TOWN OF BATH. 



175 



Bath, was organized April 24, 1851. Levi C. Whiting, 

 Captain; James D. Blanck, Engineer; P. W. Rhodes, 

 Clerk." Forty-one citizens were enrolled as members of 

 the company. 



SCHOOLS OF THE VILLAGE. 



The first school-house built in the village of Bath appears 

 in the cut of Bath as it was in 1804. It was a small frame 

 building, facing the Pulteney Square from the west side, 

 just in front of the old log jail, and a little north of the 

 present Steuben County Bank building. This school-house 

 was probably erected before 1800, but its exact date cannot 

 be ascertained. Col. Wm. H. Bull remembers going to 

 school here in 1805. The building was not painted, and 

 its appearance indicated that it had stood a considerable 

 number of years. This school was taught in 1805 or 1806 

 by a man named Dixon. The building was removed when 

 the stone jail was erected. 



The next school was kept in a small frame building on 

 the east side of the Pulteney Square, a little south of the 

 county clerk's office, and was taught by Elam Bridges, of 

 Prattsburgh, in 1811. During this year, Wm. Howell, Esq., 

 (now residing in the village, at the age of seventy-four years) 

 was a pupil of Mr. Bridges, and so were also a number of 

 the other early citizens who have passed away. This build- 

 ing was not on property owned by the school district, nor 

 was it built for school purposes. 



In 1812 the citizens purchased a lot of Henry A. Town- 

 send, Esq., on Steuben Street, and erected the building 

 known as the " Old Academy." It was a two-story wooden 

 structure, standing broadside to the street, and there was a 

 stairway in the east end leading to the upper story, which 

 was occupied for a time by the Masons as a lodge-room * 

 This school-house was burned down in 1824, and about a 

 year after the old " Red School-House" was built upon the 

 same site. It was a frame building, 25 by 30 feet, and 

 stood a little back from Steuben Street, on the lot next east 

 of Mr. A. Beekman's present sash- and blind-factory. Tliis 

 building was used for school purposes till 1848. It was 

 destroyed by fire about 1849. 



Among the early trustees of schools in the village were 

 Judge Edwards, Lewis Biles, Dugald Cameron, David Rum- 

 sey, Sr., and others. The trustees, at the time of the build- 

 ing of the Old Academy, were Dugald Cameron, Howell 

 Bull, Luman Hopkins, and Samuel S. Haight. 



On the 8th of July, 1846, a union school was formed 

 by the consolidation of Districts Nos. 2 and 5, in the village 

 of Bath. Gr. A. Rogers, Washington Barnes, and Richard 

 Brower were elected trustees. Adam Haverling donated 

 to the Union District the lot on which the present Haver- 

 ling Union Free School stands, which was accepted by a 

 general meeting of the citizens in the following resolution, 

 passed on the 6th of March, 1847 : 



" Resolved^ That we accept with feelings of respect and 

 gratitude Mr. Haverling's generous ofier of a lot adjoining 

 St. Patrick's Square, for the site of a union school-house ; 

 and tender to him, for ourselves and children, for his provi- 

 dence and care for their comfort and happiness, our grateful 



'j^ See evidence in the litigation concerning the title to this lot in the 

 Supreme Court, April, 1860. 



sense of his kindness and our wishes for his prosperity and 

 happiness. 



" Resolved^ That the moderator and clerk sign and trans- 

 mit to Mr. Haverling a copy of the preceding resolution." 



David McMaster, William Hamilton, and Constant Cook 

 were elected the new board of trustees ; and it was voted 

 unanimously to name the school building about to be 

 erected upon the accepted lot " The Haverling Union 

 School-House of Bath." It was also voted that the sum 

 of $2000 be raised by tax to build the house upon said lot. 

 On the 13th of April, 1847, the contract requiring the 

 erection of a school building of brick and stone, 40 by 60 

 feet, and three stories besides basement, was let to Sylvanus 

 Stephens, of Bath, the contract price being S2 180.66. On 

 the first Monday in May, 1848, on motion of Hon. John 

 Magee, an additionalsum of flOOO was voted to complete 

 the building. It was finished and occupied in the fall of 

 1848. At the same time that the last thousand dollars 

 was voted to finish the new school-house, an appropriation 

 was made to repair the old buildings 



The first Haverling Union School building was burned 

 in 1865. At a meeting of the voters of the district held 

 March 7, 1866, on motion of Mr. Robert L. Underbill, the 

 following resolution was adopted : 



" Resolved^ That the trustees of this district be and they 

 are hereby authorized and directed to construct a school- 

 house in this district, upon the site now belonging to the 

 district, at a cost not exceeding the sum of $15,000, 

 besides the insurance-money and materials on hand." 



The insurance on the old building amounted to $2000 ; 

 the $15,000 in addition was voted to be raised by tax; the 

 Haverling lot, lying between the school site and Liberty 

 Street, was purchased for the sum of $900. An additional 

 sum was afterwards raised, and the present commodious 

 and substantial Haverling Union Free-School building com- 

 pleted at an entire cost of about $25,000. With the en- 

 largement of the grounds by the addition of the Haverling 

 building lot, the heating of the building throughout by 

 steam, and various modern improvements, this school build- 

 ing, with its surroundings, being situated on grounds adja- 

 cent to Washington (formerly St. Patrick's) Square, is 

 among the most pleasant educational institutions in this 

 portion of the State. Samuel S. May was the builder. 

 The trustees under whose auspices it was erected were 

 David Rumsey, Robert L. Underbill, and L. P. Hard. 

 David Rumsey was president of the board, and George 

 Edwards clerk. 



The principals of the Union School from 1846 to 1868 



were as follows: Hathaway, Emerson J. Hamilton, 



Charles W. Gulick, James Buell, James A. Broadhead, 

 William S. Hall, C. C. Wheeler, J. H. Strong, John C. 

 Higby, and Henry A. Smith. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE UNION FREE SCHOOL. 



On the 10th of June, 1868, a meeting of the legal 

 voters of the district was held, to determine whether a 

 Union Free School should be established in the village of 

 Bath, in accordance with the provisions of title 9 of chapter 

 555 of the laws of 1864. The vote was taken viva voce, 

 and the motion carried unanimously. The following trus- 



