Harrison High School

Historic photograph of the Harrison High School

HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL, HARRISON, BOONE COUNTY

SUMMARY

The Harrison High School was the first school in Boone County, Arkansas where students in the county, including those living in rural areas outside the district, could obtain a 12th grade high school education for free. 

The school was built in 1912 on land originally owned by Captain Henry W. Fick, the founder of Harrison. Its construction and subsequent operation were financed in part by Act 328 of 1911 – a major state legislative act that significantly advanced the Arkansas public school system by appropriating state aid to high schools. The Arkansas State Board of Education was also created by legislation occurring at this time. When built, the Harrison school was the only school of its kind in the county to receive such aid.

The Harrison High School is the oldest surviving public school building in Harrison. Thousands of students attended this school during its 39-years as a high school and its 36-years as a junior high school. Notable alumni include former Arkansas Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, who was elected to 13 consecutive terms in the House of Representatives spanning 26 years, and William B. Stiritz, former CEO and President of Ralston Purina, a former Fortune 500 company.
 
No longer used as a school, the building continues to serve the public interests of the community as home to the Boone County Heritage Museum, operated by the Boone County Historical and Railroad Society, Inc.

Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the Harrison High School is being requested with local significance under Criterion A because of its educational importance to the community.

ELABORATION

The Creation of Harrison, Arkansas, and Boone County

The city of Harrison, Arkansas is in the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas in Boone County. Located 35 miles south of Branson, Missouri, and 43 miles east of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Harrison is home to approximately 13,000 residents.[i] It has been recognized as being one of the best small towns in America.[ii]

Before the creation of Boone County, the settlement now known as Harrison was located in Carroll County. The first settler may have been Joseph Burkett. He and his family arrived from Tennessee in 1841 in search of farmland. So captivated were they by the beauty and natural resources of the area that they decided to stay. Albert G. Stiffler and Lorenzo D. Rush later arrived in 1855. They settled near two springs, which were subsequently named Stiffler Spring and Rush Spring. Albert Stiffler became the owner of Burkett’s land.[iii] During these early years, Harrison was referred to as Stiffler’s Spring.[iv]

On December 20, 1867, Albert G. Stiffler conveyed his land and log cabin to Captain Henry W. Fick, a native New Yorker and former officer in the Union Army. On December 27, 1867, Captain Fick applied for the establishment of a post office that was to be called Crooked Creek. The application was granted and Captain Fick was appointed postmaster.Shortly thereafter,he began to start a new town. He and his brother-in-law, a former Confederate named James “Os” Nicholson, built a log store building and opened it for business in 1868.It was the first business in the area.[v]

Boone County was created on April 9, 1869 by the signing into law a bill by Governor Powell Clayton. This was Act 70 of 1869. Senator James T. (Town) Hopper from Carroll County introduced the bill to the State Legislature shortly after his election to office in 1868. The county was initially comprised of land taken from the east side of Carroll County, and a small strip of land from Marion County. The act further specified that the temporary seat of justice would be the log store of Captain Fick, and that a special election would be held to elect officers and name commissioners who would locate the permanent seat of justice. The results of this election established the vicinity that would later become Harrison as the permanent seat of the Boone County government. The Act 49 of 1875 reshaped Boone County’s boundaries for the last time, returning some land to Marion County, and establishing the total size of Boone County at 604 square miles.[vi]

During 1869, General Marcus LaRue Harrison, a civil engineer and former Union Army officer, was employed by a railroad and was surveying a proposed route in the area. Captain Fick asked General Harrison to survey and plat the streets of the new town. Harrison did so, and the field notes for the survey were filed on January 18, 1870. Shortly afterwards, on February 7, 1870, Captain Fick had the name of the post office changed from Crooked Creek to Harrison, possibly as a form of appreciation or compensation to General Harrison for performing the survey. There does not appear to be any record of General Harrison having other connections with the town that now bears his name.

By the time the name of the town was officially changed in 1870, 826 individuals lived in Harrison, and the total population of Boone County was 7,032.[vii] It would be another six years following its renaming before the town of Harrison was officially incorporated on March 1, 1876.[viii]

Lands Donated and Sold for Education

On January 22, 1870, Captain Fick and his wife, Martha, sold land to the Harrison School District Number One for $1 with the explicit intention that the land be used for “school & religious purposes and none other”. The legal description of the land was Lots 1, 3, and 5 in Block 62. The deed was subsequently filed for record on April 26, 1871.[ix]

Although the Harrison High School was not built on this land donated by Captain Fick, earlier Harrison schools were.The Harrison High School was built on lots 9 and 11 in Block 62. These lots are located directly south of lot 5, which was donated by Captain Fick. On October 22, 1897, William Treadwell and his wife sold lots 9 and 11 to the Trustees of Harrison School District for $600. [x]Captain Fick originally owned this land, too, but sold it to another party in 1875.[xi]

All of Block 62 in Harrison is currently owned by the Harrison School District.

Wooden Schoolhouses on Donated Land

The first schools on this land donated for education were two wooden, single gable buildings. One was a small one-story structure and the other a larger two-story building. The one-story structure was built first, followed by the two-story building sometime in the 1870s. The one-story schoolhouse had a wood stove, a bell with a rope, a single double door at one end, and three windows on at least one of its sides.The two-story school had double doors on one end and five windows per floor on each side, and the cost to build it is believed to have been about $1,500. Reverend W. W. Killough was the professor during this time.[xii] The one-story schoolhouse may have been used for primary grades, while the other was used for the upper grades.[xiii]

By 1880, Boone County had grown to a population of 12,146, and approximately 1,835 of these individuals lived within the Harrison township.[xiv] Harrison’s population had more than doubled since 1870, and Boone County’s population had grown by more than 73 percent.

Unfortunately, there does not appear to be much more recorded history regarding these schools until September 9, 1882, when an article in the Harrison Times indicated that the Harrison Academy had been permanently established, and that its fall term was to begin on September 11 of that year. Besides offering a name for one or both of these early wooden schools, this seems to indicate that at least one of them may have been previously closed and was reopening. The advertisement stated that there would be “special advantages to students who expect to become teachers,” and that, “good board can be had at reasonable rates.” Further information could be obtained from the Principal, Rev. W. W. Killough, A.M. [xv] In a separate article, W. W. Killough advised that “pupils who expect to attend school at the Academy during the Fall Term are requested to meet at the Public School building on Monday at 1 o’clock in the afternoon.”[xvi]

Another article in the Harrison Times on Saturday, September 30, 1882 announced the Boone County Teacher’s Association meeting would be held in Lead Hill on Friday evening, Saturday, and Saturday evening before the 3^rd Sunday in October, 1882. Professor Killough would call the association to order on Friday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m., and report on the “condition and progress of the association.” Members of the Executive Committee are identified as P.S. Pittman, C.A. Srotwell, W.S. Myrick, and W. W. Killough. Prof. J. P. V. Haddleston would deliver the opening address. It would be followed by a response by Prof. T. F. Allbright,[xvii] who later became the superintendent of the Harrison schools. He served in this capacity from about 1885 to 1889.[xviii]

On Saturday, January 13, 1883, a short announcement appeared in the Harrison Times stating that B. B. (Bryce Byrne) Hudgins, Esq., had resigned as County Examiner. Boone County Judge James Monroe Davidson appointed Professor W. W. Killough as Hudgins’ successor.[xix] A larger article written by B. B. Hudgins appeared in this same day’s newspaper. In it, he explained that his official association with the schools during the past two years had been “both pleasant and profitable.” He expressed gratitude and appreciation towards the teachers and school officers for their efforts made to improve and advance education, and lobbied for higher teacher compensation. He was very pleased that school directors had become more involved, and that many more were sending their Enumeration Reports to the County Examiner, which would help bring more money to their districts. He believed that the public was beginning to see the value of education, and that the improvements made had strengthened the public’s mind in favor of free schools. He encouraged people to vote for the five-mill tax in May to supplement the cost of the school system.[xx]

Hudgins was raised in Boone County and attended common schools and Valley Springs High School. He became a teacher shortly after the end of the Civil War and taught four years. He “became well and favorably known as a pedagogue” during this time. He was 23 years old when he resigned his position as County Examiner.In later years, he served in the Arkansas State Legislature and as a Circuit Court Judge.[xxi]

At least one recorded account indicates that the two-story schoolhouse used for the upper grades burned in the fall of 1885, resulting in a complete loss of the school building and its contents.[xxii] There are, however, other accounts that dispute this, and instead, offer substantial evidence of it existing as late as 1912.

An article from the September 12, 1885 Harrison Times noted:

"The Public School buildings are built of wood, one one-story and the other two-story, the two being valued at about $2,200.250 scholars can be accommodated and the average attendance during the last term was over 200.District No. 1 has a school population of about 375.School will be commenced on the 14^th of September under the supervision of Prof. L. Z. Burr, a prominent educator formerly of Kansas, assisted by Mesdames Burr and Patterson and Misses Vance and Walker."[xxiii]

Additionally, a January 2, 1886 article in the Harrison Times refers to the “2 public school houses” in Harrison.[xxiv] In a later article on September 25, 1886, Professor D. W. Edwards announced that the Public Schools of Harrison School District had opened on August 30, 1886.[xxv]

On May 26, 1888, the Harrison Times reported an announcement made by Superintendent T. F. Allbright that the Harrison school term would continue for three months beyond the current term, and listed the rates of tuition. The monthly fee for the Academic Department was $2, and with Latin or Greek, $ 2.50.The matriculation fee was 50 cents. Professor Charles A. Watson was listed as one of the teachers in this article.[xxvi]

In his book, Beyond These Ozark Hills, J. L. Russell provides a personal account of attending the Harrison public school system during this period:

"When I crossed the Carroll county line in 1889 to go to Harrison to school, it was the first time I had been that far away from home in my life… There was but one school building for the white children here in ’89; a two-story frame standing on the site of the present Central Grade edifice. It accommodated the white school population quite comfortably."[xxvii]

Although few other historical accounts of these original structures are known, one additional article clarifies the ultimate fate of the two-story frame structure mentioned in Russell’s account. The March 9, 1912 edition of the Harrison Times states the “old frame structure” was to be wrecked and removed following the completion of a new school building (the Harrison High School) on July 4, 1912.[xxviii] This firmly indicates that the old two-story frame building was around until at least 1912. And while the ultimate fate of the old one-story building is unknown, J. L. Russell’s account clearly indicates that by 1889, it no longer existed.

First Brick Harrison Public School on Donated Land

Between 1880 and 1890, the population of Boone County increased by more than 30 percentand grew to include 15,816 residents.The county’s population had more than doubled since 1870.[xxix] The population of Harrison continued to increase as well. The 1900 United States Census revealed that 2,849 individuals lived in Harrison, more than three times the number of people there in 1870.[xxx]

Harrison was faced with a need for additional educational facilities. The April 11, 1890 edition of the Mountain Echo announced plans for the town to build a new brick public school building, which would contain four rooms and cost $3,000.[xxxi] Another article appeared in the Mountain Echo on May 16, 1890, stating that D. McBride, J. B. Wood, and W. A. Blalock would be among the men to build this new structure.[xxxii]

Beyond this, more reliable information regarding the actual construction date of this new school building and its subsequent opening has not been located. A photograph of this building is displayed in Mountain Heritage, edited by Roger V. Logan, Jr. The building is a brick, two-story edifice with three windows on each story on both sides of the front door. The sides contain six windows on each story. The caption for this picture reads: Central Grade School, Harrison.Corner of Cherry and Stephenson. Probably built 1895, torn down 1939.[xxxiii]

When built, the school was used as a high school. Later, after the construction of the Harrison High School building, this school was used as a grade school and was referred to as Central Grade School.

On Friday, July 26, 1895, Springfield, Missouri’s The Leader-Democrat printed a piece titled “Harrison Arkansas Edition.”[xxxiv] This newspaper described Harrison as “Thoroughly Alive,” and praised its school system:

"The public school system of Arkansas is as good perhaps as that of any of her sister states, while at the present time efforts are being put forth to raise even its present high standard. The idea which is still prevalent in some sections that Arkansas is not alive to the needs of her population in an educational sense is a badly mistaken one and does a great injustice to the hundreds and thousands of energetic men and women who are laboring industriously for the advancement of education within her borders. The last state legislature appropriated $10,000 to be used in conditioning schools of instruction for teachers throughout the state this summer. The one for Boone County closed the last of June and was attended by nearly every teacher in the county. The scholastic population between the ages of 6 and 21 in Boone County amounts to 5,994. The different schools [in Arkansas] are supported by a two mill state tax. A poll tax of $1 is also levied, which amounts to about 40 cents to each child or scholar. Provision is also made for the provision of an additional tax of five mills or less where it is deemed necessary in order to continue the schools longer where the population is unusually dense. In Harrison and generally throughout Boone County the different school districts have taken advantage of the five-mill levy and as a result in Harrison the public school runs 9 months, while in the country from 3 to 6 months. Teachers are required to be examined in eleven branches which included penmanship, authography, reading, English grammar, mental arithmetic, written arithmetic, geography, United States history, United States land numbering, theory and practice teaching, physiology. The county is composed of 93 districts which come under the control of Ben F. McMahon, county examiner. The school at Harrison is in charge of Clarence L. Scott, formerly of Drury College, and is in a prosperous condition. The different studies embrace all those usually taught in the best high schools of the country and certificates of graduation are issued to those passing satisfactory examinations. Harrison also affords a well organized kindergarten, conducted by Misses McCormack and Andrews."[xxxv]

Later, in the Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Arkansas for the Years 1897, 1898,[xxxvi] County Examiner C. L. Scott offered the following additional information:

"There are four schools in the county that supplement the public schools with private schools, viz.: Harrison Public Schools, Valley Springs Academy, Bellefonte High School and Lead Hill Public Schools. The schools are steadily improving in quality of teachers. The teachers are better equipped for their work because of the Normals, and because my predecessor, Mr. Russell, has induced the non-progressive teachers to take up some other vocation…"[xxxvii]

Like other early school districts within the state, Harrison did not initially offer a twelve year public school program. The Fourteenth Annual Catalogue of the Harrison Public Schools for the 1907–1908 term offered grades one through ten. The Primary Department included grades one through four; the Grammar School Department, grades five through seven; and the High School Department, grades eight through ten. [xxxviii]

Tuition for the Primary Department was $1.50 per month, $2.00 per month for the Intermediate Department, and $3.00 per month for High School. [xxxix]

On September 9, 1907, the first day of school began. Thanksgiving Holiday was November 28, 1907 and Christmas Holidays were from December 25^th, 1907 until January 6, 1908. Final Examinations were given May 20 and 21, 1908. This school year concluded with Commencement on May 22, 1908. [xl]

School Board members for the 1907-1908 term were J. R. Newman (President), J. A. Flinn (Secretary); W.H. Cecil, Jno. A. Bunch, P. C. Maggard, and J. I. Worthington.Teachers were Mrs. Edith L. Powe and Miss Bessie Harris (first grade); Miss Myrtle Penn (second grade); Miss Annie Lamberton (third grade); Miss Fannie Watkins (fourth grade); Jas. W. Hill (fifth grade); Leroy S. Giffin (sixth grade); J. C. York (seventh and eighth grades); Superintendent S. J. T. Wynn (ninth and tenth grades). [xli]

Additionally, this 1907-1908 catalogue lists the “Course of Study” and “Roll of Students” for each of the ten grades.Also included is a list of graduates for each of the years 1892 through 1907. [xlii] Because the first graduating class for this school was in 1892, this could mean that the first classes held in this building occurred in the fall of 1891, offering further indication that the building may have been built sometime in 1890 to early 1891.

The names of the alumni for the Class of 1892 are listed as Frankie Armitage-Andrews, Hattie Cecil-Poynor, Harrison; Nora Kirby-Evans, Springfield, Mo.; Rosa Norris and Clyde Burney, Green Forest. [xliii]

Coursework at the time included arithmetic, language, geography, spelling, writing, composition, drawing, literature, U. S., Greece, and Roman history, physiology, algebra, Latin, geometry, physics, and rhetoric. [xliv]

The Seventeenth Annual Catalogue of the Harrison Public Schools for the 1910–1911 term[xlv] also offered grades one through ten. According to this catalogue, students who lived in the county were admitted for free.However, students below high school grades from outside of the district were required to pay tuition.[xlvi]

The first day of school for the 1910-1911 term was Monday, September 12, 1910. Written examinations were held on November 23 and 25, 1910. Thanksgiving Holiday was November 24, 1910 and Christmas Holidays began December 24^th, 1910. Classes resumed on January 2, 1911. Written examinations were February 23 and 24, 1910. The Commencement Sermon was scheduled for May 14, 1911. Written Examinations were given May 15 and 16, 1911, and the school closed for the term on May 19, 1911. [xlvii]

The School Board members for this 1910-1911 term were Jas. M. Shinn (President), Ben F. McMahan (Secretary); George H. Cotton (Treasurer); R. M. Fellows, and F. R. Michell. Grammar School Faculty included Miss Fama Holt, Miss Sallie Watkins, Miss Clara Lee Waynick, Miss Tennie Moss, Miss Maude Watkins, Miss Bessie Harris, and Miss Alice Harris. [xlviii]

As with the 1907-1908 edition, this 1910-1911 catalogue listed the “Course of Study” and “Roll of Students” for each of the ten grades, and included a list of graduates for each of the years 1892 through 1909.[xlix]

However, the 1910-1911 catalogue differs from the 1907-1908 catalogue in several important ways. First, unlike the 1907-1908 term, no tuition was required of those high school students in 1910-1911 who lived within Boone County. Second, the 1910-1911 catalogue included the following suggestion for an 11^th grade:

The present High School course requires twelve units for graduation, (a unit is a year’s work in one subject).Though for graduation, sixteen units should be required, and I have added as a suggestion another year’s work to the present course, which would raise it to the sixteen units. [l]

Listed in the Course of Study for the High School is a Fourth Year (11^th grade), which is prefaced by the following: Below is the suggested year’s work to the present course, which would make it thorough and complete. [li]

The proposed Fourth Year of High School, or 11^th grade, included English, Algebra, Latin, Geometry, Physics, Trigonometry, Biology, and Chemistry. [lii] The Roll of Students for the 1910-1911 term does not include this 11^th grade, since it did not yet exist.

State Aid to High Schools and the Arkansas State Board of Education

The proposition for adding an extra year to the high school curriculum was not an idea unique to the Harrison Public Schools. Rather, it was a reflection of a much needed, statewide progressive movement for educational reform that actually began in the early 1900s – one that eventually resulted in a substantial reshaping of the Arkansas public high school system and ultimately was responsible for the creation of the Harrison High School.

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, one out of every five people living in Arkansas over the age of nine years old was illiterate.[liii] The national average for state spending on schools was $28 per student, but for public schools in Little Rock, Fort Smith, and Hot Springs, it was only $18. Rural Arkansans suffered the most, receiving only $7 per student.[liv]

In the early 1900s, high schools were still located only in the county seats, making education even more difficult to obtain for those in rural areas. In his book, Arkansas and the New South, 1874-1929, author Carl H. Moneyhon highlights this point as follows:

"Improving Arkansas’s schools may have been one of the most important problems faced at the turn of the century. Agricultural conditions indicated clearly that there was not a bright future for people who remained on the farm. Opportunities existed in the cities of Arkansas and outside the state, but education was essential to take advantage of these. Although the state encouraged schools and had a superintendent of education, there was actually no overall system. Instead, every local school district financed and controlled its own schools. As a result, educational conditions across the state varied greatly, and serious inequities existed between urban and rural schools, white and black schools, and rich and poor districts."[lv]  Added Moneyhon:

"Through the late nineteenth century, state school superintendents where usually content simply to report the condition of state schools. By the turn of the century, however, these reports were increasingly critical. In 1902 the state superintendent of public instruction criticized the fragmentation of the existing system, asking for at least the unification of county schools under a single county supervisor. His explanations for the recommendation showed that Progressive ideas about schools had made an impact on educators. ‘It is conceded,’ reported J.J. Doyne, ‘that no business enterprise can prosper without there shall be some one at its head, charged with its general conduct and control.’ Doyne observed that teachers might do their best, but ‘with no one at the head of the system, whose business it shall be to unify the work, to outline methods of procedure, to arrange course of study, to aid by timely suggestions to teachers, to keep them acquainted with the general progress of the work in the county, to look after the making out of such reports as shall give an intelligent conception of the status of educational affairs, the highest results cannot be secured from their labor.’ The schools lacked order necessary for efficiency and that had to be changed."[lvi]

Further, in Arkansas and Its People, editor David Y. Thomas, Ph.D. contributed:

"Though there were nearly one hundred schools claiming secondary rank in 1909, it was a matter of common knowledge that only a very few of these were worthy of the rank of high schools. Furthermore, most of those entitled to high school rank were located in some seven or eight of the largest cities of the State. With rare exceptions there were no high schools outside the towns and villages; hence, secondary or high school education was denied the great majority of children of high school grade and age."[lvii]

Fortunately, the plight of the Arkansas high school educational system was not lost on George B. Cook, State Superintendent of Public Instruction at the time. In approximately 1909, Cook asked the General Education Board of New York City to place a supervisor of secondary education in Arkansas to improve the high schools of the state. They agreed, and hired B. W. Torreyson, the superintendent of the Little Rock schools, in the fall of 1909.[lviii] As Supervisor, Torreyson focused primarily on the standardization of existing schools, rather than trying to establish new schools. He defined, outlined, and published a standardized four-year high school course of study.[lix]

By far, the single most significant event contributing to the improvement of the high school system was the report of the Arkansas Educational Commission, comprised of 22 commission members appointed by Governor George W. Donaghey and financed by the Southern Education Board.This commission made three crucial recommendations:

1)Create a State Board of Education;

2)Provide State aid to high schools; and

3)Consolidate schools.[lx]

Governor Donaghey endorsed these recommendations and took them to the State Legislature.In 1911, two general laws were enacted. Act 328 of 1911 provided state aid to high schools, and the other law created a State Board of Education. George B. Cook was made chairman and B. W. Torreyson secretary.[lxi]

Granting state aid to high schools had specific purposes. The aid extended high school education to those children living in rural districtsoutside county seats, strengthened and standardized high school curricula, and provided for training for elementary and rural schoolteachers. The Arkansas State Board of Education was essentially given complete responsibility for classifying, standardizing, managing and controlling all public school business. This Board would issue and enforce regulations governing high schools receiving state aid. These regulations were drafted and went into effect in the fall of 1911.[lxii]

These progressive education measures hammered out in Little Rock were not lost on the citizens of Boone County. On August 11, 1911, the Harrison Times announced the creation of the Arkansas State Board of Education, identified its members, and explained its functions:

"Governor Donaghey has appointed the first Board of Education for Arkansas, as follows:Hon. C. L. O’Daniel, Marianna; Hon. J.P. Lee, Clarendon; Prof. J.H. Reynolds, Fayetteville; Prof. J.W. Kuykendall, Fort Smith; Prof. B. W. Torreyson, Hot Springs; Rev. F. Hutchinson, Hot Springs; Hon. D. A. Bradham, Warren.

"State Superintendent Geo. B. Cook, ex-officio Chairman of the Board, has called the first meeting for organization at the Department of Education, Little Rock, Friday, July 14.

"This board, created by Act of the last Legislature, will have general administrative control of the Public School System, and will constitute a continuous body, one member only changing each year, which is calculated to carry out progressive policies for developing the public schools.

"The Board will formulate Courses of Study, direct the certification of teachers, grant state-wide licenses – State, Professional, and First Grade – recognize degrees of colleges both within and without the state.The State Board will also make the annual appointment of the common school fund, and issue charters to colleges.

"One of the most important and immediate duties of the Board will be to make operative the recent act, apportioning $ 50,000 annually to be used for state aid to High Schools, and to designate which schools shall receive this aid.

"Superintendent Cook states that, as soon as the Board has formulated its plans, the widest publicity will be given, explaining fully all conditions, so that every district in the state will have equal opportunity to apply for state aid."[lxiii]

It didn’t take long for the Arkansas State Board of Education to act. On August 16, 1911, an article appeared on the second page of the Arkansas Democrat. The State Board of Education had determined the appropriation of the $50,000 funds the previous day. Of the 110 schools that had applied for aid, 95 were granted. Harrison was listed as the only town in Boone County to receive this aid. Each four year high school would receive $700. These schools were Harrison, Warren, Magnolia, Fordyce, Conway, Nashville, Clarksville, Booneville, Brinkley, Forrest City, Searcy, Augusta, and Dardanelle. Three year high schools would receive $525 and two year high schools would receive $350. To benefit teachers, $900 was given to normal schools.[lxiv]

Harrison High School

On Saturday, August 19, 1911, just five weeks after the first meeting of the newly formed Arkansas Board of Education and just days after the recipients of the appropriation had been publicized, the Harrison Times announced that Harrison had been chosen as the school for state aid in Boone County. This front-page article indicated that Harrison would receive $700 per annum from the State. In return, Harrison would provide a free high school education to every grammar school graduate of the county. Before this notification was received, the article explained, the public school Board had decided at the last School Election that the school building and facilities in general needed to be enlarged.[lxv]

The school board had arranged for the issuance of $20,000 in five percent bonds with Francis Brothers of St. Louis. At 96 cents on the dollar, they were the best of six bidders. The loan was arranged through the Citizens Bank of Harrison, and the money was available immediately for the construction of a new high school building. Plans were prepared by a Fort Smith architect (Harry C. Schwebke), and the Board would be ready to accept bids within the next week.[lxvi]

The plans at this time were to build a new building approximately the same size as the present brick building (the first brick Harrison public school). It would be located just 15 feet west of the brick building, and the passageway between the buildings would be enclosed. The new building would contain a 60 x 60 foot assembly room.[lxvii]

A subsequent “Notice to Contractors” advertisement in the Harrison Times on September 2, 1911 announced that bidding would be open until 4 p.m.on September 9, 1911.Interested contractors could submit bids to the architect, Henry C. Schwebke, 309 Kennedy Building, Fort Smith, or to the school board secretary in Harrison.A three percent bid bond paid as a certified check was required with each submitted bid.[lxviii]

On September 2, 1911, and September 9, 1911, the Harrison Times ran the following advertisement:

"FREE TUITION. State High School for Boone County, Ark. The Harrison High School has been awarded the State aid and created a State High School. Every grammar school graduate in Boone county, (regardless of what school district your home is in) is entitled to Free Tuition in the Harrison High School.

"The new $ 20,000 building will be rushed to completion, this building will be modern in every respect and will seat 500 high school pupils. A strong faculty has been selected and educational prospects for Harrison and Boone county look bright.

"The people of Harrison who desire to rent rooms to board High School students should at once mail to the ‘Secretary of Harrison School District’ Harrison, Ark., a list showing the number they can take care of and the charge per month.

"The parents of pupils in the County, desiring to secure board and homes during the school term, should write to the ‘Secretary Harrison School District’, Harrison, Ark., and they will be furnished with a list of homes and boarding places.

"The date of the school opening will be announced later."[lxix]

It is important to note here that all students – regardless of where they lived in the county – were welcomed, and would not be charged tuition. Harrison was fulfilling the requirements of the State Board of Education’s recent mandate to offer free education to all potential students in rural areas in exchange for receiving state aid.

Just six months later, a large article appeared in the March 9, 1912 edition of the Harrison Times informing readers that $15,000 would be spent to erect a modern high school building. The Board was preparing for immediate building plans. The structure would be larger than the current brick school building and would have pressed brick walls. Following the completion date of July 4, the old frame structure (the two-story wooden schoolhouse) would be torn down. The old brick school building would be refloored, plastered, and furnished, and in the fall when the new school term opened, it would be used for grades one through eight. The newly built 1912 school would be used only for high school classes. The Board also announced its plans to use the current school grounds as the permanent high school location, and to build (at some point in the future) two eight-room schools at opposite ends of the city for the grammar schools.[lxx]

On Tuesday, April 30, 1912, an air of excitement filled the streets of Harrison as the cornerstone of the new Harrison High School was laid. The ceremony and celebration festivities began at 2 p.m. that afternoon when the entire public school, headed by the High School band, held a procession around the town square. The Grand Lodge of the Arkansas Masons and the St. Aldemar Commandry of Knight Templars joined the parade, and then everyone, including most of Harrison’s citizens, marched to the location of the new high school.[lxxi]

Once at the new high school, B. G. Andrews, deputy grand master of the Masons, led the ceremonies. A copper receptacle was deposited in the cornerstone. It contained rosters of all “our Masonic bodies, state, district and county officers, various lodges, churches and Sunday schools, public school officials and faculty,

High School Band, copies of the Harrison Times and other publications of recent date.”[lxxii] Local Reverend D. T. Waynick ended the ceremony by delivering an oration on the progress of popular education.[lxxiii]

In its May 4, 1912 article reporting on this splendid event, the Harrison Times offered additional details about the new school building:

"The new High School will add another to the handsome structures of Harrison. It will be 75 x 75 feet, two stories, and with finished basement. The exterior will be of pressed brick, trimmed with Carthage limestone, similar to our United States government building. Besides a large auditorium and study hall, there will be six large classrooms. The basement will be divided into a gymnasium, two lavatories, toilets and a furnace room. The building will be heated throughout with steam and furnished with the best up-to-date furniture and equipment generally."[lxxiv]

In the months that followed, Harrison’s enthusiasm and pride about the new school building and their town in general was obvious. In a June 8, 1912 Harrison Times article announcing a meeting of the School Improvement Association, the Secretary of the Association rallied for a strong school spirit:

"But above all else one thing is felt to be needed and everything must be a means to that end – that is, to arouse in Harrison a new school spirit to enlist the earnest and intelligent co-operation of every parent. This doesn’t mean one half the people. It does not mean your neighbor. It means you. The most competent teachers, a catalogue full of rules and regulations, and courses of study are all less than nothing unless they have behind them the undivided support of the people. Why can Harrison not have a school that ranks with any in the state? We have ideal surroundings, a modern building, we have the pupils. Can we not lay aside all religious and political dissensions; all personal grudges, and, for once, act as a unit in regard to a matter of such vital concern? This is the one improvement we need to work for – this is what the woman of the organization are going to accomplish. When we have this all else will follow – cements walks, play grounds, and all material improvements. Every woman in town is considered a member – your presence, your suggestions, your co-operation are needed."[lxxv]

One week later on June 15, a large article ran in the Harrison Times, its headline cheering, “Watch Harrison Grow – Over Seventy-five Thousand Dollars Will be Spent on Improvements During 1912.”A picture of the new high school building was included with a caption, “$20,000 High School Building.” Besides the new school, 25 new homes and several new businesses had been or were being built. Seven miles of concrete sidewalks were constructed in town during the previous two years, and plans for five more miles would be put in, “as fast as the workers can reach their contracts.” Despite this progress, there was not enough suitable housing available for newcomers, so some of the town’s leaders considered building smaller homes to sell on an installment plan.[lxxvi]

The Harrison Times officially announced the completion of the new Harrison High School on Saturday, August 17, 1912. The announcement indicated that the school was as large as the Court House, and just as well built, but cost only $15,464.05 - one third of the cost of the Court House.[lxxvii]

With the completion and opening of the Harrison High School, Boone County now had its first four year high school where pupils could attain a 12^th grade education for free. A picture of the first graduating class of the new Harrison High School also appeared in the local paper. Graduates of the Class of 1913 were Edna G. Watkins, William Norman, Muriel Engles, and Mae Zeigler. Professor W. D. Jeter, Superintendent of Schools, and High School Principal Frank Steed were also included in the photo.[lxxviii]

In June of 1913, the Harrison High School was the location of the Boone County Teachers’ Institute. [lxxix]

The first yearbook for the new Harrison High School was published in 1916.[lxxx]It was dedicated to the School Improvement Association, “who have so loyally supported us in publishing our Annual.” The Board of Trustees lists A. C. Brooks (President); C. L. Glines (Vice President); J. W. Stover (Secretary); H. W. Redus; R. M. Fellows; and A. B. Andrews. The yearbook lists W. D. Jeter as Superintendent and instructor of Mathematics. Mrs. Clay Toney taught History and German. Miss Catherine Drummond taught Science. Frank McAnear was Principal of the High School, and taught English and Latin.

Also included in this 1916 yearbook was the following “History of the Class of 1916,” written by High School Senior Annie Fellows:

"When in the Fall of 1912, a group of Freshmen stood in the hall and said, ‘When we get to be Seniors,’ we thought that happy time was a long way off. But now when we are Seniors and look back on the days when we were happy little Freshmen, thoughtful Sophomores, and joyful Juniors, we are almost sorry we are so near through the Grammar Grades together.

"Our Freshman year in the High School will never be forgotten for one reason – our extreme fear of our Superintendent and Mathematics teacher – Mr. Jeter. And at that time we vowed that when we were Seniors we would be kind to the poor, green little Freshmen.

"In our Sophomore year we had overcome our fear and awe just a little, but we never entirely conquered them. Also our feelings towards the Freshmen changed somewhat. We could not help feeling superior to them.As Juniors we were noted for our brilliancy in Geometry and History. Again our feelings toward the ‘Freshies’ changed. We felt sorry for them because they had such a long, hard road to travel before they should reach tour exalted position.

"And then as Seniors we discovered that the reason we ignored the Freshmen was because we simply did not have time to do otherwise. We discovered that the life of a Senior was not as care-free and happy as we had so fondly imagined. Instead, we were constantly worrying lest we should fail to make our necessary credits and lest we should forget to keep up our dignified appearance as Seniors always should, so tradition says. But in spite of our many trials and tribulations during our life in this High School we are, as a whole, rather sorry to leave this place, for we realize that we will probably never again assemble with the same companions although we may meet them again in the different paths of life."[lxxxi]

The 1916 senior class graduates included Lulu Jernigan, Flavius Ruble, Flora Perkey, Denby Garvin, Stella Bradley, Munsey McGaughey, Nora Andrews, Elmer Hammerschmidt, Era Alexander, Gertrude Keck, Nylla Clark, Annie Ruble, Gladys Briscoe, Larkin Holt, Dennie Holt, Crump Garvin, Annie Fellows, Darrell Shinn, Dorothy Ohmart, Jay Jernigan, Bob Michell, and Clara Beene.[lxxxii]

Class rolls for the senior, junior, sophomore, freshmen, and eighth grade also are included in this 1916 yearbook, again providing evidence that the school provided twelve years of instruction.[lxxxiii]

In the days of the “New Deal,” the Harrison School District expanded to include a new grade school. By 1927, the Harrison School District employed 88 people, operated nine school busses, and had a total enrollment of 1,800 pupils.[lxxxiv]

The Harrison High School continued to provide high school education to children until January of 1952, when a new high school opened in Harrison. At that time, the Harrison High School began a new life as the city’s Junior High school.

In 1987, another high school was built in Harrison. The junior high classes held in the 1912 Harrison High School were moved into the older high school and the 1912 Harrison High School was no longer needed as a school facility. Shortly thereafter, the 1912 Harrison High School became home to the Boone County Heritage Museum, where it continues to operate today.

SIGNIFICANCE

The Harrison High School was the first school in Boone County, Arkansas where students in the county, including those living in rural areas outside the district, could obtain a 12th grade high school education for free.  The school was built in 1912 on land originally owned by Captain Henry W. Fick, the founder of Harrison. Its construction and subsequent operation were financed in part by Act 328 of 1911 – a major state legislative act that significantly advanced the Arkansas public school system by appropriating state aid to high schools. The Arkansas State Board of Education was also created by legislation occurring at this time. When built, the Harrison school was the only school of its kind in the county to receive such aid.

The Harrison High School is the oldest surviving public school building in Harrison. Thousands of students attended this school during its 39-years as a high school and its 36-years as a junior high school. Notable alumni include former Arkansas Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, who was elected to 13 consecutive terms in the House of Representatives spanning 26 years, and William B. Stiritz, former CEO and President of Ralston Purina, a former Fortune 500 company.
 
No longer used as a school, the building continues to serve the public interests of the community as home to the Boone County Heritage Museum, operated by the Boone County Historical and Railroad Society, Inc.  Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the Harrison High School is being requested with local significance under Criterion A because of its educational importance to the community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arkansas Democrat. August 16, 1911.

Boone County Heritage Museum. Photograph.

Boone County Historical and Railroad Society. Boone County Historian III, no. III. 1980.

Boone County Historical and Railroad Society. Boone County Historian IV, no. 1.1981.

Carley, Rachel. A Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. 1994.

Crampton, Norman. The Best Small Towns of America. New York: M. Evans and Company Inc., 2002.

Fick, Henry W. & Wife to School District No. One of Boone County Arkansas. Harrison Warranty Deed Book A.

Fick, H. W. and Martha to R. S. and Flora Armitage. Harrison Warranty Deed Book C.

Goodspeed. A Reminiscent History of the Ozark Region. Chicago: Goodspeed Brothers. 1894.

Harrison Chamber of Commerce. “Homepage,” http://www.harrison-chamber.com.

Harrison Daily Times. July 4, 1986.

Harrison Public Schools. Fourteenth Annual Catalogue of Harrison Public Schools for 1907-1908. Arkansas: Harrison Times Print. 1907.

Harrison Public Schools. Seventeenth Annual Catalogue for 1910-1911. Arkansas: The Harrison Times. 1910.

Harrison Times. September 9, 1882. September 30, 1882. January 13, 1883. September 12, 1885. January 2, 1886. September 25, 1886. May 26, 1888. September 2, 1911. September 9, 1911. August 11, 1911. August 19, 1911.March 9, 1912. May 4, 1912. June 8, 1912. June 15, 1912. August 17, 1912.

Jordan, Junius. Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Arkansas for the
Years 1897, 1898. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1898.

Logan, Roger V., Jr. “Frontier Times In and Around Boone County From Silas C. Turnbo Pre-Civil War Resident.” Boone County Historian II, no. 1. 1979.

Logan, Roger V., Jr. History of Boone County, Arkansas, Volume I. Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company.1998.

Logan, Roger V., Jr., ed. Mountain Heritage. Arkansas: Times Publishing Company. 1969.

Logan, Roger V., Jr., trans. Pioneer Education in Boone County, Arkansas. Harrison Colony Chapter DAR. March 21, 2000.

McAlester, Virginia & Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.

Moneyhon, Carl H. Arkansas and the New South 1874 – 1929. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press. 1997.

Mountain Echo. April 11, 1890. May 16, 1890.

Rae, Ralph R. Boone County and Its People. Arkansas: The Press-Argus. 1955.

Russell, J. L. Behind These Ozark Hills. New York: Hobson Book Press. 1947.

The Seniors of Harrison High School. The Harrisonian ’16, Volume One. 1916.

Thomas, David Y., PhD., ed. Arkansas and Its People, A History 1541 – 1930, Volume II. New York: The American Historical Society Inc. 1930.

Treadwell, William & Wife to Trustees of Harrison School District. Harrison Warranty Deed Book R.

United States Census, 1900.

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