The History of Alabama Schools 1800 - 1908 Early Interest In Schools  1. Early Interest in Schools.—The convention which framed the first constitution of Alabama provided for the establishment and encouragement of schools. The old newspapers show the interest and care of the early settlers for the moral and educational welfare of their children. A typical announcement reads: "Cahawba Academy.—A teacher well qualified to prepare students for admission into the Junior Class of College, and whose moral character is unimpeachable, will meet with liberal encouragement. A clergyman would be preferred. Letters addressed to Dr. W. Roberts, Dr. C. Humphries, or Dr. T. Casey will be attended to." Humorous advertisements now and then appeared. One teacher announced his intention of "teaching the English, Latin, and Greek languages grammatically. Another proposed "teaching such scholars as may be entrusted to his care, upon a plan discovered by John Lancaster of England." Perhaps the most ludicrous advertisement ever made of a school in Alabama appeared in a Tuskaloosa newspaper. It announced the opening of John "Price's Thrashing Machine to correct the devil's unaccountables.'' 2. First Schools Established.—The first English school established in Alabama limits was opened (1811) at the Boat Yard, on the Tensaw river, by John Pierce of New England. Washington Academy, at St. Stephens, and Green Academy, (1812) at Huntsville, shared the two thousand dollars appropriated for education by Mississippi Territory. St. Stephens Academy, under the direction of Rev. J. L. Sloss, the principal, (1818) had a wide reputation. Of these schools, Green Academy survived the longest  Its buildings were burned by United States troops during the War between the States. The buildings were restored, and the Academy has been merged into the public school system of Huntsville. 3. Beginning of Public School System.—Public education was attempted in Mobile as early as 1826. Ten years later the State legislature authorized Mobile "to raise by lottery any sum, not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, to complete the building known as Barton Academy, then in process of construction." In 1852, the public school system was thoroughly established in Barton Academy, and it gave such general satisfaction that it became the foundation of the public school system of the State of Alabama. A. B. Meek, representative from Mobile, had observed the success of the system, and he introduced into the legislature a bill providing for the establishment of public schools throughout the State. The bill passed both houses, and was approved by Governor John Anthony Winston, February 15,1854. W. F. Perry, afterward a general in the Confederate army, was the first superintendent of education of Alabama. Willis G. Clark, of Mobile, gave years of effort to the upbuilding of Barton Academy, and lived to see it contribute nearly half a century of development and culture to the children of Mobile. His long life was continuously devoted to the school interests of Alabama, and especially to promoting the welfare of the University, of which he was a trustee for twenty-five years. 4. Need of Normal Schools.—The poverty and desolation following the war permitted very few first-class private schools. The great masses of the people were so poor that they were unable to send their children to these schools. They could hope for education only through public schools. The small appropriations of public money for many years made the public schools of short terms. The poor salaries offered did not attract the best teachers, and most of the schools had to be taught by teachers not well qualified. As a result most of the children were poorly taught, and the character and usefulness of the schools were thereby damaged. In the efforts to secure qualified teachers the need of normal schools was discovered. 5. Normal Schools Established.—To meet the demand for teachers, the State established normal schools at Florence, Jacksonville, Livingston, and Troy. Similar schools have been established at Daphne and Houndville. The normal schools have courses which admit students of all grades of preparation, and grant diplomas to those taking special normal training. These schools combine instruction in the art of teaching with the study of text-books, and thus are training teachers while developing students. The graduates of these schools are to be found teaching in all sections of the State. 6. Agricultural Schools.—The State has also established an agricultural school in each of the nine congressional districts. These schools now have each an annual State appropriation of $4,500. They are giving valuable instruction about the selection of the best seeds for planting, the cultivation of crops, the character of the soil, the proper use of fertilizers, the protection of crops against insects, and the conduct of a farm so as to get the best results. The schools are also giving courses of study that prepare for business and for college. 7. Improvement of Public Schools.—The public schools have changed the educational history of the State. Public sentiment was against them at first, but they have become better and better as the years have gone by, and now all classes of people look to them as the one thing needful to every community. There are yet some very fine private schools in the State, but, except in a few of the larger towns and cities, the public schools have crowded them out. There are now more than 6,000 teachers and 700,000 children of school are in the State. The people feel the responsibility of educating these children for citizenship. The public schools are increasing in umbers. The legislature has made large appropriations for their support, and for better school buildings and equipments. A county high school, which is to be devoted solely to high school work, has been provided for every county. The school improvement associations have joined with local committees to make school buildings comfortable, and to have schoolhouses and school grounds as pretty as conditions will allow. These things are all bringing knowledge, culture, and the love of beauty to the young. Better education, better homes, better morals, better communities are developing under the influence and work of the public schools. 8. Polytechnic Institute.—Population and wealth are increasing. New industries and new enterprises are calling for quickened intelligence and technical training. This demand is being met by the Polytechnic Institute at Auburn. It is one of the "land grant'' colleges created by an act of Congres  to support in every State one college "to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts." It was started in 1872 in the beautiful building of the East Alabama Male College, which had been given to the State by the Methodists. Its first ten years under Dr. I. T. Tichenor were full of struggle. Under the presidency of the scholarly educator, Dr. William LeRoy Broun, its courses were made to take in scientific subjects never before introduced into a Southern college. Its name at first was the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College; after Dr. Broun had widened its scope and put it in closer sympathy with the needs of the people, the legislature changed its name to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. With the exception of one session (1883-1884), when Colonel D. F. Boyd was in charge, Dr. Broun was president for twenty years. In 1887, the main building was burned. The State rebuilt it and added laboratories. The Hatch Act gave $15,000 a year to the Experiment Station. Congress and the general assembly added to its annual income, and enlarged the equipment. The number of its students has steadily increased. Aided by Dr. O. D. Smith, who bore the love of the student body and the admiration of the State, and by Dr. Mell, Dr. Lupton, Dr. Petrie, Prof. Thatch, and others, Dr. Broun made the Polytechnic Institute one of the great scientific schools of America. Since his death Prof. Charles C. Thach has been the president. He is a very scholarly man, and with an able and devoted faculty he is carrying forward the great work of education in science and in literature. The Polytechnic Institute is sending its graduates into the professions, to the farms, and into the trades. Its engineers hold high positions on every continent. Men from its halls are helping to develop and sustain the industries of the country. 9. Medical College.—The Medical College at Mobile began its work in1859. Dr. Josiah C. Nott, encouraged and assisted by other earnest scientists and physicians, planned it. The college began well, but the war came on two years after its start, and its professors and students left for the Confederate army. Its doors were closed. After the war the Federals turned it into a primary school for negroes, and so used it until 1868, regardless of the efforts of the faculty to have it restored to its original purpose. It was badly abused by the ignorant negroes, who handled at pleasure and with utter recklessness the "fine instruments that had been carefully gathered by the faculty. It is now the medical department of the University of Alabama. 10. University of Alabama.—The University of Alabama, chartered in1821 and located in Tuskaloosa in 1827, has had a checkered history. Its first session began April 18, 1831; its first president was Dr. Alva Woods, a learned Baptist clergyman of Rhode Island. The University was given 46,080 acres of land, which Congress had granted to Alabama. These lands were sold at high prices, and the amount received from the sale, if properly invested, would have given a sufficient income to pay the expenses of running the University. The money, however, was placed by an act of the legislature in the State Bank, where it was lost. As part payment of the University claims against the State, there was set aside the sum of $300,000, upon which Alabama paid annually to the University $24,000 in interest until the constitution of 1901 made the annual payment $36,000. The legislature of 1907 increased this amount by $25,000, and also appropriated$100,000 annually for four years for new buildings and better equipments. The University did not thrive under Dr. Woods, who, though a most learned scholar and cultured gentleman, failed to check the disorder of young students reared in this borderland of civilization. By his efforts was chartered the first female seminary of high order within the bounds of Alabama. It was then known as the Alabama Athenaeum; it is now the Tuskaloosa Female College. Dr. Basil Manly, who succeeded Dr. Woods in office brought new life to the University. Disorder among the students was punished so promptly and thoroughly that the new president was soon master of the situation. He lifted the standard of scholarship and made the University respected everywhere for its strong courses of study and for its able faculty. Dr. Manly lived for thirteen years after failing health closed his services with the University, dying in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1869. The war period found Dr. Landon C. Garland at the head of the University. He was elected president in 1855. The military department was established in 1860, and the president and all other officers of the department formed a part of the military of the State. Colonel Caleb Huse, of the United States army, was the first commandant of cadets. He was succeeded by Colonel James T. Murfee. On April 4, 1865, Colonel Croxton with Federal cavalry captured Tuskaloosa and burnt the University. The four hundred cadets had attempted to defend the city; but Dr. Garland and Colonel Murfee, learning that fourteen hundred Federals were in the command, destroyed the large quantities of ammunition at the University, and marched the cadets toward Marion. The first general assembly held after the war loaned the University seventy thousand dollars to rebuild. Colonel James T. Murfee offered acceptable plans for the proposed new building, and was appointed architect and superintendent. George M. Figh and Dr. William S. Wyman were awarded the contract for rebuilding. Alva Woods Hall, at a cost of ninety thousand dollars, was thus erected. Governor Robert M. Patton pledged his personal credit and the credit of the State to protect contractors and creditors. Dr. James H. Fitts used all the resources of his bank to keep at par the "Patton Certificates," by which the work of rebuilding was carried forward. The State constitution of 1868 gave to the radicals control of the University. A board of regents, composed of radicals, elected as president Judge William R. Smith. He was a gentleman of wide reputation, a scholar, and the personal friend of many distinguished men of the State and of the Union. Being a member of the class of 1831, he had been identified with the University from its first opening. It was thought that he would restore confidence, but as he had joined the radicals, many of the best citizens would not commit their boys to him. These were dark days for the University and for the State. Under Dr. N. T. Lupton, the chairman of the faculty and successor of Judge Smith, confidence and patronage began to return. His excellent work was continued by Dr. Carlos G. Smith, the president next in charge. Dr. Smith enjoyed the entire confidence of the public and filled the University with young men who held him in high esteem. During the succeeding twenty years the presidency of the University was held by gentlemen of the old school. They were broad-minded, able, the ideal leaders of youth, and in every sense worthy of great trusts. Under them vast improvements were made in the material equipment of the University. The United States Congress gave forty-six thousand and eighty acres of land as payment for the buildings burned by Federal troops. A large portion of these lands was sold, and the proceeds were used for erecting new buildings and adding to the equipment. Despite these improvements, the University failed to gain the confidence of the people. The evils of politics were working a hurtful influence. Nearly twenty years had passed since a trained teacher had filled the president's chair, and the people began to demand a change. To meet this demand, Dr. James K. Powers, who had been successful both as a teacher and as the head of the Alabama Normal College in Florence, was elected president. In his efforts to raise the standard of the University, he brought to his assistance graduates of Johns Hopkins, Princeton, and the universities of the Old World. He was succeeded by Dr. William Stokes Wyman. Dr., John W. Abercrombie, the president next in charge, added annually to the number of students enrolled, multiplied the courses of study, secured large legislative appropriations, united the Medical College at Mobile with the University, and established the annual Summer School for Teachers. Dr. George H. Denny, one of the most distinguished educators of the South, succeeded Dr. Abercrombie. He has lifted the University into peerage with the best universities of the South. Crippled in its infancy through the mismanagement of its funds by its agents and the State Bank, and embarrassed always by lack of sufficient income, the-University has nevertheless made a deep impression upon the history of the State. Students from its halls that have attended the great universities of this continent and the Old World have ranked among the first in studies and in success in life. 11. Alabama Girls' Technical Institute.—The Alabama Girls' Technical Institute is located at Montevallo. The bill for its establishment was introduced into the legislature by Honorable Sol Bloch, of Wilcox county. The school was opened in October, 1896, and it soon became so popular that hundreds of girls have been denied admittance because there were not sufficient buildings. It is a great school, and every year it grows greater. 12. Denominational Schools.—Church schools and colleges have done a great deal for education. The Catholics founded St. Joseph's College in 1830, and some of the most distinguished men of the world were educated there. They also have St. Bernard College, near Cullman. The Baptists founded Howard College, 1833-41, and the Judson Institute in1839, placing both schools in Marion. Many notable men and cultured women have been graduated in these two schools. In 1887, Howard College was removed to East Lake, near Birmingham. In 1856, the Methodists founded the Southern University at Greensboro and the Alabama Conference Female College at Tuskegee; they also control Athens Female College, the Birmingham College, and the Woman's College in Montgomery. The Woman's College has absorbed the Alabama Conference Female College. The Alabama Central College, in the splendid old State house at Tuskaloosa, is a noted school for girls; it is under Baptist control. The Presbyterians have their Alabama Presbyterian College for Men in Anniston and their Synodical College for Women in Talladega. All of these institutions are doing excellent work. 13. Dr. Henry Tutwiler.—Henry Tutwiler was born November 16, 1807, in Harrisonburg, Va. He was among the first studentst enrolled in the University of Virginia, and was graduated from that institution. He accepted the chair of ancient languages in the University of Alabama upon its opening, and from that time devoted his life to the education of the young men of Alabama. He resigned the chair in the University in1837, and taught mathematics in Marion College and in LaGrange College. He organized Greene Springs School, the most noted and influential private school in the State. He was said to be a whole faculty in himself. He had a thorough knowledge of both literature and science. He kept abreast with the progress of the world. Several times he refused the presidency of the University of Alabama, preferring to give his labors to the independent work of his own school. No college in the South furnished more delightful or more inspiring courses of study than were given in his school at Green Springs. Simple in habits and nature, Dr. Tutwiler was too great to be ambitious. Never but once did he consent to lend his name for nomination to a State office. This was for State superintendent of education in 1878. He was shocked and astonished when he learned that to win he would have to travel over the State and make speeches. He thought the office of superintendent of education ought to be above politics. He would not make speeches in his own behalf, and he was not elected. Great as was his learning, Dr. Tutwiler was yet greater in character, and through it has left the deeper impressions upon the age. Everybody loved him, and even to this day many prominent men throughout the Southern States speak reverently and affectionately of his influence over them both in the days when they attended his school and in all the years that have since followed. He died September 22, 1884 14. Miss Julia Tutwiler.—Dr. Tutwiler's spirit lives in his family. His daughter, Miss Julia Strudwick Tutwiler, who was for more than twenty-five years president of the Alabama Normal School at Livingston, has done more than any one else for the education of the girls of Alabama. She has used every possible influence to have the legislature appropriate money for the benefit of boys and girls alike. She has helped to open the doors of the University and the Polytechnic Institue for the admission of women. She has given to scores of girls the opportunities of education, often lending the necessary money to worthy girls whose parents could not afford the expense of their education. 15. Other Distinguished Teachers.—Among the teachers who have nobly assisted in the cause of education- in Alabama may be mentioned Bishop Robert Paine, of LaGrange College; Mrs. Stafford and her scholarly husband, who made the Alabama Female Institute, of Tuskaloosa, a real seminary of learning; Colonel James T. Murfee, for many years the able president of Howard College; Dr. John Massey, who, after spending a few years of his young manhood in preparing students for college, became the president of Alabama Conference Female College at Tuskegee; and Dr. Thomas J. Dill, who, after years of work in private and public schools, filled with much success the chair of Latin and Greek in Howard College. (Source: Alabama History, by Joel Campbell Du Bose, M.A., 1915; Transcribed by C. Anthony )