 |
|
|
 |
|
From the very beginnings of its European settlement, Whatcom County has had a strong tradition of philanthropy. Private giving for public good continues today.
The earliest white settlers were granted material kindnesses by the Indians who preceded them to the Northwest. The generosity of local Indians was grounded in their potlatch tradition. Lummi Chief Cha-wit-zit, for example, gave Whatcom Falls, one of the most beautiful spots in Bellingham, to Captain Henry Roeder and Russell V. Peabody. The gift included the surrounding timber and the Lummi's help with building a mill.
Captain Roeder was an early Whatcom leader in the 1850s, and namesake to the Roeder Home, Roeder Avenue, and Roeder Administration Building used by Bellingham Public Schools. He, in turn, gave parcels of land and other gifts, some anonymously, to the community to meet specific needs.
While we think of our schools as mostly tax supported, private gifts actually laid the early foundations for public schools. In 1886, before Washington was a state, the Northwest Normal School in Lynden was constructed with funds provided by subscriptions from community members. In 1887, Bellingham school students pitched in and did janitorial work to provide money for school library books. Two sites on Lummi Island were donated in 1905 for public schools. Blaine schools were supported by private subscription for many years when local laws prevented private support. Another Whatcom County pioneer, B.P. Cornwall, donated land for a school in Bellingham. And in 1900, early business leader/philanthropist Robert I. Morse footed the bill for all hardware used in Bellingham's public schools.
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 2002 Whatcom Community Foundation. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
 |
