John T. Outhouse (November 16, 1828 – October 20, 1889) was the first
public school teacher in
Portland, Oregon. He taught in Portland from 1851 to 1853.
Early life
Outhouse was born on November 16, 1828, in
Nova Scotia, and moved to Portland in 1850, when he was 22.
Teaching in Portland
The following year, Outhouse became the first public school teacher in Portland. In December 1851, the school board, which at the time consisted of Anthony L. Davis, Alonzo Leland, and Reuben P. Boise, appointed him to teach Portland's first public school, in a "little frame house" at the corner of SW First and Oak streets.
The building was used for church gatherings as well as for classes. The following advertisement was published in ''The Oregonian'' on December 6, 1851:
In pursuance of a vote of the Portland school district at their annual meeting, the directors have established a free school. The first term will commence on Monday, the 15th inst., at the schoolhouse in this city, near the City Hotel. (John W. Outhouse, teacher.) The directors would recommend the following books to be used in the school, viz.: Sandler's Series of Readers and Spellers, Goodrich's Geography, Thompson's Arithmetics and Bullion's Grammar.
The school opened on December 15, with about 20 pupils, who came from as far away as
Astoria.
Outhouse's pupils included John Miller Murphy, who would later found ''
The Washington Standard'' in 1860. His income for teaching was $100 per month, and he supplemented that by laying sidewalks and unloading ships.
By 1852, the school was moved to a building on the corner of First and Taylor streets. Another teacher, Miss Abigail M. Clark was hired.
Outhouse retired from teaching in Portland in 1853. Soon after that,
Sylvester Pennoyer
Sylvester Pennoyer (July 6, 1831May 30, 1902) was an American educator, attorney, and politician in Oregon. He was born in Groton (town), New York, Groton, New York (state), New York, attended Harvard Law School, and moved to Oregon at age 25. A H ...
, who had come from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
to
Puget Sound and started an unsuccessful law firm, became the next schoolteacher of
Portland Public Schools.
Later life
On October 31, 1863, Outhouse attended a pro-
Union rally in
Dallas, Oregon. There, according to the ''
Oregon Sentinel
The ''Oregon Sentinel'' was the first newspaper in southern Oregon. It was published in Jacksonville, Oregon from 1855 to 1888. The Oregon Sentinel was founded by pioneer William G. T'Vault, and was initially named the ''Table Rock Sentinel'', cha ...
'', Outhouse declared himself a "Union man," and that he was "equally opposed to
Secession and
Abolitionism
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
."
In 1865, Outhouse married C. W. Cottel.
After teaching in Portland, Outhouse moved to
Polk County, Oregon, and married. He later moved to
La Grande, Oregon. In 1875 he was appointed Vice President of the newly formed Teacher's Institute in La Grande, where he presented on "his method of teaching English grammar in his usual happy way of illustration." He was appointed superintendent in 1880. He was described as an "unflinching democrat tree to his party" by the Eastern Oregon Republican newspaper. In 1885, he was appointed to the La Grande land office by
President Grover Cleveland, and he held that position until his death.
In his later life, Outhouse had severe
gout, and walked on crutches for several years. Although he had children, they all died young. He died in La Grande,
on Wednesday, October 20 (or 28,
or 29
) 1889, survived by his wife.
Legacy
In February 1959, to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Oregon's statehood, an eighth grade class at Capital Hill School reenacted Outhouse's instruction at the Portland Schoolhouse.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Outhouse, John
1828 births
1889 deaths
Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States
Educators from Portland, Oregon
Oregon Democrats
19th-century American educators