Fort Smith J0urnal ® Official Sponsor
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FORT SMITH J0URNAL ® OFFICIAL SPONSOR VOL. IX, NO. 1 APRIL, 1965 EDITOR: Amelia Martin ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Sarah Fitzjarrald CONSULTING EDITOR: Carolyn Pollan GUEST WRITERS: OFFICIAL SPONSOR Anna E. Walker Hazel D. Pegues Maxine L. Chapman Helen W. Graham INDEXING: Floy Looper CONTENTS PROOF READERS: VOL IX, NO. 1 APRIL, 1985 Mary Lou Jacobsen Chloe Lamon Warren McCullough Letter from Editors 2 PHOTOGRAPHER: Heritage of Fort Smith Education 3 Dr. Art Martin Bill Donating Fort Smith Reservation OFFICE STAFF: to City for Public Schools 7 Del Conger Lee Conger John Carnall 9 Thelma Black General Oliver Otis Howard 10 Velma Barber Howard School 11 Jo Tillery Negro High Schools of Fort Smith 13 BOARD AND OFFICERS: Belle Point Elementary School 17 Col. C.B. "Pat" Porter, Pres. Carnall Elementary School 19 Del Conger, V.P. Mary Lou Jacobsen, Rec. Sec. Educators Are Guest Writers 21 Chris Allen, Cor. Sec. Floy Looper, Mbrshp. Sec. News & Opportunities 22 Donald Peer, Treas. Velma Barber In Loving Memory 24 Wayne Bledsoe Thelma Cousins Genealogy News and Letters from Readers 25 Gilmer Dixon Contents of Past Issues 27 Sarah Fitzjarrald Joel Stubblefield Marriage Book B, Fort Smith District, Jo Tillery Sebastian County, Arkansas 28 Phil White Felix Thomson 1884-1885 Newspapers 36 Membership in the Fort Smith Historical Society includes subscription to The Journal Index ., .51 of the Fort Smith Historical Society, which is published semi-annually. Year begins Jan. 1 COVER: Sesquicentennial Logo used by permission Arkansas and ends Dec. 31. Sesquicentennial Commission. Designed by Linda Ridener, For membership, send dues with your name Fort Smith resident. and mailing address to: Old Howard, Lincoln. Belle Point and Carnall Schools. The Fort Smith Historical Society, Inc. c/o Fort Smith Public Library 61 South 8th Street ©Copyright 1985 ISSN 0736 4261 Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901 By the Fort Smith Historical Society, Inc. c/o Fort Smith Public Library Types of memberships: 61 South 8th Street Annual $ 10.00 Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901 Annual Contributing 20.00 Annual Sustaining 50.00 CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Life (Individual) 100.00 Change of Address Cards are free at your post office. If you move, Journal Back Issues .... Ea. copy 5.00 please fill one out and send it to: Fort Smith Historical Society. 61 South We welcome the loan of Fort Smith historical 8th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901. material and will return promptly. The Fort Smith Historical Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization under Sec. 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Gifts and legacies The Fort Smith Historical Society, Inc. is a are deductible. non-profit organization under Sec. 501 (c) (3) No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except for of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Gifts brief excerpts for review purposes, without the consent of the Editors of and legacies are deductible. The Journal. Dear Readers: After a thirteen year crusade by John Carnall to obtain federal land for Fort Smith schools, a bill was passed on May 7, 1884, by the House of Representa- tives and Senate donating the military reservation to the city of Fort Smith for the benefit of public schools. A year later, on May 20, 1885, sale of this land began and school buildings were built with part of the proceeds from the sale To commemorate the centennial anniversary of this event, this issue of The Journal features the beginning of a series on the history of education in Fort Smith, including public, private and church schools. This first segment will include the general history of schools in Fort Smith, the bill donating military reservation land to Fort Smith, biographies of some educators and individual histories of Howard, Lincoln, Belle Point and Carnall schools. Other segments will feature other schools and educators. Look for the story of Belle Grove school in the next issue. Even though Belle Grove was the first public school in Fort Smith, that story has purposely been held for the September issue because information is being made available about this school that is not available at this time. YOU CAN HELP WITH THESE HISTORIES by loaning to the Society school pictures, school programs, scrapbooks, information, etc. which will enrich and add interest to them. If you have this type of materials that you will loan, please call 783-1237, 646-9542, or the Fort Smith Public Library and leave your name, address and telephone number. We wish to express our thanks and appreciation to everyone who has helped with this issue through writing, telephone conversations, research, files, references and memories shared. Thanks also to our staff for their conscientious help in proofreading, indexing, mailing and dozens of other things they are asked to do, and to our readers for your faithful support. Each of you is very special. REMEMBER THE ANNUAL MEETING ON THURSDAY, APRIL 25 at 7:00 P.M. IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM AT THE FORT SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY. BRING A FRIEND WITH YOU TO HEAR THE INTERESTING PROGRAM WHICH IS PLANNED. MEMBERS ARE EXPECTED AND GUESTS ARE WELCOME. The ballot for voting on new members to serve on the Board of Directors is a loose sheet in the front of this issue. Best wishes to each of you. We will look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting. Your Editors 61 SOUTH 8th STREET • FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS 72901 2 HERITAGE OF FORT SMITH EDUCATION Amelia Martin Sarah Fitzjarrald The history of the public schools in any town is the total income for use by the school board. Schools intertwined with the history of the state, the nation, and could exist only if a fee were charged each pupil the town itself. So the history of the schools of Fort except for a very few who were underwritten by school Smith not only shares much of the history of Arkansas, funds and classified as "indigent children". Such but also has a uniqueness all its own. schools were not "public schools" as we know them When the federal government, by Congressional today. act, created the Arkansas Territory in 1819, it granted The 16th Section of the FortSmith township was not the 16th section in each township as an endowment to sold for several years, but we have scattered records the common schools. Ten years later, in 1829, the of private schools and teachers for the white children. Arkansas Territorial Legislature authorized the county The first school ever taught in Fort Smith was held courts to appoint a trustee to lease Section 16, should shortly after, and during the time of, reconstruction of the "citizens of the township so petition". the fort which was re-opened in 1838. It was held In 1836, Arkansas was admitted to the Union. And inside the fort, and in a Centennial address given on seven years later, in 1843, President Tyler approved July 4,1876, by Col. Ben DuVal, he recalled attending an act of Congress giving four states, including Arkan- that school. There were three pupils — DuVal, William sas, the power to sell these educational land grants — Quesenberry, and William Rogers. these 16th sections — provided that the money be The first schoolmaster, DuVal remembered, was a held in reserve and only the interest earned on it be little Irishman by the name of Graham. "He was a used for public schools. cripple, but of genial nature," who liked to sing, "Ye The Arkansas Legislature passed an act to "estab- Banks and Braes o'Bonny Doon". lish a system of common schools in Arkansas" in 1844, Also in 1838, Captain Benjamin L.E. Bonneville, the shortly after the Congressional act granting power to last commanding officer at the old fort, returned to Fort sell the educational land grants. Smith and set up officers' quarters at Cantonment The plan set forth by the Arkansas Legislature was Belknap, which was located on the site of Section 16, as follows: which had been set aside as the educational land Any township that contained five householders and grant. A road had been built by federal troops to con- fifteen white children could petition the county court nect Belknap with the new garrison under construc- for the establishment of a school. The county would tion near the river to the west. This road was later then order the election of a commissioner to sell or named Garrison Avenue. lease the 16th Section for not less than $2 per acre. A Captain Bonneville, General Arbuckle, and General school board of three trustees would also be elected Zachary Taylor (later to become U.S. President), all who would control school funds, build school houses, had their headquarters there. employ "competent" teachers, and keep schools open Cantonment Belknap closed in 1846 when work on for four months each year. They must take an annual the second fort was finished, and the 16th Section then school census and present a budget based on the became available for sale. money required for each pupil enrolled. The subjects Reverend C.C. Townsend, an Episcopal missionary to be taught were also prescribed in this act. They and chaplain at Fort Gibson, is reported to have con- were orthography (spelling), reading, writing, English ducted the first church services ever held in Fort Smith grammar, geography, arithmetic, and GOOD at the fort, and to have taught school there. Later, he MORALS. also opened his own private school in the town of Fort (Many of these requirements still hold as the duties Smith. of school boards.) Captain Nathaniel Goodin1 came to Fort Smith as a So with this act of 1844, the public schools of Arkan- teacher and married the Widow Kanady, who was a sas were started in theory if not in actual practice.