Early Education In Highland County

Early Education In Highland County. . Tracing the beginning of education in any area can be challenging and Highland County is no different. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was the first document to address public education; and the statute which governed the Northwest Territory, The Ordinance of 1787, provided that "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." Soon after a new settlement was established, a school would be set up, usually in a home. In the 1800s and early 1900s, one room school buildings in the county numbered more than 150, with schools located about five miles apart so that any student could attend school within two and a half miles of his home., The first school in the Greenfield area was in the log cabin home of Judge James Moody, having been started to educate his nine children. In 1810, the first building for school purposes, a log structure, was located on Lot 16 on the northeast corner of North and Washington Streets. Also in 1810, we find a log cabin on South High Street in Hillsboro providing space for school by subscription., Governor Allen Trimble of Hillsboro is credited with founding the school system of Ohio. In 1822, he established a commission to study the feasibility of creating common, or public, schools in Ohio. Bowing to public pressure, the Ohio Legislature passed a .5 mil tax on property to fund public education in 1825., In 1868, Union School opened in Hillsboro with approximately 410 pupils. The stone to the left can be seen in the above photograph between the second and third stories of the school. It was donated to the Highland County Historical Society by Larry Snoddy., This plaque provided by Highland County Retired Teachers Association, in memory of all teachers who labored for education in this county and in honor of those who have retired and those who continue to teach.