by James Rada, Jr.
Early Public Education in Emmitsburg
Emmitsburg has always had plenty of schools. Of the 158 one-room schools in Frederick County in 1890, more than 20 were near Emmitsburg. This doesn’t even include the private and parochial schools in town at the time.
In a 1908 Emmitsburg Chronicle article, an old-timer recalled his experiences with some of Emmitsburg’s early schools.
One school was on the former site of Helman’s store where Mrs. Reed, a widow, taught class.
“I was packed off to school when I was about five years old, with a small yellow book called an English Primer. The seat, a rough bench, was much too high for my short legs, and my feet hung some distance above the floor. The school was a sort of a go-as-you please affair, and I did not receive much attention from the mistress, who, by the way, was a very good-natured lady. Yet, as it is the school boys’ want to go ahead, I made rapid progress and soon learned to throw paper wads and pinch the boys that sat next to me,” the unidentified man recalled.
He also recalled that the first public school in town had been on the site where St. Euphemia’s School would eventually stand. Robert Crooks was the “man’s” teacher.
“Other well-liked and successful teachers of the old public school were Mr. John Walter, a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s College, and a Mr. Tearce, who came to Emmitsburg with the Gutherie family from Pennsylvania. Mr. Tearce’s assistant was Squire Knouff, well known in this community for many years. Mr. Tearce was…“a genuine athlete; he joined in all our outdoor games, and many a time in playing corner-ball, I had his broad back for a target.
With all this comradeship with his pupils, inside of the schoolroom he was master and commanded the respect and love of his scholars,” recalled the man.
He was taught grammar, geography, algebra, and history.
“In the Summer when the public schools were closed, we had, what were then called, ‘subscription schools.’ I attended one that was held in a brick house on Broad alley. This building is still standing in good condition and is now occupied as a dwelling, by John Ellis. It was called the ‘Potter Kiln School’ because the house had been built for a potter’s shop. In the rear stood an immense potter’s kiln that had been unused for many years. It was a representative of one of the extinct industries of Emmitsburg: The darkness inside this kiln and the many small openings made it a fine place for boys to play hide-and-seek,” the man recalled.
Darius Thomas was the first teacher. Isaac E. Pierson, a lawyer, also taught at the school and was a harsh disciplinarian. “He did not believe in whipping but inflicted cruel and unusual punishment by making a boy stand up before the school with a girl’s sunbonnet on his head; a terrible penalty, far more dreadful to the boys than the rod,” the man recalled.
He recalled the Union Academy at Elias Church as one of the best.
“It was established long before the public schools were started and was considered a sort of finishing school,” the man recalled.
Today, most of the old school buildings are gone, but a few remain that have been repurposed. However, the education the students received in the 19th century helped create the solid citizens who built Emmitsburg into a thriving town.
