The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-21
THE STORY OF GREENE SPRINGS
 ACADEMY,
Miss Julia Tutwfler Wrltea of . Van ished Period Tn the Life of West Alabama-The Page
 Harris Home.
BY MISS JULIA s. TUTwILI

The Page Harris Home, March 1<. 1909. You have leters from all over the State. but not often one from Hale County. Yet this is very interesting portion of the State for many reasons. biographical. historical, sociological. and agricultural.
 Hale County historically was once a portion of Greene County, the name sake of General Greene of Revolution airy fame. now its name keeps alive the memories of late war-fought to maintain the union which the Revolu- ton esta blished. The Warrior River divided Greene County in such way that the Fork. that portion of the coun- ty between the Bigbee and the War ty-a mdnern Metsopotamia. So after the great shaking-up of the war between the States, when all sorts of changes were the order of the day, some enterprising spirits proposed an act of secession on small scale; and consequently the portion of the coun- ty outside of the Metsopotamian region was formed into the county of Hale by appropriating a slice from the neigh boring county of Tuscaloosa. The new daughter of the State was christened Hale, for Stephen D. Hale. one of the local heroes of the late war. As Col. Hale was a citizen of Eutaw. it would have been more logical to have kept his name for Greene County of which Eutaw Is the capital; and to have transferred the name Greene to the new county of which Greensboro became the capital (You see have to call 1t the capital" of the county. because the language entries have never been able to decide whether 1t Is correct to say county site" or pxy ho fn teresting history of Greensboro has been lately compiled by one of its leading editors.
 BioGraphic, Greene Springs School
 Here in Hale County In the year 1s47, pr. Henry Tutwiler established the Greene Spings School. which for nearly fifty years. well-deserved its name The Rugby of the South."
 Dr. Tutwiler had taught In the State wished to be free to carry out without any restriction his own advanced views on education. So when he was pre- pared. not only by scholarship but by experience, for the task he bought in the healthful hill country of Hale a tract of fifteen hundred acres. and es- tablished there his own school. The place had been a summer resort for the Black Belt planters, and three of the finest chalybeate springs in the State boiled up in a grove of beeches and oaks at the foot of the high hill on which the school buildings stood. A creek which fin England would be called river. ran through the do- main. Here the boys bathed, swan, fished and nawigated, with homemade boats and rafts and on It's bank sthey hunted. The school was Individuality" Just as far as was possible consis- tently with order and scholarship free- dom was given. No student had more than three daily studies: they were strong subjects and had to be thoroughly learned: they studied when and where they pleased and came to the class-rooms merely for recitations. A fine well selected library was open to them aRd they were encouraged to read for their own pleasure and profit. No degrading punishments were ever inflicted, the.number admitted was Him. ited, and vacant places were spoken for far in advance. If a student did not do well his father was quietly advised to place him elsewhere. Twice every day they all came together to listen to wise and kindly talks from their be- loved chief. These were infinitely vari- ed: sometimes 1t was a humarous crit icism of some prominent faults among men; sometimes merely the reading of a beautiful poem with such expression and yet simplicity that 1t touched ev- cry heart; sometimes a simple yet striking experience in physics or chemistry; sometimes a sublime pas sage from the Book of Books with a few words of comment utterly devoid of commonplace cant. Whatever 1t was. 1t was sure Co appeal to the interest of fresh young minds, and was eagerly anticipated and anjoyed
 Page Harris.
 Here in this very home in which I am writing, one mile from the site of Greene Spings School lived one of those patriarchs of whom alabama proudly produced so many in the old days before the war"
 Page Harris lived and died a plant CT of the old school. At ninety years of age he still rode over his fields and directed the labor of his employees, as he had formerly directed that of his slaves On the return of his anniver- sary of his birth, his children and grandchildren were wont to assemble here in his home to bring him their well-earned tribute of love and grati- tude. When he passed away a few years ago he had lived in the e-time of every president of the United States and had seen his country grow from a small struggling common wealth to a giant among nations. His descendants were an honor to him. One of his sons-an old Greene Springs boy" as his schoolmates loved to call themselves-was Gideon Harris. who followed his honored father to his rest only a short time ago. He had received more than one mans share of this would's honors: a chief among the Masons of his state; land commits sioner for the United States; president of the International Sunday School Union, Superintendent of Education. Railroad Commissioner of his own state; editor of the leading state paper of hIs church; a favorite orator on all public occasions-few men obtain in a lifetime, so many and such varied marks or honor.
 A granddaughter of Page Harris was the first woman ever appointed to a state position in Alabama-Miss Nicholena Bishop, for four years a member of the Board of State Exam iners How well she filled this re- sponsible office the State of Alabama remembers
 Mrs. Bishop. the mother of this Nlcholena Bishop. now fills the place held by the patriarch Page Harris, she Is the patriarch of her tribe. Her birthday is now the date on which its scattered members gather to the an- cestral home. It Is their earnest prayer that she may reach the ninety two years of her father. or may even exceed them. They have lately cele- brated 'her eighty second birthday, children, grandchildren and nieces gathered in the ancestral home. The