was awarded to Mr. David Armstrong, of Dubuque, for $88,114. The contract was signed November 7, 1868, and Mr. Armstrong at once commenced work. Mr. George Josselyn was appointed to superintend the work. The main buildings were constructed of dressed limestone, from the quarries at Anamosa and Farley. The basements are of the local granite worked from the immense boulders found in large quantities in this portion of the State.

In 1872, the building was so far completed that the Commissioners called the first meeting of the Trustees, on the 10th day of July of that year. These Trustees were Maturin L. Fisher, Mrs. P. A. Appleman, T. W. Fawcett, C. C. Parker, E. G. Morgan, George W. Bemis and John M. Boggs. This board was organized, on the day above mentioned, by the election of Hon. M. L. Fisher, President; Rev. J. G. Boggs, Secretary, and George W. Bemis, Treasurer, and, after adopting preliminary measures for organizing the local government of the hospital, adjourned to the first Wednesday of the following September. A few days before this meeting, Mr. Boggs died of malignant fever, and Dr. John G. House was appointed to fill the vacancy. Dr. House was elected Secretary. At this meeting, Albert Reynolds, M. D., was elected Superintendent; George Josselyn, Steward, and Mrs. Anna B. Josselyn, Matron. September 4, 1873, Dr. Willis Butterfield was elected Assistant Physician. The building was ready for occupancy April 21, 1873.

In the Spring of 1876, a contract was made with Messrs. Mackay & Lundy, of Independence, for furnishing materials for building the outside walls of the two first sections of the south wing, next to the center building, for $6.250. The carpenter work on the fourth and fifth stories of the center building was completed during the same year, and the wards were furnished and occupied by patients in the Fall.

In 1877, the south wing was built, but it will not be completed ready for occupancy until next Spring or Summer (1878).

October 1, 1877, the Superintendent reported 322 patients in this hospital, and it is now overcrowded.

The Board of Trustees at present (1878) are as follows: Maturin L. Fisher, President, Farmersburg; John G. House, M. D., Secretary, Independence; Wm. G. Donnan, Treasurer, Independence; Erastus G. Morgan, Fort Dodge; Mrs. Prudence A. Appleman, Clermont; and Stephen E. Robinson, M. D., West Union.

RESIDENT OFFICERS.

Albert Reynolds, M. D., Superintendent; G. H. Hill, M. D., Assistant Physician; Noyes Appleman, Steward; Mrs. Lucy M. Gray, Matron.

IOWA COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND.

Vinton, Benton County.

In August, 1852, Prof. Samuel Bacon, himself blind, established an Institution for the Instruction of the Blind of Iowa, at Keokuk.

By act of the General Assembly, entitled "An act to establish an Asylum for the Blind," approved January 18, 1853, the institution was adopted by the State, removed to Iowa City, February 3d, and opened for the reception of pupils April 4, 1853, free to all the blind in the State.

The first Board of Trustees were James D. Eads, President; George W. McClary, Secretary; James H. Gower, Treasurer; Martin L. Morris, Stephen Hempstead, Morgan Reno and John McCaddon. The Board appointed Prof.

Samuel Bacon, Principal; T. J. McGittigen, Teacher of Music, and Mrs. Sarah K. Bacon, Matron. Twenty-three pupils were admitted during the first term. In his first report, made in 1854, Prof. Bacon suggested that the name should be changed from "Asylum for the Blind," to that of "Institution for the Instruction of the Blind." This was done in 1855, when the General Assembly made an annual appropriation for the College of $55 per quarter for each pupil. This was subsequently changed to $3,000 per annum, and a charge of $25 as an admission fee for each pupil, which sum, with the amounts realized from the sale of articles manufactured by the blind pupils, proved sufficient for the expenses of the institution during Mr. Bacon's administration. Although Mr. Bacon was blind, he was a fine scholar and an economical manager, and had founded the Blind Asylum at Jacksonville, Illinois. As a mathematician he had few superiors.

On the 8th of May, 1858, the Trustees met at Vinton, and made arrangements for securing the donation of $5,000 made by the citizens of that town.

In June of that year, a quarter section of land was donated for the College, by John W. O. Webb and others, and the Trustees adopted a plan for the erection of a suitable building. In 1860, the plan was modified, and the contract for enclosing let to Messrs. Finkbine & Lovelace, for $10,420.

In August, 1862, the building was so far completed that the goods and furuiture of the institution were removed from Iowa City to Vinton, and early in October, the school was opened there with twenty-four pupils. At this time, Rev. Orlando Clark was Principal.

In August, 1864, a new Board of Trustees were appointed by the Legislature, consisting of James McQuin, President; Reed Wilkinson, Secretary; Jas. Chapin, Treasurer; Robert Gilchrist, Elijah Sells and Joseph Dysart, organized and made important changes. Rev. Reed Wilkinson succeeded Mr. Clark as Principal. Mrs. L. S. B. Wilkinson and Miss Amelia Butler were appointed Assistant Teachers; Mrs. N. A. Morton, Matron.

Mr. Wilkinson resigned in June, 1867, and Gen. James L. Geddes was appointed in his place. In September, 1869, Mr. Geddes retired, and was succeeded by Prof. S. A. Knapp. Mrs. S. C. Lawton was appointed Matron, and was succeeded by Mrs. M. A. Knapp. Prof. Knapp resigned July 1, 1875, and Prof. Orlando Clark was elected Principal, who died April 2, 1876, and was succeeded by John B. Parmalee, who retired in July, 1877, when the present incumbent, Rev. Robert Carothers, was elected.

Trustees, 1877-8.-Jeremiah L. Gay, President; S. H. Watson, Treasurer; H. C. Piatt, Jacob Springer, C. L. Flint and P. F. Sturgis.

Faculty.-Principal, Rev. Robert Carothers, A. M.; Matron, Mrs. Emeline E. Carothers; Teachers, Thomas F. McCune, A. B., Miss Grace A. Hill, Mrs. C. A. Spencer, Miss Mary Baker, Miss C. R. Miller, Miss Lorana Mattice, Miss A. M. McCutcheon; Musical Director, S. O. Spencer.

The Legislative Committee who visited this institution in 1878 expressed their astonishment at the vast expenditure of money in proportion to the needs of the State. The structure is well built, and the money properly expended; yet it was enormously beyond the necessities of the State, and shows an utter disregard of the fitness of things. The Committee could not understand why $282,000 should have been expended for a massive building covering about two and a half acres for the accommodation of 130 people, costing over eight thousand dollars a year to heat it, and costing the State about five hundred dollars a year for each pupil.

INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.

Council Bluffs, Pottawattomie County.

The Iowa Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was established at Iowa City by an act of the General Assembly, approved January 24, 1855. The number of deaf mutes then in the State was 301; the number attending the Institution, 50. The first Board of Trustees were: Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood, Hon. E. Sells, W. Penn Clarke, J. P. Wood, H. D. Downey, William Crum, W. E. Ijams, Principal. On the resignation of Mr. Ijams, in 1862, the Board appointed in his stead Mr. Benjamin Talbot, for nine years a teacher in the Ohio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Mr. Talbot was ardently devoted to the interests of the institution and a faithful worker for the unfortunate class under his charge.

A strong effort was made, in 1866, to remove this important institution to Des Moines, but it was located permanently at Council Bluffs, and a building rented for its use. In 1868, Commissioners were appointed to locate a site for, and to superintend the erection of, a new building, for which the Legislature appropriated $125,000 to commence the work of construction. The Commissioners selected ninety acres of land about two miles south of the city of Council Bluffs. The main building and one wing were completed October 1, 1870, and immediately occupied by the Institution. February 25, 1877, the main building and east wing were destroyed by fire; and August 6 following, the roof of the new west wing was blown off and the walls partially demolished by a tornado. At the time of the fire, about one hundred and fifty pupils were in attendance. After the fire, half the classes were dismissed and the number of scholars reduced to about seventy, and in a week or two the school was in running order.

The Legislative Committee which visited this Institution in the Winter of 1857-8 was not well pleased with the condition of affairs, and reported that the building (west wing) was a disgrace to the State and a monument of unskillful workmanship, and intimated rather strongly that some reforms in management were very essential.

Trustees, 1877-8.-Thomas Officer, President; N. P. Dodge, Treasurer; Paul Lange, William Orr, J. W. Cattell.

Superintendent, Benjamin Talbot, M. A. Teachers, Edwin Southwick, Conrad S. Zorbaugh, John A. Gillespie, John A. Kennedy, Ellen J. Israel, Ella J. Brown, Mrs. H. R. Gillespie; Physician, H. W. Hart, M. D.; Steward, N. A. Taylor; Matron, Mary B. Swan.

SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOMES.

Davenport, Cedar Falls, Glenwood.

The movement which culminated in the establishment of this beneficent institution was originated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, during the civil war of 1861-65. This noble and patriotic lady called a convention at Muscatine, on the 7th of October 1863, for the purpose of devising measures for the support and education of the orphan children of the brave sons of Iowa, who had fallen in defense of national honor and integrity. So great was the public interest in the movement that there was a large representation from all parts of the State on the day named, and an association was organized called the Iowa State Orphan Asylum.

The first officers were: President, William M. Stone; Vice Presidents, Mrs. G. G. Wright, Mrs. R. L. Cadle, Mrs. J. T. Hancock, John R. Needham, J. W. Cattell, Mrs. Mary M. Bagg; Recording Secretary, Miss Mary Kibben; Corresponding Secretary, Miss M. E. Shelton; Treasurer, N. H. Brainerd; Board of Trustees, Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, Mrs. C. B. Darwin, Mrs. D. T. Newcomb, Mrs. L. B. Stephens, O. Fayville, E. H. Williams, T. S. Parvin, Mrs. Shields, Caleb Baldwin, C. C. Cole, Isaac Pendleton, H. C. Henderson.

The first meeting of the Trustees was held February 14, 1864, in the Representative Hall, at Des Moines. Committees from both branches of the General Assembly were present and were invited to participate in their deliberations. Gov. Kirkwood suggested that a home for disabled soldiers should be connected with the Asylum. Arrangements were made for raising funds.

At the next meeting, in Davenport, in March, 1864, the Trustees decided to commence operations at once, and a committee, of which Mr. Howell, of Keokuk, was Chairman, was appointed to lease a suitable building, solicit donations, and procure suitable furniture. This committee secured a large brick building in Lawrence, Van Buren County, and engaged Mr. Fuller, of Mt. Pleasant, as Steward.

At the annual meeting, in Des Moines, in June, 1864, Mrs. C. B. Baldwin, Mrs. G. G. Wright, Mrs. Dr. Horton, Miss Mary E. Shelton and Mr. George Sherman were appointed a committee to furnish the building and take all necessary steps for opening the "Home," and notice was given that at the next meeting of the Association, a motion would be made to change the name of the Institution to Iowa Orphans' Home.

The work of preparation was conducted so vigorously that on the 13th day of July following, the Executive Committee announced that they were ready to receive the children. In three weeks twenty-one were admitted, and the number constantly increased, so that, in a little more than six months from the time of opening, there were seventy children admitted, and twenty more applications, which the Committee had not acted upon-all orphans of soldiers.

Miss M. Elliott, of Washington, was appointed Matron. She resigned, in February, 1865, and was succeeded by Mrs. E. G. Platt, of Fremont County.

The "Home" was sustained by the voluntary contributions of the people, until 1866, when it was assumed by the State. In that year, the General Assem bly provided for the location of several such "Homes" in the different counties, and which were established at Davenport, Scott County; Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, and at Glenwood, Mills County.

The Board of Trustees elected by the General Assembly had the oversight and management of the Soldiers' Orphans' Homes of the State, and consisted of one person from each county in which such Home was located, and one for the State at large, who held their office two years, or until their successors were elected and qualified. An appropriation of $10 per month for each orphan actually supported was made by the General Assembly.

The Home in Cedar Falls was organized in 1865, and an old hotel building was fitted up for it. Rufus C., Mary L. and Emma L. Bauer were the first children received, in October, and by January, 1866, there were ninety-six in

mates.

October 12, 1869, the Home was removed to a large brick building, about two miles west of Cedar Falls, and was very prosperous for several years, but in 1876, the General Assembly established a State Normal School at Cedar Falls and appropriated the buildings and grounds for that purpose.

By "An act to provide for the organization and support of an asylum at Glenwood, in Mills County, for feeble minded children," approved March 17, 1876, the buildings and grounds used by the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at that place were appropriated for this purpose. By another act, approved March 15, 1876, the soldiers' orphans, then at the Homes at Glenwood and Cedar Falls, were to be removed to the Home at Davenport within ninety days thereafter, and the Board of Trustees of the Home were authorized to receive other indigent children into that institution, and provide for their education in industrial pursuits.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County.

Chapter 129 of the laws of the Sixteenth General Assembly, in 1876, established a State Normal School at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, and required the Trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home to turn over the property in their charge to the Directors of the new institution.

The Board of Directors met at Cedar Falls June 7, 1876, and duly organized by the election of H. C. Hemenway, President; J. J. Toleston, Secretary, and E. Townsend, Treasurer. The Board of Trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home met at the same time for the purpose of turning over to the Directors the property of that institution, which was satisfactorily done and properly receipted for as required by law. At this meeting, Prof. J. C. Gilchrist was elected Principal of the School.

On the 12th of July, 1876, the Board again met, when executive and teachers' committees were appointed and their duties assigned. A Steward and a Matron were elected, and their respective duties defined.

The buildings and grounds were repaired and fitted up as well as the appropriation would admit, and the first term of the school opened September 6, 1876, commencing with twenty-seven and closing with eighty-seven students. The second term closed with eighty-six, and one hundred and six attended during the third term.

The following are the Board of Directors, Board of Officers and Faculty:

Board of Directors.-H. C. Hemenway, Cedar Falls, President, term expires 1882; L: D. Lewelling, Salem, Henry County, 1878; W. A. Stow, Hamburg, Fremont County, 1878; S. G. Smith, Newton, Jasper County, 1880; E. H. Thayer, Clinton, Clinton County, 1880; G. S. Robinson, Storm Lake, Buena Vista County, 1882.

Board of Officers.-J. J. Toleston, Secretary; E. Townsend, Treasurer; William Pattes, Steward; Mrs. P. A. Schermerhorn, Matron-all of Cedar Falls.

Faculty.-J. C. Gilchrist, A. M., Principal, Professer of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Didactics; M. W. Bartlett, A. M., Professor of Languages and Natural Science; D. S. Wright, A. M., Professor of Mathematics; Miss Frances L. Webster, Teacher of Geography and History; E. W. Burnham, Professor of Music.

ASYLUM FOR FEEBLE MINDED CHILDREN.
Glenwood, Mills County.

Chapter 152 of the laws of the Sixteenth General Assembly, approved March 17, 1876, provided for the establishment of an asylum for feeble minded children at Glenwood, Mills County, and the buildings and grounds of the