Louisa "Lutie" Van Vleet Spicer Wright (1862–1913) was the first doctor in

Clark County, Washington Clark County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 503,311, making it Washington's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Vancouver. It was the first co ...

to have both a degree in medicine and a license to practice medicine having obtained bothJolotta, Pat. Naming Clark County. Vancouver: Fort Vancouver Historical Society, 1993. Print. p. 55-56. upon graduating from what was then the

University of Michigan Medical School Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health System or UMHS before 2017) is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Medicine includes the Universi ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

in 1885."Van Vleet Historical Plaza." Port of Camas - Washougal. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2010. .

Early life

She was born in

Fern Prairie, Washington Fern Prairie is a census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Washington, Clark County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 1,884 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is located in southern Clark Coun ...

in 1862 to Lewis Van Vleet (1826-1910) and Elizabeth Angeline Van Vleet (née Coffey) (1836-1905). She had six siblings.

Education

After finishing school, she taught in schools in Grass Valley, earning $25 per month and saving up for medical school. She went to the University of Oregon Medical College, and eventually transferred to what was then the

. She graduated in 1885, at age 23.

Career

After finishing medical school, she spent some time practicing medicine in Missoula, Montana, then returned to Washington. She was the only doctor in the area, and delivered many babies in and around Camas.

Personal life

In 1890, Wright purchased 10 acres of the Parkersville property from her parents, and then an additional 35 acres in 1904. Her son Cecil Van Vleet inherited the 10 acres at Parkersville, then sold it to the Port of Camas-Washougal in 1977. She was married to J.W. Wright and had two daughters, Louise Spicer and Edith Spicer. She died in 1913 at age 50, after being kicked in the jaw by a horse while harnessing it. She was buried at Fern Prairie Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Louisa Van Vleet Spicer 1862 births 1913 deaths People from Clark County, Washington Physicians from Washington (state) University of Michigan Medical School alumni 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians