Page 1 - THE BEGINNINGS OF A SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
What is a public school?
Where was the first public high school located?
Who was the first Hillsborough County high school principal?

 This feature is in the process of being updated.

May 26, 2003 - Photo by Dan Perez, property of TampaPix.com


Did you know? The yearbook is the HILSBOREAN (one "L") but a person is a HILLSBOREAN (two "L's")
 

Hillsborough High School is one of the South's oldest high schools and the oldest high school in Hillsborough County.  Over the years, Hillsborough High School has earned some nicknames. "Harvard on the Hill" originates partly from the fact that Hillsborough High School was built on one of the highest geographical elevations in Tampa at the time, had graduated many illustrious people, and emulated many of Harvard's traditions with regard to its alma mater and school color scheme--a crimson shade of red and black, and the big letter H.
 

   Later, Hillsborough High also picked up the nickname "Peyton Place," probably sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s, because the opening scene of the tower in the popular Peyton Place television soap opera somehow reminded some individuals of Hillsborough High's clock tower, and also because as one teacher put it, "it seemed there was always some sort of soap opera going on at the school."

SOURCES (For all pages in this feature.)

 

INTRODUCTION - AMBIGUITY IN TERMINOLOGY

The emergence of the first "high school" in Tampa is interesting, but can also be very confusing when reading of the times. Valid historical documents that are 120 years old are rare and, when available, are often laden with inconsistencies. For the first high school, and for many other schools during this period, different names were used on different documents (and newspaper articles.) For example, what eventually became known as Hillsborough High School was also known by three different names at various times.  Today's Hillsborough High School descended from a series of schools beginning with School #l. The names were used interchangeably throughout the last 1800's.

Tampa Institute
Tampa School #1 (also known as School No.1 and Tampa Graded School)
Tampa High School
County High School
Hillsborough County High School
Hillsborough High School

The historical documents, including the Board records, often do not clearly identify the location of many of the schools in the city. As was the case from the 1850s and 1860s, schools continued to operate in public and private buildings donated for the cause or rented by the Board. Tampa High School (i.e., School #1) retained the original location on Franklin St.between Twiggs and Madison from early 1878 through the mid 1880's.  Since it shared the facility with the grammar (primary or elementary) school, it is probable that this site was also referred to as Tampa Graded School.

Today's Hillsborough High School was officially "Hillsborough County High School" up until 1927 when the county opened another high school, H. B. Plant. The existence of two public county high schools in Hillsborough county required a name change, so "County" was dropped from the HCHS name.   However, it was commonly referred to as "Hillsborough High" even before the official name change. 
 

WHAT IS A PUBLIC, COUNTY, OR PRIVATE SCHOOL?

Some possibilities to consider:

  • A public school is free, doesn't charge tuition, open to everyone.

  • A county school is one where the teachers, principal and other staff are employed by the county from its treasury, which is financed through the collection of taxes from citizens of the county and/or some other means. The school's operating costs are also paid from the same.  The school operates under the rules set by the county, usually, a school board of some sort with a superintendent, all employed by the county. 

  • Public schools or private schools may even have a private institution or foundation provide some of its financial needs. 

  • A private school is usually owned, operated and staffed by private individuals or an organization (not by the county government.)  Students are usually charged tuition which pays for the salaries of teachers and staff, including the principal or headmaster.  Some or all of its faculty or staff could be  volunteers, and the school might be run tuition-free as a charity. 

  • In matters not controlled by laws & statutes, private schools may have their own rules, and place whatever rules they deem appropriate on students and teachers, for example--dress codes such as a school uniform, but always in compliance with government regulations. 

WHAT IS A PRIMARY SCHOOL, GRAMMAR SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, GRADED SCHOOL,  JUNIOR HIGH OR MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL?

Some possibilities to consider:

  • A graded school has students grouped by grade level based on their scholastic achievement. A curriculum based on their learning ability is provided for each grade.   The ones achieving a certain level of proficiency when the term is over are certified ready to pass to the next level. 

  • Levels may be further grouped as Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced, or any other similar terms, such as Elementary, Middle or Junior High, and High or Senior High, with grade levels designated.  For example, Elementary would be grades 1 through 6, Middle would be 7 and 8, or 7 though 9, and High is 9 or 10 through 12. 

  • The meanings for the school groupings have evolved over the years.  Primary or Elementary school might be called a "Grade School" which probably evolved from the term "Graded school," or even a "Grammar School" though it would teach more than grammar.  "Grammar" along with "reading and writing and 'rithmatic" are considered the primary or elementary courses, which may include English grammar, spelling, penmanship, and  spoken and written language, along with basic math.
This 1898 photo shows Hillsborough County High School's  second home (1886-1892) about 6 years after the high school had moved out and the building became the location of the public county primary school. It was located at 6th Avenue & Jefferson Street.

 

THE SCHOOL BUILDING

Does the ownership of the building determine whether or not a school is a county, public, or private school?  

  • What if the building's construction cost, and/or the land it's on, was paid by a private individual or individuals who donate the facility for a school to meet in his building, but whose faculty and staff's salaries and building maintenance cost are paid by the county?  

  • What if the county pays rent for use of that building?

  • Or the other way around, what if the county allows the use of a room in, for example, its courthouse or city hall, for no charge, by private individuals who teach tuition-paying students, and that individual's salary is paid solely from the tuition?

 

 

 

THE CHALLENGE

When it comes to calling a school a county, public, or private; graded, primary, or high school, in the formative years of the Hillsborough County educational system, there were many different combinations of situations presented above. 

  • So when did Hillsborough High School start? 1927?  Most would say, "No, before that" because it was just a minor name change in 1927. 

  • Did it start when the county high school first opened? 

  • Was it when the higher level/older students were taught in a separate building from the primary level students? 

  • Is it when the first high school-level curriculum is offered, even if the high school is together in the same building with the lower level students but in separate rooms? 

  • Is this physical separation necessary to be considered a high school? 

  • What if when the high school first opened, students had to pay a portion as tuition because the county couldn't cover all the costs?  Is it still a public high school?

These are all situations present during the early days of public high school education in Hillsborough County.

 

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 MIGHTY OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW
 

IN THE BEGINNING - circa 1848

Early settlers in rural Hillsborough County had to homestead their land just like the pioneers of the West. And like the West, Florida had an extensive Native American population long before the first settlers arrived. Although historical records are inconsistent regarding the degree of conflict between the them and the early settlers, their presence did have a direct impact of the patterns of settlements throughout the state and in Hillsborough County.  Due to the threat (or perceived threat) of attack, most of the early settlements were located in close to forts such as Fort Dade, Fort Pierce, Fort Meade, and Fort Brooke in Tampa.

Santa Claus poses on the porch of Stemper School A with faculty and students in the early 1910s, where the teacher would ride her white horse to the school every morning from her home at Lake Magdalene. The first settlement in the area now known as Lutz was originally a Catholic mission started in the late 1880's by Luxembourg Catholic priest Francis Xavier A. Stemper.  Stemper bought quite a bit of acreage on the west side of Lake Bruing in section 13 of township 27, range 18 east for the purpose of starting a Catholic colony.  Later, the area on the north side of Stemper became Lutz.  Photo courtesy of Nealie Squires from Citrus, Sawmills, Critters & Crackers - Life in early Lutz and Central Pasco County, by Elizabeth & Susan MacManus, Univ. of Tampa Press, 1998.

See History of Lutz at TampaPix.com
 

In the first half-century or so after the establishment of a Hillsborough County Board of Education and a Schools Superintendent, there were many private schools being conducted in homes, churches, community buildings, etc, scattered around the county.  The teachers, if not volunteers, and maintenance costs, were being paid from tuition fees. 

Most were one-room school houses with children of all ages at various levels of achievement.  Some had very few students and were taught in private homes.  Many had students of any age, but could have all been on the same or nearly the same basic educational level, just starting to read and write, and understand math. Some may have had a more advanced course being taught to the older students, but in the same room (if only one teacher) or in separate rooms at the same time, if more than one teacher was available.  Many were exclusively for females or for males.

The students attending those schools became some of the first pupils under the newly developing county education system; a system whose "seed" schools were those private schools, from in the heart of Tampa, to outlying areas of the county--and the county was much bigger than it is now.  It was some of these very same private schools, which over a period of years, appointed trustees, and petitioned the county for funding, and were approved by the County School Board.  They underwent a transition from private, tuition-based funding to county funding.  They went from privately owned buildings, to county financed, newly constructed buildings.  They went from privately employed teachers whose pay came solely from tuition, to partially or fully paid from the county payroll--and this didn't happen at the same time.

Mention of "public" schools in Tampa exists in various records as early as the 1850s,  By 1848, a school was in operation in the county courthouse.  Counts of the student population exist as early as 1866.  In 1868, the State of Florida's constitution provided for a board of public instruction, and in the same year, Hillsborough County elected a County Board of Public Instruction and a superintendent. 

The first written Hillsborough County record of education held in a "public facility" was established in 1848 when an educated Englishman, William P. Wilson, opened a school and was allowed the use of the County Courthouse in Tampa. 

1850 Census of William P. Wilson, Tampa
William P. Wilson was 45, occupation teacher, born in England.  His wife, Mary Wilson, was 34, born in KY.  Their daughter, Mary C. Wilson, was 15, born in AL.

The courthouse he would have used in 1848 was one built by Scotsman James McKay on the property bounded by Franklin St, Lafayette (now Kennedy Blvd.), Monroe St. (now Florida Ave.) and Madison Street. This became known as "Court house square"  and the building referred to as the "McKay courthouse."  There are no known existing photos of this courthouse.  The streets back then were no more than wide, sandy, cleared paths through the brush and palmetto scrub.   

In these years, the Hillsborough County Commission served as the Board of Education until 1869.  Unfortunately, shortly after Wilson's school opened, instruction was halted by the disastrous hurricane of Sept. 25, 1848 that destroyed most of the buildings close to the bay.

Read about this hurricane at The Final Battle for Fort Brooke and This Old House - The Historic Stringer House  (in the process up being updated.)

 

THE FIRST TWO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY COURTHOUSES
THE LOG CABIN COURTHOUSE
The first county courthouse was built in Tampa largely by the efforts of Judge Augustus Steele, soon after the County of Hillsborough was organized from Alachua and Monroe counties on January 25, 1834, during the U.S. territorial period (1822–1845).  The new county was named for Wills Hill, the Earl of Hillsborough, who served as British Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1768 to 1772.

That little log courthouse was burned by the Indians at the outbreak of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842).  At that time, fewer than a thousand people lived in Hillsborough County and cattlemen came to the courthouse most often to complain about stolen livestock. And, of course, judges and attorneys traveled long distances by horseback or stagecoach to cover their “circuit," a name still in use today. 

 THE "MCKAY" COURTHOUSE
When the first County Commissioners met in 1846, the general topics were taxes, transportation, a new courthouse and jail, and town development. The next year, the Commissioners accepted the bid of Captain James McKay to construct a two-story courthouse, which was 20 ft x 45 ft. at a cost to taxpayers of $1,358.  This is the courthouse most refer to as the "The McKay Courthouse" or the "First courthouse"  although it was really the second one.  No photos have ever been found of this courthouse.

From E. L. Robinson's History of Hillsborough County:

This courthouse was completed and accepted from James McKay on January 3, 1848 and his bill paid; including ten dollars allowed for additional work.

This, the "first court house" of Hillsborough County, was erected on the block bounded by Lafayette, Franklin, Madison and Florida (Monroe St. back then). The entrance was on the south side and there was one large room for a court room and two small rooms on the west side for offices and jury rooms. The material for this building was brought to Tampa from Mobile by Captain McKay who had come to Tampa in 1846.

This building was soon outgrown and no longer adequate for the increasing business of the county. When a new building was ordered this building was sold to John H. Redbrook who moved it to Franklin street. Later it was moved to the comer of Zack street and Florida avenue and used as a store house for the Peninsular Telephone Company.
 
About a year after the 1848 hurricane, Wilson was once again permitted to use the courthouse for his school. 

Nov. 20, 1849 - Minutes of the County Commissioners meeting:  
"Ordered by the Board that W. P. Wilson be permitted to continue his school in the courthouse (when not occupied for public purposes,) until the first Monday in April, 1850, which time the citizens of Tampa must furnish a schoolhouse or be deprived of a school."

In 1854, Wilson reopened his school in Mr. Lawson's house near the Methodist church.  He also offered evening classes in Latin, Greek and French, or any of the English branches,, for young men not able to attend during the normal hours.

Later in 1858, he resigned to open a private school believed to be in the Mango area.

Over the next twenty years, small one-room schools sprung up around the county in such remote areas as Safety Harbor, Alafia, Plant City, and Socrum.  W. P. Wilson's school program was funded entirely by tuition fees. In this sense, it was private. However, the County Commissioners allowed Wilson to use the courthouse free of charge, which constitutes the first use of public resources for educational purposes.

 

THE FIRST REPORTED EXPENDITURES PROVIDED FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION - 1853

Nov. 29, 1853 - From minutes of the County Commissioners meeting: 
There were 560 children to be educated in the county for which the State contributed $107.04.  The County Commissioners added $200 for a total of $307.04 for the 1853-54 school year.  This worked out to 55 cents per pupil.

Assuming a public school can be any school funded by the county, regardless of where it's held, then the first public schools in Hillsborough County were all located in public and private buildings that had extra space available. All of the limited funds were directed to teacher salaries and expenses for operation.  Although Seminole War Gen. Jessie Carter constructed a school building privately during this period, the County Commission, and later, the Board of Education, did not finance construction of a building until 25 years later.

In 1853, Jasper Glover opened a school known as the "Tampa Academy" with 45 students on the first floor of the Mason's Lodge at Franklin & Whiting streets. Later, Emelia Porter founded a private school for girls in the same facility.  According to a legend, children from both programs feared the goat that reportedly lived upstairs in the Lodge room.

THE FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

On Oct. 29, 1853, the President of the Board of County Commissioners, Simon Turman (Jr.), was named the first Superintendent of Public Instruction.  In 1854 he earned a salary of $53 for his duties. 

Turman was also a merchant  and publisher/editor of the Tampa newspaper "The Florida Peninsular."  His father was a county probate judge. In the 1860s Turman Jr. was a Hillsborough County delegate to the Florida convention on secession.

It is important to keep in mind that a "school" refers to the institution, or the collection of teachers, administrators, and students, and not necessarily a building or structure in which classes were held.

 

In 1854, the County Commission approved schools to be placed in the following ten districts:

1.  Old Tampa (Safety Harbor)   6.  Itchepucksassa (Plant City)
2.  Edward's school house   7.  Soak Rum (Socrum, N. of Lakeland)
3.  Spanish Town (Hyde Park)   8.  Peas Creek (Ft. Meade-Peace creek)
4.  Three schools in Tampa proper   9.  Alafia
5.  Sparkman (near Sydney--SW of Plant City 10.  Manatee

 

According to Tampa historian Tony Pizzo, the County Commission "boasted of three approved schools" under its jurisdiction, each receiving $33 for its term of operation.  Due to the vast size of Hillsborough County in the 1850s, the Commission provided little supervision of the schools.

 

 

Crop of Copperthwaite's Florida 1850 county map from Florida Memory, State Library & Archives of Florida

 

 

THE THIRD COUNTY COURTHOUSE

A third county courthouse was built in 1854 by John Breaker (sometimes referred to as "the Breaker courthouse") at a cost of  $5,000  and was used until 1891.  Of course, it also had a picket fence to keep the animals out of the courtyard.

Tampa historian Tony Pizzo stated in his article "James McKay, the Scottish Chief": In 1870, a visitor commented:

"The first building to attract my attention was the courthouse, a frame building set in a clearing in a big scrub. It had a cupola or belfry, and was the first house I had ever seen built of anything but logs."


Hillsborough County Courthouse, Lafayette Street entrance, looking east from intersection with Franklin Street, 1886.
 This is the courthouse that would have held school classes during the late 1860s and 1870s for Hillsborough County.
 Burgert Brothers photo from University of South Florida Digital Collection
THE TAMPA HERALD -  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 1854.

Our Court House


(State Archives of Florida)

Through the kindness of Mr. [John H.] Breaker, contractor and builder of this magnificent Court House, we are enabled to furnish our readers with a full description of its order, size, various offices, etc. etc. The building is 76 ft. long, by 45 wide, and two stories high. The 1st. story is 12 ft. between joints; the second is 14 1-2 ft. On the 1st floor is the City Hall, Judge of Probates, Clerks’, and Sheriff Offices, and Grand Jurors’ room. A spacious Hall extends from the Southern entrance of the building, between the four offices to the City Hall.

On the 2nd floor is the Court Room, 42 by 45 ft., and two spacious Jury rooms, with a passage extending from the south entrance, between the jury rooms to the Court-room. A projecting Portico, an each end, the whole width of the building supported by heavy Grecian Columns.

 A double flight of stairs ascends from each end of the building, landing - on the 2nd floor of the porticos. The roof is mounted with a dome and tower, 18 ft in diameter, and 24 ft high, covered with tin, or zinc.

The extreme height of the building, from the pinnacle of the tower to the ground is 68 feet; and the whole is being beautifully finished in a combination of the Grecian, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. The plan was drawn by the contractor, Mr. Breaker, who has engaged to erect the building, for a sum less than $5000. The execution of this contract, we are satisfied, will be attended with considerable loss to the builder, unless the generosity and liberality of the County Commissioner’s shall interpose to prevent it, for the credit of our Town and County, we hope they will, and not in any stingy manner.

Tampa had no City Hall building, it had "Town Hall" which was located in this courthouse.
"The History of Hillsborough County Public Schools"  shows an image (below, left) described as "Courthouse built in 1855" which is from Yesterday's Tampa by Hampton Dunn.  But the photo is actually one of the old Palmetto Hotel at the northeast corner of Florida Ave. and Polk St..   Due to the way the images were arranged across the page spread in Dunn's book, the authors of the school history book misinterpreted the image descriptions.

At right is a crop of a photo of the Palmetto Hotel from the ROBERT N. DENNIS COLLECTION OF STEREOSCOPIC VIEWS (filtered for Tampa) at The New York  Public Library Digital Collections.  See the whole picture.

As it did in 1848, the courthouse served as the primary public school for the students in Tampa. It is probable that the students paid tuition as they did at the courthouse before the hurricane. However, some historians viewed the use of a public building for educational purposes as "public education."   

1855 - THE STATE APPROPRIATES FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS
Three schools offer a tuition-free 4 week term
In 1855 the state appropriated $239.71 to the Hillsborough County Commission and the County Commission added $160.29 for a total funding of $400 for the 1854-55 school year. The funds were divided among the schools with each school receiving between $36 and $40. Districts throughout the state were permitted to charge tuition if their schools and teachers required additional funds for salaries and operations.

This Jan. 20, 1855 article in the Tampa Herald announced the funding of three schools by the County from the public school fund.  J.K. Glover, James Petty, and W.P. Wilson offered a 4-week period of free schooling to children over 5 to under 18. The Herald hailed this as "the first step in the practical commencement of the Public School system..." and urged parents who could not afford to pay for their child's education not to delay in sending their children to school now.  Similar arrangements were to be made in other parts of the County.

The four weeks having expired, these 3 schools were back to tuition-based funding.

 

This ad in early 1855 announced that Mary Griffin had opened a school for females with all the "ordinary branches of an English educations."  She also offered courses in music, if enough students enrolled, on the piano-forte, which was the predecessor to the modern day piano. The school was located in a house formerly occupied by Mr. Alexander.

J. K. Glover had another profession, probably a
bit more lucrative than teaching,


 
   

Anna Welling opened her private school
for girls in Tampa in April, 1855, in the residence of Mr. T.C. Andrews.

March 3, 1855 Job Wanted ad by two graduates in
S. Carolina looking for teaching positions.

   

This Jun. 30, 1855 ad by J.K. Glover indicated that the Tampa Academy was financed by tuition and was teaching high school level courses--Grammar, Geography, Philosophy, Algebra, Chemistry, Ancient Geography and Geometry.  His was a 3-month course--at least.

This W. P. Wilson ad announced an 11-week term would begin on Dec. 3, 1855 "at the school house near the Methodist Church."


 

THE PERIOD OF THE THIRD SEMINOLE WAR, 1855 to 1858

Interest in public education decreased during the third Seminole Indian War. The county contributed some funds to the schools during these years, but state funding was allowed to accumulate. Most teachers' salaries and school expenses were provided totally through tuition. In other districts, teachers received $53 per year from public funds, but also received compensation from tuition. In addition to poor pay, teachers were faced with severe social and behavioral restrictions. Reports stated that teachers were not permitted to go out on school nights, nor were they permitted to dance or play cards. Due to the minimal pay, many teachers boarded with families in their communities, which further restricted the social lives of the teachers.
 

During the 1850s, it was difficult to locate qualified teachers for these new schools. For the most part, individuals qualified to teach if they could read and do basic arithmetic. However, there were a few exceptions of quality teachers with good credentials.  Francis C. Boggess was remembered as an outstanding schoolmaster who taught at Alafia, Fort Dade, and Fort Meade.  W.P. Wilson, the Englishman who founded the 1848 school at the courthouse, became so popular that he later opened a private school of higher studies known as the "Wilson Academy."

 

In 1857, Mary McAuley opened the "Tampa School for Young Ladies" in the same Masonic Lodge used earlier  by J.K. Glover.  Also in Tampa.

 

JESSIE CARTER'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS - 1858

Seminole wars Gen. Jesse Carter built a schoolhouse in early 1858 on the west bank of the Hillsborough River.  It's located on what would become the grounds of the Tampa Bay Hotel, now the University of Tampa.  Some writers cite a circa 1855 date or even as early as 1850, but the wording in an 1858 newspaper ad for the school implies a Feb. 1858 completion date.

JESSE CARTER

On January 25, 1849 Tampa elected five trustees in what is considered Tampa's first City Council, with M .G . Sikes serving as president of the governing body. The trustees were Thomas P . Kennedy, Jesse Carter, C .A . Ramsey, and William Ross; James Gettis, first town clerk.

A Florida native, Jesse Carter resided where the University of Tampa is now located. He served as a State Militia Colonel and General in the 2nd Seminole Indian war, as well as Florida's special agent on Indian affairs to Gov. Broome.

In 1853, Tampans were able for the first time to travel north by stagecoach, a line being established then by Jesse Carter who got the contract for bringing in the mail from the nor them part of the state. Carter's line ended at Gainesville where connections were made with other lines running to St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. (Grismer, History of Tampa)

Carter served repeatedly in the legislature in Alachua County. In 1850 he joined other Freemasons in creating Hillsborough Lodge No. 25, F. & A. M. Charter members included, among others, James T. Magbee, Joseph Moore, Jesse Carter and M. L. Shannahan. Carter also operated a boarding house. An advocate for transportation, he was elected in October 1854 as Hillsborough County’s Democratic representative in the General Assembly. The railroad issue was preeminent to Carter. Carter served as a ferryman for ferry service across the Hillsborough River. He also worked to establish schools in Tampa, and had a key role in the construction of Tampa’s first school building in 1858.

(Info from The City Council of Tampa, etc)

The beautiful photos of the school below and of the markers & plaques are from the Historical Marker Database website.

Photographer: AGS Media Taken: July 31, 2010 Caption: Old Schoolhouse and Marker. Submitted: August 2, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida  Photos from the Historical Marker Database website

In the background is the University of Tampa's Fletcher Hall. Originally at the Tampa Bay Hotel this structure was a grand dining room.
Photographer: AGS Media Taken: July 31, 2010 Submitted: August 2, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida


 Although the historic marker shows "circa 1855," the newspaper article below implies it was built in 1858.

Place your cursor on the image to see where Jesse Carter's schoolhouse is located.

 

JESSE CARTER'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AND TEACHER LOUISA PORTER

The History of Hillsborough Co. Schools and the historical marker placed at the school, state that General Carter built the school because he intended to provide an education for his daughter, Josephine.

To do this, he paid for the construction of a small, one-room schoolhouse and hired Mrs. Louisa Porter, a teacher from Key West. Although this school could be classified as a "private school," General Carter opened the school to the public free of charge.

WHEN DID CARTER HIRE LOUISA PORTER TO TEACH AT HIS SCHOOL?

Sources for this history don't provide a date, but the impression is given that it was simultaneous with the opening of the school. 

But was it?

Carter's first ad at right mentions only, He has employed the services of a lady to commence the first of March, from the best schools in Charleston, well qualified to teach all the ordinary branches of an English Education and Music, who will also board in his family.

Was Louisa Porter from Charleston, or was she educated in Charleston,  was she in Tampa by March 1, 1858, and did she live in the Carter household?

 


1850 U.S. Census of Jesse Carter, Tampa

Jesse was a mail contractor, age 41.  His wife, Ann M. Carter was from Geo. age 35.  Here is their daughter, Josephine, age 4, for whom sources say he built the school in 1858.  Their daughter, Mary E. Carter was 1 year old.


Below is from Very Much Attached to Tampa, The Civil War Era Letters of Catherine Campbell Hart, (Sunland Tribune, Journal of the Tampa Historical Society) and some info from  Ossian Bingley Hart: Florida's Loyalist Reconstruction Governor by Prof. Canter Brown, Jr,  

Kate’s (Catherine Hart's) letters make numerous references to her friend Lou.  She had met Louisa D. Browne in Key West during the mid-to-late 1840s. 

Louisa's life and those of her children were closely tied to Kate & Ossian Hart after the death of her husband, John W. Porter.

OSSIAN BINGLEY HART
 Hart openly opposed secession and as a result endured many hardships during the Civil War.  After the war, he became Florida's tenth governor, Jan. 7, 1873 to Mar. 18, 1874.   He took an active part in the reconstruction of both Jacksonville's and the state's government.  This image is a blended composite of this  photograph and this painting.

When Ossian and Catherine came to Key West, Ossian became the port's U.S. Customs collector.  He also became friends with Whig leader and merchant John W. Porter.  Ossian and John were of the same age and became close friends, as also would Kate Hart and Louisa Browne, John Porter's wife. 

 

Below, the marriage record of Louisa D. Browne to John W. Porter at Key West, March  21, 1844.
Click the image to see it full size.

 

CATHERINE "KATE" HART, FRIEND OF LOUISA PORTER

Born at Newark, New Jersey in 1823, Catherine "Kate" Campbell married Ossian B. Hart in on Oct. 2, 1843 in Essex Co., New Jersey.  Hart was a young lawyer and the second son of Jacksonville’s founder Isaiah D. Hart.  Kate & Ossian had made each other’s acquaintance when she sojourned for her health in Hart’s hometown of Jacksonville in 1841.

1850 U.S. Census, Duval Co., Isaiah Hart family

Ossian Hart is found in Jacksonville on the 1850 Census, living with his parents Isaiah & Nancy Hart,  and siblings, but not with his wife Catherine.  Ossian was probably only in Jacksonville visiting for a short while and his wife probably stayed home in Key West at this time.

Ossian and his older brother Oscar were both lawyers.

 

 

Below: 1850 Census of Monroe Co, Key West, John W. Porter family
John W. Porter was 29, a merchant born in SC.  Louisa was 22, b. in Fla.  Their daughter Ann (Hayden) Porter was 5.  Listed just above the Porters is a merchant named F. A. Browne who appears to be 54 or 34, born in Virginia, and an 8 year old male  B---- Browne born in Florida.  They may be related to Louisa Browne Porter.

In 1853-1854 John Porter held office as Key West’s mayor, but in Dec. 1854, Porter was voted out of the Mayor's office.  He died in late 1856, leaving Louisa destitute, with two young children. 

Apparently, the Harts took in Louisa and her children, and the two families would be closely associated for the next 10 to 15 years.


On Nov. 25, 1856, Ossian’s longtime mentor, the City of Tampa's first mayor and former circuit judge Joseph B. Lancaster, died while in office as Tampa's first mayor.  In these circumstances, the Harts, along with the Porters, came to Tampa where Ossian assumed Lancaster’s law practice.  After a short time in temporary quarters, they purchased a home on the northeast corner of  what was Lafayette (now Kennedy) and Pierce Streets. 

 

 

 

THE DEATH OF MAYOR LANCASTER, THE CITY OF TAMPA'S FIRST MAYOR

WHEN DID THE HARTS AND PORTERS COME TO TAMPA?
A look at Ossian Hart's advertising in Tampa

Dec 20, 1856 - Hart's first ad in the Fla. Peninsular which appeared in EVERY issue for 1 year mentions practice in two districts -- Will continue in Southern, visit part of Eastern Circuit.  All ads for the year were on page 1, left column, and varied as the 2nd ad to 4th ad, usually 2nd ad.  Hart's last ad found in the Peninsular mentioning both districts was on Nov. 19, 1857 Jan. 2, 1858 - His ad no longer mentions both districts, now reads in the Courts of the State, and of the United States.  First placed Dec. 26, 1857.

Dec. 1857 paper missing.

It appears they came as early as December 1856.

 

MORE ADS BY CARTER FOR HIS FEMALE SCHOOL

Jesse Carter's ad on Feb. 12, 1859, Saturday, announced school would start "Monday, the 13th Inst"* (but Monday would be the 14th.)

The school room is very comfortable, having a good fireplace and furnished with comfortable seats, desks, etc., and each pupil will be furnished; by the undersigned, with all necessary books, stationery, slates, pencils, etc.  Parents and guardians will be charged for all books destroyed or improperly damaged.

Carter repeats the same ad verbatim on Dec. 9, 1858 (seen below), even stating again that school starts Monday, the 13th Inst.  Only Mrs. Voorhees is mentioned as teacher.
 

At Right:  The Aug. 15, 1859 article below about "Mrs. Porter's Female School" doesn't mention the school's location but Louisa Porter was most likely in Tampa by early 1857.  It doesn't seem likely that the Peninsular would write such a review of Carter's school and not mention him at all.   Catherine Hart's mention of Lou's school in her Feb. 8, 1860 letter: "her school is in a flourishing condition and her prospects very flattering for the future"

Some of the students initially enrolled in Jesse Carter's school went on to marry influential members of the Tampa community.

According to an account by Anthony Pizzo in Special Collections of the USF library, the first enrollment at General Carter's school was recorded as:

Miss Josephine Carter (daughter of General Carter),
Miss Eugenia Spencer (married to become Mrs. H.L. Mitchell),
Miss Lizzie Spencer (married to W.P. Henderson, future superintendent),
Miss Mary Lesley (married to become Mrs. U. S. Bird),
Miss Mary Jane McCarty (married Captain John Angus McKay)
Hayden Porter (who would have been around 12 years old)

The historical marker adds as first students Janie Givens and Mary Kelly.

Thus far, historic resources mentioning Louisa Porter teaching a school don't mention Jesse Carter or where Louisa taught.   Ads by Jesse Carter don't mention Louisa Porter but instead mention a Mrs. J. H. Voorhees.

Also, Louisa's marriage in Key West at a young age, with her whereabouts known to be in Key West the whole time since her marriage there (1844), pretty much excludes her from being the teacher from Charleston first advertised in Carter's opening announcement for his school in Feb. 1858.

So what would Louisa Porter have being doing in Tampa to earn a living from the time she arrived in late Dec. 1856, or at latest, Jan 1857, to Aug. of 1859 when the article at right was published?

See her 1860 census below.

 

 The same ad repeated again on May 21, 1859, Saturday, announcing the same starting date, "Monday, the 13th Inst" which would be next month, Monday, June 13th.  Each mentioned Mrs. Voorhees was the teacher, and that she was a teacher of experience in the schools of New York and Maryland.  She does not appear to be the same teacher spoken of in his first ad, who was from Charleston.  Each referred to the school as being Jesse Carter's.  This ad doesn't indicate where Mrs. Voorhees was boarding, instead, it offers students boarding at the Carter home.

*"Inst" was an abbreviation for "Instant" meaning the very next occurrence of the date given.

REFERENCES TO LOUISA PORTER IN KATE HART'S LETTERS OF 1860

 Notice that Kate Hart refers to the school as being Louisa's school, with no mention of Carter.

Tampa, Feb. 8, 1860, to her sister Charlotte "Lottie" - Kate writes about possibly going home (Newark) to visit her sister Lottie next summer, but then gives various reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea.

 ...and then there is Lou and her children, if I were gone she would not think it exactly proper to stay here alone with Ossian, and if she left here she would find much trouble to get as comfortable a boarding house and as cheap as we have been doing...  Lou has been suffering with a very severe cold in her head, but is better now; her school is in a flourishing condition and her prospects very flattering for the future.  We also have a glee club composed of all the principal ladies and gents of the town.  Lou and I are members and enjoy going very much, and as the object of the society is the improvement of our vocal powers, we are more or less benefited by it.

Tampa, Sept. 14, 1860 to her sister Lottie.

Lou is now enjoying her vacation and will commence teaching again the first of October, her health is very delicate. the children are well.

 

 

 

1860 U.S. Census of the Hart and Porter families, Tampa

The 1860 census in Tampa shows Louisa Porter and her children Hayden and Mary Porter living with Ossian Hart, wife Catherine and their daughter Inez. Louisa's occupation was "School mistress."  Louisa's age here is not too far off.  She married in 1844 and according to her 1850 census, she was born around 1826, making her approx. 18 at marriage.  If she was really 30 in 1860, she would have been 14 when she married and 16 when she had her daughter Hayden (Anna Hayden Porter).

 

1860 U.S. Census of Jesse Carter

On this census, Carter was 50 and working as a registrar for public land records.  His wife Ann was 44, and  Josephine was now 13.  Missing her is the Carter's daughter Mary E. who was 1 in 1850.  Perhaps she had died in between the censuses.  A seamstress was living with the Carters, and the next two households visited by the enumerator were unoccupied.  This is rarely seen on a census, because most enumerators will as a neighbor if they could provide some information on those nearby who weren't at home.  On the next census page are seven dwellings listed as unoccupied.

CIVIL WAR

On January 10, 1861, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union ushering in the beginning of the Civil War. During The Civil War years, there was no mention of the schools in the records of the County Commission. It is thought that most schools closed during these years. Those that remained open operated on a minimal budget with funds provided completely through tuition. According to historian Canter Brown, even W.P. Wilson had to plead with parents for tuition payments.

Louisa Porter also contemplated closing the school erected by Jessie Carter. A wealthy Tampa attorney, Ossian Hart, persuaded Miss Porter to stay during the war and paid her $400 a year. However, it is believed that Miss Porter departed from Tampa at the end of 1865 and left the town without any schools for a brief period of time.

 

1870 Census of Duval Co., Jacksonville
The Porter family

By this time the Harts and Porters had moved to Jacksonville, Ossian's hometown.  The period during the Civil War was extremely difficult for the Harts, being Unionists.  His hometown would have been somewhat more welcoming than Tampa.  Notice Louisa is now 42, having been 30 just ten years earlier on her 1860 census.  Hayden Porter of the 1860 census would be 24 in 1870, here is Anna (Hayden) Porter age 24, and working as a school teacher.  Louisa's age here puts her birth year at about 1827-28 and puts her marriage age at about 16 to 17.

Annie Hayden Porter  Burial 1915 Place:  Jacksonville, Duval, Florida
Birth Date:  16 Nov 1845
Death Date: 23 Jan 1915
Old Jacksonville City Cemetery

Was Louisa Porter from Charleston?
No, every census shows Florida.

Was she educated in Charleston as Carter's ad stated his teacher was?
It's doubtful she had much if any formal, higher education.  Born circa 1827-30 in Fla., she married Key West merchant John Porter at around age 16 to 18 in 1844.  Rather quickly, she had her first child Anna Hayden Porter.  Five years later, she had Mary.  No time for college here, with two infants.  John died late 1856, leaving her destitute.  No time, not much income for a college education.  Same year, the Porters came to Tampa with the Harts.  Mrs. Hart's letters home to her sister mention Lou teaching a school in Tampa.  They leave Tampa at the time of the Civil War and settle in Hart's home town of JAX.    Answer:  No.

Was she in Tampa by Mar. 1, 1858 when Carter opened his school?  Yes.  It appears she came with the Harts in late 1856.

Did she live with the Carter family as Carter's ad stated his teacher from Charleston was doing?  No, at least not by the 1860 census in Tampa, she seemed to always live with the Harts after her husband died.

Did any of the ads for the girls school that Carter built mention Louisa?
No.  They mention an unnamed teacher from Charleston, then a Mrs. Voorhees with experience in schools of New York and Maryland.

Is there any evidence that Louisa ever taught at a school?
Yes, one of Katherine Hart's letters home to her sister mentions "her school is in a flourishing condition and her prospects very flattering for the future."  Another of Kate Hart's letters to her family in Newark in Sept. 1860 says Lou is now enjoying her vacation and will commence teaching again the first of October, her health is very delicate. the children are well. 

Also, an Aug 15, 1859 article in the Peninsular gave an impressive review of Louisa's school, but it doesn't mention where it is nor does it mention who built and started the school.  Take notice that this is only about a year and a half after Jesse's school opened, and his ads ran for 40 issues of the Tuesday & Friday Peninsulars.

 

 

SCHOOLS SCATTERED AROUND THE COUNTY, MEETING IN PRIVATE HOMES OR BUILDINGS

Throughout this period, population directly determined the need for public school in the most rural areas of the county. In the early 1860s, it was estimated that there were only 867 "schoolable children" throughout the county. It was required that an area had at least 10 children of school age before a school could officially be sanctioned in that area.

The County Commission did not own any school buildings specifically designed for instruction.  All buildings used for schools were owned and constructed by private citizens to serve as schools in their neighborhoods. Although the schools were private, most were open to other children in the immediate area who wanted to attend. Some of the earliest construction of one-room schools originated in areas of present-day eastern Hillsborough County. Early pioneers in the Plant City area such as George Hamilton, Elijah Byrd Sparkman, and Joseph Casey were believed to have opened schools as early as the late 1860s. Both Sparkman and Casey later petitioned the Board of Education and were sanctioned as schools #5 and #7 respectively.  As in Tampa, some early rural schools were also held in churches or other public buildings such as churches.

   

This ad below for a boys school at "Mr. Petty's School House" was offered by W. P. Wilson.  His school had primary level classes as well as higher classes for English, Greek, Latin, French, and a business course in stenography.
 

 

 

Wilson offered primary and high school courses located in Mrs. Petty's school house.

 

 


Below, Mr. Wm. P. Wilson offers a night school in his home, for young men.

 

 

The legal notice below is the last we hear of Mr. Wilson in the Tampa newspapers.  Mary Wilson was his wife, according to his 1860 census record, and it appears Mr. Wilson has been made the administrator of her estate. "The History of Hillsborough County Schools" states that he moved to Mango to open a private school there in 1858.
   

 

HAYDEN'S FERRY CROSSING AT JACKSON STREET
Students living in Tampa would have taken the ferry to get to Carter's school house.

FERRY CROSSINGS BEFORE HAYDEN - 1846:  The earliest existing records of Hillsborough Co. Commissioner meetings
 History of Hillsborough County, Florida, Narrative and Biographical, 1928" by Ernest L. Robinson, Director of High Schools of Hillsborough County, Formerly Principal of Hillsborough County High School. 

1846 - Jan. 5:  The board members, the lost book of 1845, pay and taxes

The first meeting (for which records still exist) of the Hillsborough County Commissioners was held.  The board consisted of William Hancock, M.C. Brown, Benjamin Moody, Simon Turman, and James A. Goff (not present). Simon Turman was Judge of Probate and President of the Board.  At this meeting, a small record book of the previous year's proceedings was turned over to the board by Manuel Avilla, former Clerk of the County Court.  This book has never been found.  Also at this meeting, pay was established for the board at $2 per day while in session.  The county tax for 1846 was established at 50% of the amount assessed for the State.  S.L. Sparkman was the tax assessor and John parker the tax collector.
 1846 - April 7:  Treasury balance, build a courthouse

At this meeting, Thomas P. Kennedy was the Treasurer of the County and reported the balance to be $267.63. The commissioners were appointed to "superintend the building of a court house and other public buildings in the Village of Tampa" and instructed to "select the spot of ground for the said public buildings, make a plan to start the building and finish them as soon as practicable taking into consideration the funds on hand..."

 THOMAS PUGH KENNEDY - Tampa City Council member
January 1849 – October 1850
M.G. Sikes, President
Jesse Carter
Thomas Pugh Kennedy
Culbreath A. Ramsey
William Ross
 

Born in Philadelphia on December 12, 1812, Thomas Pugh Kennedy moved to St. Augustine in 1828. He came to Fort Brooke in December of 1840 as a deputy U.S. Marshal. In 1843, he established a store at Tampa and Whiting Streets and traded with the Seminoles.

Photo and info from The City Council of Tampa, etc.
At the end of the First Seminole War, he purchased a schooner and engaged in trade with Central and South America. He served as Fort Brooke's Indian agent and was elected as the first Hillsborough County Treasurer in 1845 and took office in January of 1846. In 1848, he opened the Kennedy & Darling General Store, once the largest such store in South Florida, with future council member John Darling. He died in 1858.

 
1846 - May 23:  Establish a ferry, build a road

At this meeting, Thomas Piper was granted "the privilege of establishing a ferry across the Hillsborough River at Tampa."  The grant was to last four years and he was to pay five dollars per year for the last three years.  The ferry fees were fixed at five cents per man and proportionately higher for vehicles. A road was authorized to be extended as well.

By James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1852 we opened a ferry at the foot of Jackson street, so as to cross the stage with the mail. It was also used by the public. Ponds that were located on the east end of Jackson street caused the city officials as well as the people, considerable annoyance, especially during the rainy season. One of these ponds at the corner of Jackson and Marion street would take in all four corners and prevent pedestrians from passing in that direction. I have skated rocks over ice on this pond when it was frozen over during the winter.

The authorities dug a ditch in the center of Jackson street to drain these ponds, and in some places it was 12 feet deep. Across Franklin and Tampa streets small bridges were placed so as to permit passage of teams and the public. This did not accomplish what was desired so the ponds were filled in later on.

 

CARTER SELLS HIS LAND, THE HAYDENS ARRIVE
In 1860, perhaps due to the imminent secession of Florida from the Union and Civil War looming, Jesse Carter put up for sale his 800 acres of land in Hillsborough Co. and 250 acres in Hernando Co. as well as his improved land 3˝ miles north of Tampa and the land on which he currently resided, on the west bank of the Hillsborough River, opposite the City of Tampa.

The Haydens came to Tampa in 1866 and soon thereafter Jesse J. Hayden bought some of Carter's land where the school was located and filed a homestead claim for the adjoining 60 acres. In those years, the area was known as Spanishtown Creek. This was before Obadiah Platt purchased land here and created Hyde Park.

Jesse's granddaughter Marion A. McKay was born in the school Oct. 8, 1875. In 1886 Henry B. Plant bought the property for his hotel. He saved the School and it was used as an apothecary shop by Dr. J. M. Grantham. In 1905 the Hotel was sold to the City of Tampa. The School was presented to the DeSoto Chapter DAR in 1931 by Mayor D. B. McKay and City Representatives. Jesse and Susan’s daughter Mattie married Donald S. MacKay, son of sea captain James McKay, Sr., and later uncle of Tampa mayor D.B. McKay. The Jacksons and the Haydens were among the prominent families of Old Tampa, and along with the Haskins, owned most of what would later become Hyde Park. The Haskins family, however, sold their land before Hyde Park was developed because of the inconvenience of crossing the river with children. H. B. Plant later bought fifteen acres on the west side of the Hillsborough River from the Hayden family and in July 1888, the Tampa Bay Hotel’s cornerstone was laid.



The 1882 land ownership map below, from the Library of Congress, has been enhanced with color to show (yellow) Jesse Hayden's property where he operated his ferry.  The map was drawn showing "Ferry" at that location.

Further north can be seen where Matthew Hooper operated his ferry from the west bank of the river.  Madam Fortune Taylor owned the land on the other side, and this later became the site of Fortune Street and the bridge, now named the Fortune Taylor bridge in her honor.
TAMPA CHARTERS HAYDEN'S FERRY

In March 1885, the Tampa town council chartered Hayden’s ferry crossing on the river at Jackson Street, stipulating that "the lessee of any such ferry shall keep a good ferry, flat, capable of ferrying over safely a six-mule team and a wagon loaded with not more than 5,000 pounds weight, stock animals, and goods across the Hillsborough, and two good skiff boats for crossing foot-passengers...He shall put across all persons and their property at any hour of day or night...After 9 o'clock P.M. he may charge double ferriage." Hayden had the right to operate a ferry, but Tampa reserved the right to build a bridge across the river, free or otherwise. The town was growing. Soon after the railroad arrived, public and private interest in a bridge increased.  The completion of the first Lafayette St. bridge in 1889 would soon put an end to Hayden's ferry service.

 

The photo below shows a ferry crossing the Hillsborough River.
The source doesn't give the specific location along the river and provides very wide date range of 1850 - 1930.
 From the ROBERT N. DENNIS COLLECTION OF STEREOSCOPIC VIEWS (filtered for Tampa) at The New York  Public Library Digital Collections.
 

The photo can be proven to be a view of Hayden's ferry crossing as seen from the Hyde Park side facing east looking at the Tampa riverbank.

The photo below is from the State Archives Florida Memory collection and shows the same buildings from a wider view and the same vantage point from across the river.  Notice the same 3-story wood-frame building at the right of the photo, once again viewed directly face-on.


This photo was most likely taken sometime from 1890 to 1891.  See the 1889 Sanborn map below for explanation.

The photo at right shows a boy sitting at a pier on the east bank of the Hillsborough River, facing town.  In the background can be seen Hayden's ferry nearing shore with a horse and carriage.  The grassy islands which became Davis Islands in 1925 are on the horizon.

Image from "Tampa Town, 1825 - 1886: A Cracker Village With A Latin Accent" by Tony Pizzo, 1968

 

 

Proof of which side of the river is being viewed in the above photos can be found on this 1889 Sanborn map below from the University of Florida digital maps collection.  Notice the 3-story wood-frame building (#10) is a warehouse/carriage house.  The large building at the far left of the State Archives photo above is the Tampa Commercial Co. warehouse seen on Pier No. 2 at the map below as #3 and #4.   Hayden's ferry dock can be seen below just above the red arrow

 

 

   
The 1887 map of this area clearly shows Hayden's ferry dock on the north side of the Jackson St. ditch, which emptied into the river between the dock and the 3-story warehouse.

 

 

 

On the 1889 map above, the dock is no longer shown, the ditch drainage has been routed underground at Ashley St. and another general storage warehouse (#9) has been built where the ferry dock was located. This map most closely portrays this area as compared to the photo below.

PLACE YOUR CURSOR ON THE PHOTO BELOW TO SEE A CLOSE UP OF THE FERRY DOCK AREA.


In the photo, the new warehouse at #9 has become a "LIVERY, SALE & FEED STABLE."  If it was a stable on the map it would have been marked with diagonals from the corners, an X.  This is a possible sign that the photo dates from 1890 - 1892.
At #1 can be seen the approach to the new wooden Lafayette St. bridge, which was opened in  March 1889.
 

These two images below show the same area of Tampa's riverfront taken on the Tampa side around the same time, circa 1886.  The high camera angle in the photo on the left indicates it may have been taken from the rooftop of the 3-story warehouse shown in the above images. 

Below, an idealized etching of the same view.  In both images can be seen the undeveloped area of Spanishtown Creek on the right that would become Hyde Park.  The Platt St. bridge would be built in 1926.  On the horizon can be seen the mouth of the Hillsborough River with the two grassy islands in the bay at far left.  In 1925, dredging of these channels would fill them in and become Davis Islands.
 

State Archives of Florida Memory collection 

State Archives of Florida Memory collection

 

PRESENT-DAY VIEW OF HAYDEN'S FERRY LOCATION

The ground-level view today is from 2 Kellar Street, the cul-de-sac between the NBC building and the Kennedy Blvd. Bridge.

 

 

 

 

SAM C. CRAFT'S SCHOOL FOR BOYS

In 1866 Samuel Craft returned to Tampa to open a school at the Baptist Church initially known as the "Select and Limited Male School." Craft had conducted a school earlier in Tampa, but was forced to relocate to Bartow in 1863 due to a controversy over misuse of county funds. At one point during the war, Craft was paid for his services in "bacon, potatoes, sugar, syrup, and other commodities".

After the war, Craft had a definite effect on the educational philosophy in regard to discipline within the Tampa schools. His influence was greatly magnified by the fact that, besides being the head teacher of the school, Craft was also the editor of the local newspaper, the Florida Peninsular. In addition to arithmetic and English Grammar, Craft focused on lessons geared to developing the "character" of the child. Initially, his school was well received and several dozen students were enrolled. However, Craft's rigid and harsh methods caused many students to drop out.

By 1867, the school was closed due to low enrollment.  But his editorials in the Peninsular had an impact for many years on the disciplinary practices that existed in the district, especially in rural schools. Craft's philosophy of strict order and discipline was the cornerstone of many small smaller schools for decades after Craft left Tampa.

Unfortunately, Craft's philosophy was sometimes carried to extremes by overzealous educators. A historian from Hernando County reported the following disciplinary practices used in rural schools in the late 1860's and 1870's: "The severity occasionally reached draconian levels. Flogging was an everyday occurrence as punishment for offenses of all kinds.  There was little regard for age or sex in such punishment." 

Craft did have some positive influence on the development of schools. He was one of the leaders of school reform and called for more uniformity in textbooks and procedures in local schools. In an editorial in his Florida Peninsular on February 2, 1867, Craft wrote,

"Teachers are not alone, however, interested in this enterprise. By adopting a uniform standard of school books throughout our country, a vast amount would be annually saved to parents.



The first term had already closed and the second term was due to start next Monday, May 30th, when Sam Craft placed an article in Tampa's Florida Peninsular newspaper.  Craft routinely placed ads in the Peninsular concerning his school's offerings, tuition and schedule. 

His school's terms were for 12 weeks and only for boys, but with one exception--"very little girls that are too small to go to school by themselves and have to go with an older brother."  Only elementary classes would be taught, such as spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar, geography, history, with emphasis on arithmetic & grammar.

 

 

 

Craft had over 25 years of experience, with testimonials of success.   He believed that "Order is Heaven's first law"

There would be no deduction of tuition for sick days except in cases of protracted illness. He ends with a specific warning: Entering this school puts Mr. Craft in supervision of the students' moral conduct.  Discipline would be administered to any who visit a drinking or gambling establishment.  

 

See the whole article.

 

 

July 21, 1866 - Sam Craft placed another lengthy ad on this date announcing the closure of his school due to lack of income caused by lack of enrollment, which he attributed to apathy--

"I have never found a place equal of apathy and apparent indifference on the subject...as I have found in Tampa.  Few seem to care whether their boys go to school or not, and the few who do seem entirely indifferent..."  See the article.

 

THE FIRST COUNTY BOARD OF INSTRUCTION

Dec. 3, 1866 - The first known report of school age children by race and gender, minutes of the County Commissioner's meeting.

Boys: White 251, colored 63
Girls:  White 235, colored 51

In 1867 the federal government's Freedmen's Bureau agreed to erect a school for African Americans, which was completed in 1871. Historian Canter Brown described a visit to Tampa from Rev. Duncan, State Superintendent of Colored Schools to plan for the construction of the first "colored" school in Tampa. Records indicate that this early school probably was Tampa School #2. This school was replaced by a new two story building known as the "Harlem Academy" in 1889.

 

 

In 1868 the Florida Assembly provided for a "unified system of public education" to include:
  1. All counties to provide a public education for all children in the county
  2. A state superintendent of education
  3. Each county to have a School Board and Superintendent
  4. The establishment of a state school fund

The following year, additional state legislation mandated "public instruction, open without charge, to all youth in the state between the ages of six and twenty-one" (1). There was no requirement for racial segregation in state legislation.
 

THE FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BOARD OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

In 1869 the first Board of Instruction was established in Hillsborough County. A. Watrous served as the Board's first superintendent and chairman. The county attempted to appoint members for the Board of Instruction to establish the first "real" public system in the area. However, efforts in Hillsborough, and other counties in Florida, met with great resistance from residents. It was reported that twice in 1869, the men appointed as members of Hillsborough County's School Board refused to accept their appointments, leaving 895 eligible children without public schools.

In 1870 a public school was operated with public funds in the City Hall of Tampa (in the county courthouse.) It is believed that this school was again referred to as Tampa School #l.  Also in 1870, the Florida Peninsular documented the existence of School #3. The article stated: "Pleasant Hill School will open in September for 10 months, two miles northeast of Tampa." (8) Joseph Robles was a trustee of this school, which later became "Nebraska Ave. School".

Between 1868 and 1871, the Hillsborough County Board of Education was in operation. Records and minutes from these early Board meetings, however, have never been located. It was reported that the records from this period were "removed" from the county by A. Watrous when he moved out of Hillsborough County.

 

Two public schools were reported in Tampa (#1 and #2). Their location was not provided. Six schools were reported in Hillsborough County.  Later Board minutes (September 26, 1876) identified Tampa School #2 as a "colored" school.  This would corroborate Canter Brown's report that the Freedmen's Bureau assisted in erecting a school in Tampa "for the colored people" sometime in 1870.

Despite the laws passed mandating that counties provide public education, state funding was grossly inadequate. During this period, few of the residents of Hillsborough County possessed enough assets to generate a sufficient, local tax base necessary to establish the system mandated by the legislature.

One source of funding, at that time, was the Peabody Educational Fund established privately by northern financier George Peabody, but this only provided a small proportion of the necessary funding. Consequently, by 1871, the Board of Education still had not purchased any building or property or property for school construction. Education continued to be provided in churches, public buildings, rented buildings, and private homes. In contrast to Hillsborough, Polk County was one of the richest counties in the state due to lucrative cattle trade. Despite their resources, Polk's educational system remained private for the most part.
 

 

 

THE PEABODY EDUCATION FOUNDATION - From Wikipedia
Founded of necessity due to damage caused largely by the American Civil War, the Peabody Education Fund was established by George Peabody in 1867 for the purpose of promoting "intellectual, moral, and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States." The gift of foundation consisted of securities to the value of $2,100,000, of which $1,100,000 were in Mississippi State bonds, afterward repudiated.

In 1869 an additional $1,000,000 was given by Mr. Peabody, with $384,000 of Florida funds, also repudiated later. The main purpose of the fund was to aid elementary education by strengthening existing schools. Because it was restricted from founding new schools, it did not benefit freedmen in the South, as there were no established schools for blacks. "The fund introduced a new type of benefaction in that it was left without restriction in the hands of the trustees to administer.

Power to close the trust after thirty years was provided on condition that two-thirds of the fund be distributed to educational institutions in the Southern states.1 "The rules of the Peabody Education Fund were strict, allowing for the distribution of about $80,000 per year over a period of thirty years. By the time of the termination of the fund in 1898, about $2,500,000 had been distributed. In 1875, the trustees of the Peabody Education Fund founded the Peabody Normal School of the South which promptly became the Peabody Normal College (1875-1911). It was maintained in connection with the University of Nashville and supported by annual donations from the Peabody Education Fund. In 1910 the Peabody College for Teachers was organized. Placed adjacent to Vanderbilt University, the college opened its doors on June 14, 1914 for summer school. In September 1915, four new buildings had been completed at a cost of $750,000. About 1915, the Peabody Education Fund ceased to exist.

See also The Creation of the Peabody Education Fund

1L. P. Ayres, Seven Great Foundations (New York, 1911)
 

 

 

 

Oct. 19, 1870 - THE SOUTH FLORIDA MALE & FEMALE INSTITUTE

The board of trustees of W. P. (William Penn) Haisley's private school consisted of well-known and successful businessmen of the community. The ad even advised that good boarding could be obtained in the homes of private families at moderate rates. (Back then, "South Florida" referred to the entire peninsula portion of the state, excluding only the panhandle portion.)

 

 

  • Dr. Franklin Branch (1802-1882) was early druggist, SE corner of Florida and Washington, and owner of the Branch Opera House on Franklin St.; son Darwin Austen Branch was mayor from 1857 to 1858.

  • William Benton Henderson (1839-1909), one of five children of Irishman Andrew Hamilton Henderson who came to Hillsborough County in 1846.  W.B was founder of an early store with Captain John Miller, editor of the Florida Peninsular and developer of Tampa Heights, Tampa's first suburb.

  • Edward Austin Clarke came to Tampa in 1853, was married to a daughter of Dr. Franklin Branch, then married to a daughter of Judge Perry G. Wall. Clarke was first mayor of Tampa after the Civil War, big investor in real estate and was the Clarke in "Clarke & Knight" hardware store until Perry Wall II turned 21 and took his place as "Knight & Wall".

WILLIAM BENTON HENDERSON,  EIGHT-TIME TAMPA CITY COUNCILMAN
Information combined from: 
The City Council of Tampa and Celebration of Old City Hall's Centennial, a project of the City of Tampa, 7th Edition - December 2018 and,
 TAMPA HEIGHTS: TAMPA’S FIRST RESIDENTIAL SUBURB, By Marston C. Leonard
THE SUNLAND TRIBUNE Volume IV No.1 Nov. 1978, Journal of the TAMPA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
  • August 1876 – August 14, 1877
  • August 14, 1878 – August 13, 1879
  • August 13, 1879 – August 14, 1880 ( President)
  • August 12, 1881 – August 14, 1882
  • August 14, 1882 – August 14, 1884
  • August 13, 1885 – July 15, 1887
  • July 15, 1887 – March 8, 1888
  • March 4, 1891 – March 4, 1892

The following bio on W. B. Henderson was sourced and combined from:
 


William Benton Henderson, 1891
 Photo from Florida Memory, State Library & Archives of Florida
Born on September 17, 1839 in Jackson County, Georgia, William B. Henderson came to Tampa at the age of seven with his parents in Oct. 1846. Alexander Hamilton Henderson and Flora Olivia McDonald arrived with their four young boys: William Benton, John Alexander, James Fletcher, and Andrew Augustus; William was the oldest.  At the time, Tampa consisted of the Fort Brooke military post and a small trading station.  In Tampa, Alexander H. and wife Olivia had one more son, Wesley P. Henderson, in 1848.

W.B. didn't have the advantage of an early school training. Being the eldest child of a large fan1ily, he assumed the responsibilities of self-support and of making his own way at the early age of twelve years, when in 1852, his father died and so he took a job in Kennedy & Darling's general store to help support his mother and his four younger brothers.

On Feb. 9. 1860, when he turned 21, he married Caroline Elizabeth Spencer, sister of Sheriff Thomas K. Spencer.  They were children of Palma Ceia homesteader William Samuel Spencer.  W.B and Caroline then bought a small farm on the Alafia River and there W.B. opened a small general store.  He continued merchandising and farming until the outbreak of the. Civil War a year later.

1860 Census, Tampa
W.B. and his young wife, Elizabeth Spencer, with his two youngest brothers Augustus and Wesley.

During the Civil War, W.B. served first in Capt. (judge) James Gettis’ Company D of the 7th Florida Regiment.  He went with this company to Kentucky and saw service there for about a year, when he was discharged because he had become ill with tuberculosis. He returned to Tampa and when recovered, he immediately reapplied to the Sec. of War for reappointment, but the response was slow in coming so he enlisted in Capt. John T. Lesley's company in Tampa.  When Capt. Lesley was severely wounded, Henderson took command until the CSA surrendered.  W.B. named one of his sons "Gettis Augustus" in honor of Capt. James Gettis.

W.B. quickly developed unusual talents in business affairs and financial management. After the war, he engaged in the cattle trade and stock raising business for the next 10 years, by which he accumulated a handsome fortune.

1870 Census, Tampa
Henderson, William, Stock raiser, wife Caroline E, son Gettis A., dau Blanche, dau Cora, cook Harrison, Ema and probably her three daughters Sarah (servant), Malica, and Julia.

It was a conspicuous peculiarity of W.B's businesses that although he was the real head and the responsible financial backer of most of them, his name never appeared in the chief place as the senior partner or head of the business.  He then bought an interest in Captain John Miller's steamboat and mercantile business, forming the partnership of Miller & Henderson, which became Tampa’s largest store. With Miller he also founded the Tampa Steamship Company. Together, the steamship and mercantile business dominated Tampa’s commercial contact with the outside world, conducting the largest wholesale and retail grocery business in the southern half of the state.  They also owned a number of steamships and sailing vessels that plied the Gulf waters, and in those days furnished almost the only means enjoyed by the people of Tampa and this section of the state of communication with the outside world.   W.B. was a diversified and dynamic promoter: he introduced Durham bulls into the Florida cattle industry; he built Tampa’s first telegraph line; he started the banana trade with Central America..  

This ad below was one column, top to bottom of the page.  The unused vertical space has been removed and the ad split into 3 columns.

This partnership had continued about ten years, when the Tampa Commercial Company was organized with Mr. Henderson as President and A. C. Wuerpel as general manager. The Taliaferros, Stocktons and D. G. Ambler, of Jacksonville, were also stockholders in this company.

August C. Wuerpel
Circa 1883

August Wuerpel came to Tampa from New Orleans with his wife and four children in the early 1880s.  He and Henderson were prime movers in the effort to start Tampa's first organized fire department which consisted of volunteers.  On June 2, 1884, sixteen local citizens formed Hook & Ladder Company No.1, a volunteer department with W. B. Henderson as foreman, Fred Herman, assistant foreman, and C. P. Wandell, treasurer. Other members were P. F. Smith, Dr. Duff Post, Ed Morris, J. C. Cole, E. L. Lesley, Phil Collins, S. P. Hayden, Frank Ghira, H. L. Knight, A. J. Knight, C. L . Ayres, S. B. Crosby and A. P . Brockway.  In 1885, August C. Wuerpel was appointed to be the department Chief.

Five or six years later, on the dissolution of the Tampa Commercial Co., W.B.  retired from active business and channeled his energies into financial investments and public service.  But he still retained interests in various enterprises and became identified with others: the Tampa Harness and Wagon Co., a partnership with Henry Clay Giddens of the  Henry Giddens Clothing Company, selling men’s apparel.  With real estate investor William H. Beckwith, they founded Beckwith & Henderson, a real estate firm which later became Beckwith, Henderson and Warren. This active involvement brought him even greater influence,


W.B. served as president of the Bank of West Tampa, president of the West Tampa Land and Improvement Company, president of the Tampa Building and Loan Association, president of the Tampa Publishing Company (consolidating two local papers into the Tampa Times), president of Tampa’s first Railway Company, for ten years W.B. the president of the State Board of Health,.

Henderson's home on 7th Ave, in 1902          

When he built a large house, complete with observation turret, on the bluff at Tampa Heights, he was soon surrounded by so many business and family associates that the two block section of Seventh Avenue East resembled a Henderson corporate center which would heavily influence Tampa’s economic growth for many years.

Unlike many of Tampa’s identifiable sections, Tampa Heights was an area of many small subdivisions, established by original homesteaders or developers. Most of the early homes were constructed by individual contractors and while the area had its share of land speculators, the Heights was designed for Tampans with little newspaper promotion and attractions for Northern winter visitors. Perhaps the four block Tampa Heights subdivision, created in September of 1889, by William Benton Henderson, best reflected the growing prestige of Tampa Heights in the last decade of the nineteenth century. 

W. B. was as prominent in the social and political life of Tampa as in its financial affairs.  Though he might have easily attained prominent positions in the politics of the state, it was well known that he never sought political office nor accepted a salaried position at the hands of the public.  He always declined and devoted his activities in that line to local and county matters, and his efforts were always directed toward securing good government and an honest and fair administration of the Jaws.  The only state office that he ever held was that of member of the State Board of Health, as its first president.

For for several years W. B. was the Chairman of the County School Board, and numerous terms as  City Councilman. He was several times a member and chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough Co., in which position his financial ability was largely instrumental in promoting the prosperity and upbuilding the material fortunes of this section.  He served a total of eight terms on Tampa’s City Council

He was prominent in the church's affairs, being for many years a steward and liberal contributor to the finances of the First Methodist Church, of which he was a member and trustee. He was chairman of the building committee that supervised the construction of the present [1915] house of worship of that church.  He was a trustee of the church from the time of the commencement of his membership.  He loved his church and was interested in all the would make it succeed.  He not only gave of his wealth in capital, he gave it his thought, time and attention.

W.B took a prominent part in fraternal and other organizations.  He was a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, a Mason, and a Confederate Veteran.  He also belonged to the Tampa Yacht and Country Club.

W.B. was largely interested in the orange business for many years.  At one time he owned nine groves, totaling 85 acres in fruit-bearing trees.  He owned property all over South Florida.  In De Soto, Manatee and Hillsborough Counties, he owned 8,000 head of cattle; he was undoubtedly the principal shipper of cattle to Cuba from Florida for many years.

W.B. was also one of the founders of Tampa’s Board of Trade in 1885, being a part of it for over 25 years, and through all those years, he was one of the most active and steadfast workers in promoting its interests.

DEATH OF W. B. HENDERSON
W.B.  died on May 7, 1909 in Dwight, Illinois.  He had gone there to recover at  "a well known sanitarium" from what was described as "a nervous breakdown."

The relationship between him and the schools of the County and of Tampa were always very intimate to him, and as an appreciation of what he had done to promote education in the county, all the public schools were closed the day of his funeral, which was held on May 10, 1909 in Tampa.  It was one of the largest ever held in Tampa.  The Rev. W. J. Carpenter, Pastor of the First Methodist Church, conducted the service at the church building.

An extract taken from his eulogy of W.B.:

     "History is made up of the acts and deeds of men and women.  The growth of the city, state or nation is the crystallized history of those who have been the leaders of its progress and the champions of its development.  Biography, expressed in the intellectual, commercial, social, and religious growth of a people makes the history of that period of that people.  Those who in their public acts in their progressive ideas reflect the growth and sentiments of their people are the real makers of history.
     To attempt to eliminate the individual from the movements of civilization is to fail to truthfully record the real facts of history.  How true these observations are is most forcibly illustrated in the life and achievements of our friend and fellow citizen, W. B. Henderson.  No man can write the history of Tampa or of South Florida and leave his name out; and it is equally true that the biography of W. B. Henderson cannot be truthfully written without writing a large part of the history of the growth and development of Tampa and of South Florida."
 

From his obit:  "While never aspiring to the position of boss, it was recognized in the county for many years that two men could swing its sentiment for a candidate and that their approval was almost equal to election.  One was Col. Henderson, and Capt. John T. Lesley was the other."

Read his whole obit, it is long.  (When it opens, click it again to see it full size.)    

 

(Read about his descendants on the next page of this feature.)
 

 

W. F. WHITE SUCCEEDS A. WATROUS AS SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN 1871

 

William F. White was appointed to the position by Florida's Governor Reed.  It appears that White was a young man, as the Peninsular questioned his youth by stating, "but it does seem strange that no old citizen of Hillsborough County is good enough in the eyes of his Excellency even for Superintendent of Public Schools.  Capt. W(hite) is...the third new importation appointed as Superintendent of Public Schools..."

The Tampa School was a reference to Haisley's male & female school; the terms were used interchangeably in the newspaper. By Feb. 1871, this school had 55 pupils.

 

 

 

 

The two articles at left were probably a reference to the same school, the South Florida Male & Female Institute.  Their ad below was the same one they ran in the previous year, and it ran all year long in 1871, each week, even past the Oct. 17 opening date. No articles could be found about the progress of the school after opening. The tuition per quarter was subject to a deduction proportional to the funding it received from the county and state school boards.

 


This school had the most complete curriculum, especially for the intermediate and higher level courses, but it was far from being a public school, as the state and county funding would have been minimal at best.  This school was the most consistent over a period of several years in the 1870s, advertising in just about every weekly  issue of the Florida Peninsular.

THE SCHOOL BOARD FORMS A COMMITTEE TO ESTABLISH QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS

white superintendent education branch givens spencer school schools instruction commissioners board meeting

The first available minutes to exist from school board meetings was one from Aug. 28, 1871.  Continuous records exist of the Board of Education's meetings, took place in the county courthouse on Dec. 10, 1871, at which time the Board recognized that a teacher must have some sort of qualifications other than a willingness to teach.  The Board,  consisting of Chairman John T. Givens, T. K. Spencer , Dr. F. Branch, and W. F. White, Superintendent and Secretary, appointed a committee to examine and to "certificate" teachers. 

SUPT. WHITE REPORTS ON THE DEC. 10TH MEETING
Male & Female Academy becomes Tampa School No. 1 with change in one trustee

This article in the Dec. 23, 1871 Fla. Peninsular published the results of that Dec. 10th meeting as provided by W. F. White, the county schools superintendent. Nine schools and their trustees were approved, including Tampa School No. 1 with Trustees E. A. Clarke, W. B. Henderson, and D. I. Craft.  These were the same trustees as the Tampa Male & Female Institute except for D. Isaac Craft in place of Dr. Franklin Branch.

The Board decided to meet on the first of each month so that teachers could be examined and trustees appointed.  Those who wanted a school in their neighborhood were to submit the names of the trustees and teachers to the Board for approval and examination.  Supt. White assured the public that the school funds had NOT been expended in the Tampa Schools and would be distributed among all nine schools.  He was expecting the funding for the next school term would be enough forat least three months of free school in every neighborhood of the county, as soon after Jan 1 as possible.

 

Franklin Branch had probably resigned as Trustee and was replaced by D. Isaac Craft as it became Tampa School No.1, maybe due to Branch being appointed to the School Board.   In the next years of the 1870s into 1880, it is this school that would grow in attendance and County funding, and finally, move into a building specifically built and paid for by the county and becoming Tampa's first graded public school.

 

 

On the same page as the above notice, the Tampa Male & Female Institute announced that it was being funded enough to offer one term for no charge, starting on Jan 2, 1872.  This was a reference to funding by the County and possibly by the Peabody Fund.

 

 

 

 

 

THE GAP IN TAMPA NEWS HISTORY

There are no Tampa newspapers online for 1872 through 1876.  The issues of the  Fla. Peninsular leading up the gap starting 1872 are in extremely damaged condition. With the resumption of newspapers in Jan. 1877 as Sunland Tribunes, those too are extremely damaged for the first few months.

These were the beginning years of a well-organized school system, including the construction of the first public school building.  But all the news of it has be lost with the destruction of the newspapers, leaving only the county school board minutes.

 
 

 

TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS AND FUNDING

During the 1870s, there were very few qualified teachers throughout Florida. However, there is evidence that there was some form of teacher certification at that time. During a Board meeting in 1873, a Hillsborough County teacher's certificate was revoked for cause. The actual number of "certified" teachers in the district at the time is unknown.

On Jan. 6, 1872, the Board of Education passed its first school tax of 5 mils.  At this time, school taxes were used only for the operation of schools. The primary cost of operation was the meager salaries earned by teachers and administrators. Communities typically paid most of the cost of constructing their schools and parents supplied most of the school materials for their children.

The practice of charging tuition was still permitted in most public schools and many did this to supplement the limited funds they received from the Board of Education. Taxing for the purpose of school construction was still prohibited by law.

In 1872, schools were funded based on their enrollment.  Although the minutes do not provide names, their attendance and appropriations were reported as follows: 

Tampa School #1 housed 147 students and received $331.74.
Tampa School #2 housed 39 students and received $91.11. 
School #4 (possibly Grange Hall) housed 12 students and received $28.00.
School #7 (Joseph Casey's School) housed 31 students and received $72.44.

The per pupil allocation in this early record is interesting. Tampa School #I was allocated $2.26 per pupil, while Tampa School #2 was allocated $2.37 per pupil. The rural schools also received a higher per pupil allocations.

So where were the students of the Tampa Male & Female Institute, and now the nearly 150 students of Tampa School No. 1 being taught without a public school building?  Probably Dr. F. Branch's opera house on the 400 block of Franklin St.  After all, Dr. Branch was a trustee of the Institute.  Interesting to note that the first commencement ceremony for Hillsborough County High School in 1886 was held at the Branch opera house.--TampaPix

 

The opera house occupied the upper floors of the taller building.

 

 

 

MISS VERDIER'S SCHOOL
 
On Jan. 1, 1877, the Sunland Tribune published this letter (at right) to its Editor from a visitor to Tampa on the past Christmas.  The visitor, who only identifies themselves as "VIATOR" relates various experiences of their visit during the holidays, "Like a busy bee I flew around and gathered the sweets from every flower."

A large portion of the letter is devoted to their visit at Miss Verdier's school, apparently a girls school, where the "young ladies displayed not only much talent, but other accomplishments in which school girls are generally deficient...ease, grace, appropriate gesticulation and proper modulation of voice."  The event was apparently a play or skit.  "A happy and original idea it was on the part of Miss Verdier to have the Southern States represented.  Each State was personified by a fair maiden exhibiting in her dress, or on her person, some of the products of the State represented..."

So who was Miss Verdier?

See this separate page: The Search for Miss Verdier

DR. JOHN P. WALL SUCCEEDS W. F. WHITE AS SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN 1876

 


JOHN GIVENS BUILDS THE FIRST COUNTY-FINANCED SCHOOL HOUSE IN TAMPA

Between 1873 and 1875, the Board struggled with finding funds for the construction of new school buildings. There is no record of how the funds were raised or of the actual cost of the first school building in Tampa erected by the Board.  However, it would be known as Tampa School (i.e., School #I) and would completed in 1876.  (But was it really? Probably NOT.)

By E. L. Robinson:
In 1872 a tax of five mills for school purposes was asked by the Board of Education. In March of that year a committee was appointed to solicit stock for building a school house and to determine whether it was advisable to build. At a later meeting it was voted to see if help could he obtained from the Peabody fund.  Evidently there had been some difficulty in securing the funds for the school building.  There is no further record as to the method of raising money for the building or how much it cost. But in 1876 the first public school building in Tampa was erected by Mr. John T. Givens and his son, Darwin Branch Givens. This building facing on Franklin Street occupied one-half of the block between Madison and Twiggs Streets about where the Shaw-Clayton book store now is in the "Sparkman block."  

(The History of Hillsborough County Schools adds that it was built on land sold to the County for $400 by John Givens.)

This development was met with great dissent from county residents who felt that the Board had exceeded its authority in constructing the school. The controversy was finally settled through a statement from the Attorney General of Florida, who reasserted the authority of the School Board.

In 1888 the property here was divided into lots and sold. The last three lots were bought by Sparkman & Sparkman for $3,000.

John T. Givens and his family came to Tampa on Dec. 25, 1848, to help rebuild two months after the disastrous hurricane of 1848.  He is credited by some sources as having built Tampa's oldest and still existing house, the old Dr. Stringer/Imboden Stalnaker house.

It is the opinion of TampaPix that the plans to build the public school facility may have been begun in 1876, but it was not fully completed and ready for use until Jan. 1878.  This is based on a Jan. 12, 1878 article by the School Board in the Sunland Tribune.  See below.

THE FIRST PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL (According to "The History of Hillsborough Co. Schools)

The first high school was opened in Tampa as Tampa High School. The advertisement in the Sunland Tribune, dated 1-6-1877, documented the existence of the first public high school program in the area**. "Tampa High School" operated with only three instructors, including the principal.

The School Board minutes concur with this newspaper ad.  Board minutes in 1876 appointed Professor Fellows as a teacher of School # 1 and principal of all other schools in Tampa. Later in 1877, Board minutes documented the appointment of Dr. Fellows as the first principal of Tampa School #1, also known as Tampa High School.  Perhaps the introduction of the name "Tampa High School" was an effort to differentiate the first high school program** from grammar school section of School #I.  The high school and elementary school shared the same facility during these early years.

 

** The ad specifies a thorough program in the primary branches, but only three classes apart from the primary branches: Greek, Latin and Stenography.  This hardly constitutes a High School curriculum, regardless of what it or the county calls it.  It also was meeting in a privately owned facility due to not yet having moved into the Givens-built public school building, as you will see later in a Jan. 12, 1878 article by the School Board in the Sunland Tribune. 

In 1877, W. P. Haisley, who had been the principal at the Tampa Institute, was elected to the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

This Apr. 28, 1877 editorial below by the Sunland Tribune expresses the dissatisfaction with the current school funding system.  Apparently the whole county was treated as one big school district resulting in the majority of taxes raised in the denser population areas being appropriated to the schools in the less populated areas.  It points to the successful application of individual school districts in the North as an example.  It advocates dividing the county into school districts and letting each district be independent in regard to levying taxes and appropriating them in support of its schools.

It also speaks to the lack of a free public High School program.

"Unless it can be rendered more successful than it has proven to be so far, it will continue to prove a positive disadvantage by its debauching effect on a large proportion of parents who depend solely on the school authorities to educate their children... Again, under existing laws, there is but one class of schools, so that all farther advances beyond a mere primary English education must be acquired at private expense."

This is evidence that a High School program in a free public school was still lacking.


 


WILLIAM PENN HAISLEY

W. P. wasn't listed on Tampa's 1870 Census, he may have arrived just before he became the Principal at the Tampa Institute for Males & Females (a private school) in Oct. 1870.

In 1877 W. P. Haisley became the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a position he held until 1881. 

On May 1, 1878 he married Julia (Simmons) Priest in Philadelphia.  She was a widow of Mr. Priest.

 

 

 

 

1880 Census, Marion County (location of Ocala), Fla.
William P. Haisley, Supt. of Public Instruction
By the time of this census, W. P. Haisley had moved to Marion Co, Fla. and was the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.  According to his age (40) he was born c.1839-40.  In his home was his wife, Julia S., her widowed mother, Mary Simmons, his widowed sister, Jeany H. Beville, her two children, a waiter, his wife and his widowed mother.  Julia's mother may have provided the info for this census because his age is about 9 years too young and his birth place of Illinois is also incorrect, he was born in Indiana.


1885 Census, Marion Co., Fla.
W. P. Haisley
William was now 53 which puts his birth at 1831-32.  At this time, he was a "Gr. Owner" (Grove owner, probably oranges.)  Julia S. was 46, her mother M. (Mary) M. Simmons was 75.

 

1900 Census, Marion Co, Fla.
W. P. Haisley

This census is their most consistent with their cemetery info. William was a landlord, age 68, b. Dec. 1831 in Indiana and had been married 22 years.  Julia as 62, b. Dec. 1837 in Penn.  She had one child who was no longer living.  Her mother, Mary M. Simmons was b. Jun. 1809 in Delaware, age 90, widowed.

 

 

 

 

OBIT OF W. P. HAISLEY

 

W.P.'s mother-in-law Mary Simmons may have moved back to her hometown in Delaware after the 1900 Census because his obituary on July 10, 1906 in the Wilmington (Delaware) Evening Journal says he (and probably Julia) had come up there (Lewes) "some months ago" to attend the funeral of Julia's mother and ever since then he had been ailing to the point of being bedridden.  The article itself was from the June 10 Lewes news.

 

The article shows they thought he was a judge in Florida (he never was), and that Florida was his home state (it wasn't) because he "was interested in several large orange groves in his native state."


Cemetery info and images from Find-A-Grave provided by Sheila (Horn) Strickler

 

 

FLORIDA PEABODY FUNDING CUT

 

In the fall of 1877, a Peabody Fund agent contacted State Schools Superintendent W. P. Haisley to notify him of a pending cut in funding.
 

.

 

Haisley had actually asked for more funding for the upcoming year, but in view of Mr. Sears's letter, Haisley responded asking that Florida not be cut off entirely, and be funded with enough so that schools here which have not yet been benefited by the fund could still be funded.  He asked for about one-half of the amount of funding from last year--$3,000.

 

 

CONTINUING SUPPORT ENCOURAGED FOR THE NEWLY-BUILT SCHOOL AND BOARD AUTHORITY TO HAVE FINANCED IT
Tuition payment requested from those who could afford it, additional funds coming from the Peabody Fund.
Tampa School to be moved into the new building today.

A Jan. 12, 1878 article (below) in the Sunland Tribune from the School Board encouraged Hillsborough County citizens to maintain the progress of the school system as it has been flourishing.  It asked that they support the new school for at least one quarter and they won't be disappointed.  The trustees of the school (W.B. Henderson, E.A. Clarke, and J.T. Lesley) would accept payment of tuition from those who felt they could afford it, so they could make up the salaries of the teachers for one quarter. 

They needed to keep up the high level of enrollment, but those who could not pay should not keep their children from attending, that "no false pride...will induce them to keep their children from the school, for by doing so they will be inflicting a serious injury on the community by depriving it of the benefit of the Peabody Fund."  This subject ends with a plea to the trustees and teachers to "spare no pains and efforts to have things go on harmoniously" and if they could get through the year, there should be no more problems.

It goes on and speaks to the controversy created by some believing that the school board had no authority to fund the building of a new structure from county school funds.  It seems that opposition from outlying areas, "in the country," questioning the authority of the county-financed structure was due to its location, in the heart of Tampa.  The outer areas wanted a building in their own areas, and with the location selected, their tax dollars were spent where they felt they weren't being benefited.  To this issue, the Attorney General of Florida was consulted and ruled that the Board had the authority, not only to finance the building of a school structure, but "to do...almost anything else which in its judgment would promote the educational interests of the country." [sic] (probably "county.")

It ends with the Board stating that they are authorized to say (to put it bluntly,) when you are able to keep a large school going for a whole scholastic year, the Board will build a school for it.  "This school (Tampa No. 1) is open to pupils from every section of the county as much so as it is to those of the town."
 

It certainly sounds like they're getting ready to start something new, "...support it for at least one quarter..."  The third column begins with "the school will be moved today into the new school house, recently erected by the Board of Public Instruction of this county." 

If the building was completed in 1876, why now in 1878 would the school board call it "the new school house, recently erected?" And the fact that the school was moving in there at all means it was NOT in there previously. So did the building sit vacant, unused for a year and a half to two years?  Not likely.  This is evidence that the building wasn't completed in 1876 and had just recently been completed.

Regarding the great controversy over whether or not the County could legally use the tax-generated funds to build a school house, it is highly unlikely they would have proceeded with its construction before the opinion of the Attorney General was rendered.

 

 

The article makes no mention of the High School, public or private, so in this regard it is the opinion here that this was a move of the elementary or primary level classes into the newly built public school building. 

In 1878, Tampa School, sometimes referred to as the "Tampa Institute," was fully operational with three teachers. These teachers and their salaries were as follows: Mr. S. Sparkman ($166.66 per year) Miss M. Prevatt ($80 per year) Mr. W. Hensley ($135.30 per year)
 
 

A RARE DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY-FINANCED TAMPA SCHOOL No. 1 BUILDING

The building was located on the block north of the courthouse square.  It was a 2-story building that could easily accommodate 150 students.  It was being used as a graded public school for a scholastic year of nine months (not yet), and it was being funded from three sources: the County school fund, the Peabody fund, and private contributions, nearly in equal amounts.

If the building was being used for the high school,  the editor of the Tribune most likely would have taken the opportunity to boast about this great achievement.  To this point, no sources indicate that the high school operated in this building teaching a full high school program.

 

THE FIRST COUNTY-FINANCED & BUILT SCHOOLHOUSE

The Tampa School No. 1  building was located at what was in 1911 the 500 block of Franklin Street,1 between Madison and Twiggs Streets.  This is the block just north of the county courthouse as Doris' history states.

1889 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from University of Florida Digital Collections

In E. L. Robinson's "History of Hillsborough County" published in 1928, he states that the schoolhouse was located "where the Shaw-Clayton bookstore is now."  Tampa's 1927 city directory shows this bookstore was located at 509 Franklin St.

 

1Although the 1889 map at left shows the block north of the courthouse, between Madison and Twiggs, was the 600 block, the 1892 map below shows the addresses along Franklin St. were renumbered by 1892, and shows both the old 623 and the new address 509 Franklin St.  When Doris wrote her history in 1911, that location was 509.

 

The school's location was at the middle of the block of Franklin St., on the east side of the street around where this map shows "B & S" (which could stand for Books & Stationery.)

Since yellow structures were wood frame buildings and the pink ones were brick, the old wooden school building (everything was built from wood in the 1870s) was apparently torn down and replaced by the brick structures seen here in 1889.
 

Present day aerial view of this block.

Recently, this address is occupied by the CI Group.

In 1929, E. L. Robinson provided the early history of Hillsborough County's education system in a Tribune article.  Having just published his book on the history of the county, the info would have been fresh on his mind.  This is an edited version with quite a bit of the mid-section removed.  See the WHOLE article here.

 

 

TAMPA INSTITUTE IS FLOURISHING, BUT LACKS PROFESSIONAL CAREER TEACHERS

Mar. 30, 1878 - John P. Wall, editor of the Tribune, physician & surgeon, Mayor of Tampa and Superintendent of County Schools, praised the success of the school, but indicated that the present teachers and principal were not people who were pursuing education as their career:

"Considering that it is the first successful attempt made in Tampa to maintain a graded school, the result so far is very gratifying, indeed, and speaks well for the public spirit of our citizens...By commencement of the next scholastic year, the Trustees of the school will be able to provide the Institute with experienced teachers who have followed teaching as a profession and consequently feel more identified with the success of the school than those who take such positions for temporary employment without expecting to follow it as a life business...success must depend on application and devotion to the calling..."

 

 

Oct. 5, 1878 - REPORT OF THE Sep. 30/Oct. 1 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
Teachers were examined and other business attended to, including establishment of new schools.  It was found impossible to lengthen the term of the schools beyond three months without running the school fund into debt due to "our population increasing disproportionately to our wealth."  The county taxable property was $600,000 and even with a maximum tax rate allowed by law, 5 mils, it would only yield around $3,000, yet there were between 1,100 to 1,200 children of school age.  (Under $2 per child.)  Citing 1870 Census figures, Florida was contributing more to free schools in 3 months than New York for the whole year, in proportion to their wealth.

 

In 1878, the "Tampa Institute" or School #1 was the first "graded" public school in the entire area of southwestern Florida.  Soon after, other schools followed with the "grading system," but most were private schools.
 

Schools' terms in the county were limited to three or four months, except for Tampa School which provided classes for 5 or 6 months. (Teachers were paid according to their "class" (i.e., certification & experience). - Class Two teachers received $30 per month. - Class Three teachers received $25 per month. - Superintendent's salary was set at $100 per year.

Although the above articles speak of a "graded school" it doesn't specifically mention a High School.  If the Tampa Institute had a complete high school curriculum,  its population would likely have been given in two groups, primary and high school.  A graded school is one where students have been segregated into various levels of learning capability and achievement, which generally advances with age:  1st Grade, 2nd Grade, etc.  This is in contrast to the old "Little Red one-room Schoolhouse" where students of all levels were taught in one big class simultaneously.  The High School was still being operated independently of the County School system, and therefore would not have occupied the the county-owned facility yet, as evidenced below in the Dec. 6, 1879 Tampa Journal.


TAMPA INSTITUTE FLOURISHING
No article could be found in the Sep. or Oct. 1878 Tribunes regarding the start of the school term, however this Nov. 16 article indicates it had started with Mrs. Duffie as the Principal and Miss P. F. DeLaunay as her assistant, in charge of younger pupils. 

The article states the school was free to all whites in any portion of the county or living in town.

There was an offering made of "the classics and higher branches" being taught by Mrs. Duffie, but no specific mention was made as to what the classes were.

The Trustees now were Wm. B. Henderson and F. A. Clarke.

It would appear that there still was no fully organized or complete high school curriculum, probably due to the teachers still not being professional, accredited career instructors. This is evidenced by the fact that every school term that commences has a different teacher and Principal from the previous term.   The higher classes probably still consisted of Latin, French and Stenography.

WHO WERE MRS. DUFFIE and P. F. DELAUNAY?
A search of Hillsborough County censuses for 1870, 1880 & 1885 finds no Duffies in 1870, two Duffie families in 1880 living in a rural area:
James M Duffie and wife Mary.  James is a blacksmith, Mary is keeping house. 
George Duffie and wife Julia M, George is a farmer, Julia is keeping house. 

Both Duffie families are on the 1885 census with neither of the wives having an occupation. It appears that Principal Mrs. Duffie was another non-career instructor who had talent to teach or lead a school.
 

P. F. DeLaunay was Pauline DeLaunay, a daughter of Tampa's 2nd Mayor and former Postmaster of Tampa, Alphonso DeLaunay, and his wife Victoria (Montes de Oca) DeLaunay. (She was his 2nd wife.)  They are on the 1860 Census of Tampa with "Polene" age 5.  His son, John A. DeLaunay, became the editor of the Tampa Morning Tribune in the late 1890s.

Widowed Victoria and her children are on the 1880 Census of Tampa with Pauline's occupation showing Teacher.

PUBLIC APATHY

Even with the first successful construction of school buildings owned by the Board, great resistance continued from the public. Enrollment and attendance were disappointing, especially at the secondary level. A reporter for the Sunland Tribune appeared to be chastising the public when he wrote, "We regret the fact, but it seems nevertheless so, that a large majority of our citizens do not appreciate the advantage of education. They seem to be careless as to whether their children attend school or not and appear to leave it entirely to the option of the child. " In a later article, he continued in his attempt to convince the public by stating, "All money expended in educating our children is the most profitable investment that parents can make for their children's future."

The above portion in bold comes from the Feb. 15, 1879 article below, which is actually in praise of the public for for taking more interest in supporting the schools, citing "a little upwards of 100 pupils on the register of the high school." This doesn't seem to be an attempt to convince as much as it does praise. The earlier article alluded to above has not been located, but the source of the above cites the entire paragraph as being from the Feb. 15, 1879 Tribune article. --TampaPix

 

This article specifically speaks of the success of the Tampa high school, now in its 5th month, which would indicate it started in Oct. 1878.  A page by page inspection of all the Sunland Tribunes finds no mention of school starting in Sep. or Oct.

   This article refers to the Tampa High School as being independent of the "present school system" and expresses optimism in that regard.  Citizens of Tampa were growing dissatisfied with the present system of funding the schools as one school district.

 


 

 

WHO WAS REV. W. F. NIGLES?
See his censuses below.


1870 Census, Hillsborough Co, Pct. 4
Although this census shows his middle initial as "S," he was William F. Nigels as seen on his 1900 Census.
William was a farmer, age 37, born in Prussia.  His wife was Harriet, age 23.

1880 Census, Hillsborough Co., Pct. 4
William F. Nigles

Again, we see Mr. Nigles/Nigels was a farmer, born in Prussia (soon to become united as Germany.)
He also appears on the State of Fla. agricultural census.

1900 Census of William F. Nigels, Pct. 4

Here Mr. Nigels had no occupation, age 66, married 37 years to Harriet, born in Germany, immigrated in 1850, was a naturalized citizen.
His reputation as being a "good teacher" was probably in his church, but he was no career educator with a degree.

 

SUPERINTENDENT HENRY L. CRANE

Before 1877, the school term was seldom more than three months, except in Tampa School No. 1 where it was sometimes five or six months.  In 1877 the minimum school term was fixed at four months and the teachers' salaries at $30 per month for 2nd class teachers and $25 for 3rd class teachers.  The county superintendent's salary was $100 per year.

In 1879 Henry L. Crane became superintendent and secretary to the Board, serving until 1881.

 In 1880, Crane illustrated the problem faced by the Board in NOT owning the facilities used for public education. He stated to the Board,

"There are but few permanent buildings over which the Board has any control, and schools are often dependent and subject to the will of those owning the buildings, and are not always conveniently located. This makes a necessity for two schools sometimes, where one would be sufficient if the convenience of the whole community was looked to by the trustees." 

 

Henry Lafayette Crane
Photo from The City Council of Tampa, etc.

HENRY L. CRANE - TAMPA CITY COUNCILMAN

  • Councilman, August 11, 1873 – August 1874
  • President, August 14, 1877 – August 14, 1878
  • President, August 14, 1883 – August 13, 1885
  • President, August 13, 1886 – July 15, 1887
  • Councilman, March 4, 1892 – March 10 – 1893
  • Councilman, March 10, 1893 - March 9, 1894

Henry L. Crane's father, Henry A. Crane, was born in New Jersey in 1811 and worked as a clerk in Washington DC.  He came to Florida during the 2nd Seminole War and had a modest but successful military career in the 2nd and 3rd Seminole Wars.

H.A. Crane was a man of moderate means, but his literary abilities provided him with the opportunity to serve in many minor political positions. After his enlistment expired, he settled in St. Augustine where he met and married Sophia Allen. Their only son, Henry Lafayette Crane, was born there on Sept. 25, 1838.

In the 1840s the Cranes settled Orange County, near Fort Mellon, now part of Sanford. H. A. was a Clerk of the Circuit Court and in 1844, Gov. Moseley nominated him for judge of probate at Orange Co.

In 1852 H.A. Crane brought his family to Tampa, gave up farming, and founded the Tampa Herald newspaper in 1852,  working full time as its printer and editor.  Later he was editor of the Florida Peninsular newspaper.

H. A Crane was intelligent and inquisitive enough to profit from his readings about new inventions elsewhere in the world. He became interested in photography during its early development, and six years after ambrotype photography was introduced, he listed his occupation as an ambrotype artist.

During the Civil War H.A. was a Unionist, a captain and later a major in the Second Florida Cavalry, U. S. Army.  After the war, the Republican H.A. settled in Key West where he served as clerk of the circuit court and as state senator. He was also editor of the Key West Dispatch and, subsequently, founder and editor of the Key of the Gulf. 

But his son, H. L. Crane joined the Confederate forces as Chief Musician of the Fourth Florida Infantry, CSA.  H.L. Crane and the Ferris brothers, Josiah and William, had been members of the Tampa Brass Cornet Band, organized March 31, 1860, by J. A. Butterfield.  H.L. was captured near Spring Hill, Tennessee, Dec. 21, 1864, confined at Camp Chase, Ohio, and released Feb. 18, 1865.

H. L. Crane later owned and operated the Orange Grove Hotel with his wife for many years in the 1870s and 1880s.  It was located near the present day intersection of Madison St. & East St. There is a historical marker in downtown Tampa where hotel was once located. 

The hotel was built in 1859 originally as the home of cattleman William B. Hooker, Florida's pre-Civil War "cattle king." During the Civil War, it was used as Tampa's Confederate Headquarters. It is where Tampa pioneer Joe Robles marched his captive Union soldiers in the winter of 1863. 

 

 


 



 
Judge Henry L. Crane and his wife, who operated the hotel in 1876, are said to be standing on the left side of the second floor porch. Poet Sidney Lanier has been identified by contemporaries as the man standing on the far right side of the second floor porch with his leg propped on the rail. But D. B. McKay in the Tampa Tribune, March 6, 1955, said Lanier is standing at the left end of the first floor veranda. Located at 806 Madison Street. The original of this photo was owned by Mrs. Samuel E. (Mary Hooker) Hope, later Mrs. Clara (Hope) Baggett and then by Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Vinson of Tarpon Springs.
 
In 1866, Hooker converted his home into a hotel and sold it to D. Isaac Craft, father of Isaac S. Craft.  D.I Craft, who at the time was the Sheriff, was in charge of the jail.  While he tended to the prisoners in the jail, his wife ran the hotel.  Later, he sold the hotel to Judge Crane, whose wife was Meroba Hooker, dau. of Wm. B. Hooker.  Meroba was widowed for several years from her first marriage as Mrs. Solon B. Turman.  Together, Henry L. and Meroba Crane  operated the hotel for many years into the 1880s.

H.L. was elected as Tampa’s City Clerk in 1869, but like the council members who were elected from 1869-1973, he never served due to the dissolution of the government when the City of Tampa intentionally let its City Charter elapse.

Along with fellow council members Edward A. Clarke and Josiah Ferris as well as former council member William Gould Ferris, Sr., Judge Crane was one of the founders of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
 

On Aug. 11, 1873, the registered voters in Tampa held an election and voted to establish the Town of Tampa. Crane was elected as one of the new council members and go on to serve a total of six terms on Tampa’s City Council.  In 1879 Henry L. Crane was elected as Superintendent of Public Education and served until 1881. He was also appointed to U.S. Commissioner in the 1870s as judge, a position he held for about 40 years.

 
 

MORE COUNTY-OWNED BUILDINGS AND BETTER PAY NEEDED TO ATTRACT PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS

Throughout the late 1800's, the salary teachers received from the Board remained very low. In most cases, these wages were not sufficient for the living expenses of the times. To compensate for this, teachers commonly received a range of "fringe benefits" from the community in which they taught. For example, in the rural areas of the county, teachers commonly lived in a home of a school trustee, or in the home of one of their students. In many of these "living arrangements," teachers also were provided with their meals. However, the problem of this living arrangement was the lack of freedom and privacy in the personal life of the teacher. In addition to room and board, schools were still permitted to charge some form of "tuition" even though they were considered "public schools". It is likely that this "tuition" varied greatly based on each family's socioeconomic status. Tuition, along with other forms of contributions from the participating families, was used to supplement the meager salaries provided by the Board.

AN IMPASSIONED PLEA FOR SCHOOL BUILDING FUNDS - May 3, 1879

A Tribune reader wrote the editor of the Tribune addressing the need for funds to build a school house on Nebraska Ave.  Apparently a circular was being passed around soliciting aid for this purpose.  There weren't enough residents in the area to provide funding themselves and states that everyone should be interested in the need, not just the local residents, because it would benefit the community at large.

The necessity was made known about a year earlier, by the women of the community, and "the wheel revolved very well until some of the spokes fell out and the tire tired out."  Fearing a complete abandonment of their need, they had a meeting, elected officers, made some rules and regulations, and prepared themselves with determination to have a building constructed before half the summer was over.

Joe Robles, early Tampa pioneer, merchant, and civic leader who lived in the area, donated land for a school building. The writer praises Robles, and adds "long may he live to see his good work increase and 'flourish like a green bay tree.'"

He pleads for support not just in word, but to "put your hands in your pockets giving us liberally, knowing after many days it will come back to you ten-fold, for this building is intended for all purposes of public benefit."

He apologizes for asking the Editor directly in this way, and adds "but you may hear from us gain."

 

TRIBUNE EDITOR CRITICIZES MOTHERS FOR OVERDRESSING THEIR CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL

Dr. John P. Wall, Mayor of Tampa and Editor of the Tribune, turns his sharp tongue from criticizing political opponents, to criticizing mothers who "have been too busy with their [children's] clothes, to pay much attention to their [children's] brains.  He says the purpose children being in school "...is not the display of the wealth or tenderness of their parents" and that anything that diverts attention from learning is an injury to the student, instead, working against them.  Even teachers would agree that "fine clothes oftener work mischief to their wearers than mean clothes do."  He believes simplicity should characterize their dress, that the "highest-minded children are oftenest found in plain garb, while these be-ringed and be-ruffled and otherwise showily attired are generally quite destitute of intellectual home culture."  He stresses personal cleanliness over dress, and in that regard he suggests the student have two suits, "for in the crowded school-room the clothing soon becomes saturated with the exhalations floating in the atmosphere, and an airing of the clothes every three days is necessary to keep them fresh and sweet."
 

 
TEACHERS CHOSEN FOR THE FALL TERM OF 1880

The fall school term for 1880 was to start on Oct. 4 with Mrs. Scull and Mrs. Nunez as teachers.

WHO WAS MRS. SCULL?
Her obituary in 1904 would reveal that she was the widow of Rev. William D. Scull, and a daughter of John M. Verdier of Beaufort, SC.  This means she was a sister of Miss Verdier, the teacher in charge of the aforementioned "Miss Verdier's School."

 

The missing Verdier "puzzle pieces" linking the two ladies are found on the separate page, "The Search for Miss Verdier" and her school of 1876.

WHO WAS MRS. NUNEZ?
 The other teacher would have been Arabella Nunez, found on the 1880 Federal Census of Tampa, age 34, widowed, living with her teenage children Ruby & Robert.

Robert F. Nunez in Tampa by 1850 Census, b. GA, Laborer, apparently unmarried.

 

Grismer:  

 

It was the next superintendent, Wesley P. Henderson, who began reaping the benefits of the strong arguments that Crane presented for more facilities owned and directed of the Hillsborough Board of Education.

Wesley P. Henderson was elected Superintendent of Hillsborough County Schools in 1881 at the salary of $150 per year.  Under W.P.  Henderson's administration a more businesslike management of school finances was established, and there was clear evidence that he county schools were growing into a real system. The county experienced major growth and expansion including the first professional, accredited career teacher/principal, a full high school curriculum, the purchase of facilities for schools and the new construction of school buildings. The Hillsborough County public school system and High School begins to take a shape.

In 1882 it was estimated that the cost of the 57 schools in Hillsborough County would be $4,775.  The length of the term for these schools was fixed at five months and in the Tampa schools at six months.

The meager salaries of the teachers were paid at the end of the year in one sum.  An effort was made to have monthly payments for the teachers but the Board voted to continue yearly payments.  It must have been difficult for a teacher to work six months with no pay and then at the end of the years' work to receive as payment in full $150, or possibly $180 for the year.  This made it necessary for the teacher to have some other source of income or occupation for the remainder of the year, and it made it almost impossible to secure well-trained teachers.  Yet there were in those days men and women who, as public school teachers, were a splendidly constructive influence of training the boys and girls who, partly because of that training, were the leaders in the development of the sparsely settled expanse of Hillsborough County into the great center of agricultural, commercial and industrial life of a great part of the state of Florida.

We find mere mention in these records of the names of a few teachers, as Stephen M. Sparkman who for many years afterwards was the chairman of the important Rivers and Harbors Committee in Congress; William P. Haisley, who in later years was a strong influence in Florida as state school superintendent; Marietta Cuscaden, Miss Prevatt and Mrs. A. H. Nunez, whom great numbers of the leading citizens of the county have remembered with gratitude and affection because of their wise guidance during their childhood school years.

 

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The First High School Curriculum at Tampa School No. 1

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