is the female[1] school of Mrs. N. M. Thornton, the wife of J. Quinn Thornton, a settler of 1846. Mrs. Thornton opened her school, February 1, 1847, for a term of eleven weeks. The instruction included "all branches usually comprised in a thorough English education, together with plain and fancy needle work, drawing and painting in mezzotints and water colors." In the advertisement[2] of the second term, April 19, 1847, she further says, "Strict attention will be given not only to the intellectual improvement of the pupils, but also to their morals and manners." She expresses a hope to give general satisfaction because of her experience in the states and further offers as references the names of George Abernethy, A. A. Skinner, the Reverend George Gary, all of Oregon City, and Dr. Marcus Whitman of Walla Walla.
The tuition rates are not announced in any of the notices.
The school lasted only about two years and was then suceeded by the Clackamas[3] County Female Seminary.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY FEMALE SEMINARY
The establishment and development of the Clackamas County Female Seminary centers around the educational activities of the Reverend George H. Atkinson, Congregational minister and educator, who was sent to Oregon in 1848 by the American Home Missionary Society to preach the gospel and establish schools.
Since plans for public schools were held too costly in 1849, a number of Oregon City citizens, at the suggestion of Dr. Atkinson, undertook the establishing of a female seminary. Such a school was incorporated under the name of the Clackamas County Female Seminary and given a charter September, 1849, by the first territorial legislature, with the following men as trustees:[4] George Abernethy, G. H. Atkinson, Hezekiah Johnson, Wilson Blain, A. L. Lovejoy, Hiram Clark, and James Taylor. The school was jointly backed by the various religious denominations working in Oregon City and especially the Metho-
