In 1853, Samuel Bacon came to Iowa City to oversee the newly-formed, state-supported Iowa School for the Blind. Over the next nine years, Professor Bacon took this “asylum” – which was perceived as a hospital or poorhouse and made it into a fully-functioning educational center that literally changed the way our society responds to visually-impaired citizens of our state.
Born on May 10, 1823 near Cortland, Ohio, Samuel Bacon lost his vision in a bout with scarlet fever at age 11. In 1838, Samuel became one of the first students at the Ohio State School for the Blind, and once there, he progressed rapidly. With the help of the teachers in Columbus, Bacon enrolled at Kenyon College in nearby Gambier, Ohio – attending from 1844 to 1846 – regularly walking the 50+ miles to and from campus!
By December 1852, the word about Bacon’s success in starting schools for the blind in Illinois and Keokuk had spread to the state capital in Iowa City, and with the backing of several state legislators, including future Governor James Grimes, on January 18, 1853, the Legislature passed a bill establishing the state-sponsored Asylum for the Blind. Bacon was immediately named the school’s director, and after relocating to Iowa City in March, the school opened on Monday, April 4, 1853 – offering a free public education to all visually impaired Iowans across the state.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE.
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