"Early Education in Fairfield, Iowa" is an excerpt from the film "Parsons". ©2023 Fair Field Productions
To watch the trailer or stream the entire film, visit www.vimeo.com/ondemand/parsons
The first European settlers in Jefferson County were committed to provide a better way of life for their children. At first, children were educated at home. They learned the basics needed to conduct their families’ business - reading, writing, and arithmetic. By the winter of 1839, the adult population of Fairfield had grown to about 15. These settlers’ values, desires, and commitment to a better life, inspired Fairfield’s earliest attempt at classroom education. Several parents asked Clarissa Sawyer, of Denmark, Iowa to come to Fairfield and teach their children. A school was formed and each family paid one dollar per student per month to Clarissa, who became Fairfield’s first teacher. Classroom education grew and only 10 years later, Jefferson County had 35 schoolhouses with over 2000 students. Records show that male teachers received $14.97 per month, while female teachers only received $9.05.
With a primary school system now well-established, the town looked towards higher education as a means to enlighten and improve the overall quality of life.
Launius “When you look at the history of Fairfield and its intention to create institutions of higher learning, there are a lot of false starts, at least four or five in the historical record.”
The first attempt at a college here was in 1848 when Governor Briggs established a branch of the state university in Fairfield. Unfortunately, after a strong wind storm struck down the first of the eight-building campus, plans were abandoned when promised state funding was never received.
Soon after, at a newly-formed female seminary in Fairfield, 20 students studied a wider variety of subjects. But even a brief attempt at admitting boys failed to stop creditors from closing the seminary doors for good.
Established in 1854, Fairfield University was in business til the Civil War. Although it was re-formed in 1863 as Fairfield College, it shut down 4 years later.
On the same property, Reverend Andrew Axline, a former Civil War chaplain, ran Axline Academy until 1874. But by then, a new idea for a college in Fairfield was beginning to gain momentum due to a substantial gift from the Parsons family.