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JOSEPH GOODRICH Joseph Goodrich came to Wisconsin from Allegany Co., New York, in the summer of 1838, and selected the site of Milton for a settlement. It was his idea that a school be opened to provide a more advanced education than that offered by the few common schools in the area which were usually held only three months in the year in private homes. Instruction in the school was designed almost exclusively to aid young men in preparing for business pursuits and to prepare young men and women for teaching in the public schools. Every advantage offered to young men was offered also to young ladies, and they recited in the same classes. It was thought that a school of this kind would attract families to settle in the vicinity. |
MILTON ACADEMY, 1844 The academy building was built in 1844 near the north- west corner of the public square when there were only four dwellings in the village. Construction cost about $300, paid by Joseph Goodrich, who managed the school and bore its expense in its first years. It opened as a select school at the beginning of December 1844, with the Rev. Bethuel C. Church as its first teacher. He paid no rent for the building, and he retained all tuition income. Samuel S. Child succeeded him for a short time, and then the Rev. S. S. Bicknell was engaged as principal. It was he who in the spring of 1847 issued the first catalog. Tuition was $3 per term of 11 weeks, of which there were three a year; board with private families was $1 to $1.50 per week; and there were 67 students, 40 gentlemen and 27 ladies. |
