Point of The Hills School
Posted by: 
TheBeanTeam
N 44° 01.943 W 123° 04.494
10T E 493998 N 4875472
Small marker on north side of the The Eugene Masonic Cemetery. Located near the corner of University and 25th Streets.
Waymark Code: WM11Z2
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 12/19/2006
Views: 17
POINT OF THE HILLS
SCHOOL
N.E. CORNER UNIVERSITY AND 25
AVE. SITE OF FIRST SCHOOL
IN EUGENE AREA. ERECTED BY
FIELDEN McMURRY ON HIS O.L.C.
FARM IN EARLY 1850,s
SCHOOL TAUGHT BY
MISS SARAH ANN MOORE
OF THE GOSHEN AREA. CAME
DAILY BY HORSE BACK.
LANE COUNTY HISTOR-
ICAL SOCIETY.
1959
There is a PDF document (link below) that highlights the history of this site and reads:
With the passing of the Common School Law in 1849, Oregon became the first territory in the United States to implement a system of allocating land in every county and levying taxes for the establishment of schools and educational facilities. In time, this allowed for the structuring of full school districts throughout the state. School District 4J, which encompasses the City of Eugene, was the fourth district to be established in Lane County. Its first superintendent was Reverend Robert Robe, from 1854-1855. Thus, the City of Eugene claimed an early and progressive history of education and was even known as the educational center of the Northwest Territory.
In the early days, as education moved out of the home and into the schoolhouse, the focus was placed primarily on private schools. These were preferred over public schools, as many of the families in the area were from affluent eastern roots and were accustomed to the traditions of education solely for the wealthy. If public schools were available at all, they were primarily for the poor. The first school in Eugene (circa 1853), known as “The Point of the Hills” school, was a private school, though it was unlike any private institutions settlers would have encountered back East. Small and relatively meager, the students’ tuition paid the salary of a single teacher, and little was left over for books and materials. The Point of the Hills school soon met competition as many other private schools sprang up in the area. These schools promoted instruction in various specialties such as art, music, riding, sewing, and certain “graded grammar schools” that qualified students to attend university after the eighth grade. By putting students on the fast track to university education, they tended to hinder the need for public high schools in Eugene. However, the institutions and concepts that touted private schools over public would come to be challenged. As the growth of railroads in the 1870s resulted in the increase of population and commerce in the West, the need for local education grew. By default, public schooling gained respectability and was more widely accepted. The first public school in Eugene was established in 1856, but did not become the predominant school in the city until 1870. Located in the center of town, it was known as the Eugene School or “School on the Commons” and was considered to be the most important educational center in town.
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