John H. Couch
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John H. Couch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Treasurer for the Provisional Government of Oregon | |
| In office March 4, 1846 – October 15, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Ermatinger |
| Succeeded by | William K. Kilbourne |
| Constituency | Oregon Country |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 28, 1811 Newburyport, Massachusetts |
| Died | January 19, 1870 (aged 58) Portland, Oregon |
| Occupation | Sailor, ship captain, politician |
John Heard Couch (/ˈkuːtʃ/ COO-CH[1] February 28, 1811 – January 19, 1870) was an American sea captain and pioneer in the Oregon Country in the 19th century. Often referred to as Captain Couch, he became famous for his singular skill at navigation of the Columbia Bar. He was a founder of Portland, Oregon.
Biography
He was born in
Cushing did not attribute the failure of the trading voyage to Couch, however, and entrusted him with a command a second vessel Chenamos, named after a Native American chief along the Columbia with whom Couch had established friendly relations on his first voyage. He arrived in the Pacific Northwest in June 1842, navigating up the Columbia and the Willamette River to just below Oregon City, which was the largest settlement in the Oregon Country, which at the time was still disputed between the U.S. and Great Britain. Couch successfully established a general store and sent his brig home, remaining in the Oregon Country for five years. In 1845, during his stay in Oregon, he took a claim of land, now known as "Couch's Addition", in present-day Northwest Portland. The dispute between the U.S. and Great Britain over the Oregon Country, however, prevented him from perfecting the claim at the time. On March 4, 1846, Couch was appointed as treasurer of the Provisional Government of Oregon after Francis Ermatinger resigned.[2] In 1847 he took passage back to Massachusetts via China, arriving in Newburyport in 1848.
Later in 1848 he was convinced by a shipping firm in New York City to take command of another vessel, the Madonna, on a voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Captain Flanders, who had been for years master of vessels for the Cushing shipping company, agreed to serve as chief mate, and to assume command of the vessel so that Couch could remain in the
Legacy
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The contribution to Portland for which he is most remembered today is the platting of his land claim in Northwest Portland, which stretched from Burnside Avenue north for 1 mile (1.6 km), between Northwest 23rd Avenue and the Willamette River. In laying out the streets, Couch named the east–west thoroughfares in alphabetical order as A Street, B Street, etc. The streets were later renamed, retaining the alphabetic ordering, with "C Street" renamed "Couch Street" in his honor. "F Street" was named in honor of his business partner Flanders.
The side-wheel river steamer John H. Couch, built in 1863, was named after John H. Couch.
References
- ^ "Where We Live: Couch Street in Northwest Portland". Archived from the original on 2019-01-10.
- ^ Brown, J. Henry (1892). Brown's Political History of Oregon: Provisional Government. Wiley B. Allen.
- ^ Portland Public Schools Board Members 1851 to Present
- ^ John H Couch. Find-A-Grave, accessed November 5, 2007.
