History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H. “Major” Hanson A HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN AUGUSTA, KENTUCKY A thesis submitted to The Graduate Faculty of the Teachers College of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education 1950 By William H. Hanson B. S. St. Johns College, 1923 Page 1 of 57 History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H. “Major” Hanson TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Purpose Limitation of the Problem Justification Method of Procedure and Related Literature Organization of the Study II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND III. BRACKEN ACADEMY (1799-1822) Land Granted by Legislature Philip Buckner Accumulation of Funds IV. AUGUSTA COLLEGE (1822-1844) Founding by General Conferences of Ohio and Kentucky Early Presidents and Faculty Students and College Regulations Financial Problems Influence of Slavery Controversy Noted Alumni and Prominence of Faculty V. AUGUSTA MALE AND FEMALE COLLEGE (1844-1887) Bracken Academy Trustees Take Charge Curriculum, Tuition and Faculty Policies Dominated by Trustees Growing Demand for Public School VI. AUGUSTA GRADED SCHOOL DISTRICT (1887- ) Struggle between School Boards Faculty and Salaries Early Public Relations A Building Program Change of School Organization VII. Summary Page 2 of 57 History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H. “Major” Hanson CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The purpose of this thesis is to show the development of the institutions for education in Augusta, Kentucky. In just two years following the founding of the town itself, the cultural interest of the settlers had manifested itself in the chartering of Bracken Academy. The town of Augusta was officially founded and chartered in 1797. With the establishment of the first school just two years later, some form of an educational enterprise has existed, except for a few brief intervals, for more than a century and a half. A major point of interest is that this series of schools has always existed on, or adjacent to, the present school property. Special emphasis in this thesis will be given to Augusta College, the first Methodist college organized after Cokesbury had been destroyed. No institution affecting society as does a school can be fully understood without reference to its background of history. This historical background so necessary will be presented in Chapter II. LIMITATION OF THE PROBLEM Education in Augusta formally began in 1799 when the Kentucky Legislature chartered Bracken Academy as part of an effort to promote and encourage education throughout the state. The Methodist church in 1822 founded Augusta College and opened it for operation. The college, as such, continued in existence until 1844 when the support of the church was withdrawn because of the slavery question. For the next forty-three years, 1844 – 1887, the school was maintained under private management. A popular Act of the Kentucky Legislature in 1887 turned the property over to the Augusta Graded School District to provide education for the pupils duly appointed by the magistrates of this roughly defined district. The boundaries and character of the district has been changed several times. The present Augusta Independent Page 3 of 57 History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H. “Major” Hanson School District formed from the Bracken County District today operates a twelve grade school for some 325 pupils. Many of the records of these schools no longer exist due to several fires and the almost regular floods that have been such a hardship to the community of Augusta. Some of the records that are available were written in longhand that cannot be completely deciphered. This study will include in its scope the varied financial problems of the school, its faculties, salary changes and trends in administration and curriculum. The records of the Methodist conferences, minutes of the meetings of the Trustees, and later the minutes of the public school will furnish much of the information for this report. School catalogues and some courses of study are available for supplementary data. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STUDY The financial success of Bracken Academy and the cultural interests of the citizenry were the two main factors that led to the selection of Augusta as the site for Augusta College. Committees comprising members appointed from the Ohio and Kentucky Conferences of the Methodist church were responsible for this action, and it was, no doubt, a decision greatly influenced by the $10,000 made available by the trustees of Bracken Academy. During the period of its existence this college was of great service to the West. In its halls were educated many young men who became prominent both in the ministry and in various other professions. The impulse which it gave to the cause of education led, directly or indirectly, to the establishment of other institutions which are sill enjoying prosperity. The faculty members of early Augusta were referred to as the western intellectual and spiritual ‘giants’. The charter of the college incorporated it with the authority to give the usual degrees, this being, at that time, the only Methodist college in the world having such authority. Faculty members and graduates extended the influence of the college to wide areas of the nation. Steven Collins Foster visited an uncle who was a member of the faculty at Page 4 of 57 History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H. “Major” Hanson Augusta. During one prolonged visit, it is believed that Foster was a student at the college and perhaps did some of his song writing while residing on the banks of the beautiful Ohio River. To many, paradoxically, the greatest glory of Augusta College was in its end. It was the center of the anti-slavery movement in Kentucky, and feeling against the college became so intense that it (the feeling) was one of the factors leading to the repeal of the charter of the college by the Legislature of the state of Kentucky. John G. Fee, a student at the time, imbued with its spirit, founded Berea College, an institution the early life of which was intimately associated with the education of ‘freed men’ in Kentucky. A school for the colored exists today in Maysville, Kentucky in honor of this man, the John G. Fee school. A prominent alumnus in the literary and political field was William Goesbeck of Cincinnati, the well known writer and statesman who became candidate for Vice President of the United States with McClellan. The years following the college proper found a secondary school operating under the capable management of prominent Methodist ministers and laymen who agreed to meet, and did meet, the high curriculum requirements set up for them by the original trustees. The list of subjects taught during these years is most interesting and it clearly depicts the cultural background and interests of the trustees. The public school now meets all the requirements for an accredited school and, from the viewpoint of the town, the present school is a later chapter in this movement more than a century and a half old. METHOD OF PROCEDURE AND RELATED LITERATURE The historical method of investigation is used as the major procedure for this report. Early Kentucky histories, Methodist church annals, state and county records, college catalogues, published minutes and other recordings of the schools, newspapers and magazine articles have supplied most of the needed information on this subject. The literature of the Methodist church has well Page 5 of 57 History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H. “Major” Hanson preserved some most interesting facts about Augusta College since it was one of the earliest educational projects of the Methodist Church in this part of the world. The early records of the schools that were founded by members of the Augusta faculty and graduates give due credit to the influence of old Augusta in their respective institutions. This is especially true of Ohio Wesleyan University. The library staff of this school has compiled a great amount of pertinent information concerning Augusta College. Related Literature. Many similar reports have been made dealing with the histories of other schools, and such will be the related studies for this topic. The library at the University of Cincinnati has provided a number of studies that pertain closely to the subject here under consideration. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY TO FOLLOW This report will be divided into phases to correspond with the different schools that have existed from 1799 to the present time. Chapter II will be devoted to a discussion of the history necessary as a background for the study. The first twenty-three years, the operation of the Bracken Academy, presented in Chapter III, is an interesting study of the educational institution of that early period in the pioneer days of our country. The financial success of this school was an all important factor in Augusta being chosen as the location of the Augusta College. Chapter IV covers the actual period of the life of this college, which although only twenty-two years long, assured the interest of the population as to the value and need of education. The combined interests of the Trustees of Bracken Academy and interested citizens kept a school in session until 1887. During this last name period, 1844-1887, described in Chapter V, the school property was rented to ministers and laymen of the Methodist church who operated schools under strict requirements of these so called Trustees. The Augusta Free Graded School District is the result of recent educational legislation in keeping with the formation of Independent and County consolidated school districts. These institutions are discussed in Chapter VI. In Chapter VII a Page 6 of 57 History of Education in Augusta, Kentucky William H.