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The first schoolhouse in the
vicinity was built on the farm of John
Speir, one mile west of the river, in 1802. Mr. Speir taught this school,
which is the first of which there is definite record in this part of
the county. Another teacher in the same school, in 1826, was William Scott, the owner of the
original village plat, and the first justice of the peace in
Greenville, where he died in 1849. In Greenville proper the first
school was taught in 1824, in a small frame building. One of the early
teachers whose name deserves remembrance was Samuel
Webster, who came in 1825 and taught for many years. Samuel Griffith, at one time a
congressman from this district, and John
A. Bingham, at one time minister to Japan, were among
those who taught in Greenville during the formative period of
education. During the infancy of the public school system, private
schools supplemented the meager facilities afforded by state and
community.
The
union school system was established in 1867 by E.
C. McClintock, who was chosen principal in that year. The
union school building, which still [1909] stands on east Main street,
was commenced in 1865 and completed in 1867-68, at a total cost of
about $25,000.
Ten years later the first ward school was erected on West Main street,
an eight-room brick building, at a cost of $10,000. The high school was
taught in this building until the completion, about 1904, of the modern
high school building on the east side.
Twentieth
Century History of Mercer County,
1909, page 112.
In 1802 a small log
school-house was built on the farm of John
Speir, about one mile west of Greenville, in which Mr. Speir opened a school. The
venerable Jacob Loutzenhiser,
ninety-two years old, now [1888] lives on the place. This is believed
to have been the first school-house erected and opened in this part of
the county. William Scott
taught in it about 1826. The history of the schools of Greenville
proper is traceable to the efforts of James
Rodgers, who taught a small grammar school in 1824. Dr. H. D. La. Cossitt and William Scott contributed
toward the building of a small frame school building, which answered
for school purposes for several years. Samuel
Webster, of New Hampshire, came in 1825, and became a
prominent teacher in Greenville, continuing in that capacity for a
number of years. Rev. John Gamble
was an early teacher in the place. He left a strong impression upon the
people. Among his pupils were two sons-in-law of the eloquent Mercer
attorney, Samuel B. Foster,
viz.: William M. Stephenson
and Samuel Griffith,
both prominent educators and attorneys. They were both teachers in
Greenville in the early days. The former was principal of the Mercer
Academy, and the principal agent in founding the Mercer public school
system. The latter, still living, has been both an educator and an
attorney. Besides, he represented his district in Congress. Hon. John A. Bingham, late
Minister to Japan, likewise taught at Greenville.
Before
the erection of the present Union school building, on east Main Street,
the schools of Greenville consisted of two rooms on the east side and
two on the west side, presided over by four lady teachers.
History
of Mercer County,
1888, page 417
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