In Forest Grove

Pacific University is the oldest chartered university in the West.

The university site Historic sites nearby

Chartered Sept. 26, 1849 by the Oregon Territorial Legislature, as Tualatin Academy.
Oldest building Old College Hall, built 1850, listed on the National Historic Register in 1974.

Marsh Hall at Pacific University, the upper floors of a red brick building with steep gables, tall mullioned windows and a blue metal roof, a large tree overhanging the left of the frame.

Marsh Hall. The original Pacific University campus adjoins historic downtown Forest Grove.

Where it came from

It began in a log cabin meeting house, caring for orphans of the Oregon Trail.

The charter predates statehood by 10 years.

The school traces its roots to a log cabin meeting house in Forest Grove where Reverend Harvey Clark, a Congregationalist minister, and Tabitha Brown, a former teacher from Massachusetts, cared for and educated orphans of the Oregon Trail.

Brown had arrived in Oregon in 1846 at 66, after being left alone on the trail in bitter cold with her ailing 77-year-old brother-in-law. They reached the Willamette Valley on Christmas Day. By 1848 she was house-mother to the students and a driving force behind the school. In 1987 the Oregon Legislature honored her as the Mother of Oregon.

The wider timeline

Going to look

Old College Hall and the museum open the first Wednesday of each month.

The grounds Tree-filled and open to a walk.
Old College Hall The first permanent structure of Pacific University and one of the oldest collegiate buildings in the western United States.
The museum The Pacific University Museum is on the second floor of Old College Hall.
Art The Kathrin Cawein Gallery of Art presents changing exhibits monthly throughout the academic year.
Music and stage Music in May is one of the longest running high school festivals in the country, with orchestra, choir and band.
The luau The Annual Benefit Luau is presented by the student Hawaiian Club and raises money for community service projects.
Graduation Commencement in May, summer commencement in August, plus commencements for individual programs.
Mascots Boxer and Badger. Boxer has been the official mascot since 1969.

pacificu.edu

Second floor, Old College Hall

What is in the South and North galleries.

South Gallery

Tabitha Brown, one of Pacific’s founders and official Mother of Oregon Forest Grove
Sidney Harper Marsh, Pacific’s first president Forest Grove
the Morse Brothers, including telegraph instruments from Samuel F.B. Morse Forest Grove
Pacific’s mascots, Boxer and Badger Forest Grove

North Gallery

science education Forest Grove
Pacific long association with foreign lands through missionary service and educational work Forest Grove

Old College Hall and the other historic sites

Old College Hall, a white clapboard building with a cupola and tall shuttered windows, with a dark wooden sign reading Old College Hall in front of it. — Old College Hall, built in 1850 and listed on the National Historic Register in 1974.

Marsh Hall at Pacific University, a red brick building with steep gables and a blue metal roof, a dark wooden sign reading Welcome to Pacific Marsh Hall in front of it. — Marsh Hall. The original Pacific University campus adjoins historic downtown Forest Grove.

On campus

Two young women dancing in Polynesian costume with orange feather leis and white flower headpieces on a dark stage, hands raised mid-gesture. — The Pacific University Luau. Photograph by Christopher Oertell.

Danza Azteca dancers on a paved area in a park: a woman mid-step in purple and red regalia, a girl in a white embroidered dress, a toddler in green feathered regalia, and men in large feather headdresses behind them. — Danza Azteca. Photograph by Christopher Oertell.

From here

Historic sites The districts, the walking tours and the named places. Schools The district, the private schools and the Cornelius boundary. Where to eat The printed dining guide, with addresses and phone numbers.