Ohio History Journal

AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION

BY ALFRED J. WRIGHT

"Miami Valley College

For both sexes, near Springboro, Warren County, Ohio. Under the

care of Friends; term opens Ninth Month, 4th., 1877. Term fees for the

year $230 from which will be deducted amounts earned at suitable industries,

two hours daily, for boys on the farm and in Mechanics Hall, and girls

in household duties; also cost of railroad fares once each way from the fees

of the first and the last terms, respectively. For particulars send for

catalog.

Aron Wright, M. D.

President."

The above advertisement appeared in the Lebanon Western

Star for November 8, 1877. The story behind it constitutes an

item in the cultural and economic development of Ohio. The

establishment of Miami Valley College in 1869 by members of

the Society of Friends residing in the Springboro community

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 31

marked the climax of the economy of this village. In its growth

and early maturing are to be observed the forces which were

common to many small towns of the Miami Valley which were

passed by when the railroads were built. Despite its agricultural

excellence the changed vitality of trade routes that resulted from

greater accessibility to other parts of the Miami Valley and to

more distant regions meant that Springboro reached the climax

of its community development during its first seventy-five years.

Since then the community has become economically and culturally

adjusted as peripheral to the large urban center of Dayton a

dozen miles north.

For two races the valley of the Great Miami River in south-

western Ohio has served as the principal corridor between the

central Great Lakes basin and the Ohio River. It is the only major

break in the hills which border the Ohio on the north from the

Mississippi River to the Appalachian Highlands. Since the late

eighteenth century the Miami Valley has been occupied by settle-

ments which have been almost unequalled for rapidity of growth

and density of distribution throughout the old Northwest Terri-

tory. Whether immigrants came down the Ohio in boats or moved

northward through the southern tributaries of the Ohio which

gave access to the Great Appalachian Valley from the northeast,

favorable terrain made this valley a popular route to the fertile

lands of the upper Mississippi Valley.

Its importance derived not only from its terrain. It is the

only place where the more productive soils of the glacial till plains

reach the Ohio. Elsewhere from the Appalachian Highland to the

Mississippi River, the Ohio is bordered on the north by relatively

unproductive soils, generally underlain with heavy, tough and

impervious subsoils which have contributed to their poor drainage

and unproductiveness. The Miami Valley is in the nature of a

funnel which leads to the light-colored, moderately productive

soils which characterize the major part of the glacial till plains

upon which these Miami Valley settlements were made.

The original forest which greeted the pioneers reflected these

soil differences. Throughout the entire region a deciduous hard-

32 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

wood forest of useful trees prevailed, but the Miami Valley was

mostly white oak, sugar maple and some walnut and beech on the

well-drained soils, and elm and basswood on the poorly drained

soils. Interior trim and furniture for the pioneers were made

from these hardwoods. Local cabinetmakers made many fine

pieces which are today prized by descendants of the original

owners. Wagon and carriage shops did a thriving business for

local people and the hundreds of immigrant wagons which went

through the village during its first half century. Several sawmills

manufactured for export.

The excellence of the soils and the nature of the climate

permitted the production of nearly all of the crops which grow in

the humid continental type of climate. Some of the crops have

passed from the economy, but the region is still an excellent

general farming area, with concessions made to nearby urban

markets in the form of dairying and tobacco.

After the Ordinance of 1787 made settlement possible, the

Territory was the object of interested appraisal by eastern people.

Among these was Joel Wright, a surveyor and civil engineer from

Pipe Creek in Maryland. He made his first trip to the Ohio

country probably in 1788. During the next twenty years he made

surveys in the Muskingum, Scioto, and Miami valleys. As a result

of these trips, he took a fancy to the Miami Valley; in 1806, he

and Abijah O'Neal bought a thousand-acre tract in the Symmes

Purchase near Waynesville. In 1813, he and his son, Jonathan,

also a surveyor, bought an additional tract due west of the earlier

purchase. To this second tract he and his son with his family

moved, there to establish a village for fellow-members of the

Society of Friends from eastern Maryland, Virginia and Pennsyl-

vania. For the remainder of his life, Joel Wright surveyed farms

for those who bought land from his and his son's tracts.

The immediate site for the village of Springboro was on a

south-sloping terrace between two small streams flowing into Clear

Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami. The excellence of the land

and the number of large springs in the immediate vicinity made

the choice attractive. These springs were diverted to form a pond

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 33

which provided a flow of water for the flour mills which soon

were in operation. They also provided the name for the commu-

nity.

Surveying and platting Springboro was done by Jonathan

Wright; the plat was entered at the county courthouse in 1815.

It provided for two north-south and six east-west streets in

rectangular pattern, used for the first time in original surveys in

the Miami Valley.1

As was customary with eastern cities, the houses were gen-

erally of brick and set close to the street. The principles of the

founder were expressed in the provision that for a period of

twenty years from the date of sale no alcoholic beverages could

be made or sold on any of the lots. This resulted in an early

addition (Carr's) on the north in which liquor was sold to some

of the later settlers and particularly to wayfarers on the Franklin-

Waynesville Road, which road served for several years as an

important road for immigrant travel to western lands.

The community grew rapidly for several decades. At the

time of the Civil War, it supported four flour mills, six black-

smiths, one woolen factory, four wagon and carriage shops, two

tan-yards, two harness makers and three sawmills.

Although Springboro was at no time an exclusively Friends

community, this group was dominant in the affairs of the village

for about three generations.²Letters of the time reveal a generally

prosperous condition among the farmers in the rigion and in the

mills and shops of Springboro. Jonathan Wright saw continued

growth of the community during all of his lifetime. He did not

live to see the stagnation which came some time after the railroads

followed the valleys eight miles to the east and four miles to the

west, leaving this village languishing between them. The pro-

prietors of Springboro mills saw business going to the larger towns

1 "Ohio Town Patterns," Geographical Review (New York), XXVII (October, 1937),

615-24; and "Ohio Surveys from the Air," Ohio State Archaeological and Historical

Quarterly, XLVIII (Jan. 1939), 53-57.

2 Indiana Yearly Meeting was authorized by Ohio Yearly Meeting and established

in 1821, being composed of Friends who resided in the states of Indiana, Illinois

and that part of Ohio lying west of the Scioto River. It now comprises Friends be-

longing to the Monthly Meetings which compose Whitewater and Miami Quarterly

Meetings.

34 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

and cities in the Great Miami Valley. This was the beginning of

the industrial transformation of these valley cities in which

Springboro and other off-river towns were to play increasingly

dependent roles.

Although times were not propitious for starting an institu-

tion of higher learning in a rural community which seemed to

have passed its industrial peak, letters of the time refer to a con-

cern on the part of several members of the Society of Friends for

establishing a college. Hard times had forced Miami University

(State supported) to close its doors in 1873 not to reopen until

1885. Perhaps a score of men and women from the Springboro

community had graduated from eastern and mid-western colleges.

But several members were dissatisfied with many of the exist-

ing colleges because no activities were provided for students outside

of their studies. They felt this permitted young men to lapse into

idle and dissolute ways.³They wanted a college providing co-

educational facilities and where every student must work at some

useful task for a minimum of two hours each day. They should

be paid at the prevailing rates; the money could be applied toward

the student's college expenses. This provision in the college plan

was not to attract students without funds; it was believed edu-

cationally desirable.

The Friends in the Waynesville community, eight miles east,

wanted the proposed college to be located there. It was a larger

Meeting and Waynesville was on a railroad. After some dis-

cussion the members decided upon the Springboro site.

In September, 1869, interested Friends met at the home of

one of their number to select a Board of Trustees to proceed with

the establishment of the Miami Valley Institute. Four years later

the Board sought and was granted a new charter as the Miami

Valley College. During the years before this charter, the insti-

tution was generally referred to as "The College."

3 "As knowledge gives increased qualification for usefulness, it becomes us to

encourage a thorough education for all, and to provide for the instruction of our

children and those under our care, in whatever is useful and within the limit of their

capacity and our ability. As children need moral as well as intellectual education, and

are very much influenced during the irrepressible period of youth when their character

is being formed, great care should be observed to see that these are helpful and good."

(From the Discipline of Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends, revision of 1892).

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 35

The first Board of Trustees was composed of Aron Wright,

president, Josiah Wright, secretary-treasurer, Jason Evans,

Moses Hollingsworth, Job Mullin and Ethan Brown. All were

Friends. The president was a physician, the secretary-treasurer

was proprietor of the woolen factory and general store. The only

member not resident in the community was Jason Evans, a pork

packer and banker of Cincinnati. Within the month, 34 acres

of land were purchased and 33 acres leased for the site of the

institution on a south-facing slope just east of Springboro.

The undertaking was considerable for a small community,

particularly during the troubled times for business which prevailed

after the war. All of the money was raised by subscription among

local Friends. By December, 1870, the Main Building was ready

for occupancy; Miami Valley Institute opened its doors the first

Monday in January, 1871.

The Main Building was of four stories, constructed of brick

made on the site. The wings of this large building were for dor-

mitories, one for boys and the other for girls. Dining and social

rooms, class rooms and the administrative offices were in the cen-

tral portion. Mechanics Hall, to house industrial arts classes and

the shops, was erected within the year. Soon thereafter two

faculty homes were built on the west side of the campus. From

time to time other buildings were added as the need arose. The

institute holdings were appraised in 1872 at $57,000; in 1876 the

college was valued at $75,000.⁴

The new charter for the Miami Valley College was granted

November 2, 1874, at the county seat, in accordance with the State

law in effect until 1879. Throughout its life the college was under

the care of Friends.

The catalog described the students' rooms as being 14 by 15

feet, and the class rooms as 40 feet square. The trim throughout

the building was of local hardwood. Two students were as-

signed to each room, although one girl wrote in 1873 that several

of the rooms in the girls' wing were shared by four, the need was

4 Commissioner of Education, 1875, as reported in Barnard's American Journal of

Education (Hartford), XXIX (1878), 510, 520.

36 OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

so great. In those days, it was a problem to heat such a large

building, and reliance was placed upon big round iron stoves with

pipes leading to the upper rooms. The fuel was wood.

Costs were $230 for a year of forty weeks, including board

at $3 per week. To operate the institution there was a staff of

thirteen, with eight members in residence. Forty students were

enrolled the first year. "Factotum," writing in the Western Star

for December 3, 1874, says, "We had the pleasure of visiting

Miami Valley College at Springboro this week, remaining over

night. The number of pupils in attendance is seventy." Graduates

of the college say that there never were more than a hundred

students enrolled at one time. In 1874, the Commissioner of

Education listed the Friends library, used by the college, as

having in excess of five hundred volumes.

Graduates reported the fare as wholesome and abundant. Dr.

Wright who served as college physician as well as president said

that during the ten years of his active association with Miami Val-

ley there were no cases of serious illness or accident.⁵

Dr. Aron Wright and Josiah Wright, moving spirits in estab-

lishing the college, were sons of the founder of the Springboro

community. Dr. Wright had graduated in medicine from Yale,

and for a number of years had been a successful practitioner in

Brooklyn. While there he had met Horace Mann at that time

serving in Congress. The prominent educator had convinced Dr.

Wright of the worth of many of his ideas. When his father,

Jonathan, died in 1855, leaving part of his large land holding and

one of his mills to him, he gave up his Brooklyn practice and

removed to a new home he had built a short distance west of the

village. When the new college was being discussed Dr. Wright

found other Friends in the vicinity sympathetic with the ideas of

Horace Mann.

The college offered two four-year curricula, the Classical and

the Scientific. They required successful entrance examinations

and led to the baccalaureate degree. In the Classical curriculum

the emphasis was on languages: 4 years of Latin, 2 of Greek, 2

5 A. Wright Chapman, Aron and Mary Wright (privately published, New York,

1941).

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 37

of German and 1 of French. The Scientific curriculum required

only one foreign language, but emphasized the sciences and mathe-

matics. Both required thorough training in written and oral

English. A two-year Preparatory Department was added during

the second year of the college. The influence of Mann is seen

in the provision for co-education and for the teaching of industrial

arts to both sexes. The first class graduated in 1875, the second in

1877, the third in 1878 and so on, regularly.

The Trustees continued their planned work requirement; for

boarding students two hours daily work was offered on the college

farm or in Mechanics Hall for boys, and in the college household

for girls. Day students were to perform at least equivalent tasks

at their homes. In a bulletin dated March 1, 1875, the president

stated, "The Founders feel that their theory of education has been

satisfactorily vindicated by results and they will proceed as they

had planned to gradually widen the field of usefulness." The

college was entirely out of debt and would be kept so. It was

to provide useful labor in winter when there was little work to do

on the farm that they were considering the installation of machin-

ery in Mechanics Hall which would enable them to turn out sash,

blinds (shutters), and doors for which there was a steady demand

in nearby localities.⁶

Although it has not been possible to gather information con-

cerning each member of the staff, there were at least three who

were with the college long enough to make a major contribution

to the experiment.

In Dr. Edward Orton the Trustees of Miami Valley College

must have found a kindred spirit. He had been an honor graduate

of Hamilton College, New York, in 1845. In 1866, Horace Mann

invited him to become professor of natural history in Antioch

College at Yellow Springs, a position he held until his election as

its president in 1872. In 1869, he was made an assistant to J. S.

Newberry, State Geologist. In 1872, Orton became the first

president of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College in

Columbus. In 1882, he became the State Geologist. His con-

6 Ibid., 39.

38 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

nections with these two Columbus posts he retained until his death

in 1885.

During his presidency of the institution which later became

the Ohio State University, he helped establish its College of Agri-

culture. His writings reveal a deep interest in the problems of

agriculture and the need for conservation in agricultural and min-

eral lands. As a visiting professor at Miami Valley between 1870-

1872, he taught geology, botany and agriculture. Letters written by

students during his tenure there speak of his interesting lectures.

Among students and friends of the college, Professor Orton

developed a large following. His open lectures are among the

few college news items carried in the Western Star, published in

Lebanon only eight miles away.

Although the Western Star made no mention of another popu-

lar professor at the college, Ezekiel Whipple, his name is fre-

quently encountered in letters from the students of his day. A

graduate of Dartmouth College, Whipple acted as principal and

taught mathematics, and occasionally a course in speech. He was

not at the college for every term, and the news of his announced

return for the following college term was invariably hailed by the

students. As an administrator and as an inspiring teacher his

name has been most often mentioned by graduates and former stu-

dents. He also found time to encourage athletics among the boys.

After Miami Valley College closed he probably went to Minne-

sota to teach.

The field of physics and chemistry seems to have been strong.

For a number of years Dr. Joseph W. Haines presided over this

department. His success as a teacher has been reported by many.

At least six of the twenty-odd graduates became physicians.

Only the names of other faculty members are known today.

Their contribution to the college seems to have been mainly in the

classroom. As a group, however, graduates and former students

at Miami Valley affirm that instruction was thorough and high

standards were maintained.

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 39

Despite the comparatively low enrollment and the two hours

daily devoted to work on the farm and in the shops, the boys

engaged in organized athletics.

The mill pond which ran the village mills was about a quarter

mile west of Springboro and perhaps three-quarters of a mile

west of the college. Former students speak of the good times

they had skating on this pond. Some of the girls have written

of long walks taken along the rolling countryside of Clear Creek

Valley.

Public speaking was popular at the college. This emphasis

upon expression was in keeping with the times.⁷It also was a part

of the custom and practice of Friends. One finds in the Minutes

of the Yearly Meetings interest in national and international af-

fairs, and the expression of opinion concerning them. Letters are

exchanged with distant Meetings. The preparation of these let-

ters, the conduct of business affairs of the Meeting, and the visits

of Friends with a "minute" to speak from their home Meeting,

all tended to make intimate and personal the Friendly experience.

Friday afternoons at the college were often devoted to some

phase of public speaking. For March 9, 1871, the Western Star

said, "There was held at the Miami Valley College a gathering a

few nights ago consisting of students, parents, friends of the

Board, and guests from the community. There were over a hun-

dred present. They convened at 7 P. M. and most of the time was

spent in discussing a reading on Thunderstorms by Miss Moore.

The assembly dispersed about 10 o'clock."

Again, for April 13, 1871: "The first term at the Miami

Valley College closed last Saturday. The afternoon was spent

in the exercise of declamations, dialog, and reading of composi-

tions. There have been quite a few applications for the next term,

starting April 10, 1871."

An organization among the students known as "The Name-

less Society" was formed early in the school year of 1873. On

one occasion this group was addressed by Professor Haines on

7 In 1841, young men in the community organized a Mock Legislature. This

legislature was succeeded in the fall of 1843 by the Corwin Institute. Essays, debates

and declamations were held for several years.

40 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

the subject "Nameless Tendencies of the Times." This organiza-

tion seems to have sustained interest for several years.

A Shakespeare Club was active through several years. Refer-

ences are made to its presentation of such plays as "Julius

Caesar," "King John," "The Merry Wives of Windsor," and "A

Winter's Tale."

In keeping with the Friendly tradition, all college functions

were simple. A student writes of one commencement as follows:

June 18, 1875

Dear Uncle:

As I find no one has written to thee since Commencement, I will tell

thee about it. Long before examinations began, the three graduates began

to look forward to this occasion with great trepidation and to review in their

studies. As their other studies were by no means easy or few in number,

this made it pretty hard for them. Mother shook her head very often over

Mary's sitting up so late.

While the examinations were going on, Mary was in a sad state.

The loss of appetite, spirits, and sleep was alarming, and if she had not

made up in all these particulars afterward, I am afraid serious conse-

quences might have ensued.

At last the important day came. Enough rain had fallen to lay the

dust nicely, without making it too damp. The day was bright and sunny,

but not too warm. The College looked unusually pleasant within. They

had refurnished the reception room and had decorated the lecture room

with cedar. Over the stand on the wall, was the motto, "Work is Wealth."

The exercises were to have begun at 9 A. M., but from some misun-

derstanding they did not commence until much later. I was in the room

where two of the graduates were getting ready. If they had not been

well dosed with tea, I'm afraid they couldn't have stood it.

They looked ready to drop. Sometime after, when the audience was

all seated, a rustle in the hall announced the entrance of the graduates.

They entered in the following order: Susan Heston on the arm of Dr.

Wright, then Mary supported by Dr. Haines, then Charles Hough with

Mrs. Woodward, the governess. The girls looked very pretty in their

white dresses. The graduates sat to one side of the rostrum, and the

members of the faculty took their seats upon it.

Dr. Haines opened with a chapter from the Bible, and the exercises

followed in the order of the programme thee received. In the evening

there was a party at the President's home. The trees were hung with

Chinese lanterns which made the yard look beautiful. The whole house

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 41

was lighted, the front doors thrown open, and as we drove up, the lighted

windows, the hall and staircase, the lanterns in the trees, and the people

walking about reminded me of some beautiful picture.

Thy loving niece,

Anna.

Springboro matured relatively early. Within fifty years of its

founding there was evidence of the uprooting forces which ulti-

mately were to make this community dependent upon the large

cities of the Miami Valley for economic and cultural sustenance.

Shortly after the Civil War, Springboro industries were tak-

ing a turn for the worse. A new patent white flour was being

milled that promised to displace the product of the many small

flour mills of the Miami and other valleys. A trip to Minne-

apolis mills convinced the owner of the Springboro mill that the

days for mills using stone burrs and the whole grain were nearing

an end. He promptly closed the mill.

Sawmills had cut off most of the merchantable timber.

Springboro mills languished. Pork packers were forced to close

in most small towns, leaving the business to large Cincinnati

packers, now easily and cheaply accessible by rail.

Although settlers' wagons came through Springboro as late

as 1880, their number had greatly diminished and their part in

the prosperity of the community was no longer important. The

woolen factory remained in operation until the 1880's, when

cotton and wool mixtures began to dominate the market for

several of its products.

The farmers in the region also felt this decline. For a num-

ber of years after the Miami and Erie Canal was built through

Franklin, 1830, the prices of farm products advanced.⁸Spring-

boro, being only four miles away, shared in this prosperity. Once

the railroad came, generally prosperous conditions prevailed until

after the Civil War. High taxes and depressed business left this

and other Ohio communities in straitened circumstances. Lack

of good roads and railroad services made the community less self-

⁸See C. C. Huntington and C. P. McClelland, History of Ohio Canals (Colum-

bus, 1905).

42 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

sufficient. This extended to cultural opportunities as well. For

Miami Valley College this was serious.

In the issue of the Star for January 6, 1876, "Mercury"

wrote: "Springboro laments the lack of a railroad, waterworks,

and a gas line, yet it is a plodding, aristocratic village. The Quaker

College is in a plodding condition, having a few more students

than when it was founded."

A little later "Theta" wrote: "We want the Miami Valley Col-

lege to succeed. The location is good, the buildings and equipment

are excellent; only more students and teachers are wanting."

During the first half of its fourteen years, the college was

administered and occasional deficits made up by the same group

of Friends who established it in 1869. This was the period of

its most active development. In 1876, although there was no

change in the officers of administration or in policy, responsibility

was turned over to Miami Monthly Meeting at Waynesville. This

was in part due to the death of Jason Evans, one of the two prin-

cipal backers of the college, and in part to the desire of the Trus-

tees to share the responsibility with other members of the Society.

Many Friends still lived in the Springboro community but their

influence was declining.

The Commencement speaker for June 16, 1879 was Edward

Everett Hale of Boston. After the exercise, the installation

of Eugene H. Foster as president took place; Dr. Wright retired

to Brooklyn where he passed the remaining five years of his life

with his children.

Foster had taken his graduate work at Antioch where he had

come under the influence of Mann. The principal change under

his administration was in response to the increasing interest in

teacher training. The Preparatory Department of the College

was expanded in 1881 and its name changed to Training School.

It offered teacher training and college preparatory work. No

entrance examinations were required and no degree was awarded

in this department. Thorough training in all of the common

branches was the emphasis of this curriculum.

EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION 43

Hard times and low enrollment gave rise to increasing deficits.

There was now no one in the Meeting able and willing to assume

a deficit. There was no attempt to prolong the life of the college

by asking for money or by a drive to secure students. After the

school year of 1883 Miami Valley closed its doors. Not long

afterward the owners sold the brick buildings and equipment, and

the land. It was the end of an experiment in education which

had been motivated by the highest principles, maintained high

standards, and which had achieved a measure of success, Its

passing marked the turn in the fortunes of the Springboro com-

munity. Neither the village nor the surrounding farms have

since risen to the level of its first half century of prosperity.