Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/123

 school. The conditions of the grant were such, however, that the Bishop feared they could not be met, and referred the matter to the convocation. This body then appointed a committee to confer with those gentlemen in regard to changing the conditions. It seemed that satisfactory arrangements were about to made to accept this land, when another site of 70 acres was offered to the committee for $4000. This property was on the west bank of the Willamette River in what is now Oswego. As it had a commodious dwelling nearly finished and a large school house upon it, the committe decided to purchase it instead of accepting the other property. The money for the first payment was borrowed until funds collected in the East arrived. The sum of $5000 was collected largely by Hon. Sam H. Huntington, of Hartford, Connecticut, for this purpose. About the same time a sum of $250 was received from the Sunday School of St. George's Church, New York, which sum was used in purchasing four acres of land next to the original tract.

The school was opened in the fall of 1856 and the next year became known as Trinity School. The first teacher was Mr. Bernard Cornelius, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, who had had many years experience as a teacher in England and America. The first year there was a total attendance of 17 boarding students, 15 of whom finished the year, and in addition there were a few day scholars. The school year was divided into three quarters and students were charged $60 per quarter for board and tuition.

Mr. Cornelius continued in charge for four years until 1860, when he resigned and the school remained closed during the next year. Late in the fall of 1861 the school was reopened under the principalship of Mr. E. W. Hodgkinson, a young unmarried man, so that the school began without being able to receive boarders. This proved to be a very serious detriment to the school and after considerable delay, arrangements were made with a family in the neighborhood to move into the house and take charge