Sketch of the educational establishments of New Haven, Conn. : October 1, 1867.

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1867
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S K E T C H
EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS
N E W H A Y E N , CONN,
OCTOBER 1, 1867.
Privately printed as an outline for additions and corrections.
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S C H E D U L E .
A. Situation, Population, etc., of New Haven.
B. Original Educational Policy.
C. Public School System in 1867.
I ). Graded Schools.
Description of the Skinner School.
E. Attendance of Scholars.
F. Finances.
G. High School.
H. Course of Study.
1. In the Graded Schools.
2, In the High School.
J. Special Schools for special cases.
J. For the Africans.
2. For the neglected.
3. For hoys at work.
4. For Orphans.
K. Training School for young Teachers.
L. Private Schools.
1. Ecclesiastical Schools.
2. Boarding Schools.
3. Hopkins Grammar School.
4. German American School.
5. Business College.
M. Superior and Professional Schools.
Yale College Academical Department.
Theological "
Law
Medical "
Scientific "
( Sheffield Scientific School.)
JST. Libraries,
O. Reading Rooms.
P. Literary and Scientific Societies.
Q. Collections.
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N" E W H A Y E N .
A. SITUATION, POPULATION, ORGANIZATION, HISTORY.
NEW HAVEN is situated upon a low, broad plain, which lies
at the foot of a hilly country, about five miles from Long Isl-and
sound, on the northern border of a small bay into which
three little rivers pour their waters. The harbor, though not
equal to New London and Newport, admits large vessels, and
has been, since the earliest Colonial days, the seat of more or
less foreign commerce, especially with the West Indies. The
fall of the rivers has been favorable to the establishment of
manufacturing establishments, and the estuaries at their
mouths have been found adapted to the construction of coast-ing
vessels, and also to the planting and development of oys-ters
imported from the south. Since the days when steam-power
began to supersede water- power, New Haven has drawn
within its limits, from inland towns, a large number of manu-facturing
establishments, employing thousands of operatives,
and a large amount of capital. Trade is facilitated not only
by the easy navigation of the bay and sound, but also by the
numerous rail- roads which here converge. New Haven lies
upon the main line of rail- road travel from New York to New
England, not quite eighty miles from the city just named, and
one hundred and sixty miles from Boston. Three lines of rail-way,
coming in from different directions, afford direct commu-nication
with the valley of the Connecticut at Hartford and
Springfield, with the Farmington valley, ( formerly accessible
by the Farmington canal,) and with the line of towns on the
northern shore of Long Island sound. Two other lines of rail-road
are likely to be soon built, connecting the town with the
Naugatuck valley on the one side and with Middletown on the
other. In consequence of such advantages, the wealth and in-dustry
of the place have rapidly increased within the last few
years, and New Haven, in the number of its inhabitants, now
holds the first place in Connecticut, the third position in New
England, and the twenty- fourth in the United States. Its
population, by the actual enumeration of 1860, amounted to
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39,267. Since tliat time, no thorough census has been taken of
the entire population, hut annually, in the month of January,
the children are counted, and from this partial census it has
been computed, that the population in 1866 had reached the
number of 50,000 persons, of whom 45,000 may be resident
within the city limits. By a count, on which some doubt has
been cast, made in 1865, the number of people within the town
and city limits was reported at less than this computed number.
In accordance with Connecticut laws and usages, New-
Haven has a three- fold political incorporation. In the first
place, it is a Town, one of the fundamental republics which
constitute the State, electing a board of " Selectmen" to ad-minister
its affairs, and controlling, in a town- meeting made
up of the voters at large, its pecuniary outlays. Moreover,
the inhabitants of a considerable portion of the territory are
also set apart and incorporated as a city, electing a Mayor, Al-dermen
and Common Council, who superintend the municipal
affairs. Again, the city limits are coincident with those of the
largest of three School Districts, into which the town is di-vided,
so that the inhabitants are accustomed, in this third
capacity, to elect a Board of Education for the administration
of public instruction. The Town organization dates from the
settlement in 1638, or at latest from 1639 ; the earliest city
charter was granted in 1784, and the present boundaries of
the School District were established in 1853. From a period
soon after its settlement, till 1664, the colony of New Haven,
including the town of New Haven and some of the neighbor-ing
plantations, constituted an independent Jurisdiction, one
of the four commonwealths which were confederated under the
title of " the United Colonies of New England but in the
year just named it was united with the Colony of Connecti-cut,
of which Hartford was the principal town, and from that
time to the present, Connecticut has had two capitals, lasting
memorials of the district colonial governments which were
united to constitute the State.
B. EDUCATIONAL POLICY OF THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS.
The early settlers were, in part, a company of merchants
from London, who had the expectation of founding a commer-cial
city. Many of them, especially Bev. John Davenport,
M. A. and B. D., of Brazen- nose College, in the University of
Oxford, and Theophilus Eaton, the first Governor, were believ-ers
in the value of education as the foundation of a prosperous
community, and from their enlightened and far- sighted plans
have sprung most of the public institutions of learning which
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now adorn the town, from the common primary school to the
comprehensive university. To their wisdom, and the wisdom
of those who were trained under their influence, New Haven
owes an organized system of instruction, which is hardly equal-ed
in any town of its size in any part of the Union. The
education of the children of the town in a system of common
schools, originated and maintained by the popular vote, is due
to the sagacity of these three men, for with the idea of a
brotherhood in the Church, and a brotherhood in the State,
they associated the idea of a brotherhood in the School- room.
As early as 1639, we find the record of a public school, and
the appointment of a committee to consider " what yearly
allowance is meet to be given to it out of the common stock of
the town." Prom that day to this, Common Schools have been
maintained in New Haven, without any interruption, as fun-damental
to the prosperity and virtue of the commonwealth.
The history of the establishment of these schools has never
been better exhibited, than it is in the pages of the historical
discourse by the late Professor Kingsley, delivered on the 200th
anniversary of the settlement of the town, in 1838.
He shows that Mr. Davenport's plan of public instruction
included, first, Common Schools; then, Grammar Schools; and
then a College,— and that his plan has never been improved.
He shows moreover, that " the introduction of the Common
School System, was a work of time, and of unwearied effort.
By perseverance, however, the benefits of education were finally
perceived and acknowledged by all; a school was brought to
every man's door; the poor, and even the slave, were within
reach of instruction, and hence, for nearly a century and a
half, a native of Connecticut, of mature age, unable to read
the English tongue, has been looked upon as a prodigy."
C. PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN 1867.
At the present time, the limits of the city are coincident, as
we havs already said, with the limits of the N° w Haven City
School District, one of the three districts into which the town
is divided, in accordance with the Connecticut law which still
perpetuates the district system. Fair Haven, and Westville,
villages adjacent to the city, constitute the two other districts
of the town. The City district, by a special provision of the
State law, is independent, or very nearly so, of all town juris-diction,
drawing its share of the State appropriations, without
the intermediate inspection or authorization of the Board of
School Visitors, established by law in all the towns of the
State. The affairs of the district are managed by a body of
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nine men, known as the Board of Education, and by a Clerk,
a Collector, and a Treasurer. Three members of this Board,
and the other district officers, are chosen annually.
The Board of Education has no power to levy taxes, or to
order the erection of a new school- house, prerogatives reserved
to the voters of the district; but, with these exceptions, they
have almost absolute authority in the management of school
affairs. They select and examine the teachers, determine the
text books and courses of study, fix the limits of terms and
vacations, decide upon salaries, prescribe regulations for teach-ers
and scholars. As these duties and responsibilities are very
arduous, and as the members of the Board are not paid for
their services, two salaried officers are appointed by the Board,
one of them entitled the " Superintendent of Schools," and
charged with the intellectual cares, the examination of teach-ert
and scholars, and the general oversight of the school- rooms;
the other, who is actually, but not necessarily, the Clerk of the
District, having a supervision of the material and financial in-terests
of the district. Three Standing Committees, supervise
the work of these officers, and prepare the business for the
consideration of the Board, namely, a " Committee on Schools,"
a " Committee on Buildings," and a " Committee on Finance."
The Superintendent of Schools and the Clerk of the School
District have an office in the City Hall", where any person de-siring
information or advice in school matters, may apply. The
office is open for a portion of every day, at hours which^ are
publicly announced. The meetings of the Board, which are
open to the public, though rarely attended by the public, are
held in the same room.
The office of the State Superintendent of Schools, by the
permission of the Mayor, is also in the City Hall.
D . SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
The New Haven schools are organized on what is known as a
graded system, that is to say, the scholars are grouped in differ-ent
rooms and classes, according to their ages and attainments.
From fifty to sixty scholars are usually in charge of one in-structor,
and in the largest buildings there are twelve rooms,
and about six hundred scholars, under the supervision of a
Principal, and his twelve assistants. There are six large
houses, and several smaller ones, conveniently distributed in
different sections of the city. Several of these houses bear the
names of distinguished men. One commemorates Theophilus
Eaton, the earliest Colonial Governor; another bears the name
of Washington; a third is called Dixwell, in memory of one of
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three Judges of Charles I., who were resident here during part
of their exile; a fourth is named in honor of David Wooster, a
New Haven General in the Revolutionary army; a fifth hears
the name of Noah Webster, the lexicographer; a sixth, that
of Timothy Dwight, the distinguished President of Yale Col-lege;
a seventh, ( erected as a school for the Africans,) is de-signated
the Lincoln school, in honor of the Great Emancipa-tor;
the building occupied by the High School is called after
James Hillhotise, one of the chief originators of the Connecti-cut
School Fund; and a building now erecting was designated
by the Board as the Roger Sherman School, and by the Build-ing
Committee, as the Skinner School. Its permanent desig-nation
remains to be determined.
Among all these buildings, the Eaton is in some respects
the very best, as it was in all respects at the time of its erec-tion;
but, on the whole, the plan adopted in the three large
houses more recently built is considered preferable. An idea
of this plan may be derived from the following sketch of the
Skinner School:—
The main building is 70 by 88 feet, and two stories high. Each story is divided
into six rooms, with a hall ten feet wide in the centre. There is a projection in
front 5 by 22 feet, which, besides extending the hall, gives closets on each side
for teachers' clothing and for storing books, maps, & c. In the rear there is an
addition 16 by 36 feet, which, besides a recitation- room connected with the prin-cipal's
room, contains the stairs for the pupils, which being separated from the
main building by a wall, will, in case of fire, be the last to be destroyed. The
three rooms on each side of the hall are connected by door- ways, leaving a pass-age-
way round the entire building, near the outer wall. This plan was adopted
for safety in case of fire. The furnaces being all in the centre of the building,
fire can only commence there, in which case the teachers and children would find
* a safe egress through these doors to the protected stair- cases in the rear. Double
doors are placed at these openings, one opening into each room, which prevents
noise from adjoining rooms as effectually as a brick wall.
In four rooms on the first floor, a dressing room six feet wide is formed by run-ning
a screen across the room seven feet high, in which the younger children
hang their clothing, under the supervision of the teacher. The dressing- rooms
for the older children are in the basement,* each occupying the space of two
school- rooms, as seen in the plan.
There are four furnaces, placed side by side in the centre, an arrangement con-ducing
alike to convenience and safety. Each furnace heats three rooms on one
floor The furnaces are supplied with air from a room in the basement of the
rear addition, into which air js freely admitted through two windows covered with
wire cloth. The air tubes go out at the bottom of this room, and pass under the
floor of the dressing- rooms to the furnaces. By this plan all disturbance from
outside currents of air is avoided.
The building is ventilated by means of four chimneys, each two feet square
inside, up through the centre of which passes a cast iron smoke- pipe, one for
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each furnace. The rooms are ventilated by registers opening into these chim-neys,
the heat of the smoke- pipe producing a very strong draft. A register from
each furnace opens into the hall, by means of which rooms can at any time be
cooled off by shutting its register and opening that in the hall. The street- water
is introduced into the dressing- rooms in the basement, and into the halls of the
first and second floors. The cost of the lot was six thousand nine hundred dol-lars.
The entire cost of the building, including pavements, cesspools, fences, and
outhouses, will be thirty- four thousand eight hundred dollars. The interior will
be finished with white chestnut wood, except the floors, which will be yellow pine.
E . ATTENDANCE.
The capacity of the several school- houses, and the number of
scholars during the yearl866- 7is shown in the following table:—
SCHOOLS. No.
Rooms.
No.
Seats.
Scholars
Registered
AT. NO.
Registered
Av. Daily
Attendance.
Per cent.
Attendance.
High School. 4 209 221 176- 7 139- 8 • 913
Eaton 12 645 725 636- 3 599- 8 • 941
Webster 12 630 713 604" 561- 9 • 931
1) wight 12 613 693 611- 9 585- 2 • 959
Wooster 12 603 ' 707 569- 8 530- 9 • 929
Washington 8 426 488 411- 2 382- 5 • 928
Goffe 3 162 206 112- 2 121- 9 • 857
Dixwell 6 294 331 237- 7 248- 2 • 907
South Street 5 278 331 \ 262- 3 243- 7 ' 826
Mt. Pleasant 3 155 167 154- 139- 6 ' 898
Fair Street 4 200 205 164' 5 154- 1 • 929
Hillhouse 3 167 175 153- 3 136- 1 • 906
Elm Street 2 102 102 94- 4 91- 5 • 970
Carlisle Street 1 55 44 25- 8 18- 7 • 731
Vernon Street 1 40 41 35- 3 25- • 700
Division Street 1 50 60 60- 43- 4 • 860
Whiting Street 1 62 123 96- 71" • 730
Oyster Point 1 34 30 26- 22- 5 • 860
91 4715 5361 4487 4136 • 882
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F . FINANCES.
The cost of maintaining the school system of New Haven
during the year ending Sept. 1, 1867, not including extraor-dinary
outlays for new buildings, etc., was very nearly $ 80,000;
besides this, the sum of $ 50,000 was applied to extraordinary
expenses, chiefly in payment for new buildings. During the
year, the receipts of the district, ( not including loans, or the
balance on hand at the beginning of the year,) were about
$ 140,000, collected as follows :—
From district tax, $ 123,000.00
" town tax, 8,648.00
" State School Fund, 9,973.70
" Town Deposit Fund, 930.00
" Sundries, 309.29
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The district is in debt to the amount of $ 50,969; but it
owns lands and buildings which have cost $ 168,411, and are
worth twice that amount. The indebtedness has been reduced,
during the year, $ 17,420, and a vigorous effort is to be made,
to reduce it still further, at once. The district tax to be levied
on the Grand List of 1867 is three- mills on the dollar; the
town tax for school- purposes is four- tenths of a mill. The
valuation of the district for 1867 is about $ 32,000,000.
G. HIGH SCHOOL.
Superior to the other public schools of New Haven is the
High School, established by authority of the Board of Educa-tion
of the City School District, in May, 1859. In 1863, a
Latin Preparatory class was opened, in connection with the
High School, which was subsequently made an integral part
of the High School. Scholars are admitted to the High School
from the public schools of lower grade, and also from private
schools, but none are received from out of the district limits,
unless ( as sometimes happens) there are vacant seats. The
building now occupied by the High School stands on land given
by TITUS STREET, Esq., of New Haven, in 18 , for the erection
of a public school- house. Here, for many years, the Lancas-terian
School was taught, by Mr. J . E. Lovell, but in the re-organization
of the schools, subsequent to 1853, the school was
fitted up as a graded school, and became known as the Hill-house
School. The High School came to the building in 1863,
and in 1867 obtained entire possession of the premises. The
building is far from being adequate to the wants of the
district.
In 1866, the expediency and justice of maintaining a High
School, as part of the public school system, were seriously
questioned by a number of influential citizens, who subjected
the management of the school to a very searching investiga-tion.
The discussion was carried from the Board of Educa-tion
into public meetings, and into the newspapers, and finally
the question was submitted to the voters of the district, " Shall
the High School be given up ?" The balloting took place June
6, 1866, and the High School was sustained, by a vote of 1170
in favor of its continuance, and of 449 in favor of its aban-donment.
The number of scholars who have belonged to this school
since its beginning, is thus stated in the catalogue of the same,
which was printed in 1866.
10
1859,*
1860,
1861,
1862,
1863,
1864, f
1865,
18664
HI » H.
Boye. Girls. Total.
44 50 94
22 36 58
17 29 46
9 31 40
13 25 38
26 31 57
31 35 66
28 23 51
190 260 450
LATIN.
1853,
1864, f
1865,
18664
Boys. Girls, Total.
35 35
34 10 44
22 11 33
11 7 18
102 28 130
H . COURSE OF STUDY.
The course of study in the schools of the district is marked
out as follows:—
1ST TEAR. Average age 6- 7.— Reading and Spelling, First Reader. Read num-bers
to 100. Daily exercises in enunciation. Print on slate.
2ND TEAS. Average age 7- 8.— Reading and Spelling, Second Reader. Write
and read numbers to 1,000; the Roman numerals to 100; Addition table; oral
instruction in Geography; writing script hand on slate; punctuation marks from
cards.
3RD YEAR. Average age 8- 9.— Reading, Third Reader; Spelling Book, page 52 ;
Primary Arithmetic, to page 60; the Roman notation finished; Primary Geog-raphy
through the United States ; Writing on slate.
4TH TEAR. Average age 9- 10.— Reading, Third and Fourth Reader; Spelling
Book page 75; Primary Arithmetic finished; Primary Geography finished; Writing.
5TH TEAR. Average age 10- 11.— Reading Fourth Reader; Spelling Rook,
page 102; Arithmetic, the Ground Rules, Reduction, Definitions and General
Principles ; Intermediate Geography to South America; Writing; Composition.
6TH YEAR. Average age 11- 12.— Reading, Fifth Reader; Spelling Book fin-ished;
Arithmetic, Common and Decimal Fractions. United States Money, Com-pound
Numbers; Intermediate Geography finished; Grammar, to Syntax; Writ-ing
; Composition.
7TH TEAR. Average age 12- 13.— Reading, Fifth Reader; Spelling Book re-viewed;
Arithmetic— Percentage, Ratio, Proportion, Alligation; Geography re-viewed,
Grammar finished; History; Writing or Book- keeping; Composition.
The course of study marked out for the High School is as
follows. Whenever a better building is provided, so that a
larger number of classes can be taught, this scheme of studies
will probably be modified and improved.
COURSE OF STUDY.
FIRST YEAR.
Summer Term.— Algebra and Arithmetic; Physical Geography; English Gram-mar,
with Analysis, Derivation of Words, and Construction of Sentences.
Fall Term.— Algebra and Arithmetic; Physical Geography; English Grammar,
with Analysis, & c. continued.
Winter Term.— Algebra and Arithmetic; Modern History; English Language;
Rhetoric and written Exercises.
Optional Studies.— Latin; Ancient History; Chronology, and Geography.
Collateral Studies.— During each term of the year, at stated times, all the pupils
will have exercises in Elocution— in the form of Reading, Declamation, or Reci-tation;
also in Orthography, Penmanship, Drawing and Composition; Phisiology
taught by Lectures.
* 4 terms. f 2 terms. J 1 term
11. *
SECOND YEAR.
Summer Term.— Geometry; Modern History; English Literature, Rhetoric and
" Written Exercises.
Fall Term.— Geometry; Modem History ; Book Keeping, Business Forms, & c.
Winter Term.— Geometry; American History; Book Keeping, Commercial
Arithmetic, & c.
Optional Studies.— Latin; Greek; French; German.
Collateral Studies.—- As in first year.
THIRD TEAR.
Summer Term.— Trigonometry; Natural Philosophy.
Fall Term.— Trigonometry; Natural Philosophy; Astronomy.
Winter Term.— Youman's Household Science; Natural History; Constitution
of U. S. and of Connecticut.
Optional Studies.— Latin; Greek; French; German.
Collateral Studies.— As in first and second years.
TERMS OF ADMISSION TO THE HIGH SCHOOL.
The Annual Examination of Candidates for the admission of a new class, takes
place at the High School during the last three days of the winter term. Pupils
may be admitted during the year, for special reasons; but their qualifications
must be such as to admit of their joining the classes at an advanced standing.
New classes cannot be formed for pupils received at other times.
The following are the branches on which the candidates are examined for ad-mission
: Arithmetic, English Grammar, Geography, History of the United States,
Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship. A knowledge of other and higher branches
will be no substitute for those required. In ARITHMETIC, the candidate must be
familiar with the whole of " Eaton's Common School" and " Intellectual Arith-metic,"
or some other equivalent text books. In ENGLISH GRAMMAR, he must be
able to analyze and parse, readily and correctly, ordinary sentences in prose and
poetry, giving rules from the Grammar which shall indicate a clear understanding
of the construction and principles of the language. An intimate acquaintance
with TOPICAL GEOGRAPHY is required; and the more knowledge of descriptive
and physical Geography the better. A knowledge of the outline of the History
of the United States is required. Ability tp read well and spell correctly are es-sential
qualifications.
Pupils below the first class in the Grammar schools are not received as candi-dates
for examination, unless recommended by the Principal, as, in his opinion,
qualified for admission.
The examination is made under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools,
with the assistance of the Master and Teachers of the High School.
The questions must be prepared by the Superintendent, and are to be submit-ted
to the " Committee on Schools " for their approval previous to the examina-tion.
The questions are not to be restricted to the text- books used in the Schools,
yet they will correspond in form and principles with those with which the pupil
should be familiar, from his previous instruction.
ADMISSION TO THE LATIN OR PREPARATORY CLASS.
Many parents wish their children to commence the study of Latin at an ago
younger than that at which pupils usually finish their course in the Grammar
schools, in preparation for the High School. To those who wish to begin the
study of the Languages, in preparation for College, it is essential that they should
begin the study of Latin early. To meet this want, provision has been made for
the admission of a younger class of pupils, and less advanced in their English
studies, than those received from the Grammar schools, in the regular course.
No pupil is received into this class who does not make Latin a prominent study,
with the intention of pursuing it at least two years. At the end of that time
every pupil of ordinary capacity should be prepared, in the English branches, to
enter the regular classes of the High School.
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4 .12
The conditions of admission to this class are,— 1st, an expressed desire on the
part of parents or Guardians, that their children shall take Latin as a principal
study; 2d, that they shall have thoroughly mastered the ground rules of Arith-metic,
and made " corresponding progress in their other studies. Pupils in this
class will continue their studies in the English branches, in connection with the
Latin.
Prom the foregoing statements it will be obvious, that while instruction is given
in classical studies as well as in French and German, the Board of Education are
determined to provide a thorough course , of instruction in the Higher English
branches, with special reference to those who are to begin the active duties of
life without other advantages than those which they will all here obtain.
J . SPECIAL SCHOOLS FOE SPECIAL CASES.
1. For the Africans.
The African children, with a few exceptions, are taught in a
public school, under the direction of teachers in all respects
equal to those who teach in the schools for Avhite children.
The house " Lincoln School," which is a very attractive build-ing,
was erected for the Africans, by a few benevolent persons,
in whom the title is still vested. There is also in another part
of the town a primary school for colored children.
2. For neglected boys and girls.
Two primary schools, one for neglected boys and one for neg-lected
boys and girls, are also maintained as a part of the school
system. The girls are taught sewing; and benevolent ladies
render important aid in securing prompt attendance, in fre-quently
visiting the school, and in cooperating otherwise with
the school authorities.
3. For boys at work through the day.
An evening school for boys who are engaged in labor through
the day, has been maintained in winter by private enterprise
and charity, with the aid of an appropriation of fifty dollars
from the Board of Education, their right of superintendence
being recognized.
4. For Orphans.
The school in the Protestant Orphan Asylum is maintained
as a public school, the teachers being appointed by the Board
of Education, and the text- books being prescribed, and the
regulations laid down by the same authority. No applications
for similar privileges has been received from the Roman Cath-olic
Orphan Asylum.
There are usually some children in the Poor House, but no
school is maintained there.
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K . TRAINING SCHOOL FOR YOUNG TEACHERS.
During the two years past, Mr. Parish, the Superintendent
of Schools, has carried on with very favorable results, a system
of training young ladies for the teacher's work, by a course of
observation and practice, under experienced guides. A building
having four primary school rooms has been placed in charge of
a very competent lady, and the various rooms are taught under
her direction by young ladies who desire permanent employment
and who have shown themselves fitted for the teacher's work.
These young ladies there acquire experience under circumstances
which almost preclude failure, and the school is so well managed
that while it costs less than an ordinary school, it is in all re-spects
satisfactory to the parents who send to it.
L . PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
The number of private schools in New Haven is very large,
owing partly to the attractions which New Haven presents to
persons from a distance, who desire to place their children in
boarding schools; and partly to the failure of the district to
provide school- buildings fast enough to meet the wants of the
" town. By returns received in the office of the City Superin-tendent,
it appears, that in January, 1867, forty- seven private
schools were known to him, having, according to careful esti-mates,
2,085 pupils. Among these schools, a few deserve par-ticular
attention.
1. ECCLESIASTICAL SCHOOLS.
In connection with Trinity Church, ( Episcopal,) a Parish
School is maintained for the children of needy parents. Reli-gious
instruction is given in it, sewing is taught, and the kind
influences of the Church are brought to bear upon the scholars.
Two of the Roman Catholic Churches, St. Mary's and St.
Patrick's, likewise maintain Parochial Schools.
The Sisters of Mercy have also an Academy or Select School
for the instruction of older girls in the more advanced studies;
The Jewish Congregation maintains a school also for the in-struction
of the young in Hebrew.
2. BOARDING SCHOOLS.
There are several well- known private schools receiving pupils
from abroad as well as from New Haven.
Mr. Stiles French maintains a school in which young men
are especially trained in English and mathematical studies.
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Spaniards, and other foreign young men desiring to learn Eng-lish,
frequently resort to this school.
Gen. Wm. H. Russell is the Principal of the Collegiate and
Commercial Institute, a boarding and day school for boys of
all ages fitting for higher studies or for business. It is con-ducted
on a military plan, and, in the recent war, many of its
graduates and pupils were of great service to the country.
Rev. Dr. Shields has also a family boarding school for boys.
The principal boarding schools for young ladies are conducted
by' Prof, and Mrs. 0. P. Hubbard, at Grove Hall; Signor and
Mrs. Roberti, on Wooster Square; Miss Brace in Elm Street;
Misses Edwards on the public square; and Miss Terry in Pros-pect
Street. Nearly all these schools have been carried on for
several years by their present teachers, and all have achieved a
good reputation.
3. ENDOWED SCHOOL.
The Hopkins Grammar School is an endowed Latin School
for boys, which has been maintained uninterruptedly since
1660, and was never more flourishing than now. It should
properly be considered a public school, for it was endowed by
the gift of Governor Edward Hopkins to the people of New
Haven. Its affairs are managed by a self- perpetuating body
of Trustees, who declined, in 1864, the overtures which were
made to them by the city school authorities to unite this trust
with the public high school, on a plan which has worked very
well in Hartford, or upon some other fair basis.
4. GERMAN AMERICAN SCHOOL.
The Germans resident in New Haven, of all ecclesiastical
connections, have formed a school society and are maintaining
a school in which German children may learn English, and so
be fitted for English schools, and in which also the knowledge
of German may be kept up. The school has been more suc-cessful
than was expected, and a building erected for its use
was opened in October, 1867.
5. BUSINESS COLLEGE.
A business or commercial college, a private institution under
the direction of Thomas H. Stevens, President, has been main-tained
for several years, for the purpose of training young men
and young women in book- keeping, commercial arithmetic,
rules of business, penmanship, etc.
15
M. SUPERIOR AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS.
YALE COLLEGE.
New Haven is one of the few places in the country where
young men may go forward in their studies, from the lowest
alphabet class to the schools of professional learning, while
still remaining at home. Yale College is so liberal in the plan
upon which it is conducted, and is enabled by its endowment
to offer tuition at so low a rate, or even, in case of need, gratu-itously,
so that the doors of knowledge may be said to stand
open to all who desire to enter in. Its history, its organization,
its method of instruction, its manifold departments, its work,
have been so often described, that it is quite superfluous to dwell
upon them here.
It is enough to say, that the college was commenced in 1700,
by the Congregational ministers of Connecticut, who desired
to train up the young men of the colony for service in the state
church. In the hands of their successors, the trust is still per-petuated,
but in consequence of aid received from the state, the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and six senior senators are also
members of the Coporration. From a humble beginning, the
college has steadily grown into a group of important institu-tions,
is deserving the name of an University. Students are
received from all parts of the country and from all ecclesiasti-cal
bodies.
The College proper, or Academical department as it is com-monly
called, numbers 500 students, who are taught in four
classes by a faculty consisting of a president, eleven profes-sors,
seven tutors, three professors of other departments lectur-ers
in this, and three instructors.
The professional or university departments of the College
are four in number, Law, Medical, Theological and Scientific.
All these have funds of greater or less extent distinct from the
College proper, and all share in the use of the College Library |
and other collections.
The Law School, recognized as a part of the College in
1822, has at the present time one professor, several occasional
lecturers, and sixteen students.
The Medical School, begun in 1813, has a faculty of eight
professors, besides assistants, and a body of twenty- four stu-dents.
A Private medical class is maintained by the members of
this Faculty, and by other resident physicians, during the sum-mer
months.
16
The Theological School was instituted in 1822, and now
numbers thirty- two students, who are under the charge of six
professors.
The Sheffield Scientific School, named for its chief benefac-tor,
and endowed with a portion of the National Land Grant,
was commenced in 1846. It now provides, in addition to a
select course of studies, special courses in Agriculture, Mechan-ics,
Mining and Metallurgy, Civil Engineering, Chemistry, and
Natural History. Each of these sections constitutes, in a cer-tain
sense, a school by itself, while yet there is an organic
unity binding them together. There are eleven professors in
this department, seven instructors, and " 121 students.
The number of students in all these departments in Octo-ber,
1867, is 699.
The Yale School of the Fine Arts is not yet fully organized.
Yale College confers degrees in all the faculties, Bachelor and
Master of Arts, Bachelor aud Doctor of Laws, Licentiate and
Doctor in Medicine, Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor and Doc-tor
of Philosophy. It has also conferred two doctorates in
Music. Its whole number of graduates up to 1865 was 9112.
N . LIBRARIES.
In the college library building there are not far from 75,000
volumes, of which 47,000 belong to the college and the remain-der
to the literary societies of the students. These different
collections really constitute one library. Each of the profes-sional
schools has a small working library of books in its own
specialty.
There is in town a circulating library of about 7,000 vol-umes
belonging to the Young Mpn's Institute, and a small
circulating library on the ' Muclie plan,' which gives promise of
being very convenient.
O. READING ROOMS.
There are several public reading rooms in which the newspa-pers
and current magazines are accessible to the public.
In the college library, the transactions and journals of many
learned societies, and the chief periodicals, theological, literary,
mathematical, etc., both foreign and American, are regularly
received. In the Sheffield Scientific School, a large number
of journals are taken, devoted to chemistry, engineering, me-chanics,
mining, agriculture, natural history and the other
specialties taught in the school.
The college also maintains a newspaper reading room, in
which are placed newspapers from this country and England,
daily and weekly, with some of the higher literary magazines.
17
The Merchant's Exchange has a good collection of newspa-pers
from different parts of the country, especially those which
are important to business men. The Young Mens' Institute
maintains a reading room for the benefit of the subscribers,
and the Young Mens' Christian Association, whose rooms are
open gratuitously, day and evening, receives most of the reli-gious
papers of the country.
P . LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, instituted
in 1799, has maintained for near seventy years, frequent meet-ings
for the presentation of memoirs, and the discussion of sci-entific
topics. The meetings are held monthly, and are open
only to members who are elected by the society. The society
has recently published several important scientific papers.
The American Oriental Society, incorporated in Massachu-setts
and holding its annual meetings in Boston, has deposited
its library and collections in New Haven, and many important
additions have been made to the same on condition of their
remaining here forever. The Journal of the Society is devoted
to elaborate papers on the languages, ethnology, etc., of the
East.
A Philological Society, made up of college graduates, has
maintained for some years a series of meetings devoted to
philological papers and discussions.
There are also a Horticultural, an Agricultural, and a Pomo-logical
Society, organized in New Haven. Two musical asso-ciations
are maintained, the one known as the Mendelssohn, is
a society of vocalists devoted to the performance of oratorios
and other elaborate compositions; the other, known as the
Philharmonic, is made up of instrumental performers.
The New Haven Colony Historical Society, organized in
1863, holds frequent meetings for the promotion of an interest
in American history, and has published one volume of memoirs.
New Haven is the place of publication for the American
Journal of Science, by Messrs. Silliman & Dana, a scientific
journal now in its 95th volume; the Journal of the American
Oriental Society; and the New Englander, a theological, polit-ical,
and literary quarterly. The students of the college sup-port
two magazines, the Yale Literary Magazine, now in its
33d volume, and the College Courant, a weekly paper now in
its second year. The number of daily papers is three,— of
weekly papers, four.
18 -
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Q. COLLECTIONS.
The munificence of Geo. Peabody, Esq., of London, has re- >
cently provided for the erection of a costly building for the col-lections
of Yale College, in Mineralogy, Geology and Natural
History. His gift was # 150,000.
Until that building shall be put up, it will be very difficult
to describe or to exhibit in detail the collections of the univer-sity,
for many of the most valuable specimens are stored away
out of sight. This is especially true of the collections in zool-ogy
and palseontology. The college cabinet of minerals, in-cluding
also some of the geological specimens, is well arranged
and constantly open to the public. It is one of the largest
and best collections in the country.
In the Sheffield Scientific School, there is a very interesting
collection of economic minerals and furnace products illustra-tive
of metallurgy. In the same building Prof. Brush's pri- *
vate cabinet of minerals is also kept.
The Yale School of the Fine Arts, a building erected by the
liberality of Augustus B. Street, Esq., of New Haven, is de-signed
partly as a place of exhibition for works of art. The
college owns valuable examples of the work of Smybert, Earle,
Stuart, Trumbull, Allston, Morse, and other early painters of
this country; and during the summer of 1867, a large number
of paintings by modern artists, American and European, were
placed on exhibition here by permission of the owners. It is
hoped that the Jares collection of Pictures, illustrative of the
work of early Italian painters, will be secured for the college.
The Colony Historical Society has recently commenced a
collection of local antiquities, illustrating the history of New
Haven, including personal relics, portraits, views, etc.
Dr. E. H. Leffingwell's large collection of autograph letters
and papers is also deposited in the rooms of this society.