Hey Blake,
I graduated from Frank T. Howard School No. 1, but I never did know a thing about him. Who was he? Also, was Samuel Peters ever a high school like Warren Easton?
The Graduate
Dear Graduate,
Your school was dedicated on Dec. 18, 1901, and named in honor of a very important man in our city. Frank Turner Howard, born on May 31, 1855, became a banker and financier and used his wealth to provide money for two public schools, the Kingsley House, and Trinity Episcopal Church. His sister had established the Howard Memorial Library to honor their father, and Frank Howard gave money to build the Confederate Museum on Camp Street to complement the library.
Frank T. Howard received numerous civic honors throughout his lifetime. He was the first recipient of The Times-Picayune's Loving Cup, and like his father in 1877, he reigned as Rex in 1895. Miss Lydia Fairchild was the Queen of Carnival that year, and afterward became Mrs. Frank T. Howard. This is the only time in Mardi Gras history that the queen married the king.
The dedication of this, his first school, was described as an "occasion for rejoicing in the Third Ward." The paper, which gave extensive coverage to the dedication ceremonies, described it as a "magnificent building with all modern conveniences and fully equipped, a generous gift to the people." Much praise was given to Mr. Howard: "Of course, John McDonogh left a vast sum to the city for schools, but in this case the donor actually built and paid for the structure and turned it over to the city, complete, and was present with his family to make the presentation personally."
Mr. Howard's first school was such a success that in 1902 he donated another school, this time in the Twelfth Ward, a primary school to accommodate six hundred children. And in 1905, Mrs. Howard financed the Howard No. 1 School Annex.
When Mr. Howard died in 1911 in New York, his remains were delivered to New Orleans where they were placed in the family tomb in Metairie Cemetery. But this well-known burial ground might have been named the Howard Cemetery. In 1870, Frank Howard's father, Charles Howard, wanted to become a member at the very exclusive Metairie Race Course, the site of the famous match race between Lexington and Le Compte in 1854. When the elder Howard was denied membership, he supposedly issued a warning to the membership committee and suggested that they reconsider his application. He told them that if they did not look upon him favorably, he would buy the race course and turn it into a cemetery. As you can see, Charles Howard was not a man to make idle threats. Two years later, on July 2, 1872, the horses were replaced by hearses when Metairie Cemetery was dedicated.
The first school built to honor the man called the "Father of Public Education" in New Orleans -- Samuel Jarvis Peters -- was a school for boys and girls located at Magnolia and Lafayette dedicated on November 24, 1897. This school was replaced by a new school near the intersection of Broad and Tulane in 1914; and in 1924 it became the first New Orleans' Boys' High School of Commerce. In 1928, the students moved into their new building at 425 S. Broad.
Samuel J. Peters High School eventually became coed -- students who attended fondly called it "Commie High." However, the early 1960s brought many changes to the city's public schools, and S. J. Peters became a junior high school and then a middle school. Then in 1998, the school was given a new name: Israel Augustine Middle School.
Samuel J. Peters, who died in 1855, the same year Frank Turner was born, had come to New Orleans from Canada. Born in 1801, Peters started out in the Big Easy as a grocery clerk, but soon was president of his own grocery company. He was an active, influential businessman, bank president, and councilman. He was one of the chief founders of the American District (Second Municipality) and is recognized as the founder of the New Orleans public school system. -->
