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HAMMOND’S EARLY TEACHERS— Standing from left: Miss Zylpha Eastman, Hattie Williams,
ANNIE EASTMAN, and Lizzie Walker. Seated: Ida Van Patten, Mr. Crandall, and Lucy Brazelman.
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HISTORY LESSON ...
Education in the city of Hammond dates back as far as 1866,
when the first school Hammond, or Hammond's Crossing, as it was better known, was
established in a house located on the corner of Magnolia and West Thomas Streets.
In 1886 a building was erected by C.E. Cate on the north side of
Thomas Street, facing the Illinois Central Railroad. School was conducted on the second
floor; the first floor housed a freight depot, general store, and the post office.
On Sundays the schoolroom was used for church services. The first teacher in the school
was Miss Mary Louise Cable, sister of the author George Washington Cable; she taught in
the Hammond school until about 1885.
Two years later that building was destroyed by fire. School
was held temporarily in a boarding house on the corner of West Thomas and Oak Streets.
Mr. Cate erected another school building on the corner of West Thomas and Magnolia Streets.
This building was often referred to as the "school with the cupola." It was used free of
charge for church, literary, and other community affairs, as well as school.
The city's first public school, established in 1888, was
housed in the school with the cupola. The first teacher was Mrs. Nettie Mann Morrison,
who had taught the pay school. She taught the common school subjects, as well as piano,
and refined dancing. |
