one-room schoolhouse Archives

Have you ever seen old historical teacher rules from the 1860’s? As a historical fiction writer, I love learning about these things. Oh to be a teacher back then!

Of course there weren’t options for women who needed to support themselves or wanted to do something outside of the home. So landing a teaching job was a really big deal. And there was a set of rules they needed to follow. From how they managed themselves, to how they managed their classroom.

This is actually how my writing journey began – when I first learned about these “teacher rules” .

Learning about these historical teacher rules

I was visiting Sacramento, our state capital, with my son’s fourth grade class and they spent part of the day at the one room schoolhouse there. The docent performed a school session for the kids to show them what it was like. I found all of it fascinating.

But this post is about the historical rules teachers had during this time.

These rules had to be followed in order to keep their job. Since much of it was tied to not marrying or even courting (for the women), and I loved to read romance, I wondered what that must’ve been like, and my heroine, Olivia, started to appear in my mind.

List of teacher rules from 1872. Found on internet in multiple places. Author unknown.

Historical teacher rules from 1915 produced by the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse museum

During my research for When Plans Go Awry, I found that women teachers had different rules than their male counterparts. I also learned that women were not allowed to go inside an ice cream parlor.

What?

Since ice cream is my favorite dessert, I had to investigate. And add this one into my story, even though I found it in the 1915 sheet (but ice cream did exist in 1869).

And in case you don’t believe me, here’s a website I found from Williamson County Illinois Historical Society that states the teacher rules as well. Which means these rules were throughout all the states, not just in one region or area.

Historical Punishment List

There also were a list of punishments the teacher had to adhere to. I purchased this sheet from the Old Sacramento Museum because it captured my attention that much. And I incorporated a few of them into my story as well.

List of punishment rules for teachers from the 1848. This sheet was purchased by Denise M. Colby on a trip to the Old Sacramento Museum

The discipline was strict. Take a look at how many lashings a student would receive based on each infraction. To make a swing and then swing on them was a big one with seven lashings, where fighting at school was only 5. Girls and boys were not allowed to play together and had separate play places. Playing cards was the worst, as well as misbehaving to girls.

How did teachers in the 1860s do this?

It was the times. Which is why historical fiction is so popular. We are transported to a different time, different world, with different rules. In the case of this blog post I can drill down even further, and say different teacher rules.

And so an idea for a story started to brew. What would’ve it been like to live with these rules? And so many of these examples found their way into my debut novel When Plans Go Awry to help give a flavor as to how it was to be a teacher during this part of our history.

Let me know if you find it interesting as well, or if there are rules you’ve heard of that I haven’t mentioned.

I wrote a blog post about the one-room schoolhouse we visited if you’d like to read more about that.

Blog Title It's the One-room Schoolhouse's Fault with pick of prairie flowers and a one-room schoolhouse by Denise M. Colby includes historical teacher rules

History

Historical Buildings at Knott’s Berry Farm

September 4, 2021September 4, 2021 Denise M. Colby

Earlier this year, we visited Knott’s Berry Farm for the Boysenberry Festival and I found myself taking a trip down history lane as we walked through Ghost Town. I love all the historical buildings. And I find myself wanting to sit down and take in the environment and let my mind wander back in history.

Ghost Town was originally built by Walter Knott in 1940, inspired by his mother’s 1868 journey to California in a covered wagon. It came about because people were waiting hours to eat at his wife’s restaurant and they needed something to do. He started with a main street, where he built a saloon, sheriff’s office, assay office, barbershop, and more.

If I could bring my laptop and write while sitting amongst it all, I would. From the one-room schoolhouse, which is a major setting in my novels, to the train, which carries my teachers west from Cincinatti (in 1869), it all transports me back 150 years.

Denise M. Colby standing in front of historical red one-room schoolhouse at Knotts Berry Farm — Here I am standing in front of Knotts Berry Farm’s One-Room Schoolhouse, which is similar to the one in my fictional town of Washton

FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I love searching for and finding one-room schoolhouses. Take a look at my page dedicated to those I’ve captured during my travels.

Train Engine rests amongst the historical buildings in Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm — Since my boys were little, our family has had a love affair with trains. Fun to be up close to an engine such as this one sitting on a rail in Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm

Historical Buildings Show Us What Life Was Like

Historical towns were much smaller than towns today, with a main street that housed a general store, blacksmith shop, livery, and hotel. One-room schoolhouse’s sometimes doubled as a church or meeting hall, and majority of people ranched or ran a shop. A town grew if it had a train station.

I attempted to capture the essence of this old town in my photos and jot down notes to remember the feelings and emotions that bubbled up to the surface while I was there. This way I could carry them into my stories when I write.

The sign on the one-room schoolhouse at Knott's Berry Farm states it was built in 1879

jail building in Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm

Do you get a sense of history when you see these images?

One of the cool things about the Blacksmith shop is that they make and sell pieces in the store.

metal horseshoes and locks made by Knott's Berry Farm Blacksmith

Branding irons made by Knott's Berry Farm blacksmith

It’s amazing to see keys, branding irons, horseshoes, and locks that were made by hand.

The blacksmith shop is one of the historical buildings at Knott's Berry Farm

Have you ever visited Knott’s? Or is there another town that you like to visit to look at the historical buildings?

Denise M. Colby loves history, books, Disney, and musicals and not always in that order. Besides her blog here, she also contributes monthly at a writer’s blog A Slice of Orange.

History

Harriet Bishop, First Public School Teacher in 1847

June 28, 2020July 24, 2020 Denise M. Colby

I love history and in my one-room schoolhouse and schoolteacher research for my book, I found an article titled Harriet Bishop, Frontier Teacher by Zylpha S. Morton through the Minnesota Historical Society. Harriet traveled by herself to Minnesota in 1847, leaving her family to go live in a community smaller and more rural than anything she’d ever lived in, all to become a teacher.

Blog Title with the words Harriet Bishop , one of the first public school teachers; 1847; History; Writer's Research by Denise M. Colby

Men were teachers of choice in the East, but as the West expanded the opportunity arose for women.

She was sent by a board, that actively sought ought opportunities to bring women teachers to these rural areas. The thought was women would have a greater impact on their students.

This board, National Popular Education, was organized in Cleveland on April 7, 1847. The aim of the board was to “advance the cause of Popular, Christian Education in our country” by encouraging well-qualified “Female teachers” to take positions in the remote West.

Their first class of twenty-six young women, received prep training in New York State before being sent out to parts unknown. This prep training school was led by Catherine Beecher (sister of Harriet Beecher-Stowe)—the teacher whom I reference in my novel (I’ll share more about her in a future post). Harriet Bishop was from the first graduating class of this organization.

Harriet Bishop was also one of the first to volunteer to go to a small settlement outside of what we now know as St. Paul, Minnesota.

A place that had five stores, a dozen families, and about 36 children.

Room and board was furnished by one family who had four children in return for free tuition. She had to bring her own schoolbooks, as the nearest bookstore was over three hundred miles away.

According to Morton, Harriet’s preparation included “a review of the common school subjects, in addition to lectures on domestic economy, health of children, punctuality, truth and honesty in the schoolroom, diet, how to avoid sectarian jealousy, how to deal with party politics, and how to meet petty gossip”.

The last item in the training course was considered necessary because it was said that as soon as a young woman set foot in the new West, some man would promptly woo her from her profession and make her his wife. It seemed to help because by 1858 (10 years later), the board had sent 481 teachers to the West and only 75 had married.

Another tidbit from this article — it turns out the pupils who attended the schools were the ones who entered into matrimony. They made the claim that school and the lessons they learned in running a household helped them find a mate.

I’ve used some of this history in my story.

My heroine, Olivia Carmichael, goes west to teach through one of these organizations. She just happens to go way further west…all the way to California.

She too has to live with families of students for her room and board, and learn how to live in a more remote area.

But more on that later—this post is about Harriet and to acknowledge what she was known for — the first public school teacher in the area.

Old black and white photo of Harriet Bishop one of the first public school teachers in 1847 — This photo can be found in the Wikipedia entry on Harriet Bishop

She had a lot of courage to leave her family behind (with the mindset of never seeing them again). In digging around further, I’ve learned she stayed in the St. Paul area for the rest of her life and was instrumental in starting many charities and fundraisers. She married, divorced, and petitioned to get back her legal maiden name successfully. She also wrote a few books, too.

She made an impact on her community and her students.

Like all the teachers I know today.

Writing

It’s The One-Room Schoolhouse’s Fault

October 16, 2019July 24, 2020 Denise M. Colby

I have this thing for historical one-room schoolhouses. I don’t know why. They are cute, inviting and have history that is yearning to be told. Ever since I visited the one-room schoolhouse in old town Sacramento during my oldest son’s 4^th grade Sacramento trip, I have wanted to write a story about one.

How specific some of the rules were.

How students were separated with boys on one side, girls on the other.

How each student had to stand at the side of their desk to speak.

How lashings were given for the most interesting infringements.

How a female teacher had different rules than a male teacher.

How for some of these students, it was the only education they would ever receive.

How children of all ages were taught in the same room.

How one measly stove in the center of the room provided heat.

How lunch was carried in a bucket.

Quote from Blog by Denise M. Colby - Maybe it's the influence of Little House on the Prairie, but i find the history of the one-room schoolhouse a little romantic

Maybe it’s the influence of Little House on the Prairie, but I find the history of the one-room schoolhouse a little romantic. And so, when I went on the same trip with my second son two years later, the same curiousness came back, a few characters formed in my head, and a story screamed at me to write it.

So I did.

My story is about a town across the river from Sacramento that has a brand new schoolhouse. This schoolhouse seems to want to match-make for its teachers. Their first teacher got married before she set foot in it. The next one, my heroine Olivia, wants to remain a teacher her whole life. But God, the one-room schoolhouse, and Bert the rooster, all have a different plan for her.

It will be interesting to see how long she lasts, and who else might come to teach at this match-making one-room schoolhouse.

Quote from Blog by Denise M. Colby - Who else might come to teach at my match-making one-room schoolhouse

To find out more about the story I’m writing, go to the Going West Series page of my website. Or click on this link if you’d like to see the photos of One-Room Schoolhouses I’ve posted. I’ve also created a Pinterest board about One-Room Schoolhouses which has been fun to build.

Tag: one-room schoolhouse

Historical Teacher Rules And Regulations From the 1860’s