Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1921-12-30
EDUCATION IN WEST
VIRGINIA.

NlN\Il.>lA.
Until the year 1868 the school
laws of Virginia were those also
OF West Virginia. and we mus,
so back to Colonial days for the
beginnings of West Virginia. :
educational history. From the
date Of the settlement of James
town, in 1907, Virginia pushed
the matter Of education vigorous
lN. In 1919 the effort to found
the College of Henrico was made.
III was to be built upon the site
of the present city of Richmond:
it was most literally endowed,
with moncv land and books, and
stood high in the favor of King
James |. In the midsummer of
1919 the superintendent of the
new college, George Thorpe, the
first English SchoolmaStcr in Am
erica, arrived at Henrico, and
work OH the institution began
But in 1922 occurred the dread
full massacre that nearly destroy.
Cd the colony, and among the
slain was George Thorpe. Natur-
ally. all plans For the progress CT
educ-tion came to standStill.
Had all gone well, the College of
Henrico would have antedatcd
Harvard by fifteen years. In 1860
we find the Virginia House of
Burgcsses again providing for a
college, and in 1893 William and
Mary, the oldest college in the
South, opened its doors to stud
scf@
science Of education had nradu-
ally become more liberal and men
OF erudition...........came as teachers
to Virginia"
In 1875, Henry Peasley devised
by will large tract of land and
other property in Gloucester
county, "for the maintenance Of
Il free school to be kept by 4
Schoolmaster for the education
of the children of Abingdon and
Ware parishes forever" This
was the first free school in Nir-
Sinia. But after eighty years. the
colony having grown in other di-
reCtiOnS, few children attended
the school, and Peasley'S gift
seemed lost. Seemed" only, for
eternity alone can tell how much
OF Nirginia'S subsequent history
was shaped by men whose edu-
cation was the result of PeaSley's
generosity.
In the western part Of Virginia.
now West Virginia. life was too
hard and unsettled and unccr-
tain 10 allow much time for cdu-
cation. WitherS' "History of
Border Warfare" gives us pic
turc of those dayS-the block
house and Stockadc, to which the
settlers might be summoned at
any time: the sudden alarm: the
tomahawk, the Scaliping knife.
the burning home: the constant
struggle not only with Savages
but with nature: the telling of
forests and building of houses,
and cIcaing of fields and planting
OF crops. with the absolutely nee
cSsary hunting and fishing: and
Vet, in spite Of hardship and dam
ger, these sturdy pioneers knew
the value OF education, and here
and there in the wilderness little
log SchoOlhouSeS SpranS up.
The first Virginia school law
that affected what is now West
Virginia was enacted December
81. 1896 1t was called the AL
dcrnanir School Law" and its
preamble read, iii part:
Whereas, il appeared That
The great advantages which civ
ilizcd and polished nations ap-
pear to enjoy beyond the say
age and barbarous nations of
thc world are principally deriv-
cd from the invention and use
Of letters, by means whereof
the knowledge and experience
of past days are recorded and
transmitted. SO that man. avail
ms himself in succession of the
accumulated wisdom and dis
cOvcricS of his predecessors, is
enabled more successfully to
pursue and improve not only
those acts which contribute to
the support. convenience and
ornament Of life. but those al
so which tend to illuminc and
cnnoblc his understanding and
his nature.
You want to draw long
breath after reading this part Of
of sentence, and YOU wonder
how il ever ended: hut it showed
a deep realization Of the advanl-
ages and importance of educa-
ton: and after making provision
for the organization, maintcn-
ancc, housing and carrying on
pr Tho school The Law, Directs fhni