Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Hill, Joseph A. August 19, 1880 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com November 9, 2009, 4:27 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 210 - 214 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company One of the Columbia River Valley's leading educational institutions is the Hill Military Academy at Portland, which has had a long and honorable record in the training of young men for definite and effective work in life or for further study in higher educational institutions. It has among its alumnae some of the most successful and influential men in the Pacific Northwest. The president of this school, Joseph A. Hill, has directed its destiny for twenty years and has gained distinctive recognition for his educational and executive ability, as well as for his efficient work in the interests of young men generally. The history of the Hill Military Academy is interestingly interwoven with that of the northwest from the pioneer days of the early '50s to the present time. This school had its beginning in 1852, in a log cabin, sixteen by sixteen feet in size, which stood on the claim of Rev. William Richmond and his wife, who located about eight miles northwest of the town of Yamhill. Rev. Richmond was a missionary, who came from New York by way of the isthmus of Panama and located here, braving the perils and privations of the frontier to establish an educational institution. The little building cost him about two hundred dollars and he was compelled to ask for assistance in paying for it. On March 16, 1852, Mrs. Richmond started her first class, with six pupils. By 1854 a missionary diocese of the Protestant Episcopal church had been created, and Bishop Thomas F. Scott had arrived to take charge. Soon afterward a tract of land was secured at Oswego and Trinity school was opened in 1856, the first teacher of which was Bernard Cornelius, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. In, 1860 he resigned and the school remained closed until late in 1861, when E. W. Hodgkinson began teaching day pupils, being soon succeeded by John W. Sellwood. Rev. St. M. Facker had the school for a short time and then Mr. Cornelius returned but resigned again in 1865. The school was then closed and the property sold in 1866. A charter granting incorporation had been granted by the legislature in 1857, but Judge M. P. Deady advised disincorporation and the funds were turned over to the bishop, whose death occurred in 1867. During the next year the Rt. Rev. B. Wistar Morris came to Oregon as missionary bishop, and in 1870 the Bishop Scott Grammar and Divinity School was established, property for the school being donated by Captain George H. Flanders and his sister, Mrs. Couch. Supervision of the school was under Charles H. Allen, R. W. Laing and Rev. George Burton. In 1878 Dr. Joseph Wood Hill came from Yale to take the management and under his vigorous and able direction the school took on new life. He found five boarding students. In 1887 the name of the school was changed to Bishop Scott Academy, at which time also military drill and discipline were introduced, with the result that the growth of the institution was greatly stimulated. In 1901 the Hill Military Academy was created as a private military and non- sectarian school, and Dr. Hill remained at the head of the institution until his retirement in 1918. In the year 1908 it was incorporated under the laws of Oregon, and Joseph A. Hill, oldest son of Dr. Hill, became vice principal and secretary-treasurer of the corporation, taking active charge as principal in 1918. The steady growth of the school made it imperative to secure more room and on May 16, 1923, one hundred and fifty acres of land were bought at Rocky Butte, on which will be erected the new buildings for the school and there, under ideal surroundings, the academy will be able to make still greater progress than has marked its past record. Joseph A. Hill was born at Portland, Oregon, on the 19th of August, 1880, a son of Joseph Wood and Jessie Katherine (Adams) Hill. His father was born at Westport, Connecticut, May 28, 1856, and is a son of Joseph Wakeman and Ann R. (Wood) Hill, the former of whom was born at Easton, Connecticut, June 20, 1832, and became a merchant at Westport. The ancestral line of the family is traced back to William Hill, who came from Lyme Regis, England, in 1632 and settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts. He lived at Windsor, Connecticut, in 1639, and was prominent in the early history of that state, as was his son and namesake. The first William Hill was a member of the general court of Connecticut in 1639, serving as deputy from Windsor in that year and for several years thereafter. On the maternal side Dr. Wood comes from the Wood family of English origin, which arrived from Carlisle, England, in 1822 and settled at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Dr. Hill prepared for college in the Selleck school at Norwalk, Connecticut, after which he entered Yale University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1878, receiving also the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Willamette University in 1881. In 1878 he came to Oregon as lessee and head master of the Bishop Scott Grammar School, with which he continued during the history of that school and its successor, Bishop Scott Academy, until 1901. He developed the Hill Military Academy, a non-sectarian school to which he gave his name and remained the head until 1918, when he retired but was named principal emeritus. On November 18, 1878, Dr. Hill married Miss Jessie K. Adams, who was born at Westport, Connecticut, a daughter of George S. and Polly M. Adams. To this union were born three sons, namely: Joseph A., of this review; George Wakeman, who was born July 28, 1885, and died at the age of five years; and Benjamin Wood, born February 18, 1890. The mother of these children died February 3, 1901, and on February 11, 1902, in Portland, Dr. Hill married Mrs. Laura E. MacEwan, a daughter of J. C. and Martha McFarland of The Dalles, Oregon. Dr. Hill gave his political support to the democratic party until 1896, since which time he has been a republican. He is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has received the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite; the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the Portland Rotary Club. He is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. A man of high ideals and earnest purposes, he performed sterling and appreciated service during his active years and is honored and respected by all who know him and of his accomplishments over a period of forty years, during which he gave tirelessly and unselfishly of his powers for the fullest and broadest development of young manhood. Joseph A. Hill was graduated from Bishop Scott Academy, after which he entered Yale Sheffield Scientific School, from which he was graduated in 1902. He remained in the east until 1905, being connected with the sales department of large steel and wire corporations, and after returning west was engaged in mining until 1908, from which time he has been actively identified with Hill Military Academy. The school now has an enrollment of one hundred and sixty boys and is regarded as one of the leading schools for boys in the west. Hill Military Academy stands for justice to parent, to pupil and to the entire community; for freedom of choice in the selection of a school for the American child; for ideals and practical service in the character building as well as the education of the child, and for sound educational principles. The academy's loyalty to this standard was shown in its successful fight against the unjust measure known as the Oregon school law. In November, 1922, in a storm of misunderstanding and prejudice, the people of Oregon passed an initiative measure which in effect would have abolished all private schools. To combat this law the Hill Military Academy went into the federal court and won. The state carried the contest to the United States supreme court, where also the academy won a decisive victory, and thus the right of free Americans to direct the education of their children in schools of their choice has been secured. In November, 1927, the academy organized a subsidiary corporation known as the Hill Aeronautical School for the promotion and instruction of aeronautics. The acadmy is interested in this instruction because it is able to offer the regular high school course of studies and at the same time permit a student to continue his studies of aviation. On June 25, 1919, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Edith Knight Holmes, of Portland, who, by a former marriage, is the mother of two children, Florence and Mary, both of whom are married. Mr. Hill is a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, the University Club, the Sundown Club, the Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He is a republican in politics. He is the secretary-treasurer of the Medical-Dental building, and has shown a deep interest in everything relating to the welfare of his community. Courteous and kindly in manner, he not only commands the respect of the student body of the academy but makes them realize that in him they have a friend who is sincerely interested in their welfare. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/photos/bios/hill984gbs.jpg 49 Kb File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/hill984gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 9.8 Kb