In Their Steps: The Sheldon Kindergarten

By Pat Michaelis, for Hers Kansas

Many of us still think of September as the month for “back to school,” though classes start in August in most school districts. However, thinking about schools reminded me of a unique education effort in Topeka in the 1890s and early 1900s by the Central Congregational Church. The church is best known for its minister during this time period—Charles M. Sheldon who wrote the bestseller of that era In His Steps. The essence of Sheldon’s message was that everyone should live each day as Jesus would have done. This philosophy was part of what was known as the Social Gospel Movement that encouraged traditional congregations to focus their “home missionary” activities on improving their own communities.

In a desire to act upon this philosophy, Sheldon and the Central Congregational Church directed their efforts to their African American neighbors in Tennesseetown. The area, which had been settled by a number of Exodusters from Tennessee and Mississippi in the 1870s, was adjacent to the location of the church at Huntoon and Buchanan and contained some of the poorest families in the community. Sheldon and his African American neighbors believed that education was the best tool for improving the quality of life so he encouraged his congregation to undertake a number of educational activities in Tennesseetown.

The Sheldon or Tennesseetown town kindergarten was one of the first of these efforts. Classes were first held in April 1893, in Union Hall but by 1895 they were being held in the church. Attendance averaged 28 students at the sessions that were held Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and by 1900, 287 students had attended the kindergarten. Students participated in the usual kindergarten activities of learning the alphabet, numbers, beginning reading and hygiene. The kindergarten movement was in its infancy and the Topeka school system had no kindergartens at the time. The kindergarten had parties for Washington’s Birthday and initiated a band. Students were taken on various excursions and picnics. The kindergarten had two to three paid female staff during most of its existence. It was incorporated into the Topeka school system in 1910.

During her tenure as principal, Mrs. June Chapmen established a mothers support group. The name of this group is not always clear. Some documents refer to it as the Tennesseetown Kindergarten Auxiliary while others call it the Sheldon League of American Mothers or the Sheldon Congress of Mothers. It met the first Thursday of every month with about 40 mothers in attendance. The Auxiliary provided additional volunteers for school events and purchased equipment for the kindergarten. Mrs. Chapman also provided information on raising children. By 1906-1907, the Auxiliary had a printed program booklet for its monthly meetings. Topics of programs for the year included a report on the convention of the National Association of Colored Women by Mrs. L. M. Jamison in November, a paper by Mrs. Fed Rounndtrree on “The Importance of Kindergarten Training for Children Before Entering School” in January and an evening of poetry and song in April. There may have been an additional Tennesseetown Kindergarten Auxiliary whose members came from outside of the neighborhood.

The church also offered afternoon classes in sewing for older girls. The sewing classes were first held on Saturday afternoons but eventually expanded to meet from 2 to 4 p.m. on weekdays. The girls sewed aprons and undergarments and made quilt blocks. In 1897, the girls in the classes made 99 garments in addition to pillowcases and handkerchiefs.

The success of the sewing classes led to a plan to offer manual skills to the students at Buchanan school. Sewing classes continue for the girls but the boys were taught basket weaving. Eventually students paid for the price of the materials but they were then free to sell the items they made. The materials for the baskets cost five cents but it was reported that the boys had no trouble selling their baskets for fifteen cents.

Most of these activities included aspects of religious education but few of the participants joined Central Congregational Church. Rather, they continued to support the four African American Churches in the area and Baptists and Methodists had the largest memberships. But even though these efforts did not result in new members for Central Congregational Church, they demonstrate the commitment of Charles M. Sheldon and the members of his church to improving conditions for their neighbors. The various educational efforts in Tennesseetown by Central Congregational Church illustrate one of the main tenets of the Social Gospel movement that believed that because “industrial capitalism” was unjust to many of the workers; churches should accept the responsibility of helping improve their communities.