Mary Chase Walker

Mary Chase Walker, Mrs. Morse (1828 – May 17, 1899) was an American schoolteacher, pioneer, and suffragette. In 1865 she became the first school teacher at Mason Street Schoolhouse, the first public school to be built in San Diego County, California. She recorded her Recollections of Early Times in San Diego in 1898.

Early life Walker was born in 1828 in Methuen, Massachusetts. At age 15 she worked as a teacher in Groton, New Hampshire, where she taught at a district school, boarding with families in the community. Her initial salary was $4. It increased substantially, to $400, after Walker graduated from The State Normal School (now Framingham State University) in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1861. Her pay was soon cut in half due to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Career

In April 1865, Walker left New York by steamer to travel to seek work in San Francisco. The Mason Street schoolhouse was the first public school to be built in San Diego County, and taught 35 students of ages 4 to 17 in a single classroom. Walker recalled: "My school was composed mostly of Spanish and half-breed children with a few English and several Americans. Many American soldiers and some sailors had come to San Diego in the early days and married pretty senoritas".

Controversy: Walker Incident After an 11-month term at Mason Street, she was involved in a controversy which became known as the "Walker Incident". Walker met a stewardess who had helped her when she was seasick during her trip to San Francisco, and invited her to lunch at the Franklin House hotel. The stewardess is variously described as black,

This led to patrons walking out in disgust. Walker wrote articles for newspaper. Estelle Lauer, vice president for programs at Lemon Grove Historical Society said of her in 2014: "She bridged America east and west, as well as past and present. As an emigrant American, she is an ideal figure for this season’s lecture theme, Coming to California: The Immigrant Experience."

In 2014, the Lemon Grove Historical Society keeps Walker's memory alive in the "History Alive" lecture series.