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John H. Couch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of thePortland City Council | |
| In office 1853–1854 | |
| Treasurer for theProvisional 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 |
| Died | January 19, 1870(1870-01-19) (aged 58) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sailor,ship captain, politician |
John Heard Couch (/kuːtʃ/KOOTCH;[1] February 28, 1811 – January 19, 1870) was an American sea captain and pioneer in theOregon Country in the 19th century. Often referred to asCaptain Couch, he became famous for his singular skill at navigation of theColumbia Bar. He was a founder ofPortland, Oregon.
He was born inNewburyport, Massachusetts. As a boy, he developed a desire to be a sailor and shipped on a voyage to theEast Indies on thebrigMars. TheMars was owned by the uncle of Capt.George H. Flanders, with whom he would later go into business. The financial success of his first voyage led to his receiving a command of theMaryland in 1840 from John Newmarch Cushing, the father of diplomatCaleb Cushing. His first voyage in theMaryland was from Newburyport to theColumbia River, where he intended to exchange various goods for a cargo ofsalmon. At the time, the mouth of the Columbia was considered one of the most hazardous places for navigation on earth, because of the presence of a largesand bar. His attempt at a trading voyage was rebuffed by theHudson's Bay Company, which controlled commerce in the Oregon Country. TheMaryland was subsequently sent to theHawaiian Islands, where it was sold. Couch returned to Massachusetts by finding passage on another vessel.
Cushing did not attribute the failure of the trading voyage to Couch, however, and entrusted him with a command a second vesselChenamos, named after a Native American chief along the Columbia with whom Couch had established friendly relations on his first voyage. He arrived in thePacific Northwest in June 1842, navigating up the Columbia and theWillamette River to just belowOregon City, which was the largest settlement in the Oregon Country, which at the time was still disputed between the U.S. andGreat 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 theProvisional 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, theMadonna, 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 theOregon Territory to discharge the cargo. TheMadonna sailed fromNew York Harbor on January 12, 1849, and arrived inPortland the following August. His passengers includedUnited States SenatorBenjamin Stark. Following his instructions, Couch stayed in Oregon City while Flanders took the vessel on short trips between Portland and San Francisco. In 1850 Flanders and Couch began a trading and wharf business together. TheOregon Treaty of 1846 (in which the U.S. acquired the Oregon Country below the49th parallel north) and the subsequent passage of theDonation Land Claim Act of 1850 allowed Couch to perfect the land claim in Portland he had filed on his previous voyage to Oregon. From 1850 onward, he was a resident of Portland and became one of its most well-known and well-respected citizens. Couch served on thePortland Public Schools board from 1856 to 1858.[3] His residence was near present-dayUnion Station. John Couch died on January 19, 1870, in Portland and was buried atRiver View Cemetery in that city.[4]
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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.
Couch Park in the district is also named for him. The park was formerly the estate ofCicero Hunt Lewis, who married Couch's daughter Clementine. The area has become known more recently as theAlphabet District.
The side-wheel river steamerJohn H. Couch, built in 1863, was named after John H. Couch.
Couch Elementary School, now called theMetropolitan Learning Center, is named for him. The signage for Couch School is still on the building.
