John Heard Couch ( ; February 28, 1811 – January 19, 1870) was an American sea captain and pioneer in the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

in the 19th century. Often referred to as Captain Couch, he became famous for his singular skill at navigation of the

Columbia Bar The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It is one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world, earning the nickname Graveyard of the Pacific. The ...

. He was a founder of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Biography

He was born in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...

. As a boy, he developed a desire to be a sailor and shipped on a voyage to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

on the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Mars''. The ''Mars'' 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 the ''Maryland'' in 1840 from John Newmarch Cushing, the father of diplomat

Caleb Cushing Caleb Cushing (January 17, 1800 – January 2, 1879) was an American Democratic politician and diplomat who served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts and the 23rd United States Attorney General under President ...

. His first voyage in the ''Maryland'' was from Newburyport to the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

, where he intended to exchange various goods for a cargo of

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. 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 large

sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

. His attempt at a trading voyage was rebuffed by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, which controlled commerce in the Oregon Country. The ''Maryland'' was subsequently sent to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

, 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 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 The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

in June 1842, navigating up the Columbia and the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

to just below

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

, which was the largest settlement in the Oregon Country, which at the time was still disputed between the U.S. and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. 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 The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

after Francis Ermatinger resigned. In 1847 he took passage back to Massachusetts via China, arriving in Newburyport in 1848. John H

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

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

to discharge the cargo. The ''Madonna'' sailed from

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

on January 12, 1849, and arrived in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

the following August. His passengers included

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Benjamin Stark Benjamin Stark (June 26, 1820October 10, 1898) was an American merchant and politician in Oregon. A native of Louisiana, he purchased some of the original tracts of land for the city of Portland. He later served in the Oregon House of Representat ...

. 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. The

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...

of 1846 (in which the U.S. acquired the Oregon Country below the

49th parallel north The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49degree (angle), ° true north, north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Paris is about south of the 49t ...

) and the subsequent passage of the

Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Pre ...

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 the Portland Public Schools board from 1856 to 1858. His residence was near present-day

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

. John Couch died on January 19, 1870, in Portland and was buried at River View Cemetery in that city.John H Couch
Find-A-Grave, accessed November 5, 2007.

Legacy

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 , 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 of Cicero Hunt Lewis, who married Couch's daughter Clementine. The area has become known more recently as the Alphabet District. The side-wheel river steamer ''John H. Couch'', built in 1863, was named after John H. Couch. Couch Elementary School, now called the Metropolitan Learning Center, is named for him. The signage for Couch School is still on the building.

References

External links

Rootsweb: John H. Couch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couch, John H. 1811 births 1870 deaths Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon People from Oregon Country People from Oregon Territory Politicians from Newburyport, Massachusetts Politicians from Portland, Oregon Portland City Council members (Oregon)