Higher Education in Logan County
The Logan County Normal School was held at the West Liberty School building
Normal Colleges were introduced to set a “norm” or standard for schools and were designed to train and equip teachers. In the days of one-room schools this was especially important. They were considered credit for the first year of college.
The first information in the archives about Normal Schools in Logan County is from Rushsylvania. It was stated in an article from the Bellefontaine Republican in July of 1870 that the Rushsylvania Normal School was being instituted in response to a “long-held desire in this section of the State: a training school for teachers who expect situations in our public schools.” W. Wright was the principal. Courses were planned for elementary training, with a complete scientific course, and conducted in three departments, Preparatory, Scientific, and Classical. The curriculum included higher Mathematics, Latin, Greek and German, Practical Bookkeeping, and Surveying. There was also an instructor for Vocal and Instrumental Music. Fall term at 14 weeks was offered at $12, Winter term was $10, and Spring term $8.
A Normal School was conducted in 1883 at Northwood that advertised “A Progressive School – Competent Teachers. Thorough Practical Instruction.”, and included lessons in Elocution, Grammar, Rhetoric, U.S. History and School Management. It was held at the old Geneva College building and James Stewart was the principal.
In the 1890s, eight-week Summer Normal Schools appeared in several towns around Logan County, including East Liberty in 1890 and at the Glover Institute in West Liberty in 1897. They offered opportunities “to prepare for the county examination and to prepare those who are already teaching for doing a higher grade of work, and to aid any who may so desire to become regular in college work.” In 1895, D.O Dean of Belle Center had “one of the most successful Normal Schools ever conducted in the county.” A Summer Normal was held at Zanesfield in 1894 and 1895, taught by Professor J.J. Welty and J.F. Haas, with Professor D.A. Hartzell in charge of the music department.
In 1915, the State School Superintendent notified Supt. A.B. Lynn that West Liberty had been selected as the site of a County Normal School. A State law required all teachers who were applicants for certificates to have a certain amount of normal training. The Normal School in West Liberty was open to all those preparing to teach and offered free tuition. Requirements for admission were graduation from a first grade High School. After completion of the one-year Advanced Course, graduates received a one-year certificate to teach without having to take the certificate examination. Students from every first-grade high school in the County attended along with students from Champaign County. Courses included Elementary Psychology, Sanitation & Health, Music & Drawing, Physiography, and Agriculture, along with Grammar, History, Arithmetic, Reading & Methods and Principals of Teaching.
In December of 1916, the State High School Inspector wrote that the Logan County Normal was “one of the very best we have.” He noted the efficient teaching and enthusiasm existing among the students. Twenty-one students graduated from the Logan County Normal at the first commencement in 1916. Professor H.W. Holycross was the director and remained in that position until 1927 when the school was closed due to the enrollment falling below 25 students.
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