|
|
Schoolmaster's Room
Room #10 -- $109-$129 |
| |
BED - Matching Mahogany Post,
circa 1820
DESK - Child's Flip-top
DRESSER - Walnut with Marble Inlay
FLOOR - Poplar with square nails, Pine, Walnut, and Chestnut from the
first floor
|
|
|
In Corydon's early days, the settlers had a difficult time
establishing a public school system. As with most communities
of the time, the main hindrance to public supported schools
was the simple fact that the necessities of life came first in
the priorities of pioneers. Food, shelter and clothing were
the necessities and the early settlers of Corydon spent much
time in securing these fundamentals of life. Many people felt
that education was not a public responsibility; therefore,
parents who wished their children to be educated had to
support private schools. Clergymen often opened schools for
their particular denominations. Frequently, schoolmasters went
into a community and announced that they planned to teach a
three month term. If enough parents paid tuition, the school
was opened.
Robert A. New, who eventually became Indiana's Secretary of
State, opened the Corydon Seminary in April, 1819, one of
Corydon's first schools. He and another schoolmaster, R.W.
Nelson taught Greek, Latin, and Mathematics. They charged
$8.00 per term for English Grammar and $5.00 per term for
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.
In 1820, John Taylor conducted an English school in the
Senate Chamber of the Capitol. In the same year, Harriet
Tarlton, a milliner from Baltimore, opened a school for the
education of young ladies. She attended to the instruction and
moral conduct of her young charges. She charged $2.00 per
quarter for Reading, Writing and plain sewing. She charged an
additonal $4.00 per quarter for embroidery. For those who
wished their daughters to board, Ms. Tarlton charged $1.25 per
week, excluding washing. She announced that country produce,
at market prices, wou ld be accepted as payment for the cost of
room and board.
Several sessions of school were held in 1823. Two women,
Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Beher, conducted classes for young
ladies in the spring. They taught Reading, Writing,
Arithmetic, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Geography, Composition,
sewing, and sampler and cotton work. In the summer, James
Henry Check included Science and Literature in his curriculum
In 1827, Dr. West taught the first public school in
Corydon. The building was located at the junction of Big and
Little Indian Creeks. Peter Kintner was a member of the
school's first Board of Trustees, of the Harrison County
Seminary
The Corydon Colored School was built in the early 1800's.
It contained a grade school and high school The first senior
class was graduated in 1897. Leora Brown Farrow, a Corydon
resident, attended the grade school and high school. She went
on to teach at the school for twenty-five years and was it's
last teacher. The building stands on Summit Street and is
thought to be Indiana's oldest remaining Black school
building.
The early schools did not have separate grades and the
students were not graded. They worked individually or in small
groups. A student would study a subject until he mastered it,
then he was permitted to study a more advanced subject.
Pioneer teachers worked for very low pay and it was often
not paid in cash. They usually stayed a week or so with
various families before moving to teach in the next community.
After public schools were established, teachers were paid
higher wages. Many schoolmasters lived in boarding houses
while school was in session. The Kintner Hotel housed
schoolmasters from time to time while they educated Corydon's
youngsters.
|
|
