Show I KNOW UT ka kaBy By ALB ALBERT RT F. F PHILIPS Ll Who taught the first s school In th Utah arn anI and wh where re was was tt school Plen d This qu question sUon was as asked yes yes- es Y The plo pioneers ard arrived cl ci In the Salt Lake valley y JUly 24 fi 4 18 7 Three months Iter In October In a IS round nd tent In the west side of the old jIlt fort In InS S Salt U Lake L' Miss Mary iarY J. J Dilworth rth opened the first school l not only in Utah but in the mountains Miss tisa was then thin 17 years of l ag e a-e and h liar her r education edu edi- catl cation n was WitS limited but bt she W was S ky and d determined determined deter ter mined that th the children cI n Ih In Silt Salt Lake should have hate the b best st that thU she coUld give glye with the limited facilities and nd the scarcity ot of ot textbooks The principal l textbook w was s th the old V Webster ster spelling p I book There were no nos s seats ats In th the tent b blocks d k kt of t w d short hort pieces of ot logs and nothing for tor th the comfort of r the t few tw w pupils who were enrolled It Mas a 3 tuition sch school ol th the par liar parents h sot of the pUpils paying aying so o much muth foi tOl each ellch child This method of caring for tor the schools in the territory ex existed ex- ex x- x isted up to 1850 when n the territorial gover government Wt w was s cst established t d by act of c congress 1 It U W was ll 8 provided d that f 1 16 and In tn each t congressional r 1 township when whit the public lands hinds Were er surveyed should be given to the to be he soul sola or r otherwise d of and lid iid the tM proceeds proceed t turned into a fund for tor the tle support of f the common Ich schools s. s which should b be ft ftC free to all children I of f the t territory It might be said that at nt th that t dUeth date dUe th the 1 lands we were e considered tid of ot rio no value lue and th the th result as th then r viewed w was s s that th the public PUblio school hool system m of ot the territory was bs in good working ord order l' l n rid nor r was us It for fot- s several ral rai ye re rs is 4 In SO the legislative ass assembly m y enacted a law which cr cie ted school schoot districts and authorized a tax f for r the erection and ind I d repair of ot school buildings b li lt In that the meeting houses ls's h hati hau U been beets us used d for tor public school purposes purpose It ii ItU was U held Mid that th the meeting houses were werft on orf church property and ad school trustees could not coll collect ct such h taXes A nimber n r of t l legal gal conflicts followed the o holding that the tax C Uld not nt be coll collected In 1 14 there were ill district schools ti h In th the tM t ter territory r. r i of Which ill iii were primary 60 O Intermediate and nd IO mixed Statistics Statistic sho show that tha t in 1879 th he t total tol ex expenditure tx- tx for the the- public schools schoola was or 6 6 per capital of or the school population Tile The school t term rm lasted but four months In m the year clr Compare Compare- these nS lt figures S with tho those of toda today wh when 11 the s school hool population population tion of the state tate Is and U I th the ilic enrollment nt of f pU- pU tJ- tJ lills l Is HI and the p per r c capita cost In op operating ex expenses X- X pel pets its Is and nd the total l cost ot p per r capita i is placed at There ire r el eleven ri private te schools in the state while hUe the state t t educational d l Institutions Include the University sity of f UtAh th the Utah Agricultural al college with a a. branch college coUde at Cedar City the the state Industrial scho school schol l and the Ut Utah h state school for tor or the deaf deat dumb and blind S Ella Ellas s was wis the first l' l superintendent up of primary prim m mary ry SC schools from r nl n lS 1851 1861 1 to 1856 1858 and William Willis of the common schools from 1856 1656 until 1862 1562 There ha has hall be beep been n on one woman state superintendent nt of ot schools Emma J. J lH r. r who hO vh held the thc position from October Oc tober 1300 1900 to January 16 l. l |