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Public Schools of
Transylvania County NC,
1905-1910
Sylvan Valley
News, 1910
To the
Honorable Board of Education, Transylvania
County:
Gentlemen: It
is with much pleasure that I respectfully
submit to you this report, showing the progress
of education in Transylvania county from July
1, 1905 to July 30, 1910. The report, being
presented in pamphlet form, will serve as a
convenient medium of communication between the
administration and the public, giving the
people information in regard to the condition
of the schools and educational work in the
county.
Much progress
has been made and is being made in the
development of our public schools, and I take
this opportunity, gentlemen, to sincerely thank
you for your hearty co-operation in the
work.
Most
sincerely yours,
T. C.
Henderson,
Supt. Of
County Schools
_____
The people
have the right to the privilege of education,
and it is
the duty of the
State to guard and maintain that
right.—Section
27, Bill of Rights, Constitution of North
Carolina
Our Public
Schools
Buildings and
Equipment
Five years ago there was
scarcely a respectable school house in
Transylvania county. Most of the structures
called school houses were either uncomfortable
and unsightly framed houses with no ceiling and
poor seats, or uncouth log huts provided with
benches which were apparently constructed to
provide a place of punishment for unruly
pupils. The total value of all public school
property was only about $5,000.00. During the
past five years, we have built ten new school
houses and have ceiled and otherwise repaired
several old buildings, until today we have
school property valued at over $30,000.00—an
increase of more than $5,000 a year. This
remarkable increase in school property has been
made possible by entertainments, private
donations, local taxation and receipts from the
Literary Fund of the
State.
During the
past five years, we have seated 22 school rooms
with patent desks and provided 25 rooms with
blackboards. The number of painted houses has
been increased from one to
eleven.
It is the
policy of the present administration to try to
provide in every school district a comfortable
school house with suitable equipment and
attractive grounds, until every school in the
county will be a thing of beauty and a joy
forever, where every boy and girl may be
delighted to assemble and may receive
instruction and inspiration not only from their
teacher but also from proper
environment.
…………
.
Local School
Tax
To succeed at
any profession in this day of sharp
competition, it is necessary for every human
being to have at least a thorough knowledge of
the elementary branches of reading, writing and
arithmetic, and the training and development
which results from the effort which must be put
forth to acquire such a knowledge. To provide
anything like adequate facilities for doing
this foundation work upon which our entire
educational system must stand, it has been
found necessary to supplement our school funds
by local taxation. This system of securing more
money for the schools is both wise and right,
as it provides the means for a longer term with
a more competent teacher in the community where
the tax is paid. “Every cent of the money paid
by local taxation for schools by an community
remains in the community for the improvement of
the community school, and every cent of it is
invested through a better school in the minds
and souls and characters of the rising
generation, in an increase in the intelligence
and efficiency of the entire community.” No one
can for a moment doubt the wisdom of such a tax
for such a purpose; because it is evident to
any thinking person that the children cannot
receive even a good elementary education by
means of a four-months school term each year
with the long vacation of eight months in which
to forget a great deal of what knowledge they
have acquired during the short term of school.
Every school in the county should have at least
an annual six months school
term.
The following
is a record of the local tax elections held in
Transylvania county. This record shows
something of the progressiveness of our
citizenship; as in every community except two
the election was carried for the tax, thus
providing for the boys and girls, through
better school facilities, the opportunity of
preparing themselves for successful
living:
Elections
Brevard No. 1. Election held April 24,
1906.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..178
Votes cast for special
tax…………………………………………………………96
Hogback No. 1. Election held March 19,
1907.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
41
Votes cast
for special tax…………………………………………………………
23
Cathey’s Creek No. 1. Election held June 11,
1907.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
51
Votes cast
for special tax…………………………………………………………
31
Boyd No. 3. Election held June 11,
1907.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
49
Votes cast
for special tax…………………………………………………………
31
Dunn’s Rock No. 1. Election held June 11,
1907.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
21
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….14
Hogback No. 4. Election held March 10,
1908.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
10
Votes cast
for special tax………………………………………………………….
9
Little River No. 1. Election held March 10,
1908.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
17
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….12
Brevard No. 2. Election held May 19,
1908.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
57
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….29
Eastatoe No. 2. Election held May 19,
1908.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
72
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….47
Hogback No. 2. Election held May 19,
1908.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
12
Votes cast
for special tax………………………………………………………….
3
Cathey’s Creek No. 2. Election held March 16,
1909.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
39
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….26
Gloucester. Election held August 24,
1909.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
35
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….18
Boyd No. 4. Election held June 1,
1910.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
16
Votes cast
for special tax………………………………………………………….
6
Boyd No. 2. Election held June 1,
1910.
Registered
voters……………………………………………………………………..
17
Votes cast
for special
tax………………………………………………………….16
Woman’s Betterment
Association
President’s Report of the
Woman’s Association for the Betterment of
the Public Schools of Transylvania
County
….The work at
Selica deserves mention. The people of the
community are wide awake to the interests of
their school, and even the older people, when
called upon by teacher or youths, rally to
their assistance. They have added to their
library, and the books are being read and
discussed at their Literary Society which,
during the vacation, meets the second and
fourth Fridays in each
month.
The work of the Brevard Association also
deserves special mention. Their library has
been increased to nearly 500 volumes and it is
kept open for circulation during the summer.
Several entertainments have been given toward
raising a fund to purchase land for a much
needed play ground. They hope to have some
bright flower beds to greet the children on
their return at the fall term….July 14,
1910
Public
Libraries
We now have in the county fourteen original and
four supplemental libraries, and applications
are on file for two more. In most districts
where these libraries have been established,
they have become very popular, the books being
read by both parents and
children….
Any school can secure a $30.00 library by
raising $10.00 in the district, as the county
and state will each give ten dollars. Schools
which have original libraries can secure a
$15.00 supplemental library by raising $5.00 in
the district….
T.C.
Henderson
T.T. Patton, W.P.
Whitmire, Ch'n, W.B.
Henderson
Edwin Poor, W.W. Zachary,
Ch'n, M.W.
Garren
Source:
Mary Jane
McCrary Collection, Box
42,
Rowell Bosse NC
Room, Transylvania County
Library
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