A striking exhibition of the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator is seen in his raising up, from time to time, agencies to guard and foster every interest of society. For many ages the blind remained wholly untaught, and sat mournfully, Bartimeus like, along the crowded thoroughfare of human life. Nothing was undertaken in America to ameliorate their condition, until within the last half century. Dr. Samuel Ackerly, Samuel Wood, and Dr. John D. Ross have the honor of being chiefly instrumental in inaugurating a movement for this long-neglected class, which will crown their memories with undying renown. Early in 1831, through their influence, a society was organized in New York, for the purpose of founding an institution for the education of the blind, and on the 21st of April, the same year, the State Legislature passed an act incorporating the society, with the title of "The New York Institution for the Blind." A school with six pupils was opened May 19, 1832, at 47 Mercer street, under Dr. Russ, which was the first of its kind on the continent. By the aid of fairs and donations, a piece of ground and buildings on Eighth avenue were obtained of James Boorman, at a nominal rent, with covenant to sell. An instructor in the mechanic arts was procured, and on December 2d, 1838, their first public exhibition was held in the City Hall. The proficiency of the sixteen pupils present, in reading from raised letters, their knowledge of geography, arithmetic, of music, and the skill of their workmanship in mats, mattresses, and baskets, excited great interest.

In the inception of the movement, the managers only contemplated the instruction of the blind of their own city; but as applications continued to pour in from abroad, they soon felt the necessity for enlarged and better accommodations. The present site of the Institution was obtained of Mr. Boorman at a reduction of $10,000 below its market value. On the 30th of April, 1836, $12,000 were given by the State, on condition that $8,000 more would be raised by the managers; and in 1839 another grant of $15,000 was made, to assist in erecting the buildings. When the site was originally obtained, it was far outside of the improved portions of the city, but is now in the midst of a densely-populated section. It is situated between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth streets, fronting on Ninth avenue, is two hundred feet wide and eight hundred feet deep. The building was originally a three-story, constructed of Sing-Sing marble, strongly buttressed and surmounted with turrets, presenting an imposing façade of one hundred and seventy-five feet, with a north and a south wing one hundred and twenty-five feet each. The building has been greatly improved during the last year by the addition of a mansard story, enlarging the accommodations, and enhancing its general appearance.

A broad yard of fine cultivation is spread in front of the Institution, and the workshops occupy the rear. The society is a private corporation, and elects its board of twenty managers annually, which are divided into four committees; one on finance; one on supplies, repairs, and improvements; one on music and instruction; and one on manufactures. Each committee has charge of the department indicated by its name, and holds a weekly meeting, while as a board of managers they meet monthly for the transaction of regular business. The managers serve gratuitously, many giving much valuable time to the interests of the Institution. It has never been the design of the managers to make this a permanent "Home" or "Asylum" for the blind, nor yet a "Hospital" for the treatment of optical diseases, neither is it a Prison where persons are involuntarily detained, but emphatically a school for instruction, to be entered or abandoned on mutual agreement. Only about seventeen per cent. of the blind were born without sight, the rest having lost it by disease or accident.