by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Among the many important elements of the gargantuan growth of greater Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the rapid rise in education, both public and private and with respect to grammar and high schools, as well as colleges and universities. A post on this blog shared some of the origins of the Los Angeles County schools in the mid-1850s, which is also when public schools in the Angel City were opened.
When it comes to documentation of how education progressed in the metropolis and in its environs, there is a significant difference, with city schools getting more attention than their country counterparts. In those earliest eras, there is very little of either though, as with virtually everything else, we have more information and sources as time moved on.
Obviously, a major differentiation between urban and rural education was in what was expected of children, while, within urban areas, there were also differentiations on that basis. So, in the hinterlands, where farming predominated, much of the thinking by parents was that their progeny would help with that very time-consuming and labor-intensive way of making a living.
In the city, working-class families were often less concerned with education and more about how their children would obtain employment, while the more well-to-do looked at education as a means for children to maintain, if not improve, their economic well-being. There was also very much a racial component to this, as people of color had far less access to educational opportunities and, when they did, with fewer resources applied to them.
For the Workman and Temple family, their situation was notable over the time period that we deal with, which is 1830-1930. During much of that era, family members had a level of wealth far above and beyond most people, though this was sometimes tempered by periods in which their financial situation was far less successful than at others. Naturally, this had significant effects on their educations.
Moreover, the family mainly resided in rural areas during most of that century, though for the Walter P. Temple clan this radically changed with the stunning discovery of oil on their ranch, situated in the Old Mission/Misión Vieja community in the Whittier Narrows, as they were able to move to a more urban environment in the late 1910s.
When Walter’s parents, Antonia Margarita Workman and F.P.F. Temple, settled on half of the 2,363-acre Rancho La Merced in 1851, their two oldest children were five and three years of age, while a third was born that year. Several more children followed over two more decades and the family’s wealth enabled them to take advantage of private education, including, in the younger years, at the school at the Workman House here at the Homestead. Unfortunately, we have very little information about how that school was conducted.
Meanwhile, the Misión Vieja community grew to a level that, by the early 1860s, a felt need was for a public school. So, F.P.F. Temple, James Durfee and others formed the La Puente School District in 1863, with Temple donating an acre at the northeastern limits of the La Merced ranch along the west side of what became Durfee Avenue for a wooden schoolhouse that looked pretty typical for the period. Why the name “La Puente” was chosen when that place was to the east is a mystery and confusing matters was that there was an Old Mission School to the north closer to El Monte. In any case, the La Puente moniker stuck for almost sixty years.
While documentation is sparse for the school and district, there is a ledger, dating from 1868 to 1881, that still exists at the New Temple School in the Valle Lindo School District in South El Monte, about a mile or so northeast of the original campus, now the site of the Los Angeles district headquarters for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. More than three decades ago, research was done at the school’s office and, while only a glimpse into operations, it has some notable contents.
For one, there was a reorganization of the district in 1868, for reasons that are not yet known, perhaps the combination of an economic downturn, exacerbated by floods and droughts in the first half of that decade, along with an epidemic of smallpox and other factors, forced a closure as money was tight.
Whatever the reason, the 30 March reboot was followed by a trustee election, with Temple secretary at that meeting, almost three months later with Temple winning a two-year term and George Durfee, James’ brother, securing a one-year stint and James W. Cate, owner of 200 acres below what is now Whittier Narrows Dam, taking a three-year term.
Temple went on to be elected to a pair of two-year terms from 1873 to 1877 and one mention in the ledger as to his duties was a 1 March 1869 request by him for reimbursement of $100 expended on materials for work on the school house. As we’ll soon see, however, he had another notable involvement as a benefactor.
The first term for the reconstituted La Puente School was from June to September 1868 and Miss L. Borin was hired as the teacher at pay of $50 pre month. The second term was during October and November and she was replaced by Miss H.A. Wllson at the same salary. Yet, when Mr. H.H. Bates was teacher from March to June 1869, he was paid $60, which seems to reflect the higher pay generally given to men for the same work done by women.
Over the course of the next dozen years, there were nine teachers, a reminder that the profession had a great deal of turnover, often because of the low pay, long hours and stresses of dealing with students and their parents, but also because young women, who dominated the profession, often left to get married, pursue another vocation, seek further education or for other reasons.
Of those nine, though, five were women and the remainder men. The salary did increase to $75 a month for the period of April 1870 through May 1873, though, when Effie Rogers was hired to teach in August 1873, her pay was returned to the lower level. Strikingly, when John B. DuBois took over, for the period from October 1873 to April 1874, there was no salary listed, though it seems hard to believe he went unpaid. When M. Whaling taught over two terms from August 1874 to the end of the following year, he received $100 monthly, but, again, see below.
The last five years covered in the ledger were during the period when the region was in a floundering economic state that included the stunning collapse of the Temple and Workman Bank early in 1876. So, when Allie Heath began teaching at La Puente School the following month and stayed for a year, her pay was down to $85 a month, though it was $100 for a portion.
Her successor, Drusa Whisler, who worked from March to May 1877, was also paid $85, but could earn $100 if there were more than 30 students in the school. Dayton A. Read was, by far, the longest-serving instructor at La Puente during the period covered in the ledger, with his tenure starting in October 1877 and continuing until the book ended in March 1881. While his pay was $100 monthly through 1878, there was no indication of what earned during those final two-and-a-half years. Reed moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he was superintendent of schools and principal of the territory’s normal school for teacher education, and died there in 1894.
Also of significance in the ledger were the results of schools censuses conducted from 1872 to 1881, as they reflect the general growth in population during the first boom in greater Los Angeles, which ran from the late Sixties through the mid Seventies. That first year there were 90 children between the ages of 5 and 15, which were the parameters of what defined school age at the time.
Of these children, 51 were boys and three dozen were girls and there was a delineation of three Indians, who apparently did not attend school. Moreover, there were 45 white children under 5 years of age. There were 18 children in the La Puente School, and 19 who were in private school—this including the Temple family children—while 34 did not go to school at all.
In 1873, the number of children increased by five, including a fourth Indian child. The gender gap changed considerably, so that were 50 girls and 45 boys. The number under 5 dropped by twelve, while those at the school jumped by five, the same number as those going to private school. Yet, those not getting any education at all climbed by more than 40% to nearly fifty.
The following year saw another leap to 104 children in the district, but, remarkably, that gender gap reemerged, with 61 boys and 40 girls, with a trio of Indians. There was a continuing decline of little ones under five years to two dozen, but there was also a drop of two going to La Puente, while the private school number went up to 28. Another increase to 55 not in school meant that the number was over half for the first time.
The census year changed to a fiscal one for 1875-1876 and growth was by more than 25% to 131 children. The gender disparity continued, with 73 boys and 58 girls (there was no recording of Indian children from this point either. Those under five shot up by close to 75% to 42, while to attendance at La Puente more than doubled to 48. The number of those in private school dropped by six, but there was a continued increase in those receiving no education to 64, though this was a bit under half.
There was no census the next year and one wonders if it had something to do with the financial crisis, but the next one, for 1877-1878, did see a slight drop in the number of children by ten. Girls were again a majority of 62 to 59 boys. The climb continued for those under 5 to 55 and what was encouraging was that, for the first time, those attending La Puente outnumbered those who did not go to school, by a tally of 63-48. Only eight children were in private school, likely a reflection of the hard times, including, presumably, for the Temple children, these being Margarita (age 11), Walter (8) and Charles (6).
There was another lack of a census for the 1878-1879 year, but the following one saw an increase of fifteen in the number of children to 136, though the upper age was increased to 17. There was no gender breakdown and the trend toward having children in school continued in the positive direction, with 81 attending La Puente and 51 not getting any education. Only four students were in private schools. Lastly, for 1880-1881, there were 133 children over 5 and 60 under that age. Those at the school totaled 79 with 54 not enrolled at any institution, while there was no indication of any private school attendance.
The ledger did make reference to the fact that a smallpox epidemic took place in 1877 and caused the school to be shuttered, though nothing was said about the length of time or the numbers of those who contracted the dread disease. Fire insurance, essential for wooden structures when affordable, was also taken out for the last three years and gave the value of the school at $1,900, with $1,400 for the structure, furnishings at $300 and $100 each for the library and bell that called students to school.
It is also interesting to see purchases, with the first, from 1869, being for Abbot’s American History, procured for $10, which was not an insubstantial sum. The following year, a Webster’s Dictionary was purchased for $13.50, another hefty amount, while a set of Little Learners cost $4.50 and those for the Standard Speaker and Elementary Instruction were $1.75 each.
A plethora of purchases for 1871 included Bancroft’s Map of the Pacific States, which set the district back $6, while there were also purchases of works by the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, the poems of Lord Byron, Gulliver’s Travels and volumes on chemistry, composition, public economy, history and more.
Supplies were evidently the focus of the next two years. In 1872, a teacher’s chair was acquired for $3.50, while bottles of ink, a set of crayons, 16 copy books, a box of pens and an $8 clock were listed, along with a set of McGuffey’s Charts and Robinson’s Arithmetic Books. For 1873, more copy books and crayons were purchased, along with writing paper, slate pencils and slates, and pen-holders. Books included a half-dozen copies of McGuffey’s First Reader, three of a physical geography, a natural history picture book, one on children’s pets, another on window gardens and a history of the French Revolution, among others.
The last two years of procurements listings were from 1874 and 1875 and were mostly confined to books. Examples included one on anatomy, another on natural history, two math books, a Sketches of Life in the Golden State by Albert S. Evans, the Wonders in the Arctic World, a home guide, and a volume on Palestine. There were an unidentified number of desks purchased and costing from $5.65 to $8.75. Many of the publications came from the booksellers Samuel Hellman, Broderick and Company and A.H. Burton, all of Los Angeles.
Incomplete as it may be, this ledger is valuable for its evocation of what took place at La Puente School and, probably, was representative of the situation involving so-called “country schools” of the period, if not also, to some degree, the institutions in Los Angeles. F.P.F. Temple’s role in founding the district and school, including donating the land and serving as trustee is also notable. We’ll return tomorrow with part two, so be sure to check back in then.
The post describes how children’s education was less prioritized in rural areas during earlier years in America – a situation that was actually very common across much of the world.
However, as time has passed and education has become much more widespread, an interesting phenomenon has emerged in the United States over the past decades: education is no more viewed with the same importance as it is in many other parts of the world. For example, in most Asian countries, compulsory and free education is only provided up to middle school, yet most families are still willing to make significant sacrifices to support their children through high school and college.
There are two distinct practices in the U.S. that are particularly surprising and even unimaginable to many in Asia. One is the relatively high rate of high school dropouts – why would anyone give up the privilege of continuing their education? The other is the grand family celebration for their children’s high school graduation. In almost all Asian cultures, aside from kindergarten, the next truly significant family graduation celebration is typically reserved for their family folks completing a reputable university degree or higher.
These cultural differences reflect how education is valued and emphasized in different societies. They may also help explain the varying developmental paths of young people growing up in these different educational environments.