Blum Male & Female College

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Blum Male and Female College, out of Newton County. Now settle in, because this one's got a little bit of everything. February 26, 1880.

Thirty-six incorporators put their names to a charter and brought something ambitious into the world right there in Newton County. They called it Blum Male and Female College, named for Leon Blum, a Galveston merchant who happened to be the largest holder in the twenty-thousand-dollar capital stock, priced at five dollars a share. When you're putting up more money than anybody else, your name tends to end up on the building.

The first directors were R. J. Brailsford, H.

J. Casey, W. W.

Downs, W. A. Droddy, T.

W. Ford, and M. D.

Hines. First president was Joseph Syler. That is a proper roster of men with serious middle initials, and they meant business.

Now, when they said male and female college, they were not speaking loosely. Pupils ranged in age from five years old all the way up to fifty. Think about that for a moment.

Somewhere in that two-story building you had a five-year-old just learning her letters and a fifty-year-old who had decided, better late than never, that he was going back to school. The young ones, those under twelve, met downstairs. Older pupils and adults went upstairs.

Clean and simple. The school took up, as they put it, at eight in the morning and closed at four-thirty in the afternoon. And the way you entered and left, well, there was a system.

Boys lined up on one side, girls on the other, and that division continued right on inside the schoolroom. No exceptions, no negotiations. Average enrollment ran about a hundred resident and boarding pupils per term.

Lessons were recited aloud on a recitation bench. All tests were oral, every single one, and apparently that was enough of an occasion that the community would come and gather to watch. Folks showing up to observe a geometry examination.

There is something admirable about that, honestly. The subjects went well beyond the three R's. Philosophy.

Latin. Grammar. Algebra.

History. Geometry. Rhetoric.

Geography. This was not a modest curriculum for a two-story building in Newton County. Friday afternoons were reserved for spelling matches and recitations, which in those days passed for entertainment and apparently worked just fine.

For water, there was a well out in the school yard. Most students brought their lunch from home in a tin bucket with a lid ventilated by nail holes. Simple, practical, and probably not much to look at, but it got the job done.

In time, the place came to be called Burkeville School. The college charter ran its course, expiring on February 20, 1905, and the building kept right on serving as a school after that. It held together until 1912, when it was torn down.

Thirty-six incorporators, one Galveston merchant's name above the door, a well in the yard, tin buckets with nail-hole lids, and somewhere between the five-year-olds downstairs and the fifty-year-olds up top, something that looked a whole lot like a community trying to do right by itself.

What the marker says

Chartered February 26, 1880, by 36 incorporators; named for Leon Blum, Galveston merchant, largest holder in $20,000 capital stock -- $5 per share. First directors were: R. J. Brailsford, H. J. Casey, W. W. Downs, W. A. Droddy, T. W. Ford, M. D. Hines; First president was Joseph Syler. Pupils ranged in age from 5 to 50 years; those under 12 met in downstairs of 2-story building; older pupils and adults met upstairs. Average enrollment per term was 100 resident and boarding pupils. School "took up" at 8 a.m.; closed at 4:30 p.m. Students entered and left school by lining up -- boys on one side and girls on the other -- a division which continued inside the school room. Lessons were recited on a recitation bench; all tests were oral, often an occasion for community gathering. Subjects offered besides the 3 R's were: philosophy, Latin, grammar, algebra, history, geometry, rhetoric, and geography. Friday afternoons were devoted to spelling matches, recitations. A well in school yard furnished water; most students brought lunch from home in a tin bucket which was covered with a lid ventilated by nail holes. Soon was called Burkeville School, and after expiration of College Charter on February 20, 1905, the building served that purpose until torn down in 1912.