Clarksburg Public Schools, Harrison County, West Virginia This file was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.org/wv/wvfiles.htm Clarksburg Public Schools Source: History of Education in West Virginia Prepared under the direction of the State Superintendent of Free Schools 1904, Charleston: The Tribune Printing Company, 1904 pgs. 121 - 125 Clarksburg Public Schools BY SUPERINTENDENT F. L. BURDETTE HISTORICAL Part of the grounds now occupied by the public schools have been de- voted to educational uses from an early period in the country's history. The grounds upon. which the Central High School is located, containing one and one-half acres, have been used for school purposes since 1790. As early as 1787 the "Randolph Academy" was incorporated by an act of the Virginia Legislature. The trustees appointed to take charge of the same comprised several of the most illustrious names in the State, such as James Madison, George Mason and others. For the support Of this in- stitution, one-sixth of the surveyor's fees collected in the counties com- prising northwest Virginia were to be appropriated. Prior to that time these fees had been donated to the support of William and Mary College. In 1789 the Legislature authorized the trustees to raise by lottery an ad- ditional sum for the use of the Academy, which amount was not to exceed one thousand pounds. In 1790 the school opened its doors for the re- ception of students. Rev. George Gowers, a graduate of Oxford, England, was the first professor, and remained in charge many years. He taught Latin, Hebrew, Greek and the sciences. In 1842 the old Randolph Academy was merged into a new institution, incorporated under the name of the "Northwestern Academy of Virginia," which was established on the site of the old academy. This new institu- tion was under the direction of the Methodist Episcopal Church, had a strong course of more than college preparatory work, and received a liberal support in donations and patronage. Its doors were open regularly ten months out of the year for the reception of students till 1861 or 1862, when the outbreak of the Civil War called its students and teachers to more stirring scenes. During the war the building was used for a prison and barracks. In 1865 a small school was taught in the Academy by the Rev. John Connor, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. During that year the first public schools were taught in rooms rented for the purpose in different parts of the town. The following year the entire Academy property, grounds, buildings and equipments were turned over for the use of the public schools, but no transfer of title to the property was made. In 1867 the Clarksburg Independent School District was established by legislative enactment. In 1878 an act by the West Virginia Legislature vested the title of all such school properties as that of the Northwestern Academy in the regularly constituted public school authorities. Thus Randolph Academy, 1790-1842; North-western Virginia Academy, 1842-1866; and Clarksburg Public. Schools, 1866 to the present time, have, in succes- sion, come into possession of the same property and received the public support and patronage. For the first session of the Public Schools in 1865, there were three teachers. The first Board of Education for Clarksburg Independent School District in 1867, consisted of Daniel Boughner, R. L. Lowndes, and B. F. Shuttleworth. The first principal of these schools was Rev. John Connor, with John Blackford and Misses Isabella Davisson, Molly Lynn, and Emily Griffin as assistants, 1866-'67. The following Principals and Super- intendents have since been in charge: Julius Anderson and four teachers, 1867-'68. Dr. William Meigs and four to six teachers, 1868-'73. D. C. Louchery and six teachers, 1873-'78. C. W. Lynch and eight teachers, 1878-'82. John G. Gittings and eight to ten teachers, 1882-'92. L. J. Corbly and ten to thirteen teachers, 1892-'95. John G. Gittings and thirteen to fourteen teachers, 1895-'97. F. L. Burdette, the present incumbent, and fifteen to thirty teachers, 1897-1904. GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS The grounds and buildings consist of: First. The lot in the central part of the city, the site of the old Randolph and Northwestern Virginia Academies, which contains one and one-halt acres. On this lot the Central School building was erected in 1895 at a cost of $25,000. Second. A lot in the west end of the city, which contains three-quarters of an acre. A brick building of four rooms was erected on this lot in 1897 at a cost of $6,000. Third. A lot 160 feet by 180 feet in the east end of the city. A brick building was erected on this lot in 1902 at a cost of $15,000. Fourth. A lot in the southern part of the city, 100 feet square, on which a building was erected in 1903 at a cost of $4,000. Fifth. A lot 100 feet square near the center of the city, on which a building for the colored school was erected in 1901 at a cost of $14,000. COURSE OF STUDY The schools are divided into Primary and Grammar Departments of tour grades each, and a High School with a four-years course. In the Primary Department are taught Reading, Writing, Spelling, Language, Numbers, Arithmetic, Geography, Drawing and Music. In the Grammar Department are taught Reading, Writing, Spelling, Language, Arithmetic, Geography, United States History, Physiology, Drawing and Music. In the High School are taught Grammar, Rhetoric, Literature, Latin, Greek, German, Physical Geography, Botany, Physics, Civil Government, Geology, General History, Arithmetic, Bookkeeping, Algebra, Geometry, Drawing and Music. The schools are in session for a period of nine months out of each year, and the entire course comprises a period of twelve school years for the average student. The High School courses of study, omitting Drawing, Music and English reading courses, are as follows. Recitation periods are forty minutes in length, and the number per week is shown by the figures annexed: PREPARATORY COURSE FIRST YEAR 1st Term. 2nd Term. 3rd Term. Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. English Grammar, 5. English Grammar, 5. English Grammar, 5. SECOND YEAR Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. Rhetoric & Comp., 3. Rhetoric & Comp., 3. Rhetoric & Comp., 3. Phys. Geography, 2. Phys. Geography, 2. Phys. Geography, 2. THIRD YEAR Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Geometry, 5. Geometry, 5. Geometry, 5. Greek or German, 5. Greek or German, 5. Greek or German, 5. Physics, 5. Physics, 5. Physics, 5. Literature & Comp., 3. Literature & Comp., 3. Literature & Comp., 3. FOURTH YEAR Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Greek or German, 5. Greek or German, 5. Greek or German, 5. Physics, 2. Physics, 2. Physics, 2. Geometry, 3. Geometry, 3. Geometry, 3. Literature & Comp., 5. Literature & Comp., 5. Literature & Comp., 5. LITERARY-SCIENTIFIC COURSE FIRST YEAR 1st Term. 2nd Term. 3rd Term. N Arith. & B'k K'ping, 5. Arith. & B'k K'ping, 5. Arith. & B'k K'ping, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. English Grammar, 5. English Grammar, 5. English Grammar, 5. SECOND YEAR Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Latin, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. Algebra, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. General History, 5. Rhetoric & Comp., 3. Rhetoric & Comp., 3. Rhetoric & Comp., 3. Phys. Geography, 2. Phys. Geography, 2. Phys. Geography, 2. THIRD YEAR Latin or German, 5. Latin or German, &. Latin or German, 5. Geometry, 5. Geometry, 5. Geometry, 5. Geology, 5. Geology, 5. Botany, 5. Physics, 5. Physics, 5. Physics, 5. Literature & Comp., 3. Literature & Comp., 3. Literature & Comp., 3. FOURTH YEAR Latin or German, 5. Latin or German, 5. Latin or German, 5. Civil Gov. and Civil Gov. and Civil Gov. and State History, 5. State History, 5. State History, 5. Physics, 2. Physics, 2. Physics, 2. Geometry, 3. Geometry, 3. Geometry, 3. Literature & Comp., 5. Literature & Comp., 6. Literature & Comp., 5. Since 1889, eighty-five students have graduated from the High School, of whom twenty-six were boys and fifty-nine were girls. LIBRARY AND APPARATUS The Public School Library contains 2,300 books, classified under the heads of fiction, poetry, history, reference, nature, science, travel, music, and miscellaneous. No charges are made to students for the use of books in the library. Apparatus for use in the subjects of Physics, Physiology, Geography and Botany has been provided. The schools are well supplied with wall maps and charts.