Mr. John H. "Pop" Morgan

John Ford Clymer Painting of Pop Morgan
Owned by Ellensburg School District
On loan to Clymer Museum of Art

The following includes excerpts from Dr. Mohler’s book on the Central Washington College of Education about Mr. John H. “Pop” Morgan, Morgan Middle School’s namesake, as well as files found in the Ellensburg Public Library. Compiled by Mike McCloskey

So, just who is this Mr. Morgan, for whom our school is named, and why was he chosen as the namesake for our school?

John Henry “Pop” Morgan was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina on September 9, 1852 to Daniel and Catherine Morgan, farmers. At an early age, John Morgan began his schooling in private schools, completing them in Mills River Academy. Following his secondary education, Morgan taught for two and a half years. The money he earned during this time allowed him to earn his Masters degree from Furman University in South Carolina in 1879.

Immediately following graduation, Morgan felt the pull to “go West”. For three years, he taught at the country schools in the Walla Walla valley. From here, he accepted the position of principal of the Dayton Public Schools. During the 1882-1883 school year, he accepted the principalship of the Waitsburg schools.

In 1885, the citizens of Walla Walla County elected him as County Superintendent as a result of his extraordinary abilities. He served as County Superintendent for two years, while at the same time maintaining his principalship of the Waitsburg Schools.

In 1887, John Henry Morgan became principal of the Ellensburg Public Schools, a title I believe to be equal to superintendent of today’s schools. However, he was also appointed as Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Washington Territory. In the fall of 1889, when Washington became a state, Morgan was nominated to run for the new office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for Washington State. Unfortunately, he lost that election and went to Monteseno, WA to teach for a year. However, he was so greatly respected in Ellensburg that they begged him to return here. In 1890, he was elected Superintendent of the Common Schools of Kittitas County. In 1891, he resigned as principal of Ellensburg Schools to more fully concentrate on his duties as county superintendent.

Also in 1891, John Henry Morgan married Margaret Bradshaw Hawkins of Tacoma.

About this time, Morgan was elected the first president of the Washington Education Association, the teacher’s union which still represents most teachers in the state today.

In 1892, he was again asked to take over as principal of Ellensburg Schools. He was also selected to be vice principal and head of the department of mathematics at the Washington State Normal School, which we now know as Central Washington University.

In 1893, John and Margaret Morgan welcomed a daughter, Nessa, into their family. Nessa also went on to become a teacher.

In 1897, Morgan was elected as a member of the Washington State Board of Education.

In 1906, Morgan was elected as Mayor of Ellensburg.

In 1911, Morgan was instrumental in securing a Carnegie grant to build the first public library in Ellensburg, a grand old building which stood where today’s library now stands.

In 1916, Morgan was not reappointed to his position at Central by then President George Black, for whom Black Hall is named. During his approximately 23 years at Central, he became a tradition at the school. He was a strong individualist who refused to be regimented or “professionalized. It is thought that Morgan was let go because of these qualities, and as such, he didn’t fit into Dr. Black’s plan. I like to think that John Morgan was a pioneer in the area of education. He thought for himself, was innovative, and creative, and he refused to play by the rules which didn’t go over well in the university setting at that time.

Following his untimely departure from Central, he was named principal of Ellensburg High School where he served from approximately 1917-1929.

During his time in Ellensburg, he was a member of a number of organizations. He was a Mason, belonging to Ellensburg Lodge Number 39. He was also a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World, and the Knights of Pythias. He was a proud Democrat and served for many years on the Public Library board.
His skills as an educator were frequently recognized in the highest educational circles of the state. He was greatly in demand as a speaker at teacher institutes and high school graduations throughout the state.

According to the book, The History of the Yakima Valley, John Henry Morgan’s life was characterized by a devotion to the public good. In both his professional life and as a citizen, his goal was to help his fellow man advance in life. The book goes on to say that he had so many admirable qualities, he was greatly beloved, and that everyone who met him became his friend. In fact, he was so loved as principal of Ellensburg High School, he earned the nickname “Pop” by his students.

The admiration for Morgan is well-documented. According to some:

“He is a sage, but intensely human with his dry and keen sense of humor – He is able to get right to heart of a proposition, and he is always the fearless champion of a principle. Mr. Morgan is one of our sturdy pioneers in education whose mature life is filled with the sweetness of youth because of his unquestionable devotion to a cause he truly loves.

“His patient counsel and advice, given to multiplied numbers of young teachers, has won for him a host of admiring friends and he justly deserves the title of Educational Statesman.

“Although his term of service has extended over a considerable period, his thinking and attitude are exceedingly progressive. He is as vitally interested in the newer things in educational procedure as any other leader.”

Perhaps the greatest praise for Morgan came from Dr. Loyal Shoudy whose parents founded our town. Dr. Shoudy’s mother was “Ellen” for whom our city is named. In 1932, Dr. Shoudy donated a series of paintings depicting the life of George Washington to our school in honor of “Pop” Morgan. Dr. Shoudy, a graduate of Ellensburg High School’s class of 1898, wrote a letter upon the donation of the paintings which told about what a great man Morgan was. He wrote:

As a boy of six, when I first attended school, I often heard my brothers and sisters speak of the Principal of the school, and ‘twas always with love and admiration, they spoke of him as a friend, as a man, as one who understood.
Years later, that same man became my teacher. In fact, one time or another, he taught each member of our family, and I believe the same is true of other families in the community.

Through all these years, the character of that man has ever stood before me as one of the finest. The lessons he taught were not all found in books. His counsel was at all times wise. His interest in us all was ever great.
His pleasure was not in flunking, but in seeing how well he could teach so that all may pass and yet no standard was lowered to help you over.

I have been a student in many schools since those days, I have known many teachers, but none who taught me more about life and aroused in me a desire to do things right than that grand old man.

After leaving Ellensburg in 1929, Morgan opened a newsstand in Seattle. In 1934 at the age of 82, this “grand old man of education” was the guest of honor at the dedication of the J.H. Morgan Junior High School in Ellensburg.

On September 16, 1941, John Henry “Pop” Morgan died at the age of 89. Sadly, good records were not kept after his time in Ellensburg, and as a result, the details of the last 12 years of his life are lost. But, his legacy will always live on when we use the name “Morgan” with pride to describe our great school.

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A new junior high school building, the first such unit in an expansion program which will ultimately give the city an educational plant covering three city blocks, is now in the process of construction at a cost of $145,000, exclusive of equipment. It is being erected on a site facing the present high school building and will be joined in the future with another unit to complete the block. The third block in the group is to be devoted to playfields and athletic grounds, which will be ready in 1931.

Designed primarily to accommodate the seventh, eighth,, and ninth grades, the structure will be amply large to care for the present needs and for an increase in 120. If necessary, the city’s entire sixth grade could be located in it. It will be used in close conjunction with the senior high, students from both schools making use of the vocational and manual arts facilities now housed in the senior high and its annex. Superintendent G.L. Putnam has also planned an innovation in teaching methods whreby senior high teachers could be used during spare hours to give try-out courses in the junior high. The advantage of the plan is thus achieved without additional expense.

Of reinforced concrete construction, faced with high quality brick and trimmed in terra cotta, the building will be practically fireproof throughout its three stories. Wall partitions and floors will be of concrete, the latter with wood coverings in the classrooms and linoleum coverings in the corridors. It will have a frontage of 136 feet on Sprague Street and a depth of approximately 100 feet.

In addition, a modern heating plant is being built adjoining, planned with the idea of eventually heating the entire group from it, thus attaining resultant economies in operation. The heating system of the senior high is to be linked to these boilers whenever the cost of operating the former gets so big as to make the expense of the connection advisable. Since the cost in the senior high has been steadily mounting, the plan is likely to be put into operation before long.

The plans for the structure were drawn up by F.A. Naramore of the firm Naramore and Menke, Seattle, who designed the Roosevelt High School and all the new junior high schools recently erected by the Seattle school system.

On the first floor will be three large classrooms, the principal’s office, with a fire-proof vault for records, restrooms, locker rooms, and first floor of a huge auditorium, with a seating capacity of 1000. The auditorium which has a balcony seating 200 more, will have a capacity nearly double that of any other in the city. It will be thrown open to use by the community, the other schools, and the churches, and will fill one of the city’s biggest needs. It will be equipped with moving picture apparatus for use in an educational way, and will have a large stage, dressing rooms, and property rooms.

Four classrooms, an office for the Normal supervisor of student teachers, quarters for the nurse and equipment for physical training, a large library, locker rooms, and the auditorium balcony will occupy the second floor.

The third floor will have six large classrooms and two auxiliary rooms. All the classrooms except the auxiliaries will be approximately 25 by 25 feet.

Special attention is given in specifications to heating, lighting, and ventilation. The latter will be mechanical, of the same type used in the recently constructed Washington School.

The building is to be ready for occupation by March first at the latest, but there is a possibility that it will be completed and ready for classes a month earlier. It will give the Ellensburg School system ample space for its needs for the first time and is expected to provide a normal increase for a span of years as well.

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1929 - Main building and Auditorium
1935 - South addition to main building, Main gymnasium
1953 - Locker room additions, auxiliary gymnasium
1966 - New office, cafeteria, library, six classrooms (The 90s Wing)
1990 - Shop/Music Art wing remodel
1993 - Demolition of Cascade High School (West of Morgan)
1994 - New Home Ec., science, math classrooms
2012 - The 1929/1935 Building closed for safety and inadequacy reasons
2016 - Demolition begins of 1953 addition and selected portions of 1929 building
2017 - Construction of new north and south wings and north 3 story stack complete
- 6th and 7th graders move into remodeled and new portions of building
- Construction begins on new Northwest and Southwest wings
2018 - Construction and remodel project slated to be completed (late spring)
- 8th grade students return to Morgan (fall)