The building was leased for $100 a year and was occupied until 1842.

The school for District No. 4 was taught by the Rev. George Field in the basement of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, on the corner of Woodward and Congress.

The school for District No. 5 was taught by James Stewart. The teacher for District No. 6, Miss Hurlbut, taught school at her residence on the northeast corner of Jefferson and Beaubien Streets.

In 1838 there were 507 pupils in the seven district schools, or 24.1 percent of the school population. District No. 7 raised $500 to build a schoolhouse and in 1839 the city received its first share of the primary money. This amounted to $1,342.08, or 64 cents per child, and was apportioned by the inspectors among the several districts.

In 1839 these schools were open six months, except in the fourth district, where it was continued for eight months and

nine days. There were 687 children in attendance, or 34 percent of the school population. In the same year St. Philips College 7 was chartered by the legislature upon petition of John R. Williams, John Biddle, and John McDowell "to constitute the colored citizens of Detroit into a separate school by themselves."

Late in 1839 an eighth district for a colored school was

established, but it did not receive appropriations until 1840. This school, which started with 88 pupils, was held in the rooms of the colored church.

The school census included 5 to 17 age group; now it includes 5 to 20 age group.

'Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. I, P. 452.

8

In 1839 there was raised $3,426 to build four schoolhouses and support the schools. The primary receipts that year were $1,039.76.

In 1840 John Farmer acted as treasurer and teacher of a school at a salary of $40 per month. He taught in the rear of his residence on Farmer Street. There were 895 pupils in attendance this year, or 43.9 percent of the reported census. The primary fund receipts were slightly more than $900, and as a result, the schools were kept open for varying times in the several districts. The length of term by districts was 4, 5, 6, 7, 71⁄2, and 9 months. District No. 1 paid $425 on a house and lot, District No. 2, $100 for finishing a building and in District No. 7, $300 was expended for rent and repairs.

Primary Receipts Drindle. In 1841 only $473.93 was received from the Primary School Fund, and the schools suffered. As the primary receipts diminished, the size of the individual rate bill increased, and people began to keep children out of school to hold down expenses. There were 687 pupils in attendance, of 41.4 percent of the school census. William Merrill and William Huntington were granted teachers' certificates and schools were kept in six of the eight districts. Mr. Huntington received $100 per quarter and taught in District No. 7. This district was the only one owning a schoolhouse, for the money raised for schoolhouses in 1839 was not used by the other districts. Mr. Huntington taught two months, with an enrollment of 131 and an average attendance of 80, or 45 percent of the enrollment. With the closing of this school the district schools died in Detroit."

Summary. The district schools established in 1838 were the schools of the three Rs, ungraded in character, and poor in the type of instruction given. The quarters were rented portions of buildings or houses, unfit for the purpose. Farthinking citizens early saw that the district school system in Detroit was a failure. The contributing factors were (1) lack of an attendance law, (2) negligence in raising taxes, or rate bills, (3) the shrinking

* Annual Report of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1839.

of receipts from the primary school fund, which resulted in cutting down the school term, (4) the presence of private schools with a consequent feeling of indifference towards the common schools, (5) the computing of charges on the basis of daily attendance, and (6) the lack of a well-trained, permanent teaching force.

The statistics of attendance for the four years district schools were in operation are given in the following table:

PART II

FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS (1842 TO 1922)

CHAPTER VII

INTRODUCTORY: THE FIRST FREE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACT (1842)

The history of the free public schools from their inception in 1842 to the present time may be considered in four periods. These are:

1842-1863 The Period of Establishment and Organization,
1863-1900 The Development of the Curriculum,

1900-1919 The Transition Period,

1919-1922 Reorganization and Development.

A number of public-spirited citizens had been dissatisfied with the district system from its organization in 1838 and were constantly groping about for a more perfect system of schools. After securing free public school legislation, they were instrumental in placing upon a firm foundation the system they had fought to establish legally. Among these were Dr. Zina Pitcher, who wrote the original legislation and who has sometimes been called the founder of the Detroit public schools; Douglass Houghton, the public school candidate for mayor and president of the first Board of Education; Samuel Barstow, the clear minded lawyer whose untiring efforts helped the young institutions through the early part of the formative period; D. Bethune Duffield, who organized the early instruction; and Levi Bishop, the builder of the early schools. Of these five men a few words are necessary.

Zina Pitcher. Dr. Zina Pitcher (1797-1872) was born in a rural section of Washington County, New York. His mother, early a widow, had a keen appreciation of the values of education, and made every effort to secure its advantages for her children. She sent the boys to the district school and the county academy. At 21 Pitcher started to study medicine, receiving the M. D. degree, in 1822, from Middleburg College. After