The Souvenir of Western Women/Hill Military Academy, Portland, Oregon

HILL MILITARY ACADEMY, PORTLAND, OREGON

DR. J. W. HILL was born in Westport, Conn., May 28, 1856. He received his preparatory training in Selleck School, Norwalk, Conn. He was graduated from Yale in the class of '78, now famous because of the number of distinguished men it contained, among whom were Hon. Wm. H. Taft, Secretary of War; Hon. Wni. H. Hunt, Civil (Governor of Porto Rico; Hon. Herbert W. Bowen, Minister to Venezuela; Hon. H. S. Van Buren, United States Consul to Nice; Roger Foster, author of Foster's Federal Pleadings, and others.

In September of 1878, Dr. Hill came to Portland to take charge of the Bishop Scott Academy, at that time the only private school for boys in this new and undeveloped country, Portland was then a city of about 18,000 inhabitants. Schools were few in number, and the standard of education was by no means high. Only those who labored earnestly to better it know of the bitter disappointments endured and the overwhelming discouragements experienced. Good teachers could scarcely be secured at any price. Dr. Hill was, however, particularly fortunate in tins' respect; not only did he secure good teachers, but he kept them with him for many years. Being naturally fond of boys, tactful, and an excellent disciplinarian, under his able management as lessee and principal, the institution grew rapidly, becoming widely known throughout the Northwest.

During the twenty-three years that Dr. Hill was connected with the Bishop Scott Academy, more than 1,200 boys were under his care. Many of these completed their education within the walls of the old school; others, desiring college training, passed from the school to the higher institutions of learning, Yale, Harvard, West Point, Berkeley, Stanford and others. To-day these "boys," scattered throughout the Northwest, occupy prominent places in the business world. One and all, they attribute not a little of their success to their early training received in the old school under the supervision of Dr. Hill. There is a saying among them, "Once Dr. Hill's boy, always his boy." Many of these men have sons whom they sent to be educated in the Bishop Scott Academy while Dr. Hill was still there, and later placed them under his care when he established the Hill Military Academy.

Untiring devotion to his life-work has characterized Dr. Hill throughout his long and successful career. He has overcome many of the problems which beset the pathway of the educator, and is, in fact, recognized as one of the leading educators on the Pacific Coast. His aim has ever been threefold, to train the boy mentally, morally and physically. Believing that this can best be accomplished in a private school with military discipline, he has devoted his life to the realization of an ideal military school.