KEELER, HARRIET LOUISE (ca. 1846-12 Feb. 1921) capped a career of more than 4 decades in the CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS with a brief term as the city's first woman superintendent of schools. A native of South Kortright, N.Y., she entered the Cleveland School System following her graduation from Oberlin College in 1870. Among her assignments were teacher and principal at CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL and superintendent of the system's primary grades. She published numerous English textbooks, nature studies, and other works both during and after her career, including The Wild Flowers of Early Spring (1894), Our Northern Shrubs and How to Identify Them (1903), and The Life of Adelia A. Field Johnson (1912). Although she retired in 1909, she was recalled to succeed Wm. H. Elson as superintendent of schools from Jan.-Aug. 1912. She was a charter member of the FORTNIGHTLY MUSICAL CLUB and president of the Cuyahoga County Suffrage Ass'n. As a tribute to her interest in nature, the 300-acre Harriet L. Keeler Memorial Woods was dedicated in Brecksville Reservation of CLEVELAND METROPARKS. Unmarried, Keeler died at Clifton Springs, N.Y., and is buried at Oberlin.
Last Modified: 17 Jul 1997 03:20:10 PM- Related Article(s)