Museum Corner May 2021

School Days, Good Old Golden Rule Days

By Becky Buher

It has been an unusual school year for teachers and students alike, but as we begin to emerge from the dark cloud of the COVID 19 pandemic, we can think happy thoughts of spring graduations. Today we are going back in our minds to 1874 to meet Bedford High School’s first graduates.

Responding to an 1867 state law that allowed towns to set up their own school system, Bedford graded schools were organized in 1871. Low attendance, lack of system, and short school term meant schooling was not very efficient.

Joe Sohn (class of 1921) recorded the history, “This movement created very great dissatisfaction among the residents of the township, outside the township and the immediate vicinity, and finally resulted in the incorporation of the town. The building [On the site of the current Bedford Middle School] became the property of the town and was completed in 1871. It was a six-room building with seating capacity of 300. The cost of the building and equipment was about $27,000.

“The school building opened in September, 1871, and at one o’clock on Nov. 24, 1871, the building was destroyed by fire, proving a total loss, there being no insurance upon it.”

In spite of the school debt, the Bedford citizens held a meeting and instructed the trustees to build a larger building. As soon as debris was cleared, work began on a new building, completing it, and opening it in September 1873.

A great deal of the school’s later success was given to Prof. J. H. Madden, who had been named superintendent in 1871, and Mrs. Madden, who was his assistant, and of course a skilled group of teachers.

So, in the spring of 1874, the doors of Bedford High School sent forth into the world its first graduating class. The six graduates were—Josie Culbertson, Josie Francis, Lottie Rariden, Hattie Rector, Euphemia Riley, and E. B. Thornton.

Josie Culbertson’s childhood home was the Culbertson mansion on the southwest corner of 15th and K streets. Her parents were Henry and Mary Culbertson. The family had a square piano in their home and the house was a community center for the society people of the period. At age 24, Josie was a schoolteacher. She married George Lyford in 1885. She died in 1935 in Pasadena, Calif.

Josie Francis’ parents were John P. and Rebecca Woodhall Francis. He operated the J.P. Francis clothing house. Her childhood home was across the street from the high school and that enabled her to take part in many events at the school. She married John E. Malott in 1877. They lived at 1321 15th Street in Bedford. She died in 1942.

Lottie Rariden’s parents were Dr. Samuel and Mary Rariden who lived at 1117 14th Street. The family household included former slave, Millie Cook. Lottie married Alex Butler. She was a charter member of The Ladies of the Round Table literary and social organization. The Butler home was on 16th Street between L and M, the current site of CVS drugs.

Harriet (Hattie) Rector died the year of her graduation, 1874. Her parents were Isaac and Juliett Gardiner Rector. Her father was a banker who was at one time one of the most prominent men in Bedford.

Euphemia Riley’s parents were John and Nancy Hamer Riley and the family lived at 1303 L Street. In 1880, 26-year old Euphemia was a school teacher. She married a neighbor, George Grundy Dunn Jr, in 1883. He died in 1891. Euphemia was a charter member of The Ladies of the Round Table. She died in 1937.

Edmund Braxton (E. B.) Thornton was the only male in the 1874 graduating class. His parents were George and Mary Thornton. His childhood home and estate was called Elmwood on the corner of 12th and Lincoln streets. It is now Day and Carter mortuary. When Ed married Mollie Carlton, he built a house next door, which was later used as the Boys Club. He died in 1929.

The six 1874 graduates were part of prominent and affluent local families who valued education.

I do wonder about other families who were not so prominent. Would young men already have been working in their teenage years? Would they have been able to attend school at all. Perhaps the same was true of the young women although their work would likely have remained at home.

I wish I knew more about my own great grandfather, George Parham, who moved to Bedford from rural Monroe County. What opportunity did his family have? In 1880, his occupation was shingle maker. Would his seven children (one being my grandfather Burt) have had that opportunity?

In 1897 a state law made school compulsory for children between 8 and 14. This law was changed in 1913 to include 15 and 16 year-olds.

Education at grade and secondary schools did become more accessible and provided work training and opportunity. Today, that opportunity extends to all.