History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

and under the pressure of toil and poverty, it is
not surprising that education was at the minimum.
Mr. Jackson records that " there does not appear
to have been any public or private school in the
Village [Xewton] for sixty years after its first set-
tlement. The erection of a school-house was near
half a century behind that of the meeting-house."
In May, 1699, — forty-five years after the first
movement for their separation from Cambridge,
and twenty years after their petition to become an
independent town had received the first favorable
notice by the General Court, — the town voted to
build a school-house, sixteen feet by fourteen, and
Deacon John Staples, who occupied the estate now
owned and occupied by W. C. Strong, Esq., was
hired " to keep school " four days in the week,
at a salary of two shillings per day. As early as
1643 the General Court passed an order requiring
"the townsmen to see to the educating of their
children," and also enjoining it upon every town
having a hundred families to set up "a grammar
school," which in those days meant a school of
sufficiently advanced character to fit boys for ad-
mission to college. If any of the children of
Newton found their way to Master Corlet's school
at Cambridge, for the support of which Newton
was taxed until it became an independent town,
they must have been few in number. They had
a right to these high privileges; but elementary
learning, reading, writing, and arithmetic, were
more adapted to their wants. In 1701 the town
voted to build two school-houses, one to be near
master was to teach both schools, — the one near
the meeting-house, two thirds of the time, and that
near Oak Hill, one third. "Those that send chil-
dren to school shall pay three pence per week for
those that learn to read, and four pence for those
that learn to read, write, and cypher ; and all may
send to either school as they choose."
John Staples, the schoolmaster above referred
to, and the first public schoolmaster in Xewton,
came to New Cambridge about 1688. He was for
many years deacon of the church, and town-clerk —
the third in that office — twenty-one years, from
1714 to 1734, and selectman eight years. His
chirography in the town records is creditable to
his attainments in that department; but his in-
genuity in misspelling the most common words of Edward Durant.
—
NEWTOJ. 229
implies that if he knew how to teach, he had also
something to learn. He left in his will seventeen
acres of woodland " for and towards the support of
the ministerial fire from year to year annually."
He died in 1740, aged eighty-two years. His
wife was Mary Craft. They had no children.
The first school committee was elected in 1706.
Tiie members were Isaac Williams, John Mason,
and Abraham Jackson. From this time onward a
school committee was chosen annually. The school
question seems to have given the people for a long
time no little trouble, and was the subject of fre-
quent discussion, planning, experimenting, and
voting. This is evident from a mere glance at the
entries in the town records. In 17 IS the town
voted £10 to the inhabitants in the northwest part
of the town, to aid them in employing a schoolmaster.
In 1731 they voted not to have more
than one school ; but Samuel Miller, at the west
part of the town, offered a room in his house for a
school, and the town accepted it. In 1732 the
vote of 1701 was reaffirmed, giving school privi-
leges to the centre of the town two thirds of the
time, and to the south part one third. In 1723
the inhabitants voted to have the school kept in
three places, one " half the time at the west part,
quarter at the north, and quarter at the south."
At the same time the town was divided into three
school districts. In 1751, and again in 1753, the
inhabitants voted to have two more schoolmasters.
In 1763 they voted to have four districts and four
schools, and all to be provided with wood. The
the meeting-house and the other at Oak Hill, duration of these schools was determined as fol-
" sixteen feet square besides chimney room." The lows : Centre, twenty weeks and two days ; north-
town voted £25 towards the expense, and the rest west, fourteen weeks and two days ; Oak Hill, ten
was to be made up by private subscription. One weeks and six days; southwest, six weeks and five
days. In 1776 there were five school districts,
in 1791, six, and in 1808, seven. In 1766 the
sum of £16 was appropriated to employ a school-
mistress. This was tlie first " woman's school."
.In 1768 £50 were appropriated for men's, and
£16 for women's schools.
The appropriation for schools was for many
years £50. In 1774 it was raised to £60; in
1786, £80; in 1790, £85; in 1795, £130; in
1796, S500; in 1800, .?600. In 1762 the
town was " presented for not setting up a grammar
school, and the selectmen were chosen to defend
the town against it at the Court."
In 1761-62 votes were passed ordering that
the grammar school should be taught at the house