PEABODY SCHOOL HISTORY PROJECT

Written by Amos Merrill, a Trial Justice of the local police court from 1876 to 1906. John Wells in The Peabody Story describes Merrill as having "held many positions of honor and trust in the town," including school committee member.

When the third Peabody High School was opened on Central Street in 1904, Merrill was the main speaker. Thomas Carroll, namesake of the city's elementary school in the east end, introduced him at the school's opening ceremonies.

Wells also reported that in 1899 a movement for a new high school broke out in Peabody. It is likely that Merrill wrote this report as part of the movement, or for his address at the opening ceremonies for the school in 1904. Although the manuscript is not dated, its scope encompasses from "the early part of the nineteenth century to its close."

Accompanying the handwritten manuscript of the Peabody Historical Society is a note that reads: "This package contains a copy of a statement relating to the history of the schools of Peabody during the nineteenth century. The original having been placed in box with other matter at the beginning of the twentieth century, sealed up and placed in the vault of the Peabody Institute."

"The enclosed is a copy of a statement in relation to the schools of Peabody from the early period of the nineteenth century to its close. The Town of Peabody formed a part of the Town of Danvers from its earliest settlement to the year 1855, when Danvers was divided and the South Parish then became the present Town of Peabody. The action of the Town of Danvers until the division is given only as it applies to schools of the section which became the Town of Peabody."

The document was donated by Frank C. Merrill on April 2, 1909. It was read for the first time on October 2, 1909 to members of the Society by his granddaughter, Miss Alice Merrill (daughter of Walter Merrill).

by Amos Merrill

In response to the request of the Committee of the Historical Society to furnish a statement of the condition of the schools of Peabody at the beginning of the twentieth century, it had seemed best to briefly review the changes that have been made from the early part of the nineteenth century.

My personal knowledge will carry me back to about the third decade. In the year 1832, I had some personal knowledge of the principal school of the village in what is known as the Center District. This was the school which George Peabody, the great benefactor of this town, attended and this school house of that date was the same building in which he was a pupil a few years previous.

The condition of that school at that date was fairly representative of the better class of schools in the town and Commonwealth at that period and was much the same as they had been from the beginning of the century.

There was practically no attempt at grading the school. The pupils who would now be placed in at least four grades in reading and grammar would all be placed in one class. Boys who attended school two or three months in winter only would read with those who attended through the year and were also allowed to recite in the first class in grammar which was usually the only class in that study.

In arithmetic there [was] no attempt at classification, each pupil doing such work as was able to do. Although these schools of the first third of the century seem crude and imperfect when compared with the greater advantages furnished in the schools of the present day, yet there we usually found bright pupils and bright classes of both boys and girls who attended throughout the year and who made excellent progress and were well advanced in all the usual grammar school studies, including also Algebra, Geometry and frequently a few pupils in Latin. Several schools in Danvers, of which Peabody was then a part, had classes of the above description. It should be stated however as there was at that time no grade above the grammar schools that many pupils remained in school much longer than pupils of the present time.

While it is true that the present graded system of schools is a great advance and improvement over the mixed and ungraded schools of the earlier date, yet there were some advantages: possibly the younger pupils were benefited by hearing the recitation of older pupils. But however this may be, this ungraded school was the only school which could be applied to the conditions of the time by reason of the small number of pupils which could be brought together even in the largest districts and the irregular attendance of a large portion in summer or female schools no system of grading could obtain. Much of the teaching could only apply to individual students.

In many of the schools, the teachers both for the Winter and Summer terms were fully prepared to do intelligent and faithful work. The Masters for the winter term and a female teacher for the summer term. The older boys with few exceptions attended the winter term only.

Such briefly stated was the condition of the schools of Danvers including Peabody during the first third of the nineteenth century.

  In the year of 1789, by a law of the Commonwealth, towns were authorized to divide the territory into School Districts. These districts, if the town voted to divide, were authorized to call meetings of the legal voters of the district who might vote to raise money for the purpose of providing school rooms or for building new and assess the citizens of the district on the cost of the same. Danvers appears to have acted in accordance with this law and to have divided the town into thirteen district but does not appear to have had well defined lines for said district established by meets and bounds until the year 1805. In May the 29th day of that year a committee of thirteen persons, one from each district, was appointed for the purpose of defining the limits of the several school districts. The chairman of this committee was John W. Proctor Esq., who was for many years a prominent and active member of the school committee.

The districts as then established remained without change until the division of the town in 1855. The town of Peabody adopted the same lines as were in existence previous to the division.

At the time when district lines were established in 1835 in the part of Danvers which is now Peabody, there was only one school building which consisted of more than one room. The school room in the Wallis district was situated between Grove Street and the Old Burying Ground on Main Street and so continue on until the year 1845 when a two-story frame building containing three rooms was built on the lot occupied by the brick building at present in use in that district.

The school building for the Center District, formerly known as No. 11, was situated on the Square, shown on painting now in the Selectman’s room in the Town House. West of the First Congregational Church, purchased in 1809 for $400, the District built a one room frame building on Lowell Street at the corner of what is now School Street in the year 1834 and in 1840 added another room and in 1847 built a large size 2-story building with one large room and recitation room in each story. This was connected in the rear with the rear part of one of the above named rooms with one half of the one-story building. The front part of which was moved on the opposite side of the street and used as a primary school room. The cost about $4000.

In the Bowditch district, a one-story, 2-room building was built in 1842. The school in South Peabody was kept in a 2-story stone building with two rooms situated on Lynnfield Street. One half of said building with a second story added now remains owned by Amos K. Redding. Until 1864, this 2-story stone building was the only school room in this section of town.

In the period between 1830 and 1846 there [were] three small school houses in West Peabody - one on Newbury Street, corner of Lake Street, one on Lowell Street near Goodale Street (No. 10) and one on Lowell Street a few blocks west of Lake Street. Each of the last two would accommodate about 50 pupils.

A brick building with 2-rooms was built in the Felton district in 1841. This replaced a one-story frame building and is now the only one in use which have been named. The house on Lowell Street (No. 10) at the corner of Goodale Street was the house named above as the Wallace (sic Wallis) School building on Main Street, moved to Lowell Street. A new building, one-story building with 2 rooms was built in 1846 by Dist. 10 and the above building removed.

At the Annual Meeting in March 1816, the Town of Danvers voted to choose a Committee to look after the schools and report their condition to the Town at the adjournment April 9th. The committee, consisting of Nathaniel Felton, Daniel Putnam and Doct. Andrew Nichols made its report. This was ten years before towns were required to choose a School Committee.

The report recommended that it was expedient that the Town choose a School Committee, who should report to the Town, whose powers should be the same as the Minister of the Gospel and the Selectman, except such matters as referred to the duties of Prudential Committees and also recommend that that Committee consist of one from each school district. Previous to this there had been no superintending committee chosen by the Town. The Prudential Committees were chosen as before stated by the School District and in addition to having the care and custody of school buildings also employed teachers for its own District but had no authority to approve such teacher or place him or her in charge of such school, and until approved by the Clergyman of the Town such teacher could not enter upon his or her duties.

This duty seems to have been in charge of the Clergyman of the Town either by authority of law or by custom. In case the Prudential Committee fails to provide a teacher, the Selectman had authority to select and place him or her in charge of the school.

Near the middle of the third decade there was quite a revival of interest in school matters beginning in Boston in consequence of the great work of Horace Mann, who made serious charged in regard to the inefficiency of Boston schools. This caused great excitement among the Head Masters who denied but could not refute the charges. The result was highly beneficial to the schools, not only in Boston but in cities and towns generally in the Commonwealth, a new interest was created which was resulted in introducing new methods and a higher standard of teaching. Teachers had in Danvers, as in other towns, sometimes been employed without sufficient regard to their fitness, either in scholarship or tact. But, at that period a new interest was manifest the Prudential Committee cooperating with the Superintending Committee of the Town with a much greater interest shown by parents and all friends of education and as a result of the school buildings previously mentioned were built and these, when completed, aided in still farther aiding to them newly awakened interest which continued to increase until the matter of establishing a High School began to be agitated. The cost of maintaining such a school caused much opposition and it was not until after a law had been passed by the Commonwealth requiring Towns of ten thousand inhabitants to maintain a high school and the Town had been indicted for neglecting to provide for such a school. Calls for action were taken and at a meeting of the Town held on the 25th day of March 1850 at the South Parish and after an exciting debate on the motion to establish two high schools - one in the North Parish and one in the South Parish, it was finally voted to establish two high schools as proposed.

The affirmation was advocated with great ability by Moses Black of North Danvers and Alfred Abbott, Jr. of South Danvers and by others. The negative was also supported with equal ability by John W. Proctor, Esq. of the South Parish, who, after the vote had been taken, stated that he had caused the Town to be indicted, and had presented the negative side only for the purpose of securing an affirmative vote.

The schools were established according to the vote. Suitable rooms were secured, one in the North Parish and one in the South Parish, and a competent and excellent teacher secured for each school. The school in the South Parish opened with 43 pupils and the school in the North Parish with 39.

At the close of the year, the work in both schools was found highly satisfactory. But the rooms which served the purpose from the beginning were soon found to be inadequate for the wants of the schools and in 1854 two new buildings were built in each Parish, the first story in each building to serve for Town House purposes. These building with improvements since made are still used by the towns for high school purposes.

The building in this, the Town of Peabody, is not inadequate for the present wants of the school and a new building is now contemplated. This school [is] now called Peabody High School, in honor of George Peabody who made a gift to the Town of Medals and prizes for said school. This school has, with few exceptions, been well conducted from the beginning and has had almost uniformly competent teachers and is now in excellent condition have at this time eight teachers.

The increased interest in the schools heretofore mentioned has continued from year to year and the number of pupils increasing each year has called for larger accommodations for new and better school buildings. In 1857, the present school house in the Bowditch District, dedicated at the time by an able address by Gov. Boutwell. This building was at that time the finest school building in town.

In 1869, the Town took the most important forward step which it had taken since its incorporation as a town. Referring to the Town of Peabody. ...By an act of the Legislature of the Commonwealth the old District system of the schools had been abolished displacing the Prudential Committee system and placing the care of school building, the selection and approval of teachers entirely in charge of the school committee chosen by towns.

The Prudential Committee system has not been wholly an evil. During the large part of this time it was in force it was decidedly beneficial. The District usually chose persons most interested in school matters on their committee. But conditions had changed and the time had fully arrived for the change and especially for the entire abolition of the District system which was fully realized by all those most interested in the improvement of the school system.

At the Annual Meeting of the Town in 1869...the town was found to be ready to provide better accommodation for its schools and almost unanimously voted to build four new buildings. The Wallis District had taken action before the district system had been abolished and had voted to build a brick building with 10 rooms and a hall. The Town voted to assume the cost and to build a similar building in the Center district, each to cost $45,000. It was also voted to build a four room frame building in Rockville District to cost $16,000 and also to build in West Peabody a frame building of the same size but to finish 2 rooms for other uses for the West Peabody section of the Town. When finished, the pupils of the three schools to occupy the school room and the old buildings to be disposed of by the old district.

It was also voted to expend $12,000 in improvements on the Bowditch Building and $750 on the Felton School building.

The total amount expended under the above name votes was $122,750, furnishing excellent and ample rooms for all parts of the town. These were all complete for use in the year 1870.

In 1869, a full course of studies was prepared for all grades of the schools and all were required to conform to the grade. Previous to this there had been uniformity of work. This change was favorably received by all teachers and was of a decided benefit to all the schools.

In 1870, a system of drawing was introduced and singing was introduced in the Wallis School by the teacher. At a later time, singing was introduced to all of the schools and a permanent teacher employed.

From June 1852 to April 1855, the Town of Danvers employed a superintendent of schools. The town was divided in 1855. The North Parish retaining the old name and the South Parish finally adapting the name of Peabody.

The town of Peabody did not choose to employ a Superintendent and the care and supervision of schools was in charge of the School Committee until the year of 1894 when a Superintendent was chosen and the office has continued to the present time. During the intervening time, while the Town had no superintendent, the town elected as it committee those who were considered amply qualified to discharge the duties of the office and as a result competent teachers only have been employed.

A high standard has been maintained in every department, good methods of teaching adopted and good results secured. The Committee maintains a conservative position in regard to changes which might result in less attainment on those branches of study which form the basis of a good education.

The Town has of late years made liberal appropriations for the support of schools and now, at the beginning of the twentieth century, it has reason to look back with satisfaction on the history of its schools and the good work accomplished there during the nineteenth century and with pride and satisfaction on their present condition.

Amos Merrill