr. White's report, referred to, the following statistics are gleaned: At the beginning of the State Government, in 1864, there were ten counties organized, in which there were but twelve school districts, eight school houses and eighteen schools. In 1862 the whole number of youths between four and twenty-one years of age was 1,134. In the latter part of 1864 this number lad increased to 3,657. In 1862 there were probably two hundred pupils attending school, and in 1864 nearly 1,000.

            As to the cost of maintaining schools in this new country, an approximate estimate may be formed by taking the total amount expended in Storey and Lyon Counties—the only counties from which any financial report was received—which is $71,739 79. As to the grade of schools, in 1862 there were but five primary classes in the Territory. In 1863, the record shows six primary schools, two intermediate and one grammar.

            Under the State organization the public school system took new life immediately, and toward the close of 1864 there were in Nevada twenty primary schools, four of mixed grade, four intermediate and one grammar, the whole number 'of schools being thirty-seven. The school communities, however, were small mining camps merely; hence it may be justly inferred that the grades were not sharply defined, and, compared with what we regard as graded schools now, there were as yet scarcely any thoroughly graded schools in the State. The condition of public education was as precarious and unsettled as the states of society, at a time when nobody contemplated making a home in "Washoe," as all Nevada was familiarly styled by Californians, but followed the uncertain drift of mining excitement, looking forward to the time when he should make a "stake," and return home to live in "America." But few absolutely free schools were maintained. The fixed sources of school revenue were merely nominal; but already the seed of love for our great national institution of free public school education was seen transplanted and germinating hardily under the difficulties and obstructions of our peculiar mining life.

THE BUEL SHOE FUND.

            In this great and good work the people showed themselves deeply and thoroughly in earnest. Appeals to their liberality were seldom made in vain. The demand for private contributions was almost always cheerfully met, nor were rate bills regarded as onerous. Indeed, the maintenance of the schools in the early days of Nevada was rather a personal affair, and was in substance more of a private than of a public character, though they were entirely free in effect, for none suffered for the want of tuition merely because they could not bear a part in its expense. As illustrative of the pioneer spirit for the management of education among the children, an incident may be cited of early times at Austin, the county seat of Lander County: In the fall of 1863, the first action was taken toward starting a school in this camp. Trustees were elected, and a committee was appointed to raise funds. A collection of $930 was made. In the spring following, the Buel Shoe Fund was added to this sum. The origin of this fund is humorous and suggestive: Col. D. E. ("Dave") Buel, still alive and active, was a prominent and successful pioneer. He was a man of prodigious stature and symmetrically built. His feet, of course, in order to correspond with the other parts of his frame, were enormous; and his shoes, which he wore loose, as a sensible man always does, excited surprise and admiration. On the evening of May 26, 1864, a pair of the Colonel's shoes were borne from their seclusion and put up at auction for the benefit of the public school fund. Tom Wade, as auctioneer, sold and re-sold them, until

220      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

$106.05 was realized from the sale. Another incident strangely characteristic of the period, but earlier by about two years, occurred in Carson City.

CARSON ROWDY FUND.

            It was when Carson was in her flush, and when, if she could have looked forward to her present law-abiding and staid social condition, she would have blushed for her then horde of faro dealers and "short card" fiends. Two prominent citizens, whose names are withheld, conspicuous for their success in the manipulation of mining shares, as well as for startling bravado, took possession of a theater one night. They swaggered down the main aisle, armed with six-shooters and bowie-knives, to the terror and consternation of the audience, composed in small part of women and children, and ordered the curtain dropped. Their singular command not being instantly obeyed, they made a rush for the stage. The actors fled in dismay, and the curtain fell, wherupon the conquerors proceeded to reduce it to ribbons with their formidable knives. For this act they paid, no doubt cheerfully enough, for it was not consonant with the times to set any high value on money, $1,000 for the benefit of the common school fund of the town.

GROWING SCHOOLS.

            In Virginia City, the largest town, there were only seventeen children attending school in October, 1862. In the same month of the following year there were 420 school children in the county, of whom 360 were at Virginia, and 60 at Gold Hill. The school house at the latter place was a very creditable building, furnished with seats and desks from San Francisco. The Territorial Legislature passed a law in December, 1861, authorizing the incorporation of the Sierra Seminary at Carson City. The incorporation has never been made; but Miss H. K. Clapp, one of the earliest ladies to take up her home in Nevada, and who instituted the project, started a private school about that time, and has been teaching a private school for boys and girls continuously ever since, under the name of the Sierra Seminary. It may be remarked, in passing, that the conditions in Nevada are not such as to render it practicable for the higher grade instructions of learning to be successful. The State is too sparsely settled, and the competition with old established colleges and seminaries in California and Eastern States cannot be withstood. This fact will be fully illustrated in the history of the University of Nevada farther on. Associated with Miss Clapp in founding her school were Mrs. E. G. Cutler (now Mrs. Haydon) celebrated as a singer and elocutionist, and Miss E. C. Babcock. The first comprehensive statistical exhibit of school affairs was made by Rev. A. F. White, Territorial Superintendent, and also the first Superintendent under the State Government. This exhibit, given on the following page, will show at a single view the condition of the common schools in 1864.

            For the sake of still further insight into the condition of public education in the ten counties then organized, the following supplementary statement is subjoined, being abstracts from the reports of County Superintendents, whose names are appended:--

ORMSBY COUNTY-WILLIAM B. LAWLER.

            In this county there are 512 children between the ages of four and twenty-one. Only 173 attend public schools. About 125 attend private schools. About forty out of every 100 receive a street education, which is one of idleness, and often of wickedness and crime. Within the year one school district has been organized, and will soon have a comfortable school house. At present there are but two school houses in the county. Schools have been sustained six months during the year, in each district. Amount paid teachers, $1,780; highest salary paid teachers, $125 per month; lowest, $40 per month. In Empire District the books reported in use are Standard First and Fourth Reader's, National First and Second Readers, Primer, Elementary and Standard Spellers, Mental and Practical Arithmetic, probably Thompson's.

STOREY COUNTY-JUDGE FRANK TILFORD.

            The receipts of the Board of Education from December 7, 1863, to October 30, 1864, amounted to $47,820.70. The expenditures for the same period were $46,121.31, leaving a balance of $1,699.39. The existing indebtedness of the Board is $3,300, contracted by their predecessors in office, $2,000 of which amount is evidenced by outstanding bonds, and the remainder, $1,300, is secured by mortgage on the property of the Board in the city of Virginia. There are 1,243 children in Storey County, between four and twenty-one years of age. The public school in Virginia District has one Grammar School, two First Intermediate Schools, one Second Intermediate school, and three Primary Schools. In Gold Hill District there is one First Intermediate and one Primary School. In Flowery District there is one mixed school. The number of children enrolled in the various schools, is 390. Average daily attendance, 275. Text-books in use: Spellers, Sargent's and Webster's; Algebra, Davies' ; Geography, Cornell's; Penmanship, Payson, Dunton, Scribner's; Grammar, Green's course; History, Lossing's United States; Natural Philosophy, Comstock's.

WASHOE COUNTY--REV. T. H. M'GRATH.

            This county is divided into seven districts. There are 549 children and youths between four and twenty-one years of age-253 males and 245 females. There are 136 children under four years of age -- fifty-five were born in Nevada. Number of pupils attending school, 248. The average daily attendance has been 197. The whole number of teachers employed during the year was thirteen—eight males and five females. The highest salary paid for teaching was $125 per month; the lowest was fifty-two dollars. The whole time taught was fifty-six months. The whole amount of public funds received was $3,346.25. Whole amount raised in the districts by contribution was $129.75. Amount expended for teaching, $4,670; for other purposes, $2,375.75. There is no private school in the county. The schools are primary. But few of the text-books .recommended by the Territorial Board of Educaion are used. A list of the books in use not given.

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DOUGLAS COUNTY-JUDGE A. T. HAWLEY.

            There are four school districts in Douglas County -- one has been organized during the year. The schools are all in a prosperous condition. There are 328 children and youth between the ages of four and twenty-one-165 males and 163 females. There are 117 children under four years of age --sixty-six of whom were born in Nevada. Ninety-eight pupils attend school. The average daily attendance is seventy-five. Eight teachers have been employed -- six males and two females. The highest salary paid per month was $107; lowest, $68. Whole number of months taught during the year, twenty-six and one-half. Amount of school fund received, $1,340.73. Amount raised in the districts, $3,005.12. Amount expended for teaching, $2,215.25 ; for all other school purposes, $2,132.60. The schools are not classified. There are seven negro children between four and twenty-one years of age in the county. No report of text-books is given.

222      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

LYON COUNTY-MR. C. M'DUFFIE.

            Lyon County is divided into three school districts. The Trustees of Como District made no report of the condition of their school. In the two districts from which reports were made there were 281 children and youth between four and twenty-one years of age -- 129 males, and 152 females. There are fifty-three under four years of age, of whom fifty-two were born in Nevada. There is one child deaf and dumb. There are 123 pupils attending school. Average daily attendance, eighty-eight. The highest salary paid per month was $135; the lowest, thirty dollars. Whole number of months taught, twenty. The amount of funds received is not given. Expended for teachers' salary, $2,412.50; for other purposes, $2,214.19. Five teachers have been employed during the year.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY-IRA F. KINGSBURY.

            There are seven school districts in this county. There are 235 persons between four and twenty-one years of age. Only fifty-nine males and fifty females are reported. Number of pupils attending schools, eighty-four. Average daily attendance, fifty-two. Three schools have been taught. Highest amount paid for salary per month, $100; lowest, forty dollars. Whole number of months taught during the year, sixteen. Received from public funds, $1,209. Raised in districts, $100. Paid for teaching, $1,100.25; for other purposes, $925. No list of text-books is given.

LANDER COUNTY-DR. H. S. HERRICK.

            Lander County is divided into four school districts. There are 308 persons between the ages of four and twenty-one years -- 171 males; and 137 females. Receipts from the school funds, $1,581. Raised from different districts, $2,020. Total receipts, $4,093.55. Expended for teachers' salaries, $1,365; for other purposes, $2,728.55. Number pupils attending school, 112. Average daily attendance, sixty-three. Whole time taught, fifteen months. There were five teachers employed—all females. The schools are all primary. Number of white children in the county under four years of age, ninety-two; negro children, five; Indian children, 225—all born in Nevada. The list of text-books is not given.

ESMERALDA COUNTY-REV. IRA P. HALE.

            There is but one school district in this county. A fine, commodious brick school house is in process of erection. Whole number of children and youth between four and twenty-one years of age, 191—males 101, females 90. A school has been sustained with Intermediate and Primary departments. Number of children under four years of age, 113; born in Nevada, forty-five.

            No reports have been received from Nye and Churchill Counties, except that in Nye County there are ten children between the age of four and twenty-one years.         A. F. WHITE, Supt. of Pub. Ins.

TEXT BOOKS.

            Among the obstacles to be removed before a thorough organization of school work could be effected was the difficulty to secure uniformity of text-books. The prevalent confusion of school books was, however, gradually obviated. Mr. White, in his report of 1864, says: "But a month or two since a lady, well qualified as a teacher, in taking charge of one of our mixed schools, found there were but two or three of the same kind of books among thirty pupils. She appealed to the parents, but was told that the children could not be supplied with new books. She wrote to me, asking if there was no remedy. I sent her the law, the list of text-books required by the Territorial Board of Education, and their instructions with regard to introducing the books into the schools, and urged prompt compliance with the requirements. I have not heard the result, but I presume the books were obtained, and the school placed on a proper basis. It is needless to say, that now the uniformity of text-books used throughout the State of Nevada is complete, and rigidly kept so, the statute for the violation of this provision of law requiring that the school district violating it shall be deprived of its apportionment of State school money. School houses in the early times were not too well furnished, nor were they always constructed upon the most approved models. This was the result rather of the want of sufficient means than of ignorance in the premises. Our pioneers, unaided by public funds, built a large majority of the houses in which schools were kept, and in every instance provided them with such furniture and conveniences as they could afford. In some districts in which there is but little wealth the people showed their determination by laying foundations and building walls, hoping in time to complete the work thus resolutely begun.

PRIMITIVE SCHOOLS.

            In Humboldt and Lander Counties, in which building materials were held at fabulous prices, adobe houses were used with earthen floors, unplastered walls, and, in some cases, with thatched roofs. Mr. White tells of visiting a school in which there were twenty-five or more pupils, who were seated upon boxes, without desks or chairs, or any furniture whatever in the room. The inhabitants of the district had done all they could, but their money failed them. There were no public funds, and impelled by a deep conviction of the importance of education for their families, they gathered the boxes, employed a teacher, opened a school, and then patronized it; and their labor was not in vain, says Mr. White, for their children learned in spite of absent helps and conveniences. Another obstruction in the way of wholesome school work in the early times was the poor pay of the teachers. For the year 1863, omitting Storey County from the estimate, the average salary paid the teachers of the public schools of Nevada was about forty-eight dollars, less than one-half the wages paid miners for digging out the crude ore from our mines. School teaching, as a consequence, had nothing in it of a professional character; it was resorted to merely as a temporary make-shift. That the quality of the tuition was not always excellent is the unavoidable inference. The evils which grew out of this underestimate of the importance and value of the teacher's services are numerous and distressing to our most vital interest—the diffusion of intelligence among the people. Mr. White says: "The majority of

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teachers generally remain in the same situation only about three months. A few continue to the close of the second term, and I have not been able to hear of more than three or four who have taught the same school during a full year. In some instances persons have actually been employed to teach for a single month, the salary offered being such a miserable sum that they were unwilling to bind themselves for any but the shortest period possible." The condition of things in this respect is greatly changed for the better now. Still, where in the United States, in fact, in the world, are teachers adequately remunerated, when the extent and quality of their labors are considered in comparison with the market price of the labors of other professional men and tradesmen ? The average plasterer or bricklayer is ordinarily paid from one-third to one-half more than a first-rate teacher. The Constitution of Nevada empowers the Legislature to establish Normal Schools. Of course, no such institution was thought of in the beginning of our school life, nor is it likely, from the present condition of affairs, that a Normal School will be desirable or expedient for a long time. Nevada could not supply material for such an institution in the way of pupils even ; and to embarrass the rudimentary schools by diverting any of the moneys intended for their maintenance to this purpose would be little less than suicidal to the foundation work of public school education in the State.

STATE UNIVERSITY.

            The Constitution made it obligatory upon the Legislature to provide for the establishment of a State University which shall embrace departments for agriculture, mechanic arts and mining. The Governor, Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction were designated as the Board of Regents for the first four years, and required to immediately organize and maintain the mining department "from the interest from the first funds which come under their control." To aid the State in the establishment of a University, the General Government donated seventy-two sections of land, 42,080 acres. Another grant was made to Nevada, as to the other States, of 30,000 acres for each Representative in Congress—90,000 acres—for the maintenance of a School of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. This grant was subsequently changed so as to make this fund available for the support of a Mining College instead, on account of mining being the chief industry in the State. As yet, it may be said, nothing has been done more than nominally in the case of the University or Mining College. In order to preserve the lands thus donated, however, the University was organized in such a way as formally to comply with the conditions of the two grants. The site selected is at Elko, in Elko County, on the Central Pacific Railroad, where the citizens, to secure the location in their town, built and furnished completely, at their own expense, a sightly brick edifice, nicely planned, and having the capacity to accommodate a hundred pupils.

            The building was finished in the winter of 1873-74 and accepted by the Regents; Hon. Jerry Schooling, Hon. P. H. Clayton and Sylvester H. Day, elected by the Legislature to fill the vacancies made by the expiration of the term of office of the Board named in the Constitution, to serve for the first term of four years. The Regents at present are Hon. T. N. Stone, Hon. John S. Mayhugh, and Sylvester H. Day, Esq.

            The subject of this sketch, is one of the pioneers of Nevada; he was born in 1830, in Dickson Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In the year 1850 he came to California and located in Nevada County, near Grass Valley, where he followed quartz and placer mining and the lumber business until 1859, when he moved to the then Territory of Nevada, settling first in Virginia City, where he remained about one year, and upon the discovery of the mines in Esmeralda County, he went thither, and took an active and prominent part in the politics of the times, being chairman of the committee that reported strong resolutions in favor of the Union, during the exciting times succeeding the breaking out of the Rebellion. From that time to the present he has been an active and consistent worker for the Republican party; has represented Esmeralda County in the State Legislature five regular, and one extra, sessions, from 1864 to 1869. In the latter year he removed to Elko

224      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

County, and was Justice of the Peace for Elko Township for two years, when he was appointed Register of the United States Land Office at Elko, by President U. S. Grant. This position he held five years, at the end of which period the offices of Eureka and Pioche were consolidated with his office and located at Eureka, as a matter of economy on the part of President Hayes' administration. In 1878 he was elected to the Assembly, by a majority of 303 in a Democratic county that gave the Democratic candidate for Governor a majority at the same election of 352. During the session of the Legislature he was the recognized leader of the House, and was chosen a member of the Board of Regents of the State University for a term of four years, of which institution he was one of the founders. His practical experience in the selection of Government and State lands, and the procuring of titles thereto, places him in the front rank of that profession in which he is at present engaged.

Is a native of Lester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and first beheld the light of day on the fourth of February, 1834. Five years of his life were spent in the town of Lester, when his parents moved to near Rochester, New York. He was raised on a farm, his parents being tillers of the soil. At the age of eighteen he entered the Brockport Collegiate Institute, where he pursued his studies for two years, and then attended the State Normal School at Albany, and graduated in 1855.

            Soon after graduating he became Professor in the Fergusonville Academy, and the next year removed to Shawneetown, Illinois, where he followed the profession of teacher until the spring of 1859, when he crossed the plains to California. During the ensuing eleven years he was a miner and school teacher at Weaverville and Yreka, and held the position of County Superintendent of Schools for Siskiyou County for seven years. In 1870 he came to Nevada, and located at Elko, Elko County, where he taught school for two years. In 1872 he received the appointment of Postmaster at Elko, and became engaged in mercantile pursuits in the same town. The office was held by him until the fall of 1876 when he resigned, and was elected to the State Senate. During the session of 1879 he was elected one of the Board of Regents of the State University, and was chosen President thereof, which position he still holds. He was married September 7, 1856, to Miss Brenda O. Hull, of Buffalo, New York, and they have four children, three girls and one boy.

HON. SYLVESTER H. DAY.

            Mr. Day was one of the first Regents, and has always been its earnest friend, devoting his energies to the successful disposition and management of the lands granted in aid of the University. In him the University, as well as other institutions of learning and public charities in Nevada, has always had a warm and enthusiastic friend; and were it possible by earnest endeavor to bring the institution to success, his devotion to its interests would make it so. For some years he has been Deputy United States Land Surveyor, and otherwise connected with public affairs, and is now residing at Carson City.

            In the summer of 1874 D. R. Sessions, A. M. and B. P., of Princeton College, was appointed Principal of the "Preparatory Department of the University of Nevada," a name assumed with becoming modesty, owing to the existing conditions. He undertook the mission, and opened the school with a class of seven or eight boys and girls, the number being divided about equally between the sexes. They came to the University from the upper department of Elko public school, or grammar class, and all had their homes in the town of Elko. Every effort was made to induce pupils to come into the University from the other counties of the State, and from the more remote portions of Elko County. In 1876 a wooden building was erected for a dormitory, capable of accommodating about twenty or twenty-five boarders; and Mrs. M. A. Rood, an excellent lady and motherly woman, was put in charge of it as matron. The building was furnished and equipped throughout so as to make pupils from abroad comfortable, and to provide for them the best temporary substitute for

SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 225

their own homes, and although no charge was made for tuition or lodging, and although board, the only item of expense, was put down to the minimum price practicable in Nevada, thirty dollars per month, no more than three pupils at any one time availed themselves of the opportunities offered, and came from other counties to study at the Preparatory Department of the State University at Elko. But few pupils in Nevada, unless their parents were wealthy, proposed to pursue a higher course in the liberal studies. These, of course, compared the school at Elko, a one-teacher institution, with those of California and of the Eastern States (where in many instances their relations and friends had been taught), having a professor devoted to his specialty in every department of study. Long established seats of learning have a prestige and a halo about them which place them beyond the competition of schools like that of Elko, struggling under difficulties to get a foothold. Besides, though the expenses of a pupil at Elko were as small as possible, they were less almost anywhere else ; and then the surroundings at the University at Elko cannot be considered sufficiently attractive to over-balance much of the prejudice that exists against it.

            The town is small, containing not more than a thousand inhabitants. It yet maintains many of the features of the mining camp. It has no public libraries. There is nothing suggestive of literature in its atmosphere. While the country for miles around is a waste of sage-brush, which grows grey and cheerless in a soil, the abundant alkali of which makes the water of the country sweetish and unpalatable, and renders it extremely difficult to successfully cultivate the ordinary sorts of grasses, shrubs and trees. The location is unfortunate. The time is still far distant, however, when a University, or any high-grade school of learning can flourish in Nevada. The number of pupils would be larger were the University located in any one of the several towns of Nevada that might be named. But granting all that the most sanguine upholder of home institutions could demand, the efforts to maintain a University in this State can result in nothing more than nominal results. If all the pupils in Nevada who take a college course of study could be secured for our State institution (in granting which it would be necessary to presume that it is on a footing to be at least compared with complete colleges elsewhere), they would not number fifty in all, to be divided into four classes. In order to make a University compete with those of other and older States, presuming that we have the adequate material in the number of pupils, the expenses of its support would bankrupt the commonwealth before the skeleton of a class could be graduated. But Elko won the coveted prize fairly. She outdid the other thirteen counties in the offer of inducements, and secured to herself the site of the only State institution of learning. By contributions, bringing many a time sacrifices to the altar, the people of this county contributed, each man what he could, towards building the edifice already described, and furnishing it with the most improved school furniture, at a cost not less than $15,000, and possibly $20,000. The location of the University there was under solemn contract between the State and the county. There is but little reason in policy, and certainly none in morals, why it should be, now, removed to any other site in the State.

            D. R. Sessions continued as principal of the Preparatory Department (the only department) until he removed to Carson, to take charge of the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, January 1, 1879, to which he had been chosen by the people of the State in the election of the preceding fall. Starting in with the few pupils spoken of in 1874, he strove hard to advance them, and exerted his ingenuity in every way to increase the size of his class. In the winter he would have about thirty boys and girls in school, and at the close of the summer term, never more than fourteen or fifteen. There were some very talented children in Elko (it must be remembered that the school had to be recruited from this town and county almost entirely), whose intellects he sought to develop rather by working with them individually than by class training, by studying each one's peculiar mental disposition, and applying himself directly to its individual culture. At the end of the second school year he had succeeded in pushing forward a small class in mathematics, so as to distinguish them by their accomplishments as well as by their name (University pupils), from any advanced class in the public schools of the State. They succeeded in mastering arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, and were applying the principles of trigonometry to surveying and navigation when school closed for the term. The members of this class, however, could no longer be held, and went out to various occupations, to earn their own living. Then, almost at "bed rock," he had to start out on his last two years of pedagogic toils, which terminated with pretty much a repetition of the same results previously reached. Hon. W. C. Dovey succeeded Mr. Sessions, and has been in charge of the University ever since. He is a competent educator, and has done all for his pupils that could be expected of a teacher in the same place. Under his care and tuition there has been no noteworthy change in either the number of pupils or in the conduct of the school. As to the fund of the University, the 40,080 acres for the University proper, and the 90,000 acres Mining College Grant, it has not grown large enough yet, the interest alone on the sales of land being subject to expenditure, to pay its expenses. The institution is consequently maintained by biennial appropriation by the Legislature from the General Fund of the State. The Principal's salary, $3,000 per annum, is the chief item of expense.

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PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDS.

            The law provides that "the principal of all moneys accruing to this State from the sale of lands heretofore given or bequeathed, or that may hereafter be given or bequeathed for public school purposes; all fines collected under the penal laws of the State; two per cent. of the gross proceeds of all toll-roads and bridges; and all estates that may escheat to the State, shall be and the same are hereby solemnly pledged for educational purposes, and shall not be transferred to any other fund for other uses, but shall constitute an irreducible and indivisible fund, to be known as the State School Fund, the interest accruing from which shall be divided semi-annually among the counties in this State, entitled by the provisions of this Act to receive the same, in proportion to the ascertained number of persons between the ages of six and eighteen years, in said counties, for the support of public schools."

            In addition to this revenue, a State ad valorem tax of one-half mill on the dollar is levied on all taxable property, to which five per cent. of all State tax collected is added. The money thus raised is apportioned semi-annually among the counties by the State Superintendent. Each county levies the necessary supplementary tax. The amount obtained from State tax and interest on sales of land on an average pays the general school expenses at present of hardly more than one month of school year.

            The General Government has been liberal in her donations of land to Nevada for school purposes. The first grant was of the Sixteenth and Thirty-sixth Sections, of which 61,967 acres have been sold. A great deal of the land included in this donation is barren, and could not be disposed of, so that Congress has lately given the State instead 2,000,000 of acres, to be selected anywhere in the State. The Internal Improvement Grant, the second in order, was originally given for that purpose, which the term indicates, but was afterwards given directly for the benefit of free school education, owing to the physical conditions in Nevada. These donations, together with an Indemnity Grant of 12,708 acres, given in lieu of land under the Sixteenth and Thirty-sixth Section Grant, "last in place," make up a total which has the seeming of a most munificent gift. The total number of acres granted is 2,574,-665. Could it all be sold at the fixed price of $1.25 per acre, there would be more than a seeming of munificence in the gift. It would be an almost endless task to find out just how much of this land has been sold, and it is, of course, impossible to tell how much more will be sold. The Irredeemable School Fund of Nevada, accumulated almost exclusively from these sales, however, has to its credit at present nearly $550,000; it is safe to speculate that returns from sales now incomplete, and new sales to be made, that this fund will reach $1,500,000 within the next sixteen years. Of the $550,000 now in hand, all but $35,000 is invested in Nevada State bonds at four per cent. per annum interest, payable semi-annually. Were not the land of this State so poor, and were not so much of it absolutely valueless, the fund realized from these sales would be enough alone to maintain her free schools without the necessity of resort to State or county taxes for their support. The educational officers of this State are Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education (composed of the Governor, Surveyor-General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction), County Superintendents, and School Trustees. The State Superintendent is elected for four years by vote of the people; and he is paid a salary of $2,000 per year. He is required to make a biennial report to the Legislature of the condition of public instruction in the State. He prescribes forms and provides blanks for the County Superintendents, who report to him. With the advice and consent of the Board of Education he may call a State Institute once a year. He must visit the schools in each county once every year, his traveling expenses being paid by appropriation.

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

            Must hold semi-annual sessions, for the purpose of devising plans for the improvement and management of the public school funds, and for the better organization of the public schools of the State, and such special sessions as may be called by the President. A full record of the proceedings of the Board is required to be kept by the Secretary, and to be embodied in the annual report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

            The principal duties of the County Superintendent, who is elected by the people for two years, is to audit bills on the school fund, apportion county school moneys, visit schools, appoint Trustees in case of vacancy, and to act as chairman of the Board of Examiners to test the qualifications of applicants for certificates to teach in the public schools.

            The School Trustees have the appointment of teachers and the management of public schools generally. A Census Marshal is appointed by the Trustees in each district, and he gathers all the information required by the State Superintendent once a year. In order that the provisions made for free education in the State might reach their fullest and most wholesome scope, an Act was passed by the Legislature in 1873, compelling children to attend school. It has proved impracticable to execute this compulsory law, owing to the unsoundness of the statute itself, as well as to the condition of life in Nevada, which render its enforcement arduous and distasteful. The enactment is a dead letter.

SECTARIANISM IN SCHOOLS.

            The school law in operation since 1865 provides that no books, tracts, or papers of a sectarian or denominational character shall be used or introduced in any school established under the provisions of this Act; nor shall any sectarian or denominational doctrines be taught therein; nor shall any school

228      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

whatever receive any of the public school funds which has not been taught in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

            In this connection it is somewhat singular to note, that, up to the present administration, the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the head of the Department of Education, has been held by ministers of the gospel. Rev. A. F. White, a Presbyterian, was the first incumbent. He was succeeded by Rev. A. N. Fisher, a Methodist, who was succeeded by Rev. S. P. Kelly, a minister of the Episcopal Church. Rev. John D. Hammond, a Methodist minister of Carson City, was the candidate for the office on the Republican ticket at the election in 1878. It is not improbable that he would have been elected, for his party has seemed to he in the majority in Nevada, had not the question of sectarianism entered into the political discussions of the canvass to his disadvantage.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Are not numerous in Nevada. The oldest one of the kind is the Sierra Seminary, at Carson, before referred to. This school has always, from its early organization, been in a healthy and flourishing condition. Had the energy and ability of its founder, Miss H. K. Clapp, one of the pioneer educators of this county, received the encouragement and support that the people of older States are able to give to such institutions, the Sierra Seminary of Nevada would have been at the present time, second to none of the kind in any of the Eastern States. It is, probably, the best in this State of those founded, fostered, and built up by private enterprise alone. At Virginia City, the "Bonanza" people have had a small school for their own children, taught by a private tutor. There are one or two others in the State; but as a general thing they are small, and do not flourish near free and well-conducted public schools. At Reno, the Sisters of the Catholic Church have a school for girls. They have a fine, large building, many pupils in attendance, and their school is in a flourishing condition. At Reno, there is also a seminary for girls under the supervision of Bishop Whitaker (an Episcopalian), which is under the immediate charge of Miss Sill, the Principal, who is assisted in teaching by several lady teachers. The institution is well spoken of, and is growing thriftily. There is a Catholic orphanage and school at Virginia City, in which there are from 100 to 150 girls. It was established about sixteen years ago, under the auspices of the Order of St. Joseph, and placed under the management of Sister Frederica, who continues at its head, assisted by eleven or twelve Sisters. Too much cannot be said in praise of the genuine charity and good works of these self-sacrificing women. Their teaching is practical, and intended to prepare the orphans under their care for the actual duties of ordinary life.

            A law was passed by the last Legislature to help maintain this benevolent institution in these times of business depression by State appropriations.

            To go further into the details of public education in this State might have the effect to render the subject even less interesting than it is already regarded by the many; hence this cursory sketch will be now ended by a brief statement of facts, mainly statistical, to show the approximate actual condition of education in the State of Nevada at the present time.

            The school officers of the State at this writing are: Superintendent of Public Instruction----David R. Sessions, A. M. Carson.

            State Board of Education—His Excellency, J. H. Kinkead, President; Hon. A. J. Hatch, and D. R. Sessions, Secretary.

            Board of Regents of the State University—Hon. T. N. Stone, Elko; Hon. S. H. Day, Carson; lion. J. S. Mayhugh, Elko.

            Secretary of the Board—E. A. Littlefield, Elko. Principal of the University, Preparatory Department—Hon. W. C. Dovey, Elko.

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.

                                    Counties          Superintendents          Post-Office Address.

                                    Churchill         J. W. Allen                  St. Clair Station

                                    Douglas           John Banning              Genoa

                                    Elko                 F. F. Muller                 Elko

                                    Esmeralda        Ira P. Hale                   Aurora

                                    Eureka             Gid. J. Scanland          Eureka

                                    Humboldt        C. Chenoweth             Winnemucca

                                    Lander             J. S. Hammond, M. D. Austin

                                    Lincoln            G. R. Alexander          Pioche

                                    Lyon.               J. E. Bray                     Dayton

                                    Nye                  J R. Dougherty            Belmont

                                    Ormsby           L. S. Greenlaw             Carson

                                    Storey              W. W. Booher             Virginia City

                                    Washoe           Morgan D. Bowen      Reno

                                    White Pine      L. O. Benedict             Hamilton

            The following is a list of the teachers now engaged in the profession in Nevada:--

CHURCHILL COUNTY.

                                    Maud M. Hall,                                     H. N. Hurd,

                                    A. C. Gilliland,                                    A. C. Gilliland,

                                    Mary J. Smith,                                     J. W. Ferguson.

DOUGLAS COUNTY.

                                    Miss Mott,                                           Miss A. Jennison,

                                    Miss Everett,                                        Miss A. Lathrop,

                                    Miss Cook,                                          Miss Davis,

                                    Mr. Marsh,                                          Mr. Schillinger.

EUREKA COUNTY.

                                    G. J. Scanland,                                    Miss K. McLaughlin,

                                    Miss Emma Wright,                            Miss R. Frank,

                                    Mrs. H. M. Atwood,                            Miss Ella Riley,

                                    Mrs. A. L. Marsden,                            Miss Jennie Reece,

                                    Miss Laura Hardy,                               John Reynolds,

                                    Miss Louisa Mau,                                 Miss E. Frank,

                                                                        G. S. Reck.

SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 229

ELKO COUNTY.

                                    T. N. Stone,                                   Mrs. J. Taylor,            

                                    Miss Bella Cady,                              Miss Ida Williams,           

                                    Miss S. J. Mcllvaine,                         Miss Emma Samuels,

                                    J. D. Barnes,                                     Miss H. S. Rice,              

                                    C. W. Grover,                                   Miss Lizzie Hough,

                                    Miss A. G. Collins,                             Miss Addie Hunter,

                                    C.W. Grover                                      Miss B. Pritchard,

                                    J. M. McClellan,                                 Mrs. D. Hall,  

                                    Miss Lizzie Dorsey,                              Miss Julia Frost,                      

                                    Miss Jessie Yeates,                               Miss Allice Smith,      

                                    Miss Hattie Edwards,                           Miss Sarah Gilland,

                                    Miss M. Frost,                                      Mrs. M. L. Lemon,                 

                                    G. A. Davy,                                         Miss Emma Yeates.

ESMERALDA COUNTY.

                                    H. D. Howard,                                    Lou Sprague,              

                                    Clara L. Gregory,                                Julia L. Bartz,

                                    Esther Smith,                                      W. T. Buriny,

                                    Lottie Pierce,                                       Miss M. Healey,

                                    Jennie Malarkie,                                  Mrs. E. Green.                       

HUMBOLDT COUNTY.

                                    Mrs. M. H. Breck,                               Annie M. Morrison,

                                    Myra F. Knox,                                     Miss M. T. Dunne,

                                    Florence D. Richardson                      Miss Delia McCoy,     

                                    Miss Emma Linn,                                Josie Denio,

                                    Nancy J. Holt,                                      William Perkins,         

                                    J. B. Case,                                            Marie Stewart.

LANDER COUNTY.

                                    John M. Brown,                                  Miss V. Dollarhide,

                                    Miss Fannie J. Work                            Miss Ida Fleming,

                                    J. A. Moore,                                        Mrs. Mary Organ,                  

                                    Miss Carrie Bertrand                          Henry M. Warne,

                                    Mrs. S. Clifford,                                  E. Craine.

LINCOLN COUNTY.

                                    E. Wyman,                                          Miss E. Ciprico,

                                    Miss Laura Goodrich                           C. H. Bell,

                                    J. T. Moore,                                         Miss Kate Glisson,

                                    G. P. Dykes,                                         Charles Bell,

                                    S. O. Crosby,                                       Mrs. A. Gillerland.

LYON COUNTY.

                                    Mills Van Waganen,                           W. W. Booher,

                                    Miss Mora Hornick,                            Mrs. M. J. Walker,

                                    Miss Anna Henry,                               Maggie Holmes,

                                    J. E. Bray,                                            Carrie McTigue,

                                                                        Minnie Leslie.

NYE COUNTY.

                                    J. R. Dougherty,                                  Miss M. M. Godatt,

                                                                        Miss Kate Campbell.

ORMSBY COUNTY.

                                    H. H. Howe,                                        Miss Mary J. Kelly,

                                    Miss Eva Slingerland,                          Miss Belle Ryan,

                                    Miss Emelyn Walter,                           Miss Lena E. Patten,

                                    Miss Stella Gates,                                Miss E. C. Babcock,

                                    Miss K. G. Bardenwerper,                   Ed. Farrington,

                                    Miss Annie Martin,                             Miss Annie Lathrop.

STOREY COUNTY.

                                    C. S. Young,                                        Miss Hattie May,

                                    Mrs. C. S. Kendall,                              Miss A. Habicht,

                                    Miss N. A. Everett,                              Mrs. F. V. McNamara,

                                    Miss M. McDonald,                             Miss M. E. Cashion,

                                    Miss Ida M. Lynch,                              Miss K. Neale,

                                    Mrs. C. S. Wentworth,                        Miss A. Holmes,

                                    Miss G. A. E. Wright,                          Miss M. E. O'Toole,

                                    Miss Cassie Henderson,                       Miss Jennie Brophy,

                                    Miss M. F. Hurley,                               Miss Ida Morgan,

                                    Thomas P. McDonald,                        Miss Jennie Hodgkins,

                                    Miss G. Flannigan,                              Miss F. F. Lynch,

                                    Mrs. M. L. Gaston,                              Miss Dettenreider,

                                    Miss N. R. Lynch,                                Miss Mary O'Farrell,

                                    H. F. Baker,                                         T. B. Gray,

                                    Mrs. M. H. Swift,                                Miss K. Connelly,

                                    Mrs. M. B. Jessup,                               Miss A. M. Ellis,

                                    Mrs. A. M. Potter,                               Miss K. S. Blakely,

                                    Miss A. M. Sullivan,                            Miss Julia Michelson,

                                    Miss M. Buckley,                                 Miss Julia Madigan,

                                                                        Miss A. B. C. Davis.

WASHOE COUNTY.

                                    W. F. Anglemeyer,                              Miss Lottie Warren,

                                    Miss Lizzie Nyles,                                 Miss Frankie Gibbs,

                                    Mr. Bristow,                                        Miss Mollie Grippin,

                                    J. Townsend,                                       Miss Ella McNeely,

                                    Miss Addie Park,                                 Miss S. J. Wilson,

                                    Mrs. F. T. Knowlton,                           C. B. Martin,

                                    Orvis Ring,                                          Miss Genie Payne,

                                    Miss L. R. Royce,                                 Miss Minnie Gibbs,

                                    Miss E. M. Emery,                               Miss Flora Northop,

                                                                        E. A. Barber.

WHITE PINE COUNTY.

                                    Mrs. L. Benedict                                  Mrs. C. L. Walters,

                                    Miss A. Randall,                                  Mrs. L. Briggs,

                                    Mrs. E. A. Mezger,                              Miss May Baker,

                                    J. Fuller,                                               Miss E. Stanley,

                                    Mrs. H. Lake,                                      Miss E. Courtney,

                                                            Miss E. Courtney.

            Of this corps of teachers it must be said that they stand favorable comparison with the educators of the old States of the Union. They are earnest and skillful. In the large school communities, for example, in Virginia, Gold Hill, Reno and Eureka, their schools are well graded and advanced almost to the maximum proposed in free school education. It was remarked by the Hon. John Swett, one of the most experienced teachers in the United States, and now Principal of the Girls' High School in San Francisco, while present at an Institute held in Virginia City in 1880, that it was a pleasure for him to meet the teachers of this State, that he found them sprightly and familiar with the details of their work, and that they lost nothing by comparison with the teachers with whom he was a co-worker in California. Were it not out of order in giving a mere sketch or general outline of school affairs in Nevada, the names of some of the teachers might be mentioned who would

230      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

shine in their profession in the midst of the most cultivated educators in the public schools of the great cities of the nation, in which the art of teaching is most studied and advanced. The following table gives a comprehensive view of the school population for 1880:—

            In this statement nothing is reported separately concerning children not white, i. e. black, copper-colored, and yellow. Under the statute, when Nevada was admitted into the Union, there was no provision made for the education of any but white children. The color line is now rubbed out. In January, 1866, the first school for negro children was opened in Virginia City by a white man—Doctor Waterman. Several other similar schools were started, but they died out, owing to the smallness of the negro population in Nevada. Now, all colors are being educated together in the same free schools. Into whatever part of the State you visit the schools you may see a sprinkling of pupils whose progenitors unmistakably hailed from Ethiopia, or thereabouts. There are exceedingly few Chinese children in Nevada, a mother among them in this country being noted as a rare spectacle. In one or two instances children of this race have studied in the public schools of the State, but not ever long enough to become educated in our language. Some Indian children have sat stolidly in the public schools here, but their efforts at education have been of a rather sleepy sort, and they have never been known to master the rudiments before the sage-brush and the mountains had claimed them back again.

MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS FOR 1880.

                                    Whole number of Primary Schools                 81

                                    Whole number of Intermediate Schools         11

                                    Whole number of Unclassified Schools           81

                                    Whole number of Grammar Schools             19

                                    Whole number of High Schools.                     3

                                    Total number of Schools                                 195

                                    Total number of School Districts                    109

                                    Number of school houses built of brick          7

                                    Number of school houses built of wood          96

                                    Number of school houses built of adobe         1

                                    Number of school houses built of stone          2

                                    Number of school houses rented                    22

                                    Number of school houses unfit for use           6

                                    Number of new school houses erected            16

                                    Number of teachers—male, 92; female, 105; total, 197

                                    Average monthly wages paid male teachers $101.47

                                    Average monthly wages paid female teachers $77.00

            Number of schools maintained less than three months         3

            Number of schools maintained only three months,               11

Number of schools maintained more than three and less than six months               29

Number of schools maintained more than six and less than nine months                 34

Number of schools maintained nine months and over                      88

Average number of months taught in all schools of Nevada.             7 14/100

Number of teachers who have made returns according to law           180

Number of teachers who have failed to make such returns                12

Amount of money expended for County Institutes                            $150

SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA.             231

                                    Number of First Grade Certificates issued      41

                                    Number of Second Grade Certificates issued    97

Number of applicants for Certificates rejected by County Boards of Examination    33

Average salary of County Superintendents per month                       $48.25

Number of school visits made by County Superintendents                 963

Average rate of County School Tax on $100                                      .33 75/100

            Supplementary thereto are the following:—

232      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

            Attention is called to the foregoing statement with regard to the value of school property in the counties. It appears that in Storey County alone this value, confined to school houses almost exclusively, is $132,850. This speaks for itself, and is suggestive of the liberality of the people in this respect, when it is remembered that there are not 4,000 school children in this county. The school edifices in Storey County, which are the best in the State, but which are not much superior to some school buildings in other counties, are large; built on the best plans, in excellent taste, and comprise all the improvements suggested by the art of modern school architecture, being well ventilated, and convenient.

ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M          233

            As showing the financial transactions of the schools by counties the foregoing table is valuable. It is taken instead of a similar report for 1880, as in this year there was no report from Storey County, which is the most important in the State.