The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1853-02-19
I II E MINI ESOTIAN.
Suin. paul. satuTaag, 5shyuats la, 1853.
Common Schools in Mime sofa,

home OF the young generation which God has
placed in their charge and kceping-that the
men to whom the first destinies of Minnesota
were entrusted, were not unmindful of their
duty in the great cause of popular instruction.
1t was their lot, as we'll as their pleasure, to
lay, upon permanent basis, the foundation OF
liberal, wise and practical system of free edu-
cation. When our present faithful but much
abused Delegate first entered Washington, to
urge the organization Of the Territory, he
was impressed with the Importance of securing
more liberal allotments OF the public domain
for this great purpose than had been allowed
to other Western States. Ohio Indiana, Illi-
nois, Michigan, Wisconsin, &C., had received
their one section in each and every township;
and at the time Of their respective territorial
organizations the grants were considered mu-
nifcent, by donor and doncc-and so they WERE
But by extra exertiOns, the generosity of Con-
gress was more deeply awakened in favor of
Minnesota; and she now stands possessed of
two sections Of land-numbers sixteen and
thirty skin every township throughout her
broad extent. 1t is true, these lands cannot be
made available while we remain a Territory:
but if properly and economically managed, the
time will come when such an item as :. school
tax" will scarcely be noted in the memoran-
da of household expenditures, even though
every youth in the land should he found within
the school-room from years end to years
end.
We have read with much interest the excel
lent Report of our able Superintendent Of Com
mon Schools-Rev. E. D. Neill-communicated
to the present Legislative Assembly. 1t is a
document which should be widely circulated
throughout the Territory; and in imparting
valuable information abroad upon a matter
in which every desirable man and woman who
contemplates removing among us must feel the
strongest interest," it is worth vastly more than
its weight in gold. 1t is document which
show to the world outside that we are people
not nearly so grovelng and base-so selfish
and dishonest-so thoroughly absorbed in ''mon-
ey making" and cheating each other-as some
Of our venal prints are in the habit of repre-
senting. Even if this he the Nazareth which
lueSc Sell-ueldutTS NOulU nave pCOpIC III u
lance believe, public documents, such as the
one before us, 60 to prove that something good
can come out of it. 1t shows that Minnesotians
of this day and gcneration-the founders of the
commonwealth-ar disposed not to allow this
fair garden to shoot up from its prolific soil
growth Of noxious, untamed weeds 1t shows
that with the aid of Heaven and our own eff
forts, we will not become purveyors of food
for the penitentiary and the gallows. 1t shows
that let other communities do as they will, we
are determined to send the schoolmaster abroad
upon his holy mission. We make extracts be-
low, SO far as our limited space will allow, from
Mr.. Neill's Report. He gives brief history of
early educational efforts in Minnesota, as fol-
lows:
GAS far as can be ascertained the first school
Of any description in the Territory, was taught
at the trading house of the late Mr.. Aitkn, at
Sandy Lake, in the year 1882, by Mr.. F. Aver,
now principal of school at Belle Prairie, in
Benton county. He was succeeded by Mr.. E..
+. Ely, now of st. Paul.
In 1888, the Rev. W. T. Boutwell, opened u
schaol at Leech Lake, and in 1884, Mr.. Ely
taught at Fond du Lac. In 1887 school was
opened by Mr.. Aver at Lake POkeguma.
The first school in Minnesota, west of the
Mississippi, was taught by Miss S. Poage, now
Mrs. Gideon II. Pond. in 1886, at Lac-qui-Parle.
The next year, Rev. Samuel w. Pond taught at
the Dakota village at Lake Harriet, west of st.
Anthony. In 1887 "a school was opened at kapo-
STA, and in 1910 it was removed to Red Rock
In 1912 school was commenced at the mouth
of the ST. Croix.
If we are not misinformed, one of the carly
teachers in the Indian country. and two of the
pupils of those teachers, have been members OF
past Legislative Assemblies.
The Rev. T. S. Williamson, NJ. D., late of Ka-
posia discovering that there was number OF
children, mostly of mixed blood, growing up in
entire Ignorance, in the vicinity of the small
Indian trading houses, that have since expand
ed into the capital of Minnesota applied to the
friends of education in the States, for teacher.
Through the aid of the National Board of
Popular Education, the services of Miss II.
L. Bishop were secured, and in the spring of
1913, in decayed log hut, with bark roof that
stood on or near the site of the First Presbyte-
rian Church, she commenced the first regular
English school in Minnesota, the army school at
Fort Smelling excepted. 1t was composed of
nine children, chiefly half breeds. Shortly at
ter, another English school was opened at Still
water, by lady, under the auspices of the Ma
tional Educational Society. During the sum-
mer of 1919, another lady from the same Board,
now teacher among the Choctaws taught the
first school at st. Anthony, in a building at
present used as a stable.
In 1913, school house was erected in Still
water, and also, st. Paul. The building at the
latter place is now used as a lawyers office,
and adjoins the First Presbyterian Church"
Thus We commenced. The first and second
Legislative Assemblies conceived and matured
our present school law, which embodies the
great principle that the people shall be taxed
for the education of every youth in the Terrific
~, and carried out the principle by practical de-
tails. Every town in the Territory now has its
free schools open, and every neighborhood, also,
whose people have taken it upon themselves to
organize districts. In St. Paul we have five full
schools, one a grammar school for scholars in
the more advanced branches. All these are
in the hands of faithful and competent teachers
lone of them being in charge of the lady to
whom Mr.. Neill justly awards the position Of