OCR Document

HISTORY and DEVELOPMENT of the

SCHOOL DISTRICT of CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP

Alexander W. Scott

Cheltenham Elementary 1983

I dedicate this paper to my late beloved wife Florence Oeters Scott - C.H.S. '44. Her love and encouragement were always a strength to our family.

She lived her entire life in Cheltenham Township and always spoke enthusiastically about its schools and the quality of the education she received while attending Wyncote Elementary, Thomas Williams Junior High and Cheltenham High School.

For nearly 300 years the residents of Cheltenham Township have regarded the education of their young people as one of the prime responsibilities of the community. This attitude began with the early Quaker settlers in William Penn's new Province, when on April 5,1697, John Barnes deeded land to the Cheltenham Friends. This 120 acre grant was "for and towards the erection of a Meeting House for Friends and towards the maintenance of a school." The following December, the Cheltenham Friends asked the Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting for financial assistance to carry out the provisions of Barnes' deed. Although few written records of those early school days exist, it is believed that prior to 1697 the Cheltenham Friends held Meetings and school in a log house. However, it is a known fact that from 1683 Richard Wall's house, originally made of wood, was used as a Meeting House. It could be possible that his house was also used as a school for the few children in the area during those early years. The name of the first teacher at Abington Friends School (the land grant was in Abington Township and hence the Meeting's new name) is unknown, but the Pennsylvania Archives of 1701 mention a Jacob Taylor who was "concerned in a school at Abington."Since the majority of our early settlers were Quakers, the Abington Friends School remained the only school for the children of the Cheltenham area for over 40 years.

In 1734, Cheltenham had only 23 tenants and land owners and their families, a total of less than 200 inhabitants. Because of the small population, the earliest schools were to be shared with neighboring communities.

The first such school Was erected on land granted September 14, 1748, by Justus Wilhelm Rubinkam (later spelled Rubicam) and his wife Susanna. Her maiden name was Rittenhouse, and she was the great grand-daughter of William Rittenhouse who built the first paper mill in America. The Rubicam School was located near the present intersection of Thouron Avenue and Sharpnack Street about 300 yards east of the front gate of Ivy Hill Cemetery on Easton Road in Philadelphia.

The indenture stated that on the one quarter acre a school was to be built for the children of the Bristol (now the Oak Lane area), Cheltenham, and Springfield Townships. The trustees named in the indenture were Anthony Williams, Sr., John Cleaver, Ezekiel Potts, and Isaac Cleaver. A second deed of trust was made in 1790 by Anthony Williams, Sr. and Isaac Cleaver (sole surviving trustees to Anthony Williams, Jr., George Williams, Henry Childs, John Unrue, Absalom Michener, and Jesse Kirk). The school itself was -built of stone about 14 x 18 feet with a door and 6 windows. It was maintained by voluntary contributions from the surrounding residents and served the area for nearly 45 years until a new school was built even closer to the boundary of Cheltenham Township.

The next school built for the children of Cheltenham was the result of an indenture dated October 13,1783, by Andrew and Ann Redheifer. The deed of trust stated that the land was "for the use of the neighborhood in general for an English Protestant school or church as they shall from time to time think fit and for no other use or uses whatsoever." It stood on Mermaid Lane in Springfield Township near'the intersection of the Cheltenham and Springfield Township lines. The land was 45 perches in size; the trustees named were Isaiah Hubs and John Slingluff. The surrounding property was owned by Polly Hicks and thus the school became known as the Hicks School. The original log schoolhouse was rebuilt in 1832 by contributions from residents of Cheltenham and Springfield Townships. On August 20,1868, the building was sold to John Houston for 300 dollars. After court costs the net proceeds were divided between the two townships with the February 1,1869, School Board minutes of the Cheltenham School District reporting the receipt of $86.26 as its share.

The Williams School, located on the south side of Cheltenham Avenue east of Limekiln pike, was built as a replacement for the Rubicam School. The will of Anthony Williams, Sr., dated July 31,1793, bequeathed "one small lot of land, part of the plantation whereon I now dwell" to Benjamin Mather, Henry Childs, Jr.,

Absalom Michener, and Benjamin Shoemaker, Jr. to be held in trust for "the people called Quakers held in Abington." Williams left 10 pounds to help build the school and 100 pounds towards its support. The trustees were directed to build the school for the inhabitants living not more than one and a quarter miles from the school within 2 years from the date of the will or the entire bequest would be void. The school was built in a_cordance with the wishes of the will, and the school and property remained in the care of the trustees appointed by the Abington Meeting until Cheltenham adopted the Common School Law in 1838. In 1801 a second deed of trust was made by Benjamin Mather and Henry Childs, Jr. (the two surviving trustees which appointed Anthony Williams, Jr., Edward Edwards, Levi Tyson, Thomas Mather, Oliver Wilson, and Isaac Michener new trustees). After the 1838 Common School Law the school was managed in partnership by the directors of Cheltenham and the old Bristol Township which was later merged into Philadelphia's 22nd ward. It was thus managed until June 1873, by which time both districts had constructed other schools and therefore withdrew their support. The building was then converted into a private dwelling. There had been a third deed of trust in 1847 and a fourth in 1881. After the school was converted into a private dwelling, the trustees continued to manage the rents and the accrued interest.

By 1784, when Montgomery County was formed, Cheltenham Township was beginning to grow. This was especially true of the eastern side of the township where, because of early mills, the area was already known as Milltown. The first United States census in 1790 recorded a township of 620 inhabitants.

The real beginning of the Cheltenham school system can be dated November 1795, with the opening of the Milltown School on Ashbourne Road. The school must be considered one of the first, and records would seem to indicate the very first, built in Montgomery County as a public school. While there are reported earlier school buildings in the county open to all children they were built and operated by local churches. The Milltown School was built by three local citizens to meet the educational needs of the neighborhood children. Three of the more prominent citizens of Milltown at that time were Benjamin Rowland, Frederick Altemus, and Col. Samuel Miles. In a deed of trust dated July 7,1796, nearly a year after the school actually opened, Benjamin and Mary Rowland gave 14 perches of land, Frederick and Mary Altemus 48 perches, and Samuel and Katherine Miles 58 perches. On these three adjoining tracts of ground, making altogether 120 perches (160 equal an acre), the Mi11town School was built. The trustees as named in the deed were Thomas Fletcher, Caleb Hallowell, John Thomson, John Jones, Amos Jones, and William Bailey.

This first Che1tenham school, constructed of rough stone, contained only one room, with a desk for the teacher and long desks and benches for the pupils; an open fireplace burned in one end of the school.

The free system of public education in Pennsylvania was still some 40 years in the future, so the pupils of the Mi11town School paid tuition as well as buying their own school supplies. Tuition cost about 3 cents a day; a year's supply of books and materials came to about 1 dollar. Each pupil was required to have an English reader or New Testament, a Comly's or Byerly's spelling book, and pike's or Rose's arithmetic; as well as slate, writing implement,

6 sheets of foolscap paper stitched, together, a small ink holder, and a goose quill. Those children whose parents were unable to pay the fee or provide the supplies were admitted free. They were termed "poor scholars," or "county scholars," and were not well received by their tuition paying companions.

The first Che1tenham Township teacher of which there is any record was Samuel Brown Wylie. He was born May 21,1773, ln County Antrim, Ireland, and received his education at the University of Glasgow. As a young man he left for America and on October 18, 1797, arrived in New Castle Delaware. He found his way to Cheltenham and became the teacher at the Milltown School. Accounts of his life indicate that he taught there for only. a short time. In 1803 he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church and became pastor of the First Reformed Church of Philadelphia which is now the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church on Broad Street below Spruce. In 1816 he received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Dickinson College. He served for many years as principal of the University of Pennsylvania Academy and in 1828 became professor of ancient languages at the University of Pennsylvania. He spoke 14 different languages. From 1834 until his retirement in 1848 he was Vice Provost of the university.

Besides serving the educational needs of the Milltown community, the school building was also used for religious services. During the school's first 40 years it was used at different times by the Baptists, Swedenborgians, and Methodists.

When a second room with a connecting hallway was added (1857) to the school its name was changed to the Cheltenham School. This name change resulted from the fact that on June 4, l8_7, the first post office in Cheltenham Township had just opened near the school. The name Cheltenham was chosen for the post office since the name Milltown was already being used elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

In 1883 the two-room school was torn down and on the same site the George K. Heller School, named for a local resident who served as a school director for 35 years, was built. The School Board originally decided to name it the Rowland School after the family who contributed so much to the growth of the area but at a subsequent meeting it was decided to name it after George Heller.

The school was not completed by September 1st so classes began in the Cheltenham Hall at Ashbourne Road and Central Avenue. The increasing population of the area necessitated the school's first addition in 1893. A new 56 x 31 foot wing was added with an 8 x 25 foot hallway. It cost $6,000 and gave two more rooms now making a total of 5 classrooms. Another major addition was made in 1906. When in March of 1953 it ceased serving as a school, it was considered the oldest public school in Pennsylvania (1795-1953) in continuous use on the same site. The building still serves the community as the Cheltenham Art Center.

In 1876 a young woman, Carrie V. Speck, became a primary teacher at the Cheltenham School and began the longest teaching career in the history of Cheltenham Township schools. She was 16 years old when she began teaching at the school in which she was once a pupil and when she retired in 1926 Carrie had completed 50 years of educating Cheltenham's children. Dr. H.H. Baish, former Executive Secretary of the Public School Employees' Retirement Board, said she was the only teacher in Pennsylvania to ever serve one community continuously for that length of time. In 1882 she was appointed principal of the Cheltenham School. Carrie held this position until 1905. In 1890, while principal of the now Heller School, she was the first educator in Montgomery County to organize a school saving bank. In 1905 Carrie was transferred to Cheltenham High School where she remained until her retirement in 1926. While there she taught English, history, pedagogy, algebra, and penmanship. She was also chairman of the history department. Before principal Dr. Grizzell left the high school to become professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania he asked Carrie to reorganize the library program. She finished her 50 years as librarian.

In appreciation for her remarkable career and contribution to the development of the Cheltenham School District through its early years, the Board of School Directors at their meeting of June 2, 1926, unanimously adopted the following unprecedented resolution:

"The Board hereby agrees in consideration of the exceptional period of faithful service of Carrie V. Speck to pay to Miss Speck the difference between her present salary and the allowance to which she is now entitled from the Teachers' Retirement Fund until Miss Speck shall reach the age of seventy years and thereafter for the remainder of her life the difference between her present retirement allowance and the retirement allowance to which she would be entitled were she to remain in the teaching service until seventy years of age."

While Cheltenham did not immediately adopt the Common School System after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had passed the Free School Act of 1834, they did appoint an interim Board of Directors. In 1836, at a meeting of the inhabitants of Cheltenham Township, John J. Williams, Thomas Rowland, Jacob Myers, George K. Heller, Samuel Fenton, and Comly Shoemaker were appointed as a Board of Directors. At a later meeting it was decided to take no action on the school question until the next township election in 1837. At that election the question of adopting the Common School System was rejected 12 to 34, but on March 16,1838, another vote was taken, and this time it carried by a 56 to 40 vote. The first official Board of Directors consisted of Joel Mann, 'president; George K. Heller, secretary; John J. Williams, treasurer; Thomas Rowland, Bartholomew Mather, and William Gillingham.

Although the new state law created a public school system, local parents were still obliged to pay one-half of the tuition cost and purchase the books used by their children. It was not until 1855 that the Board of Directors passed a resolution to furnish for its young people a public education supported completely by township-wide taxes.

The advent of the public school system and the beginning of Cheltenham’s emergence as a suburban" township with growing connections with Philadelphia signified a need for more schools. The children living in the western part of the township had to attend those schools previously mentioned which were located in Philadelphia County. The new school district began to move ahead in building its own schools where needed. In an indenture dated March 24,1842, James and Mary Harmer sold a portion of their land for $30 to the Board of School Directors. The one-room Harmer Hill School was built on the north side of Church Road just west of Rices Mill Road.

While the school sat on a beautiful location with a view of the surrounding country-side from its high elevation it soon became apparent that it was not close enough to the center of the growing population. On February 3,1853, a half acre of land was bought from Dr. Charles Bolton and his wife Lucy Ann for $75. A $600 one-room school was built on the new Church Road site about 100 yards west of Limekiln pike on what is now Beaver College property. Additions were made in 1871 and 1878 which together cost about $6000. It was referred to as the Audenried School though this name was not used until after the addition was completed in January 1879. The School Board named it in honor of William Audenried the father of one of the board members. The late Mr. Audenried had been active in the early public school movement in Pennsylvania. The local citizens had been calling it the Harmer Hill School after the earlier Church Road school and until 1879 the School Board minutes referred to it as the Cheltenham Valley School. It closed in 1907 with the building of a new school in Glenside.

The old-fashioned school bell was a common feature in Cheltenham Township schools during this period. Some years prior to the last addition to the Audenried School a fine-toned bell was purchased, by subscription of the people in the neighborhood, at a cost of $70 from E.A. and G.K. Meneely of Troy, New York. When the Edge Hill School was built in 1890 the bell was transferred to the new school. This bell was a great source of pride to the people and remained in existence in the township for many years.

The purchase of land in March 1842, to build the Harmer Hill School, meant the eastern and western parts of the township would each have a public school. Only those children in the central part were now without a school. A few months after the Harmer Hill land purchase, Daniel and Sarah Rorer gave land on Mill Road near the Myers-Ervien Fork Factory to the Board of School Directors. The indenture was dated August 2,1842, and stipulated that the land was to be used exclusively for the building of a school. Since the land was centrally located, it seemed only natural to name it the Middle School. In less than 20 'years, increased population necessitated the consideration of a new building. At first, space was rented in what is known as the "William Penn House" on the north side of Church Road facing Mill Road. The School Board was unable to buy land adjacent to the Middle School so after numerous votes to resolve the problem, it was decided to buy land on Church Road, near the present Stahr Road, from Henry P. Birchall and William and Susanne Birchall for $600. The deed was dated November 14,1859.

The Middle School building was sold and still stands today as a private home at 7860 Mill Road. Because the original 1842 gift from Daniel Rorer stated that the land was to be used for the "sole use and purpose of having a public school house thereon erected," it was necessary to have Daniel Rorer and his wife join on the sale of the school and land. This was done and the Rorers received half of the $200 sale price.

On the land purchased from the Birchalls, the first Shoemaker U/ School was erected. At first the School Board continued to call it the Middle School, then later named it the Shoemakertown School after the village near which it stood. Still later it became known as the Shoemaker School in honor of Robert Shoemaker, a former School Board member.

The new school stood on an acre of land but included a public road and Tookany Creek which greatly reduced the area available for the school building and other facilities. This acreage had been purchased at this time because no one else in the area would sell ground to the school district. The school itself stood on a high bit of ground and was the only part not affected by flooding from the Tookany Creek. However, the playground, subject to frequent flooding, seldom dried out. The school, now with a second floor added in 1873, was maintained on this site for 30 years.

At a Board of Directors' meeting on December 2, 1889, it was _ reported that land had been purchased across Church Road for the purpose of building a larger school. The price of $3,500 was paid to the estate of the late J. Francis Fisher; the contract to build the school cost $7,762. James Satterthwaite received $150

to straighten the course of Tookany Creek which had originally run through the Fisher property. The Satterthwaite quarries provided the stone to build the school. The new three room Shoemaker School opened on March 13,1891, while the original one was sold to Maurice P. Horner (July 31,1893). He converted it into a private dwelling that still stands at 538 Church Road. Through the years the increasing population brought a major addition to the second Shoemaker School in 1937. By way of contrast the decreasing enrollment resulted in it closing (1973). Following rental to the Beth Jacob Day School and a period of vacancy the second Shoemaker School was demolished (1979) to make way for the construction of the new Elkins Park Library.

The 1790 census recorded 620 inhabitants. In the next 60 years the population doubled to 1,292. Primarily due to the expansion of the North Penn Railroad into Montgomery County, including 4 stations in Cheltenham Township, the decade between 1850 and 1860 showed the first major increase in Cheltenham's population. No longer were the township's contacts with Philadelphia merely based on its being an outlet for Cheltenham's farm and mill products. Now people could work in Philadelphia and live in Cheltenham. During the remaining decades of the 19th century some of its mills gained recognition around the world. Eventually the increasingly residential nature of the township prevailed. This change was hastened by its becoming the locale in which many wealthy families in the Philadelphia business community (Wanamaker, Widener, Stetson, Elkins and Gribbel) as well as prominent citizens, such as Lucretia Mott, took up residence.

Before discussing the further expansion of the school district, i)fcJ a brief look at the schools about the time of the Civil War might be of interest. The school day varied with the seasons.

From April to November the hours were 8:00-11:45 and 1:30-5:00 with a 15 minute recess each session. From November to April the hours were 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00 with a 10 minute recess each session. School was held on alternate Saturdays. After several years of unsuccessful attempts the majority of the School Board was successful in establishing a five day week at the June 6,1859, meeting. Schools were open 10 months a year, well above the Montgomery County average of 7.2 months and the 4 or 5 months of some nearby districts. The monthly salary of the four male teachers was $36 which exceeded the .county average of $28. The two women teachers were not paid as well with their $18 a month being below the county average of $21. The monthly cost for each of the 324 pupils was 6l cents, highest in the county and well above the average of 47 cents. To pay for these expenditures, the citizens were taxed 4 mills and the district received $134.24 in State appropriations.

In the years between 1860 and 1900 Cheltenham was to grow from 1,979 to 6,154 inhabitants, and 5 more school buildings were to be erected.

Lucretia Mott's son-in-law, Edward M. Davis, was a prominent _ land developer in the period immediately following the civil War. To encourage purchasers, he promised to provide and maintain a school in his Camptown development. He built a two-room school house on what is now known as School Lane. On January 6,1868, he requested the School Board to appoint a teacher. They immediately investigated the situation and the following month agreed to rent the building for $7.50 a month and employed Ella Randall

as the teacher. The school opened February 3,1868.

Before the year was over, Edward Davis offered to sell the school to the district for $2,500. After nearly a year o{ negotiations the school was finally purchased August 30,1870, for $1,400 and became part of the school system. Soon this building became inadequate to accommodate the increasing population of Camptown. On August 7,1877, one and a half acres were purchased for $1,000 at the corner of Willow and Sycamore Avenues. The one room school opened March 6,1878, but the local population had grown so that it was necessary to use both the old and the new LaMott (Camptown's new name) Schools. Immediately a two room addition was begun and when completed in January 1880, the old school building was sold. By 1901 the school had grown to a five room school. The decreased population of the 1930's caused the LaMott School to be closed in June 1940. The building still serves the community as the LaMott Community Center.

In August of 1873, two lots were purchased on Union Avenue which were to be the most important in the educational development of Cheltenham Township. Hamilton and Rosa MacDonald were paid $359.07 in an August 27,1873, deed and Mathias and Sarah Shoemaker were paid $550 in an August 6,1873, deed for the two adjoining lots. The School Board immediately contracted to build a one-room brick school for $1,965. Every effort was made to have the school finished before the winter months. Classes began December 29,1873. The reason for the immediate building of the school was the crowded conditions at the LaMott School where Ashbourne children had been attending. The congestion had been so bad that in January 1873, a house was rented from William Kirkpatrick until a new school could be built in Ashbourne. The teacher, Sallie Leech, was paid $30 per month to teach in the front room of the house, and she in turn paid $6 for the use of the rest of the house. Mr. Kirkpatrick was paid $12 per month rent.

The continued growth of the township was having its effect on the school, and in 5 years the new Ashbourne School was so crowded that some students had to be assigned to other schools. The Board

authorized the building of a new and larger Ashbourne School on the same site; it was completed in October of 1881.

In June 1884, George W. Flounders was appointed principal of the Ashbourne School. At that time Cheltenham's schools were for grades 1-9. As a matter of fact none of Pennsylvania's township schools at that time had programs above the 9th grade.

In 1884, as Montgomery County was entering its second century, Flounders made an exciting request of the Cheltenham School Board -- expand the school to a complete high school. It was 11 years before the Commonwealth .of Pennsylvania was to pass a law establishing township high schools that Cheltenham planned Pennsylvania's first township high school. Mr. Flounders made his request at the November 3rd School Board meeting and at the same meeting Robert Shoemaker, Benjamin R. Myers and W.H. Myers were appointed a committee to explore the possibility. The School Board, at its December 1,1884, meeting, officially took the farsighted step of approving Mr. Flounders' recommendation.

Mr. Flounders had already begun a class of four students -Kathryn E. Murphy, Anna L. Fenton, Gertrude Howard and Robert S. Summers -- and after one year of this "advanced course," they became Cheltenham High School's first graduating class in June 1885. The commencement exercises were held at Parvin Hall, the

Sunday School building at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, on June 26, 1885, at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Three of those first graduates went on to higher education -- Kathryn Murphy took courses at West Chester State Normal School, later studied music in Providence, Rhode Island and became an assistant to the music supervisor in the Philadelphia school system; Gertrude Howard taught school and later studued stenography and typewriting before moving to Quakertown; Robert S. Summers was an 1889 graduate of Hahnemann Medical College and set-up practice in Philadelphia; Anna L. Fenton was married to Mr. Lesher and they lived in Philadelphia.

The first course of study included -- geography, history, civil government, American and English literature, rhetoric, algebra, plane geometry, Latin, physics, and chemistry.

The minutes of the September 2,1885, School Board meeting referred to the Ashbourne School for the first time as "the high school." County Superintendent Hoffecker wrote in his March 1885 report to the State -- "Cheltenham Township has established a township high school, which bids'fair to be a complete success, and thus place its schools in the front rank in the county."

George Flounders left the high school in December 1886, and was succeeded by David C. Cornell, who was principal until 1889. In the summer of 1889 an addition was made to the building, and the high school and grammar departments were separated.

With Mr. Cornell's leaving, Milton Cooper became principal and made the high school a two year program. During the winter of 1893 he and one of the high school teachers, Mr. Miller, laid out a three year course of study, which would enable the graduates to enter directly (and without examination) some of the area colleges. As Mr. Cooper left in December 1894, he was unable to put all of his plans into operation. His successor, John L. Shroy, continued the planning, and in June 1895, the high school graduated five members of the class of 1894, who had returned to take the third year. There was no commencement in 1896, as none of the regular class of 1895 took a third year. The first class to complete the, full three year course was graduated in June 1897.

A major curriculum revision creating two courses of study, Classical or Preparatory and the English, was developed in 1896. The Classical course prepared students to enter the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore, and Haverford Colleges. Mathematics including solid geometry and trigonometry, modern and ancient history, and literature were part of both courses. It also required three years of both Latin and German while the English course required three years of only one of the languages. The English course included bookkeeping in 10th grade and manual training in 11th grade. In June of 1896 the 9th grade students were informed as to the details of the new 3 year program so they could choose the course they intended to pursue the following September.

The distinction of being the first to receive diplomas belongs to the 12 graduates of 1894. Also, the first yearbook issued by Che1tenham High School was the trailblazing class of 1894. "Again we are the first!" the preface of the yearbook proudly proclaimed. For reasons not known the 25 page book with

6 pictures was not published until 1896. The members of the class received their copies at their annual reunion on August 26,1896, in She1enberger's woods near Ashbourne. The cover was lavender

and white with gold trim.

At the June 30,1891, School Board meeting another major educationa1 step was taken when Milton Cooper, high school principal, was asked to meet monthly with teachers from all the schools to discuss curriculum. He reported at the October 5th meeting that a district course of study had been developed by the teachers to be used in all the grammar schools. Prior to this, while each school had a head teacher or principal, they had a local School Board member who supervised the program and building needs. Teachers were hired and teaching materials selected by the local board member. Now there would be a continuity of programs through the grades, though the local board member would still exercise some authority over his individual school.

Mr. Cooper's responsibilities made him Che1tenham's first supervising principal. From his appointment in 1891 until his resignation in December 1894, the official School Board minutes referred to him as "visiting teacher." They did recognize him as having been supervising principal when they accepted his resignation.

At a special meeting on May 7,1901, Charles A. Wagner, who had been supervising principal since June 1897, was appointed Che1tenham's first superintendent at a salary of $1,200. With the 1900 census showing a population over 6,000, the decision was also made at this meeting to reorganize as an independent school

district.</