Public Education in Allegany County received its first impulse in 1799, when, by an act of the General Assembly, the Allegany County School was established. The act of the 15th of January, 1799, provided that, —
" Whereas, It is reasonable that education should be extended to the several parts of the State, and that there should be a public school in Allegany County, therefore
" Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That in order to the erecting and building a house and other conveniences for a county school, the persons hereinafter named shall have power to purchase one or more acres of land in or adjoining the town of Cumberland, in Allegany County, to wit: John Lynn, Evan Gwynn, Wm. McMahon, Joseph Cresap, David Lynn, Patrick Murdoch, Hanson Briscoe, John B. Beall, and John C. Beatty, who shall be visitors of said school, which persons so nominated visitors for Allegany County School, and their successors, appointed in the manner hereinafter declared, shall and are hereby declared to be one community, corporation, and body politic, to have continuation forever, by the name of The Visitors of Allegany County School, and by that name to sue and be sued, implead or tie impleaded, and to make and have a common seal, and the same to break, alter, or renew when and so often as they shall see fit."
Under this act the lot now occupied by the school building of St. Peter and St. Paul's German Catholic Church was bought, and a building erected thereon for school purposes. Profs. Pierce and Benjamin Brown were the first principals. The sum of two hundred dollars per year was granted from the State treasury. The organization then established is maintained to this day. In 1849 the building was declared by the principal, Allen P. Weed, to be insufficient for the accommodation of the pupils, and the trustees secured from citizens subscriptions for the erection of a suitable building. For this purpose the county commissioners appropriated the lot occupied by the old clerks' offices, and upon this site the present academy building was erected and occupied June 8, 1850.
In 1828 the proposition to establish primary schools in the county was defeated by a vote of 1031 to 2-49. Nevertheless, the cause of education was promoted by the parochial and private schools.
In 1865 the public school system was established in Allegany County, and under it education has prospered and has been greatly extended. The greatest difficulty encountered has been the want of funds for buildings, apparatus, and teaching force. Taxes and a few gifts have been the only sources of revenue. The board of school commissioners at present is composed of R. L. Burwell, of Mount Savage; Samuel Sonneborn, of Cumberland; and John Douglas, of Lonaconing. The present examiner, J. W. S. Cochran, now in the fourth year of his service, was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and was graduated from Dickinson College in 1874, with the degree of A.B. He taught in Accomac County, Va., and Frostburg, Md., in private schools, and in the public schools of the county until Jan. 1, 1881, when he was appointed secretary, treasurer, and examiner.
The trustees for the ensuing year are as follows:
Election District No. 1.—Orleans School, No. 1, Thomas Callan, Thomas H. Norris, William McDonald; Hartley's School, No. 2, J. T. Hartley, G. W. Price, B. D. Shipley; " Brick-house" School, No. 3, Frederick Brinkman, Harman Brink-man, Daniel Kline; Shircliff's School, No. 4, Henry Shircliff, Jacob Lichty, William Lynn ; Barnes School, No. 5, Silas Kifer, Hughey Ijams, Michael Kennard; Slider School, No. 6, Stephen Slider, Francis Troutman, Francis Twigg; Sulphur Spring School, No. 7, Randolph Sprigg, R. T. Seamon, Jacob Reckley; Tunnel Hill School, No. 8, B. T. Moreland, John Hudson, Daniel Gross.
Election District No. 2.—Oldtown School, No. 1, Dr. B. B. McElfish, George L. Wilson, William Foley; Town Creek School, No. 2, Daniel Diffenbaugh, Adam Barth, Upton Athey; Upper Green Ridge, No. 3, Peter Alderton, Aaron Athey, John Mathews; Lower Green Ridge, No. 4, Samuel Morgan, August Bender, Luke V. Alderton; Spring Gap School, No. 5, John A. Daniel, Amos Davis, Joseph Eyler.
Election District No. 3.—Flintstone School, No. 1, James Ash, Jeremiah Leasure, Isaac Wilson; Flintstone School, No. 2, James Wilson, Owen McElfish, John Davis; Fair-view School, No. 3, H. F. Willison, Jonathan Wilson, Dennis Perrin; Murley's Branch School, No. 4, Henry North, Jesse Robinette, Samuel F. Wilson; Twiggtown School, No. 5, G. A. Robinette, Levi Rice, Thomas P. Rice; Bucey School, No. 6, Denton B. Bucey, Jasper Hoff; Lash-. ley School, No. 7, Jeremiah Robinette, John Stewart, Jacob Lashley; Frazee School, No. 9, Daniel Frazee, F. C. Struck-man, Edward Hartsock; Piney Plains School, No. 10, W. T. Rubey, Riley Twigg, Daniel Twigg.
Cumberland City Schools.—White, B. R. Edwards, W. A. Withers, C. F. Hetzel; Colored, Philip Hammond, John Howard, Andrew Banks.
Election District No. 4.—Pleasant Grove School, No. 3, Boyd Bowden, Morgan Hinkel, Moses Wilson; Wentling School, No. 4, Michael Naughton, Francis Twigg, Robert Christie; Iron's Mount School, No. 5, G. W. Weber, Oliver E. Rice, Michael Brotemarkle; North Branch School, No. 6, Adam Siebert, Charles Fisher, John Coleman.
Election District No. 5.—School No. 2, Little Valley, Owen Willison, John McElfish, Charles Keller.
Election District No. 6.—Corrigansville School, No. 2, Samuel Jenkins, George Clawson, M. Corrigan; Ellerslie School, No. 3, C. M. King, Joseph Johnson, Francis Naughton; Boettcherville School, No. 4, J. F. Seiss, D. R. Long, Barney Dilley; Everstine School, No. 5, John Walker, Josephus Everstine, Enoch McKenzie; Long's School, No. 6, Upton D. Long, W. Milner Roberts, Andrew Harman.
Election District No. 7.—Cresaptown School, No. 1, Martin Burns, Thornton G. McKenzie, Elijah Wigfield; Frost River School, No. 2, J. W. Wilson, M. A. Frost, Francis Elliott; Rawlings' Station School, No. 3, J. C. Cookerly, Newton Rawlings, Lynn Hudson; Ravenscraft School, No. 4, R. D. Ravenscraft, John Hart, J. F. Ravenscraft.
Election District No. 8.—Westernport School, No. 1, G. W. Sheetz, Maurice A. Miller, G. W. Spangler, Franklin Mines; No. 2, Joseph Logsdon, R. K. Snyder, Andrew Patrick; Dayton School, No. 3, R. S. Dayton, Philip Fletcher, George Carpenter; Duckworth Settlement School, No. 4, Samuel Miller, A. C. Duckworth, Henry Lenear.
Election District No. 9.—Barton School, No. 1, O. G. Barchus, John Pattison, John Shaw.
Election District No. 10.—Castle and Detmold Schools, John O'Hanley, Aug. Eichorn, James Little; Pekin School, No. 4, James Ryan, Frank McDermott, Jonathan Baker; Ocean Mines, No. 4, George Loar, Charles Keefer, Harrison Poland.
Election District No. 11.—Frostburg School and Sand Spring, Dr. J. Ruhl, Francis A. Maury, Levi Porter; Borden Mines, No. 3, C. A. Greene, Conrad Ort, G. M. Crow; Allegany Mines, No. 4, Cornelius Gill, Polk Stevens, John Lewis; Borden Shaft, No. 5, J. D Barnard, George Robb, George Tiffen; Midlothian Mines, No. 7, William Close, John Winters, William Conrad; Frostburg Colored School, William Jackson, Thomas Jackson, George Johnson.
Election District No. 12.—Eckhart Mines Schools, Nos. 1 and 2, William Parker, J. P. Kelly, Ransom T. Powell; Hoffman Hollow School, No. 3, August Kolinger, Christopher Maguire, Peter Cain; Pompey Smash School, No. 4, Philip McMahon, Walter Martin, James Tibbetts; Loarville School, No. 5, Elijah Loar, Nathan Loar, Jonathan Rad-cliff.
Election District No. 13.—Mount Savage Schools, Nos. 1 and 2, Thomas Malloy, Francis McNamee, Edward Casey; Barrellville School, No. 3, Jacob Rizer, Isaac H. Thorp, John C. Witt; Mattingly Settlement School, No. 4, Rinehart Shaffer, August Brailer, John Mattingly.
Election District No. 14.—Wilson Academy, No. 1, Peter Smouse, L. F. Gurley, Jesse Wilson ; Pleasant Yalley School, No. 2, William Yergen, John Fisher, Lemuel Bucey; Folck's Mill School, No. 3, H. D. Carleton, Joseph Brandt, John T. Beall; Bottle Run School, No. 4, Martin Rouzer, Richard Hendrickson, John H. Leasure.
Election District No. 15.—Rockville School, No. 1, and Jackson School, No. 2, Lonaconing, Peter Phillips, James Anderson, Patrick Hogan; Dye School, No. 3, John Dye, Benjamin Metz, Jacob Miller; Midland School, No. 3, Salem Koontz, John Llewellyn, P. P. Hansel.
The teachers for the county are as follows:
Cumberland City.—Union