Lucy M. Washburn (April 23, 1848 – September 26, 1939) was a high school education pioneer in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and one of the founders of the San Jose State Normal School.

Early life

Lucy Washburn was born on April 23, 1848, in Fredonia,

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 * '' ...

, south of Lake Erie. She was the daughter of a regimental surgeon with the Union forces who died during the Civil War. She had a younger brother, Arthur H. Washburn, a mechanical engineer and on the faculty of the San Jose State Normal School with her. She attended the

Fredonia Academy The State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York, United States. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the sixty-sixth-oldest institute of ...

, last student to graduate in 1867 before the academy was closed. It reopened as one of four state normal schools with a focus on training future teachers. The transition was supported by Washburn. After Fredonia, Washburn attended also

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Career

Washburn taught in New York and Virginia before moving to the Santa Clara Valley in 1870. There she lived with her mother at the house of her uncle, Dr. Elliott Reed. In 1873, Washburn joined the faculty of the newly founded San Jose State Normal School (previously the State Normal School was located in San Francisco). At first she was a mathematics teacher and assistant principal to

Charles H. Allen Charles Herbert Allen (April 15, 1848 – April 20, 1934) was an American politician and businessman. After serving in state and federal elected positions, he was appointed as the first United States-appointed civilian governor of Puerto Rico wh ...

. Later Washburn specialized in history, physiology and zoology. In 1888, her brother Arthur married Jessica Benton Thompson, another teacher at San Jose State Normal School. In 1894 Arthur and Jessica Washburn opened the Washburn Preparatory School, and Lucy helped them starting off the school. Washburn School helped students preparing to enter

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and other elite colleges. Washburn continued to teach at the San Jose State Normal School until retirement in 1900, but returned in 1914, at the start of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She retired definitely in 1920, at the age of 72.

Personal life

In early 1908 Washburn sold a property on 218 and 220 Chestnut, Pacific Grove, to

Emily Williams Emily Williams (born 8 October 1984) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2005 on the third season of ''Australian Idol'' and became the runner-up of the competition. After ''Idol'', Williams signed with Sony B ...

to build two houses, for Williams and her partner,

Lillian McNeill Palmer Lillian McNeill Palmer (1871-1961) was an American coppersmith and metalsmith whose work was part of the California Arts and Crafts movement. She worked in tandem with her longtime companion, architect Emily Williams and was the founder of the Wo ...

. Williams was a former student at the San Jose Normal School, together with

Etta Belle Lloyd Etta Belle Lloyd (1860 – January 6, 1929) was one of the most prominent and influential figures in the civic life of Pacific Grove, California. Early life Etta Belle Lloyd was born in Utica, New York, in 1860, the daughter of David W. Lloyd (1831 ...

, who was Williams' supporter and a prominent civic figure in Pacific Grove. In 1910 Washburn moved to a house at 215 Alder, Pacific Grove. In 1921, at the death of her brother, Lucy and Jessica Washburn moved to Los Gatos. After a fire destroyed the Los Gatos home in April 1939, Lucy Washburn spent her last year in

Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...

. She was visiting her nephew in Porterville, when she died on September 26, 1939, at the age of 91.

Legacy

The red brick dorms at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

are named after Lucy M. Washburn, known as "Aunt Lucy" to many of her students when the buildings were part of the San Jose Normal School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washburn, Lucy 1848 births 1939 deaths Educators from California 19th-century American women educators Educators from New York (state) Vassar College alumni Cornell University alumni San Jose State University faculty 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators People from San Jose, California 20th-century American women educators