Foundation
Elementary and secondary education began in St. George not long after permanent Euro-American settlements were established. St. George settlers organized schools and selected teachers while still living in an encampment.[1] Instruction focused on “the Three R’s”[2] - likely Reading, ’Riting, and ’Rithmetic – but also included music and other curriculum. Many families gave priority to agricultural labor at home and their children “went to school only when work would permit it.”[3] In 1871, a high school was created in St. George called the St. George Academy.[4] This and other early education endeavors, however, were short-lived.[5]
In 1888, residents started a St. George Stake Academy.[6] In its first year, the school was split into two departments, Preparatory and Intermediate.[7] There were more female students than male students. Classes included theology, reading, grammar and composition, arithmetic, bookkeeping, hygiene, geography, U.S. history, and “Incidentals.”[8] Classes were held in the basement of the St. George Tabernacle, a location that the principal actively sought to change due to sickness and lack of ventilation.[9] The St. George Stake Academy was organized and run by the local Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which pushed for religious and secular education in tandem. “The teachers...hope, by the blessing of God to be enabled to increase the interest which is being awakened in the minds of the pupils for the principles of the Gospel.”[10] A lack of Church funding and the opening of free public schools as Utah approached statehood likely contributed to the school closing in 1893.[11]
St. George Stake Academy (1911-1916)
A new St. George Stake Academy was created in 1911.[12] This institution has stood the test of time, but not without struggle. Early academic focuses included industrial work, agriculture, woodwork, domestic art, domestic science, bookkeeping, fine arts, and physical education.[13] The school had its first commencement and printed its first yearbook in 1913.[14]
Dixie Normal College (1916-1923)
College classes were added in 1916 and the institution's name became Dixie Normal College.[15] New buildings soon expanded the campus, including a gymnasium, swimming-pool, a Training School Building, and a Carnegie Library that was used by both students and the public.[16] Students at Dixie Normal College were expected to adhere to a strict code of conduct.[17] Credits could be withheld for indiscretions, such as smoking and drinking.[18]
Many students had to work hard, including evenings and weekends, to pay their way through school. Nevertheless, having a local high school and college greatly expanded the educational opportunities for many people in the region, including those in the smaller outlying towns.[19]
Citations
[1] James G. Bleak, The Annals of the Southern Mission: A Record of the History of the Settlement of Southern Utah (Draper, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 53.
[2] John H. Schmutz, by Pearl Ghormley, “John Henry Schmutz: A Lifespan from the Oxcart to the Moon,” (Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1973), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, 4.
[3] John H. Schmutz, "A Lifespan from the Oxcart to the Moon,” 4.;
Nephi M. Savage, Nephi M. Savage to James G. Bleak, March 17, 1890, letter, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, Church Board of Education Records – Photocopy, 1888-1893 (UA-027), https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/10704.
[4] James G. Bleak, Annals of the Southern Utah Mission (Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 247.
[5] Andrew Karl Larson, I Was Called to Dixie (Andrew Karl Larson, 1979) 2nd printing, 548-553.
[6] James G. Bleak, Annals of the Southern Utah Mission, 701.;
Douglas D. Alder, A Century of Dixie State College of Utah (St. George, UT: Dixie State College, 2010), 1-4.
[7] Bleak, Annals of the Southern Mission, 701.
[8] Bleak, 701.
[9] Nephi M. Savage, Nephi M. Savage to James G. Bleak, March 17, 1890, letter, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, Church Board of Education Records – Photocopy, 1888-1893 (UA-027), https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/10704.
[10] James G. Bleak, Annals of the Southern Utah Mission, 701.
[11] Douglas D. Alder, A Century of Dixie State College of Utah, 10-11.
[12] "Academy Open," Washington County News (St. George, UT), October 5, 1911, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6f4937q.
[13] "Stake Academy Opening Announcements," Washington County News (St. George, UT), Augsust 15, 1912, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6d23btz.
[14] The Student Body of St. George Stake Academy, The Dixie (Salt Lake City: Arrow Press, 1913), 4, 12, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/781#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
[15] "The Dixie," Washington County News (St. George, UT), October 5, 1916, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gq8bxc.
[16] The Student Body of 1916, The Dixie (Salt Lake City: Arrow Press, 1916), 5, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/684#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
[17] St. George Stake Academy Faculty Meeting Minutes, bulk: 1912-09 – 1915-02, UA-032, Box: 1, Folder: 1, pp. 24-25, 87, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/resources/99.
[18] St. George Stake Academy Faculty Meeting Minutes, pgs. 22-23, 30, 57.; Dixie Normal College Faculty Meeting Minutes, Bulk: 1915-10 – 1917-04, UA-032, Box: 1, Folder: 2, pp. 17, 21, 23, 30, 32, 41, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives. https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/resources/99.
[19] B. Glen Smith, “Reports- Annual, 1934-05,” President B. Glen Smith Collection, UA-041, box 1, folder 4, pp. 1-2, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/18620.;
Daniel Winder, "Interview with Daniel Winder," interview by Fielding H. Harris, The Voices of Remembrance Foundation Oral History Collection, December 21, 1968, Audio, 3:00 - 8:27, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/710.
Images
The Dixie (St. George, UT: Dixie Normal College, 1913), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/688#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
The Dixie 1923 (St. George, UT: Dixie Normal College, 1923), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/688#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
The Dixie 1929 (St. George, UT: Dixie College, 1929), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/692#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
Third Ward School, Bleak Family Papers, WASH-001, Box 4, Folder 1, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/545.