Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, July 3, 1909, Page 17

(Continued from page 16) > third ition was to buy mfl l‘l’t lue‘!kmw.h)l' h :nlg finally the whic] e chosen as the site of (he present fourth lot named was ‘where the American house stood and still stands on Shetucket street, with the .rocks and the old Boswell house ‘beyond. ) Union square was decided upon as the most central place of all. The Merchants hotel lot was on a narrow part of Main street, in & crowded and contracted locality. Alréady there was not elbow room if that part of the city, and it was not ‘m‘nnuum policy to La there, the tendency of ‘would be stiil more to centralize and crowd bus- iness into that ng The old controversy with New Lon- don as to whether there should be one or two shire towns in the county, was renewed. In the procession at New London on July 4, 1565, ap, d an exellent modél of the. °1l& Ney Lon- don_co t model was é’.‘&" feet, its m’:.dt and height five feet. On each end was the following: Bstablished in 1666—- too old to go to Norwich.” And on the roof was, “Fire proof and lobby proor”; “Benate all in but three.” But in some mystérious way the model ‘was brought to Norwich, being. dis- covered one in ~ Franklin square. It was ) from one place to another in the city and finally spent its last days on the West Side. The ‘method of its removal from New Lon- don remained a secret, but it Tu- mored that Judge Holbrook “waded up the river and towed it up.” NORWICH SCHOOLS. Daniel Mason’s School in 1679—Schools in 1746—Other Sohools in the 18th Century—Dyar Harris' 8chool Which John T. Wai Attended—Schools Public and Private in 19th Century —The School System as It Is Today. o ‘The, history of education in Nor- wich, of schools public' and private, begins almost with the original pur- chase of the nine miles square in 1659. Many of the earliest teachers were men who held the position for life, often having in their charge the chil- dren and sometimes the grandchildren ©of former pupils. Miss Caulkins de- #cribes this school-ma’'am of former times as “always teaching little girls and boys to sit up straight and treat their elde; ; to conquér repeat -the cate- lie; the boys to write ‘copies, and e girls to work samplers. The first sohioolmaster of whom vah w‘h:y |ficol 'r_;l'l ‘was MF. John Bir- ho in wasappointed by the town to keep “a school for nine then, acoarding to law.” and who s gervices the sum of £35 in wovlllonfi#l.y. 9s. to be paid by scholar for the nine months, #nathe remainder to be made up by town. Tn 1879 it was “agreed, and by the town that Mz Danill be mpln'nd by the town - or 1y in No lenard Bashnell sere in the next year | ematics and A in'tho wewaro pass o€ the 1amn ‘Putnam, o A the old geveral, tHe son of e “with plumes t0°ex- A ty,” at the | Press his tender anxieties for her in the Fay " ana Union | Person of Lord Guiiford Dudley.” . AT " A more advanced school, including In its studies Latin and Greek, math- ras establish in 1782, and continued for about thirty, years. Thig&chool'was under the care of an “academical association, consist- ing of forty-one subscribers’ and one hundred shares or rights” The frst 'principal was Samuel Austin. At a er date the position was held by Newcomb Kinney, afterwards the pop- ular manager of the Merchants' hotel. For a schoolhouse the association_pur- chased the old ~Separatist meeting- house. A % In 1787 a schpol was opened upon a foundation of £500 which had, been left as a legacy for the purpose by Dr. Danlel Lathrep at his death five vears earlier. 'This school -was held. in the brick schoolhouse on . the green, and among the teachers were Ebenezer Punder: Charles ‘White, Newcomb Kinney, Hunt, Alexander McDon- ald, -and William_ Baldwin. Of these tasclieg Willlem Baldwin was perhaps the mokt noted, & thorough scholar, but stern and austere, more respected than loved by his scholars. Among his pu- pils. were Lydia Huntley, rwards Mrs, Sigourney, the Rev. Dr; .Nevins of Baltimore, the Hon, Jabez Hunting- ton and the Hon. Henry Strong o Norwich, Gardner: and Samuel How- land of New York, the projectors and principal owners f the Panama. rail- road. F This school did a most excellent work for about balf a century, but was final- 1y given up, owing to the restrictions in the will, which provided that the school should be “kept 11 months in Fach Year, and § hours in each day from the 20th of March to the 30th of September, and from the 21st of Se tember to the 20th of March, § hours in each , that is to say as nearly that space of time 1h each day as may Rea- sonably be expedted. Some time between the years of 1789 and 1795 the little brick schooiho situated a few rods north of Harland's corner was built, on land purchased for the purpose from Thomds Leffingwell for the sum of £ Here Mys. Sigour- ney's education was begun, and she has left for us a description of the schoolhotse, with its unpainted desks ang benches on three sides of the room and on the other 4 recess for the teach- er's desk, & closet for books, a water pitcher and a capacious fireplace.. She also describes her first teacher, to whom she was sent at the age of four, as a woman “above the medium height, with sharp black gyes, large hands, a manly voice, a capacious mouth, and a step that made the schoolhouse trem- ble” The principal study was spelling, where the scholars “weni above” a cording to thefr “skill” of “the mis- takes of others.” In this same brick schoolhouse, in 1798, Consider Sterry opened an even- ing school for “instruction in Writing, Book-keeping, in the Italian, American and English systems.” - Here he taught “Mathematics in their varied branches both in theory and practice, particular- ly the modern, and most accurate prac- tice of surveying without plotting, lay ing out of lands, &e. He would par- ticularly notice ‘those: Gentlemen who go down to the sea in ships,.and ocou- y- their b the great waters, athe ‘will them to_find their Longitude at sea, by Lunar observa- tions, also how to find their Latitude, by observations. of the sun’s altitude, either before or affer his arrival to the meridian, &c.” The price for tujtion “for Writing ana Common Arithmetic” y parts of New England, for or another, the general in- 1n education seemed to languish nfia\; the first generation . derhaps ople found themselves (00 busy for “larn- in’” 1in the vn'lou:t activities of a new land; perhaps was difficult to find teachers. But until late in the _mug‘ schools seem to have ‘been l.{:ifl itermittently, and ref- erences to them are few. In 1700 Nor- ‘wich was _actually indicted by the grand jury of the county “for want of a "i‘ohl to Instruct chNdren.” The school house was repaired by David Knight and Solomon 'l‘rlvz:y and in 1708 ithe town vo to "l:m e a school- r according to law,” and Rich- T, n 2, it was voted that “a good and sufficient schoolmaster be appoint - _ed to keep school the whole yeare anc from yeare to years, one haife the tin o in the Tewn Platt, the other halfe at farmq_in the several quarters.” In a 0 of 408. on a thousand "‘2 1 A “for ‘ye madntaining of ded ye schoolers of ve Hown Platt Pay’ to ye schoolmaster ‘what fails in ye lfl agreed for, und ye have liberty to send cheir _chi free of cost. In 1746, the town appeintment for schools was as follows: hool at the Landing Place to be ‘kept 3 months, 17 days. “Two uho? in the Town Plot, at each en 1-2 months each. “Scheol Plain Hills, 2 months 19 days. “Bol = hool at Waweekus Hill, 1 month 8. !" 00l at Great Plain, 2 months “School at Wequanuk, 2 months 15 days. “School on the wlnlhrm Road, 2 menths 11 days.” A school 8 recelyed but half the pay of a’ master, and so was re- qQuired to teach twice as many weeks. No ene knows just where these early #chiool houses stood. One of them was ;'ltkl‘lfie east E;lhd o(‘;:-he 'l'owrt‘! Plot, very ely near the Green, arid possibly where the old brick building stands, formerly used as a school house. But the names of a nu of the school teachers have come n to us. the one In 1774 an wtmng sohool was adver- tised, to be taught by Thomas Eyre, at the rate of 1s. per week for a class numbering at least ten pupils, special .attention being given ‘to arithmetic, algebra and geometry. In the same © year, at Lathrop's tavern, Jabez Smith ‘was teaching “Psalmody, the scale, fife and German flute.” Another school- master, Jared Bostwick by name, died “greatly lamented in August, 1775, at ¢ muur . b g _ Even during the stirring days of the Revolution the schools were not neg- Jected. In 1788 a school was conducted “4n the brick schoolhouse “a few roi north of the courthouse,” “upon the mlve plan and liberal con- " “for ‘the Teception of number of young Gentlemen an Lads’ and Misses: where taught by ex) ced Instructors, in the most modern manner, édery branch of Jiterature, viz, reading, writing, arithmetic, learned - langnages, , logle, geograph mathe- " &c, The pupils were also he rules of decency, decorum ty,” Tn this school taught I White and a Mr. Goudrich. The exhibitions of this school were « very elaborate, the young people often mrt in theatrical representa- tions. Miss Caulkins, /M the first eai- of her History of Norwich, de- e such exhibition, “when ntington, came upon the in green silk brocade, a ttering with jewels 'Fa’cml ) was 1s. 3d. for each scholar per week, “for Bookkeeping and - the higher branches of the Mathematics,”. 1s. 6d. per week, “for finding the Latitude, as above, $1 for the complete knowledge.” e — ) Consider Sterry, a brother of the Rev. John Sterry, was a self-taught scientific genius. He and his brother prepared a work on lunar observations and an arithmetic for schools; and Consider Sterry, with Nathan Daboll, arranged and edited a system of pra tical navigation which they called “The Seamen’s Universal Daily Assistant.” The Hon. John T, Wait, who came to Norwich from New London after 1815, His first teacher was Dy whom Miss Perkins, in her beok on the Old Houses of Norwich, describes as “good-natured, addicted to | aaps in school-time and ' to taking snuff. He used to call his ruler ‘Old Goldings,' and now and then he would call nut in school-hours, ‘Anyone who wants to go out can do’ so by coming up to the desk and taking two. licks from “Old Goldings,” and the boys, Teady enough to take the ‘licks’ for the outing, would at once present them- selves. He would then give one blow with the ruler, and refuse to give the other. At times he would adjourn the whole school to the hill behind the schoolhouse* to try a new gun which he had recently purchased. These prac- ticeg dil not meet with the approval of the parents, so his stay was short, and his successor, Samuel Griswold, was much more severe in discipline. He used to sit with his feet on the table and c&ll the boys up to walk around it, hitting them in turn' with the ruler as they made thé round. Asher Smith also taught here, about 1822, and George Bliss, _the latter teaching the public school at $22 per month in winter and a private school in summer from 1823 to 1824, during a part of 1825 and 1826, and again in 1827. In 1828 he moved to the school- house on the Green, but returned .to ‘the schoolhouse near Mr. Throop's' in 1820, Many years later Miss Goodell taught here for several years.” In the years immediately mreceding and immediately following the year 1800, in addition to these opportunities for acquiring a common school educa- tion, we find- mention of schools and teachers of dancing, music, embrolderv ana other accomplishments. The first dancing master of whom we hear was Mr. Griffiths, who held his classes in the “house of the widow Billings,” at Norivfch. Town. He taught “Minuets and a Duo Minuet (which are eptirel new), Cotillion Minuet, and new Coun- try Dances, with the real .step for dancing’—all for $6 for the first quar- ter, and $4 for the second. * a BRubbpotguiag o, K 3 Norwich L , on -the 4th of Sep~ tember mext. , Mr. Devero begs leave to observe that he pays the greatest attention to the carriage, morals and a s of his pupils, and as he offers to_teach, at a price that will give gen- eral satisfaction, he hopes for & con- tinuance of the favors and confidence .otn:n:‘ Igl:'ahlmu: m:l. zowg, which w! t study to deserve.” _constanf y About this time streets were being , ullatog lots purciasea, and 3 ¢ part of e town Yhawh ‘88 is Landing ad 0o the leasant plain between the Town an ‘?':tn "On this “pleasunt plain, pleasant, airy and commodious brick house,” (ow the onage of the Congregational church), William _MWoodbridge openied, in June of 1800”or 1891, a school “for the,in- struction ®f Masters and Misses in all the various branches of education for uspfulness and accomplishment. ‘This sltuation proved to be too far from the .centers of population, and ‘was given up after two or three years. The following advertisements are taken from the files of The Courier. from 1797 to 1799: ATTENTION! Young Ladies of Norwich, awake from your sleep, it is high time. to Tise, and trim the lamp of ljfe; it is now past day light, and tie‘morning school at the Landing. has begun— Look at the prize before you; it is no less than a Silver or Goid Medal for the. best Scholar -in Reading and Speaking.—Those young Misses who wish to run the race in this field of Ci- ceronian honor, will please .to make application in season, before this Fe- male Society is filled—Mehtinks! one single consideration will animate the rising Fair to excel and obtain this immortal prize—the very thought that this golden prize will be more dura- ble than your natural Jife, will inspire you with redoubled ardor to gain the prize in view. Yea, your Children, and your Children’s Children, shail rise up with blessings on their lips and say This Gold Medal was an honorary prize which my Grandmother won at School ~when - she was but a very Child. g N. B. Application may be made to the Master at his lodgings, -at -Mr. Snow's—the hours of Morning School are from half past six, to half past eight o'clock. ~ PIANO FORTE. Mr. Smith, Organist and Professor of MUSIC, ¥ Respectfully informs the ladies and Eentlemen of this city, that Ne intends to teach the Pianno Forte, Singing, and the refined art of accompanying fashionable songs—youns la may now have an opportunity to. learn as much as to amuse themselves and others. Smith is term'd one of the first performers, and best teachers on this continent. His terms will be mod- erate, and may ‘be known by applying at_this office. N. B. He teaches likewise the vio- 1in, ‘and tunes instruments, “The Subscriber would inform his Friends in Town and Country, that he as - provided good accommodations, and proposes teaching through the season, about Eight or Ten Students, in the Languages; English Giammer, and Speaking, If such should offer themselyes. “WALTER KIN Ladies' Boarding-School. 1 Mrs. Brooks, From LONDON, Begs leave to inform her friends and the public that she has- hired that pleasant and commodious house which was lately occupied by Daniel Dun- ham, Esq., on the plain ih the city of Norwich, where she has opened a Boarding & Day SCHOOL, for the education of Young Ladies. Those parents or guardians, who may think proper to entrust her with the care of their Children or Wards, may rély on the strictest attention being paid to their morals and behavior; and that no endeavors will be wanting on her part, to render them perfect in all or any of the undermentioned branch es of polite education, —ViZ— 5 Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Eng. Grammar, Geography, Plain Work and Marking, per Qr. 2 dolls. gorambour, Embroidery & Dresden, 2 o. French, 2 do. Drawing, 2 do. Fillegree and Paint Work, 2 do. Music, 10 _do. Board & Washing, 10s per week. N. B. Mrs. Brooks takes this pub- lic method of returning her thanks for the fayors she has already receiv- ed, since her arrival in Norwich. The school advertised by Walter King was a_proprietary school, estab- lished in’ 1797, and was held in a wooden ~school “house above Ghurch street, or “Third street,” “back of Capt. Boswell's house,” at the place afterwards occupied by the School street school house. The Rev. Walter King was the first principal, and Da- vid L. Dodge was the first regular teacher. In 1799 the school was in charge of Mr. Rufus Robbins, who al- 50 taught a night school at the rate of “9s. each per quarter.” B. Snow was the committee-man, and, brings the school to the attention of the pub- lic in the following words: The. Inhabitants of the First School District, in the parish of Chelsea, are hereby notified that a FREE SCHOOL for the benefit of all the inhabitants of said, district will be opened at the School ‘House near Mr. Lemuel Bus- well Jun’s Dwelling House, on Mon- day, the 17th’day of Jyne inst., under the tuition of Mr. Rufus Robins. Those who wish to embrace so favor- able an opportunity for the instruction of their children, In useful reading, writing, and arithmetic, are requested to send their children or domestics, on the first or second day of the opening of the said school, in order that a suit- able disposition of the scholars may be Made in case more scholars should ap- pear than the school can accommodate at one time. B. SNOW, Committee-man. The sum of TWENTY CENTS will be required by the master, from each Tn The Courier of June 7, 1797, we find_the following advertisement of J. C. Devero (or Devereux), spoken of as “an Irish gentleman of 4 titled fam ily, whom the war embarrassed:” / “DANCING SCHOOL, “J. C. DEVERO. “Respectfully informs .the inhabit- ants of the Town & Landing, that he purposes opening a cing-Sehool, on the 12th inst., and for the accom- modation of those who are pleased to fayor him. with their patronage, he will keep three days ofeeach week in the Court House, and three days at Mr. Kinney's Ball-Room at the Land- ing—price six Dollars, to be paid at the expiration of the quarter—Hours of tuition, &c., made agreeable to the puplls. “From his method of teaching, and unlimited_attention, he hopes to give general satisfaction, which whl be his constant study to deserve.” Two years later he advertises as follows, “DANCING SCHOOL “ “John C. Devero = scholar, on .admission, for the first quarter, for the purpose of defraying the expense of School Room and ap- pendages—agreeably to a vote of said district, Other teachers of this school were the Rev, Thomas Williams, Mr. Scar- borough, Ebenezeér Witter, John Lord (president of Dartmouth college), George Hill, &c. But the teacher ‘who retained the office for the longest time was Dyar T. Hinckley of Windham, \who was master for twenty years or more, yet never removed his family to Norwich. At this time schools held in- varlably two sessions a day, of three hours each, with a half holiday on Saturday. In addition to this, Mr. éfi‘n of Lyme_-mamnn‘gzzfl ’yllis Warger, Roswell C.-Smith, the writer of school books, the Rev. Hor- ace- B €ll, D. D, of Hartford, and he Rev. Dr. William Adams of New ork. - Not b:’ before this, about the be- ginning the new century, a select school for: both boys ang girls was opened by Pelatiah Perit, who had just then graduated from. Yale college, ar- though still under 19 years of age. Lydia Huntley, afterwards Mrs, Sigour- ney, attended this school, and wneaks of Mr. Perit as “a young gentleman of superior talents, education and posi- tion in society.” s“The order of the school,” she writes, “was perfect. The classes were exceilently well taught, | as_were al.o” the English _studies. Among the latter I recollect geography was quite & favorite, probably because it was deepened by our construction of maps and charts, in which we were strenuous for accuracy andesome de- gree of elegance, The former we dec- orated by painted vignettes and devices and for the latter had immense sheets manufactured at the paper’-mill on purpose for us. These beine divided into regular parallelograms by lines of red ink. we wrote on their left the ndme of every country on the habitable globe, filling its even line of regular compartments according to their desig- nation over the top—Length and Breadth, Latitude and Longitude, Boundaries, Rivers, Mountains, Form of Government, Population, Universi- ties, and Learned Men, where they ex- isted, and whatever circumstance of histéry was redycible to so narrow a compass.” After Mr. Perit resigned. to enter business in New York. the school was taken in charge by the Rev. Daniel Haskell, a man “greatly beloved.” Mr. Haskeli, was also a_graduate of Yale, a_ripe scholar, of literary taste and ability. He delighted to lead his pupils in a thoughtful study of their mother tongue, in the derivation of words ,in their delicate shades of meaning. He fead to them from the best English authors, and encouraged them in the expression of their own thoughts. Af- ter leaving Norwich Mr. Haskell taught at Bacon academy, Colchester, and finally, after a few years of pastoral work, “was_elected president of tne University of Vermont, which position he held until 1824, < Nor, in the multiplicity of school- s, did the schoolma’am go en- tirely. out of fashion. Miss Perkins tells is that “in the old Rufus Lathrop house, later in a little building in her own grounds, and again in the old brick schoolhouse opposite Gager's store, and to sentence a boy to stand in the middls.of the room length of time. “Mr. L'Hommedieu said to me” writes Mr, Bromley, “if they were . gi . out prizes to scholars of long standing that I would be entitleg to the first: prize.” Doubtless many of the older can remember the days of the Norwich Female Academy, incorporated in 1828. The brick building in which the Acad- emy was located (regently owned by Mr. Behrisch) was at. the time Of its was _ome foot for a givi on the hill. Neither courthouse nor jail had as yet been built, and the school had the rugged, well forested hill for its sbackground. - The most flourishing year of this school was 1833, when the day and -boarding pupils nearly. ninety. For fifteen years, beginning in 1845, an. exeellent ‘day was conducted by Dr. Claudius B. Webster, occupying for a long time the building now owned by the Arcanum club. In 1838 began throughout Connecti- cut a movement for the bettering of the public schools. A convention was held in Norwich addressed by the Hor. Henry rnard, who urged among other thihgs the consolidation of Mlistricts and the establishment of a high school. The following year the two school districts in Greeneville were united, a second school hoyse was erected, and the new system ‘of graded schools inaugurated in Decem- ber, 1839. Two years late a class of boys was prepared for college in this 'school, which gained the reputation of being ‘the best district school®in the state. But as a_whole the schools of Nor- wich at this time were in a most de- plorable condition—crowdéd, - ungrad- ed, and offering nothing beyond the rudiments of an education. The teach- ers were inadequately paid, and there was little public interest in the whole matter. numbered , As a natural It of such condi- tions, private sthools grew and flour- i At Norwich. Town we read of the Norwich Town high school, taught by L. Cfty and C. K. Bushnell in 1842, and_later by D. F. Gulliver, Eugene e, and Miss Julictte F. Hyde. Also Norwich Town high school in brick building ut west end of green, conducted by Rev. T.+D. P. Stone. Two terms each year, including two se sions of 11 weeks each, beginning on the first Wednesday in May and No- vember. Tuition: Classical dept, 36 per session, English dept) $4 per ses- sion, Juvenile dept. $3 per session. one hour a day devoted to Seminary in several other locations, Miss Sally Goodell taught the rising generation of VIEW OF WEST SIDE FROM Norwich Town, Raps on the head with a thimble, suspensions from the wall in bags, the tying of bashful boys to the apron strings of pretty girls, to whom they had presumed to whisper during school hours, were punishments that linger yet in the memories of some of her pupils; but though painful at the time, these were the severest penalties which her gentle nature could inflict, and her scholars seem to cherish’ none but tender recollections of their former teacher.” Very different from Miss Sally Smith of painful memory, who flourished about, the beginning of the [ eighteenth century, and was chiefly re- membered for her success in teaching spelling and for her severity with the rod. At Chelsea Landing, in 1812, Misses L. Huntley and Nancy Maria Hyde opened.a school for young ladies op- posite the gremmar school on the Lit- tle Plain. But, like a number of other schools which ' were started at about this time, it flourished for a few years only._ Between the years of 1502 una 1823 we read of Mr. Hovey, who con- ducted a dancing school at Mr La- throp's hall, and at Mr. Willoby’s hotel at Chelsea; of Mr. Fuller, who taught dancing—town ang landing—at 3 o'clock in the afternoon for ladies and at 7 in the evening for gentiemen; of Asd’ Roath, who at his evening school gave instruction in-readine. writing, arithmetic, grammar, navigation and surveying; of Francis G. Edgarton, “at the foot of Bean Hill,” teaching in ad- dition to the common branches, sur- veying ang the languages; of Joseph B. Palmer, with his evening school at the schoolhouse ‘“near the Baptist Meeting-House, in West Chelsea,” for “young gentlemen or ladies.” with tul- tion “by the.quarter, 1 Dollar per Schollar.” Shpz il George T. Bromley of San Francisco speaks of Mr. Palmer as a teacher rigid and exacting, enforcing strict obedience, one of whom his pupils all stood in awe, yet-loved him as a fa- ther. Mr. Bromley writes: “When the coasters, the sloops and the schooners would come home ang lay up for the winter, when the boys would have the sails_unbent/ and stored away in Dea- Story's sail loft, and when every- thing was made snug on board and the craft well made fast, then the jolly mariner would spit on his hands, turn up his sleeves, cock his head to one side and say: /Well, who's going to Hinckley conducted sometimes a moi Ing or evening school, for those who were not connected with the dag &chool. 'The morning hours were from 5 o'clock to 7 a. m., and were devoted to young ladies, A boys' school, designed more espe . cially for classical study, and called "l'mhuh ,Gr-mlm mar, School,” was es 1807, eration E s keep school this winter?” 1f told it was Jo. Palmer, “That'll do, would be the reply, ‘then there'll be no schoolmaster thrashed this winter.” So he would pull down his sleeves, straighten up his head and inquire where was a good place to buy goose quills. Another most excellent teacher of the first quarter of the nineteenth cen- | tury was Mr._ Stephen . L Hommedieu, Hio BEL DG i interests. «Board may be had for $2 per week. p CHURCH STREET IN 1860, At the Landing, such schools a Norwich Female Academy. Miss F. M. Caulkins, Principal. English ‘brancches; Latin and ench; Piano. Tuition moderate. Opened 1832(?). Writing Academy. Round and Running hands; also, Secretary and Italian, German Text, Old English, Roman and Italian Print. “The art'of muking elas- tic Spring Pens taught in_one hour. Mr. ‘Elisha Tucker, Mansfeld’s Hall, directly opp. P. O." Sept., 1833. Manners and Dancing. Mr. Hazen. From 2 to 5 p. b. for Ladies, and from 6 to 9 for Gentlemen. $3.30 per quar- ter, with a deduction of 50 cents on each Scholar, where more than twp attend from a family. Dec., 1833. Select School for Young Ladies, in the Proprietors’ School House, east of the Town Hall. E. B. Huntington, Tu- ition $6.00 per quarter. Language: $2.00 extra. Opened March 23, 18 Landscape Drawing, Stenography, and_Penmanship. Preston R. Bowen, 17 Shetucket St. Sept., 1842, Norwich City Select School. William Herrington. Common branches $2.00; higher branches, $2.50 per quarter. 20 Shetucket. French, Bookkeeping ana Writing. Mr. Hoyt. Second story, corner Main and Shetucket, over Huntington’s jew- elry store. Dec., 1842. Select School for La men. Mr. Phinead Howe, from Graf- ton, Mass. Tuition, in Languages, per term, $4.00; Common English branch- es, including writing, $2.50; Higler do. $3.00. - . | We also read of the school taught by Calvin Tracy, a company of bright boys, gathered from the best fami- lies of the place. President Timothy Dwight of Yale university, who was one of these lads, says that “somehow, either by reason of what' Mr. Tracy did. or because of natural gifts and subsequent advantages, a goodly num- ber of those jpoys had an honored place in the world.” - * In 1849 the school question was again agitated. At this time of 1,800 children of school age in the “society.™ more than 600 were not connected with any school, public or private. Gradu- ally the people became convineed of the facts, and a reaction set in which has led to the present excellent sys- tem of public ols. The “Coit on lot purchased in 1854, for $5,000. a school house was built, and two years later the Broadway school was opened. The ‘First and East Chelsea districts were Broadway was united, forming the Society. ‘Norwich Central In 1856 the upward movement of the schools culminated with the establish- ment of Norwieh . Fre: Academy, k2 endowed and - furnished \the_geasroys. -gifis of farts erection higher than any wther building ; and_family school | Norwich citizens, -flnmh— érship Johi~P. Guiliver. The Academy ed with eghty puplls, and now num- m‘m'sr five hundred in thé various rtments, for the courses of study as first planned have besn extended to include ‘a flourishing art school and manual training department. To the S , were Jand. but chalrs in jages were charfots, chairs B ST in coun lnpgl:nuudnm Norwich, The earliest: known as calashes and and chaises. The chairs are described | per: as “two wheeled gigs without a top,” fl.fivlr‘l”lumem, | the sige of at least six ca In Tendered necessary ing of a new bridge, and a p presented to tbe general misston to open a new high to span the river in a safer original buflding have been added’| and the chaises as much the same, but | convenient location. For this from time to time the Slater Memorial | with the addition of a top of some| the “Norwich and Preston Bridge hall, the manual training building and ‘the. Converse art gallery. | The old - Academy building, dear to the hearts of so ny former pupiis, Is now a thing of the past, and 'the coming months will witness the erection of a modern school building, adepted to the growing needs of the institution. The public school system of Norwich | today includes twelve iucorporated districts, with twenty-one schools. The Central, West Chelsea, Town/ street, and Greeneville scibols are supervised by their respective boards of educu- tion, the others being cared for by school committees. The ‘studies are those prescribed by law for the gram- mar schools of the state, with. such additions as may be thoughi advisable by the local authorities. Fully ninety per cent. of the graduates of these schools are qualified to enter the Academy, the average age of the grad- uates being fourteen years and six months, although a few have been mych Younger. Vening schodls offer an_opportuni- ty for study to those who fire at work through the day, and especially to those of foreign birth who desire - struction in the English language. They have a fine teaching force, and many. scholars have been enrolled and great interest has been minifestel. Excellent schools are conducted by the Roman Catholics~ in connection with St. Patvick’s church on Broad- way, St. Mary's church in Greeneville, and the Sacred Heart church in Taft- | ville. These schools are among the first in the city, as judged by the com- petitive examinatiops for entrance to the Norwich Free Academy. Miss Butts's School Mr Girls, a boarding school, offers the pest advan- tages for study and sensible vecreas tion, with a regular course of studies fitting the pupils for entrance to col- | lege. HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION | Water and' Land Routes or Trails— Methods of Travel by Land and Wa- ter—The Road to New London. In dealing with the {3 B the history of any New England sett] one is con- h e with the gisstion of methods of transportation The y Jnventions of the past tw hundred ‘and fifty yeais have com- pletely altered our methods of mov ing ‘from vlace to pla Civilizat! | depends in a ) rcasure Teachers' dept.. 50 cts per week and | apd bl ey e o Sk, gid and easy transpertation of our goods and persons The India tlement of ) s at the time of. the set- orwich had only the rudi- n, and had but lit- need of. more rapld transportat of uld be accom | plished by 2 swift footed runner. De- pending very larkely upon the products of Kuntinz for subsistonce and cloth- ing, they had very.little need for any rapid method of trapsportation of goods from place (o phace, 8 their comnwupizaztons were Timfted lirgely to matiers of peace and war, their let- ters could all be committed o the tab- Jets of memory he_runners who rried the 3 from - time fo me. In traveling by water only the simplest ethods of water transpo tion by canoe and dugout were us and on the land light packs were used, The Thames, Yantic. Shetucket and Quinebaug rivers were routes used by the Indians with their canoes, and across the lard many Indian trails ex- isted 5 were doubtless or less closely by the lers in their development of 1 horscback routes, and . the later cart paths. The method of arrival of the earty eettlers from Saybrook i« a questio of much interest. Undoubtedly som of the' men had come from Say- brook by the Ind xtending from the Connectic Thames, and had been ed by the bread f the East Great Plain. This ne from the fact tha: the plain lay ecast of Saybrook. It ix hardly probable, however. that *this | trail was used as a method of trans- portation when the families and house- hold goods of the were transferred Norwich The v ticut, th origi from 1l proprietors ybrook to ter route down the C 1gh Long Island Soun: up the Thames to the landing pla the head of the cove where the Falls Mill now stands is the more natural method of transportation used in 1569 and 1660. KFrom this old Indian land- ing the Indian trail, afterwards ecalled Mill Lane and now known as Laf: ette street, brought them through N Man’s Acre, along the banks of the Yantic. to_the corner near which the William W. Backus Hospital now sta Here upon the meadows lying hetween the river on the one hand and the sh-ltering hills on the other was formed the new settlement, The methods of transportation of the carly tettlars were undoubtedly limited to occasional horseback trips to_Say braok, Hartford, and Boston. These trips must -have been undertaken only in cases of great urgency, as they must of necessity have been fraught with many difjculties and dangers. Jt | is probaple that the main route of | transportation for many vears was the water route on the Thames to New London where a settlement had been earliel established fourteen yea “path to New Londor and winding road with a break-neck pitches. The “path to Connecticut” ran westwatd through Colchester toward Hartford and Weth- ersfield. At first these trails were mere foot- paths, scarcely more than two or three feet broad, but with the increase in population they widened to bridel- aths, cart-tracks, carriage roads, be- | coming at last the post roads. along which clustered the homies of the set- tlers. One of these, the Nipmuek | Path or Trail, starting from Norwich | met, poseibly at Wapdstock, the Old | Connecticut Road or Path leading from | Cambridge to Alban Horses were few, and so valuable for work at home that travelers must needs go vater or o foot. The absence of bridges, oo, made horse- back travel dangerous and difficult But_foot-passengers could cross the streams by means sof the fords, or on the trunks of trees thrown aeross at th proper places; or, in the case of the broader rivers, by canoe ferries. ‘We read of one dignified New Hngland governor being borne across the fords on._the*shoulds Tnd guide. + settlers increased their stoek of horses, both by importa tion and by breeding, untd Anally was at home in the saddle, the women and girls as well as the men. Horses were often m: “earry domble,” the women riding on pillions behind the men. The road to New London dates (ro: about 1670, but what with the rougl ness of these carly roads and the ab- Sence of bridges glvere v\'a:( little en- couragement to.the .use of . ‘vehicles outside the towns. w7 5 . kind. s Bren as lite as 1732 coaches were of little use save for short journeys. Alice Morxe Earle sgeaks of the “anx- jous latters of Waitstill Winthrop to his son in 1717, at the latter's propos- al of bringing a coach overland from Boston to New London. . . . He widrng him that there are in Narraganett; Ke u him to bring a mounied servant wii n axe to ‘cut bows 'n th eways’ ‘to bring a good pilate that knows the cart ways,' to be sure to heep the couchmmn sober, (v have axle and hubs prepared for rough usage—and in every way discourages s0 rash an endeavor.” WORK OF BRIDGING STREAMS. Fifteen Bridges Owned by the Town ~as Early How Money Was Raised for T! Construction—So Expensive They Had to Be Made Yal\l Bridges. The . land upon iginal settlement of Norwich was made lay between the Yantic and Shetucket rivers, with brooks and small streams crossing it in all directions, so that the work. of building bridges must have Dbeen commenced almost as soon as the town was laid out, for the roads could not_have been opened in any direction without bridges of some description by means of which to cross these steeams. Soon after the settlement of the town a horse-bridge was bullt across the Yantic at the west of ar. Fitch's home lot, it should be often rebuilt. All of this arlier work In constructing bridges was done, as was the highway work, by working toj In April, 1 a petition was pre- sented to the general assembly “for no bridgestridge was supported by and on account of the fre- | | quent freshets it was necessarv that was_ incorporated in 1816, and the following year a toll bridge ‘«, constructed about half a mile i the mouth of the river. The the e way Capt, John® of Windham, and its cost was $10,000. n 1817 a road leading to it was now known as Bast Main street. The but in the great freshet of upper works were carried awa) “company rebuilt on the same tion at an expense of $5,000, 1858 the townk of Norwich and purchased this bridge from .the com= pany for $7,500. + T s The act incorporating the com and_authorizing the collection of reads as follow ” “Resolve Incorporating the Norwich . and Preston Bridge Company, Passed, May, 1816. 4 esolved by Elisha Tracy, this Assembly, James Treat, P. Huntington, and such others as may be associated with them, be, and are hereby incorporated and mai body politic, by the name of “The Nor- wich and Preston Ce and by that name may sue that said company shall have a clerk, who shall record all votes and by-laws of sald company, and be sSworn 1o & faithful discharge of his duty, who hall_be appointed by the President and directors of said company, that the: said company shall choose a President . and three directors, who, or & major part of whom, shall manage all the' concerns of said company, and the President when necessary shall have a casting vote. sald company shall meeting on the second Monday of Au= gust next, at the gdwellin~ housé of Alfred Buel in M\l{‘ orwich, and said meeting shall arned by the said. hold their assistance in building a cart bridge over Showtucket at the fall There is no record of being granted by lotter other form, and this bridge was probably built In the usual way, by the inhab- Elisha Tracy Treat, Dwight Ripley, Natbanlel Kimball, and Cha P. Huntington, publishing notice there. of In a newspaper, printed in sald town Norwich, two weeks successively be= said second Mopday ,of Augus itants turning out together. This bridge crossed the Shetucket just above its junction with the Quin- cbaug. Miss Caulking says: It con- nected Norwich proper with society, in the crotch of the rivers, and the road- leading from it over Ox Hill was the path by which the early inhabitants of Newent came on the | Sabbath to attend in the town t, crossing the riv before the bridge was bullt, on a scow or ferrytoat.” A bridge has been kept up at this place or near it since that tinte, and has been known as Lathrop's ridge. It has been damaged and de- roy by freshets many times, and wbrk of repairing and rebuilding hae been almost constantly going on. The following notice appeared in the Chelsea Courler ofAugust 15, 1799: The Selectmen of ‘the town of Nor~ ich. hereby notify the . Inhabitants and the publie— Gridge near Mr. Zeph. Lathrop's 18 about to be re- paired, and will pot be in a situation for Horses or Carrlages to pass after THIS DAY, until the repairs are com- religious services Newent | + | and when 'said and when met said company shali\ choose the aforesaid officers, who shall | continue In office until ~others are chosen in their place, and accept thelr appolntment, and said company when | 50 as aforesaid formed, snall immediate~ | ly raise sufficlent money to erect | bridge across said river at a place des- | ignated by the Co Court, within and for the county of New-TLondon, company shall have | erected and completed said bridge to | the satisfaction of the commissioners on said bridge, and when said cornmis- | sioners shall have accepted sald bridge, | they shall give to the company a cer tificate of the same, adjust the ac- counts, and all the expenses Incurred relative to said bridgd and give them a certificate of the/amount due sald company, and sald gontpany shall con. tinye to keep up. maintain satd | bridge In good repair, wnd 1o reimburse | them their expenses. per-cent. interest on the" sufns. n crecting sald bridge, shall have risht, (and théy are hereby authorized and empowered to erect @t gate on, OF nesr sald bridge, at which gate, com- pleted. OHN BACKUS, ANDREW PERKI JOSHUA HUNTINGTON, “SIMEON DREED, “JAMES ROGERS, “Selectmel A bridge built here in 1817 at an ex- penge of $10,000 was descroyed five vears later. It was lifted from its sundations by the flood and carried unbroken to the rapids near the mouth of the river, where it broke into three parts, and was borne out into the Thames. the time, 1. Over Bradford’s or Susquetom- scot brook, on the road to Lebanon town in 17507 or about that Great Pond brook, vn the road to Colchester. 3. Pease’s brook. Therc were the three branches of the Yanti an Hill. Quarter 6. The Court House bridge. No-Man's Acre bridge These our crossed the Yantic 8. Bever's brook. in West Farms society (now Franklin). 9. Trading Cove brook, on the road to New London. 10. Elderkin's to Windham. 11. “Wood's bridge over Showtuckett, north of Pettipaug.” This was after- ward Lord’s bridge, uniting Franklin bridge, on the road with Lisbon, 12 Lovett's bridge. Lathrop's bridge. The last four were over the /She- tucket. 14. Johnson's bridge over the Quin- ebaug; on the road to Plainfield. 15. Pachaug bridge, east of the Quinebaug. “These were all constructed and kept in_order by rate§ and highway labor. Whiting’s bridge, at the mouth of the Shetucket, was extant at this time, but was supported by toh.” Lovett's bridge, named in this list, was on the road between Norwich and Woodstock, about three miles above Lathrop's bridge. Near the bridge stood the large Lovett farm house which was also-a house of entertain- ment for travelers. and which, with its horse sheds and other outlying buildings, presented the aprearance of a small village. In this spot in later years lLas grown up the viillage of Ea- gleville. The first bridge near the mouth of the Shetucket, leading from_Chelsea Landing to Preston, was bullt by Capt. Willlam Whiting, a_resident of whit is now Norwich. In 737 Captain Fhiting was granted a loan of £80 tom the treasury of the tuwn for the building of this bridge, and in order that he mignt meet thé payment of this loan subscriptions were opened, and the amount of £130 was pledged for his use. It was designed for a free bridge, but yas the contractor stated that the cost was £350, he was ul- lowed to collect toll Six _years later this bridge was re- pgired. and n 1751 a lottery was granted by the general assembly and Edgerton's bridge was constructed. It was 200 feet long. and permi¥sion to take toll was granted by the assembly This bridge was swept away by the freshets of 1762, The next bridge at this scribed as fo the day: int is de- WS in a newspapér of 1764, Leflingwe 1 river at Norwlch Is completed. It s 1 th, and 28 feet above the water Nothing 1s placed between the abut- its, but the bridge is supported by ometry work abov il oal lated 1o bear a weight of 600 tone, The work i by Mr. John Bliss, one of the most _curious mechanics 0f (he age. The bridge was raised In tfwo day and ne one hurt. The former bridge was 28 days | Sy s Bridge pany shail have the right to o for crossing said bridge, the following toll, viz.: rts.mis. | Bach pleasure four wheeled ear= | riage, 3 | Bach stage coach or wagen, a 0 | Each chalse, chair or = ey, 12 § two horse pleasure Migh, 13 § one Iorse pleasure sieigh. 6 ‘5 loaded ox waggon, or cart, 12 § empty ox, yaggon, or cart, § § loaded twh horse waggon, 10 0 empty two Horse waggon, 5 0 one horse waggon, or cart, § § Each londed sled, team and | “driver, 12 6 Bach empty sled, team and driver, L3N ] Fach man and horse, 0 Each led or drift horse, mule, ox, or neat kine, 20 Kach sheep or swine, 05 | BEach person crossing on foot, 10 “The aforesald rates of toll shall not be collected from persons traveling to attend public worship, funerals, or, te town, soclety, or freeman's meeting and returnmg therefrom, officers and soldfers going to or returning from military duty, persons going to or res turning from mill. for the use of their families, all of which persons shall be exempted from paying toll as afore- said. “And. it fs further resolved, that bonds.shall be given to the Treasures of this State, to his acceptance, on uf | before the third day of September next {in the penal sum of $15,000, condi- tioned that said bridge shall be buflt by sald company to the acceptance of sald commissioners, by the first Mon- day of November, A. D. 1817, and in defgult of such bond being so glver, | this" grant shall be vold and of no effect. “The stock of sald company shall consist of one hundred shares, which shall be transferable on the books of daid compiny, and the towns of Nor= wich, Preston, and Grlswold, be, and they are hereby capacitated and em- powered to become subscribers by their respective agents for stock in said company, and to be members thereof, and as such to act by their rospective | agents, and each member of sald com- pany present at any legal meeting thereof, shall have power to gfva oné vate. for each share stindids i il name of such member. and the said stockholders at any legal ~meeting. shall have power to dingct by & major vote, the amount to be Baid from tima to time on the shares of sald capital stock. “Resolve—Passed May, 1818, “Resolved by this Assembly. That the prosident and djrectors of sald bridge compuny be, and they are horeby aus thorized and empowered to contract by the year for the passing sald bridge, with such persons as may apply for the same, and In case of disaereement between such applicants and said pres= ident and directors, to refer the sime to the commissioners appointed on said bridge, whose determination shall be final and cqnclusive between sald applicants and the president, directors and company of id bridge. Provided, that sgld reference be made by the mi= tual agreement of the parties.’” N dge over the The building of a mouth of the the west side of the river with wich Landing, was proposed in 174 r rshom Breed, the p buile I ea ¥ because (he ation with west side was not 1ght 1o be sufficient importatice to justify the pense. ut in spite of these ol bridge was bullt in 1771, ¥ 7 et Pregion - | ntic river, connecting _ s % W % & e Ripley, Nathaniel Kimbal and Charl b ht e That the stockholders of . . urst 1 | § oy }