The Priority Of Education

 

After the silver crash, believing there was a great loss of students, Granite decided to keep only Miss M.I. Wolfe, as principal and Miss S.K. Coonan, as Assistant and to open the school October 2. The two teachers were retained at a lesser salary of $110 and $75 a month. Then the Granite News column, October 5, 1893, published this article: “When school opened Monday it was found that two teachers could not control the large number of pupils in attendance, and the services of Mrs. J.E. Trumbell were brought into service. Miss Sligh was employed temporarily, awaiting the arrival of Miss Wolfe from Anaconda…over 100 pupils were enrolled and the attendance is swelling daily."

 The only change noticeable was the large attendance of children who had appeared for the first time in the Philipsburg School. Demonstrating examples of the mettle that kept the community of Philipsburg alive was the issue of education. and was discussed with many different means explored to raise the needed money for a permanent building. As early as May 4, 1893 The Mail stated “The whole (school) Board is a unit on the question of increasing the school facilities, but the manner of doing it is where the difference of opinion comes in. A committee has been appointed…Trustee Pizer, of the committee, reported at the meeting that Angus McDonald wanted $2,000 per acre or $6,000 for three acres out where the baseball grounds are. Mrs. H. Schnepel, wanted $8,000 for five acres nearer to town. The Board was unanimous…that these figures were too much for the district to stand…Trustee Chris Jacky thought that the present site could be made to answer every purpose and suggested that steps could be taken to have the town board of Aldermen condemn the street between the two pieces of property owned by the district in order that they might be in one parcel of land. Then a good substantial brick building could be built, and there would be plenty of play ground. Trustee, Huffman agreed with Mr. Jacky.“ 

Ultimately, a mill levy was passed by the City of Philipsburg and  Contractor Charles Suiter won the bid to construct a High School Building. By early December the Citizen Call, announced the new school was almost completed and should be turned over to the school trustees by the fifteenth with a new term of school starting by January 4. Finally, The Mail, happily announced on January 9, 1896 the:” ...school house was completed and Mr. Charles Suiter turned the building over to the school board. The board accepted the building with an agreement that $5 per day equaling $275.00 does not have to be paid to Mr. Suiter due to the building not being completed on the agreed date. School will open next Monday. The teachers hired are: Prof. J.S. Gifford, Miss Annie Price, Miss M.C. Ryan, Miss Amy Short, Miss Madge Short and Mrs. Eugene Smith.” The janitor hired was Harry Rust, at $50.00 per month. 

To fill in the void while the school was being constructed, the Citizen Call October 30, 1895, made a comment about some one starting a private school and”…Mrs. F.H. Titus and Julius Hansen will open a private school in the private buildings owned by A.S. Huffman on California Street. They have secured the seats and other furniture of the old school house and will probably be ready for children on next Monday morning. There will be two departments, Julius Hansen will teach the grammar and Mrs. Titus the primary department. The terms have not been fully decided upon as yet, but it is believed that the tuition will be $2.50 per month." 

The following week there were twenty students in attendance on Monday and thirty were expected by the end of the week. I did not find any more reference to the private school once the new building was completed. The original frame school house was then “remodeled for court house purposes.” When the modern current Court House was erected, this still solid frame building was put on skids and moved to Porter’s Corner where it became known as the Vince and Maxine Fessler house (November 23, 1934). 

The Philipsburg High School dedication was held on February 21, 1896, and the entire front page of the Philipsburg Mail was dedicated to the event. A.R. Dearborn gave the opening address. It was originally named the Philipsburg High School. The first graduating ceremony was on May 27, 1898, comprised of Clara D. McDonel, Mary A. McKenzie (Burks), Pearletta M. Scott (Kroger), Lulu B. Rust (Lively), Fredrick W. Kroger, William H. Loughrin, and Vincent D. Doody. A classmate William B. Calhoun enlisted in the Spanish American War shortly before graduation, so did not attend the services.

By January 1904, school enrollment was looking up. An open letter to parents from Principal, G.T. Bramble, asked them not to send children that recently turned six years of age to school in January. as the teacher already had nearly seventy first graders. To add more students would make it impossible for her to give the new comers enough attention to pass them on to the second grade that spring. He continued on to explain there were plans to make two first grade classes in the fall. 

In March of 1904, the School Board of District No.1, decided to again submit to the voters of Granite County the concept of a County Free High School, that was voted down by fifty one votes in 1900. The County Free High School election issue passed, with a majority of seventy five votes, needless to say the votes all came from the southern part of the county. There were only fourteen votes for the school in Bearmouth; one in Stone; one in Garnet; and two in Drummond. There was a rumor that the election would be contested but the Mail felt the rumor just gossip. Trustees appointed were: R.R. McLeod, Valentine Jacky, John Kaiser, Albert Schuh, James McGowan and Edward Lannen and the County Superintendent would also be a board member. 

The May school report showed attendance of fifty eight students in the High school; twenty nine in the eighth grade; forty three in the sixth and seventh grade; thirty eight in the second sixth and fifth grade; forty six in the third and fourth grade; forty two in the second third and first second grade classes; fifty three in the other second grade class; and sixty five in the first grade. This made a total of 372 students in the Grade and High School. The newly appointed Free High School Board set out to establish the school faculty, by electing Prof. G.T. Bramble as principal and Miss A.H. Price as his assistant at a salary of $1,500 and $900 respectively. They would hire two more teachers and secure about $700 in equipment. They obtained a lease for the upper floor of the District School building for a term of three years at $1,025 annual rent which included janitor and heat 

Then Colonel George Morse from the lower valley (New Chicago) brought suit to restrain the newly elected board to establish the High School. The lengthy complaint basically stated that less than one hundred people had signed the petition to put the issue on the ballot; that two signers were county commissioner; that the other school districts did not have time to file a petition to have the school located in their district and so forth. After much legal wrangling, in 1905, The County Free High School was established with a business department in which bookkeeping, stenography, and typewriting would be taught. Three Remington Typewriters had been ordered and the other necessary apparatus were installed. A number of the graduating class of the previous year signified their intentions of attending the county high school and it was believed quite a large number of students from various parts of the county, would also attend. The lease was signed and school started on January 16, 1905. 

Of this beginning class fourteen students graduated in 1908. In 1910, there was discussion of erecting a building for a County High School. Since the high school had been established the county has been renting from Philipsburg School District No.1, the rooms and equipment necessary to conduct the school. The lease now in force was entered into in 1909 and would expire July 1911, and the facility was overcrowded. In 1909 a tax was levied for building purposes as provided by The High School Law. Four Mills were levied and created $10,052.22, available by 1910. The plans discussed at that time were for making another levy to provide funds to equip and furnish the building. A site, the high school trustees had secured an option on, was 270 by 256 feet and surrounded on all four sides by streets, in the Churchill addition. The site was practically donated, the cost to the county being slightly over $100. The Mail articles never stated who the land belonged to, but August Greenheck owned the majority of lots on Church Hill, at that time. The district was in need of the room and the present lease would probably be the last one the county would be able to secure. There was on hand in the high school building fund the sum of $10,052.22, which was not available for any other purpose. Within a few months and careful consideration the school board decided to build a new Granite County High School.

The school was completed in 1912 and served well until enrollment dropped during the second World War and it was discussed in 1946 to abandon the County High School. The citizenry arose to meet the crisis and the enrollment increased allowing the school to stay open. The High School at that time only received money per student and no other operating funds. 

After many good years the building was sold and is now a residence and museum of sorts and a new high school is located next to the original Grade school on School Hill. The grade school is a Historic Landmark and the oldest continuing operating school in Montana.