Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-03-04
Report of the County superintendent fer
Bradford County.

| oil, lSO l, anu tue uedu Vi the SCIOOl DepdTt-
ment having also, for good and sufficient rea-
sons, as he claims, urged me TO prepare some
thing in the form of report for Bradford, |
undertake the task not knowing what to write.
Although have no formal report to make,
no statistical tables to present, still | am not
willing that Bradford, a county with more
schools than any other in the State in which
| there is no city, county that numbers more
teachers than any other, with the exceptions
cited above, say am not willing that Brad
ford shall not be wholly unrepresented in the
volume of school reports for 1851.
! The law of 1854, says, that the County
| Superintendents shall annually, on or before
the first Monday in June, make an extended
report of the condition of the schools under
their charge suggesting such improvements in
the school system as they may deem useful,
and giving such other information in regard to
the practical operation of the common schools,
and the laws relating therefore, as may be
deemed of public interest"
Now, it must be evident, that cannot COM
ply with this requisition, because | have no
knowledge what the Superintendent did do du-
ring the year ending May 81, 1857. | am
not able to set forth the fitness or unfitness of
the teachers to perform their duties neither
their fathfuness or unfaithfulness, for | have
had no means Of accertaining these particulars,
other than a general acquaintance with sever
al of the teachers Of the county. cannot re-
port the condition Of the schools, because |
have not visited them, only as afellOw-teacher.
| know not what account to give Of the school
houses, for | have seen but few OF them Not
having granted any certificates, or aDnuled
any, / can have nothing to say upon the topic
1t will not be proper for me to report what
| intend to do when commissioned, for until
the Gcd is looked over, it is impossible to tell
what | shall do Still report must be pre-
pared Bradford must not be left ont If it
/ should not appear among the northern coun-
ties, our central and southern friends NAV con
clude that we have repudiated the school
law.
The CoCSTY-Bradford is one Of the larg-
est counties in the Commonwealth, and EN-
braces great variety of surface and soil
The SuSquehanna river divides the comfy in
to eastern and western portions. On the
western side of the river two large streams
which run nearly the whole length of that
part of the county empty thefr waters into the
river only about three miles from each other
A long these streams are valleys more or less
extensive, and between them are high, and in
some places preciptiouS bills or mountains. Be
tween the two branches of T0wanda creek is
a coal and iron range and the bill is so steep
that no passable highway can ever be con-
structed over it, This feature renders the du-
ties of the Superintendent more laborious than
they would otherwise be, making il necessary
in some eases to travel thirty or forty-fve miles
TO get from one township to another adjoining
The eastern portion Of the county is also trav
ersed bv creeks, but the hills between them
are not so steep or as high, aud the towns in
that section are more easily reached. The
most of these mountains are tillable to their
very tops, hence there is great diversity of
SOIL and consequently great difference in the
value of real estate. In Armenia, a newly
settled hill township. unimproyed land is yalu
ed at one dollar and fifty cents, and improved
al six dollars per acre. While in Athens, an
old township lying along the Chemung aud
Susqnehanna rivers, unimproved land has
valuation Of three. and improved valuation
of thirty dollars per acre. This as will be
readily seen, must make great difference in
the per centum Of school tax. Armenia pays
a thirteen mill tax, and barely keeps her schools
open four months, and Athens keeps her
schools open eight months with a tax of four
aud oae-fourth mills on the dollar
The inequality Of taxation has tendency to
make some portions of the school law unpopn-
lar in certain localities Many of orr hard
working farmers are not suficie Itly keen sight
cd to see, whv a mau who is only able to pur-
chase piece of land worth but a dollar aud
a half per acre, situated on the top Of the high
est mountain in the county, should be obliged
TO paw three times as high a tax rs the man
- I III
located in q pleasant valley, and near good
market This he must do, and then have his
children at school only half as long. II is but
fair to say, however, that the opposition TO
school system is not generally found to exist
in the distLcts where taxation is the most bur
deHsome
Oar county has q mixed population the
greater part of which is either from New Eng
land or New York, or the descendants Of those
who originally came from those States es
pecially is this the case with the citizens Of the
nothern and eastern sections of the comfy
We have, however, large settlements Of Irish.
Germans, English, Scotch and Welch. This
diversity of origin and national character,
gives rise to corresponding diversity OF opinion
and sentiments relative 10 the method Of eiu-
eating the rising generation. and indeed as 10
the proPrety of giving even coDIRon school
education to each and every child in the Con-
mcnweath, at the public expense.
( THE School system Notwithstanding these
unpropitious circumstances, and these inhar-
mOaiOus elements, Bradford, as a whole, IS be-
leved to be at least on an equality with her
+ sister counties, as il regards her educational
/ Interests and prospects. aud somewhat in ad-
+ vance Of seT-ral Of them. Her inhabitants
are mostly engaged in agricultural or rEechan-
icaipnrsuits. and are general thing, it,
( dustrious, prosperous aud Intelligent. Il is
not pretended that her schools are all OF per