George Henry Atkinson (May 10, 1819 – February 25, 1889) was an American missionary and educator in what would become the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. In Oregon, he served as a pastor for several churches, helped found what would become

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wo ...

, and pushed for legislation to create a public school system in

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

. The

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

native later served as the county schools superintendent in

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

and Multnomah counties.

Early life

The Reverend George Atkinson was born on May 10, 1819, in Newburyport, Massachusetts.Corning, Howard M. (1956). ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 14. After attending Bradford Academy and Newbury Academies, he then moved to

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of En ...

. There he attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

where he graduated in 1843. Atkinson then received religious training at the

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

, graduating in 1846. He married Nancy Bates that same year. On February 24, 1847, George Atkinson was ordained as a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister and then sent with his wife as a missionary to Oregon Country. The couple sailed on the ship ''Samoset around'' South America's

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

to the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

. From there they voyaged on the vessel ''Cowlitz'' to the Columbia River where they arrived in 1848.

Oregon

Upon arrival the family settled at

Oregon City, Oregon ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

as the first Oregon missionary sent by the American Home Missionary Society On June 21, 1848, Atkinson was given charge of the Congregationalist Church in Oregon City, which would not build a church building until 1850.AMC Chronological History.
Atkinson Memorial Church. Retrieved on February 18, 2008. In January 1849 he then helped organize the First Congregational Society of Oregon City. The church would later become the Atkinson Memorial Congregational Church. George Atkinson would serve as minister for 15 years at the church, and helped to found the Clackamas County Female Seminary. He also helped to found

Tualatin Academy Tualatin Academy was a secondary school in the U.S. state of Oregon that eventually became Pacific University. Tualatin Academy also refers to the National Register of Historic Places-listed college building constructed in 1850 to house the acade ...

in Forest Grove along with Tabitha Moffatt Brown and Harvey L. Clark. Atkinson had been given instructions by the missionary board to start an academy before leaving for Oregon.Horner, John B. (1919). ''Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature''. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. The school was incorporated on September 29, 1849, and Atkinson served as a trustee of the school that would later become

. Also in 1849, Atkinson pushed for laws to create public schools, earning him the title of "Father of Oregon schools" by educators. He proposed that education should be at no cost to students with financial support coming through taxes, a permanent fund to provide financing should be established, control of the schools should be at the local level, the schools should allow religious freedom, and teachers should be certified to meet professional standards.Oregon History Project: Education, Arts, and Letters: Establishing a Framework for Learning.
Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved on November 1, 2007. Once public education laws were passed, George Atkinson became the first superintendent of schools in Clackamas County. In 1865, he moved to Portland and became the pastor of the First Congregational Church as well as school superintendent for Multnomah County.

Later life

In 1872, George Atkinson left his church to begin missionary work. By 1880 he was named as Superintendent of Missions of Congregational Churches of Oregon and

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

. With this he traveled throughout the region, and is credited with coining the phrase " Inland Empire" to describe eastern regions of Oregon and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In 1885, his district was split, and Atkinson remained in charge of the Oregon section until his death in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

on February 25, 1889.

References

External links

*Eells, Myron
Biography of Rev. G. H. Atkinson. F.W. Baltes, 1893.
*Sevetson, Donald J.

Oregon Historical Quarterly. Fall 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, George Henry 1819 births 1889 deaths People from Newburyport, Massachusetts American Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in the United States Oregon pioneers Pacific University people Dartmouth College alumni Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)

Early life

Oregon

Later life

References

Further reading

External links