Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/361

 of Tualatin Academy, and the Clackamas County Female Seminary was advertised to open November 19, 1855, under the direction of the Reverend H. K. and Mrs. E. J. Hines. It is apparent that the school was now on its downward grade for only two departments are listed, with the following tuition charges: Primary English, five dollars, and higher department, six dollars per quarter of eleven weeks. An extra fee of two dollars was charged for French, drawing and monochromatics.

Because of the heavy debt connected with the building of the seminary and the meagre financial returns during its years of operation, the school was practically at its end in the fall of 1855, when under the direction of Mr. Hines it opened for the last time under the name of the Clackamas County Female Seminary.

The note held by George Abernethy was due June 10, 1856, and no funds were in sight to meet this obligation. Consequently when the Methodist Episcopal conference met for its annual meeting in Oregon City in 1855, it considered buying the seminary property for the purpose of satisfying the debt and establishing a Methodist school as had been done in other important towns of Oregon.

The annual meeting of the Methodist Episcopal conference was held at Oregon City, August 1, 1855. Among the educational matters considered by this body was that of buying the school property then known as the Clackamas County Female Seminary, which, because of debt had fallen into the hands of George Abernethy. The committee on education recommended that the conference purchase the interest of Abernethy, provided that this could be done so as to bring the school under the direct and unrestricted control of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The committee further recommended the passage of the following resolution:

"Resolved that we recommend to the agent of the Missionary Board, the purchase of the Clackamas County Female Seminary, and to designate suitable persons to become its trustees under a