Public education began in Seattle in 1854, and the University of Washington was founded as the Territorial University in 1861. In the early years of the college, 1861-1867, most of the students were Seattle school children, with very few students at the collegiate level. By 1882 the student population had outgrown a number of temporary housing situations, and what is now known as Central School I was opened the following year just south of Madison Street, between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It is unclear whether the Seattle High School was operating out of Central School or the Territorial University building when the 1886 class graduation exercises described in this program took place at Frye's Opera House.
The commencement program pictured here honors the 1886 graduates of Seattle High School: Axel F. Anderson, William W. Feas, Pierre P. Ferry (son of the first Governor of State of Washington), Hadie Gasch, Albert N. Graves, Fannie W. McRae, Millie Pickard, Lillie L. Piper, Robert E. Russell, Emma Ulin, Belle M. Vrooman, and Lillie M. White.
Caption information source: "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Central School I" HistoryLink.org Essay 10480.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
