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DECATUR'S first parochial school was a private school for
Catholic children, conducted by Miss Shepherd in the late
'50s in a house in the 600 block West Prairie avenue. She left
in 1858 and the school was conducted the next year by Miss Barry.
Sessions then were held in a house on West Main street. The
school was continued there by different teachers until after the
Civil War. After St. Patrick's congregation erected a church
building at the corner of East North and Jackson streets, the old
frame church to the lot just east of the new church and was turned
into a school room. At that time Mr. and Mrs. St. Leger
were conducting the school. They left in 1866. That fall
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary opened the school under
the name of St. Teresa's school, with Sister Ignatius as
superior. Their stay was short. Then some sisters from
New York, of the Ursuline order, came and taught several years, but
finally returned to New York.
ST. TERESA'S ACADEMY
Erected in 1914
(SHARON WICK'S NOTE: My grandmother put
a note next to this article as follows: "Went to school here 1
yr. with her bro. Sam'l." My grandmother was referring to
Sarah Elizabeth Grindle)
ANOTHER VIEW added by Sharon Wick
 Meantime the school
enrollment had been growing, and a larger building became necessary.
In 1868 the congregation purchased a hotel building in the 400 block
on East Eldorado street. At first this building was used as a
convent and boarding school for girls, while the boys remained in
the former school building. In 1873 the present order of
Ursuline sisters came from Alton, led by Mother Teresa Gillespie,
and established St. Teresa's academy. The school was
incorporated in 1884. In 1885 a school building was erected next
door to the convent. Both the boys and girls attended school
in the new building, but later the increase in attendance made it
necessary again to use the convent building for school purposes.
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| OLD ST. TERESA'S
SCHOOL |
CONVENT AND
SCHOOL |
In later years these buildings became inadequate. Then St.
Patrick's congregation erected a new parochial school building at
the corner of North and Jackson streets, and it was occupied in
1913. That same year the Ursuline sisters started the erection
of a new academy building on North Water street at the north edge of
the city. School was opened in the new building in 1914, and
has continued there since. LUTHERANS St. Paul's
Lutheran school had its beginning in 1870, when Rev. F. W. Kanning
came here to the pastorate of the congregation of Lutherans.
Immediately on his arrival he started a school in the frame church
building on West Wood street then in use. Thirty pupils made
up the first school. The pastor did the teaching, and was
assisted by several of his pupils. The next pastor, Rev.
George Landgraf, continued as teacher, but by 1875 the school had
grown so that it was necessary to employ a regular teacher. The
first teacher called Mr. Ange, who served also as organist and
chorister of the church. In 1880 the congregation erected a new
church building and old frame building was moved to East Prairie
street, where it was used for school purposes. In 1888 a school
building was erected on East Orchard street for the Lutheran
children of that section of the city. In 1891 there was a
division of the church, and the members of the congregation living
in the northeast section organized a church of their own and erected
a house of worship on East Orchard street. Within a few years
both the old and the new church organizations had erected new school
buildings to meet the growing needs of the congregation. 0
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FIRST LUTHERAN
CHURCH
AND SCHOOL |
ST. PAUL'S
LUTHERAN
PARISH HOUSE TODAY |
St. Johannes' church, in the northeast part of the city, erected
a handsome brick building on the East Orchard street in 1898, and
St. Paul's church built at the corner of East Prairie and Jackson
streets in 1905. Both schools have continued to grow and large
numbers of students have gone out from them. St. Paul's school
moved in 1929 to the new parish house erected by the congregation on
West Wood street. ST. JAMES SCHOOL St. James
Catholic school had its beginnings when Father Joseph Spaeth came to
Decatur in 1877 to shepherd the small group of German people who
were adherents of the Catholic faith. He at once set about
raising money for a building in which the congregation could
worship. A room at the rear of the building was turned into a
school room. Having no means to pay a teacher at first, Father
Spaeth persuaded his brother, Anton, to become the instructor, his
pay to be his board, an occasional cigar being thrown in for good
measure.
ST. JAMES OLD CHURCH AND SCHOOL
ST. JAMES TODAY The school
continued in the rear room of the church for three years.
Then, in the '80s, during the pastorate of Father L. W. Lammert, a
rectory and a two story school house were erected on East Clay
street by the congregation. That school building was used for
many years. St. James' church erected a new house of worship
in 1912 and as soon as the debt on that building was erased, plans
began making for a new school. These culminated in 1925 in the
erection and dedication of the handsome $150000 school and community
center on South Webster street, in use today. ST
THOMAS CATHOLIC Decatur's newest parochial school is the school
connected with the new St. Thomas Catholic church on North Edward
street. This school was opened in September, 1926.
ADVENTIST The Seventh Day Adventist church for some years has
maintained a school for the children of its members. It
occupies a frame building in the 700 block West Marietta street.
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