The Territory Opens Its First University Schools
A new collegiate and primary institution launches in Seattle under the leadership of A. S. Mercer.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Preliminary to the opening of this institution for the purposes provided for by law, it has been determined, subject to the approval of the board of Regents, to open in a portion of the building, for the immediate accommodation of the patrons of the institution and the people of the Territory, a Primary and Collegiate School. It will be conducted under the supervision of Mr. A. S. Mercer, A. B., in which will be taught all the branches usually taught in the primary department of the public schools of the Territory, and all the branches usually taught in the grammar and high schools of California and the Atlantic States. The girls will be under the immediate care of Mrs. Virginia Calhoun, including the piano pupils. The term of five months will commence on Monday, the 20th of October next. Pupils of both sexes will be under proper restrictions and care, and their education industriously attended to, without any sectional bias or influence whatever.
“Pupils of both sexes will be under proper restrictions and care, and their education in the several branches above named industriously and carefully attended to.”
This announcement marks the humble beginnings of the University of Washington, which would eventually grow from these primary-school roots into a massive state institution. The 'territorial' focus on creating a local center for higher learning mirrors the ongoing civic investment in Pacific Northwest education infrastructure.
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