H72.416.1

Painting. Description: Miss Poston's Female Academy by Ferdinand Richardt, dated 1875-1885. View shows academy grounds and buildings with students. History: school once stood on site of The Oakland Museum's present site. Dimensions: 27 x 40". NOTES: Letter from the San Diego Historical Society stating that Miss Elaine Sweet's mother (Amy Whatmore) may have attended the seminary (although she would have been only 13 in 1883). (D. Cooper, 1/2001) From the unpublished WPA history "Oakland 1852-1938": Poston's Seminary for Young Ladies "Spacious and pleasantly shaded" were the grounds of the Poston Seminary for young ladies on Oak Street in the '70s. "Every pupil was under the direct control and influence of the principal. They form no acquaintance except with her approbation, and mingle in society only under her supervison." Mrs. E. C. Poston transferred her girls' seminary in February, 1873, from Marysville to the old home of General R. W. Heath at 1020 Oak Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets, Oakland. Fifty-three pupils enrolled at the school and by 1879 the number had increased to seventy-five. Mrs. Poston's name is replaced in the Directory for 1881-2 (p. 40) by that of Miss Sarah B. Bisbee, who remained at the old location until about 1887, after which her address is given as Seventh Avenue and East Sixteenth Street. In 1882 she was still conducting a boarding and day school at this address. The historic old house at 1020 Oak Street was occupied by various schools after 1873: Poston's Seminary, 1873-1880; Miss Bisbee's 1880-1885; Miss L. Tracy, "The Oaks", 1885-6; Crawford's Polytecnic and Manual Training School, 1886-1891; Col. W. H. O'Brien, California Military Academy, 1891- ) From the 1874 Oakland Directory: Mrs. E. C. Poston's Seminary for Young Ladies, is located on Oak Street near Eleventh. This institution was removed from Marysville in February 1873. The location of the seminary is retired, the grounds are spacious and pleasantly shaded, thus securing every opportunity for healthful exercises as well as the quiet and seclusion so necessary for the successful prosecution of study. The number of pupils is limited, and the arrangements of the household are such that every pupil is under the direct control and influence of the Principal. They form no acquaintance except with her approbation, and mingle in society only under her supervision. Number of pupils receiving instruction at the present time, 53. From the 1875 Oakland Directory: Mrs. Poston's Seminary for young ladies was removed from Marysville in 1873, and is located on Oak Street, on the elegant premises formerly occupied by General R. W. Heath. The grounds are elegantly adorned and sufficiently seculded for their present uses. Each pupil is under the direct influence of the Prnicipal, and the management is similar to that of a large and well regulated family. The course of study is similar to that followed in the best appointed institutions for the education of young ladies. The pupils form no acquaintances except by the consent of the Principal, and they mingle in society only under her supervision, an excellent feature of this seminary. The number of scholars is limited. Exhibition Label: "Scene in Oakland", Oakland Museum of California March 9 - August 25, 2002 43. Ferdinand Richardt (1819-1895) Mrs. Poston's Female Academy, c. 1879 Oil on canvas Gift of Miss Elaine Sweet From 1873 to 1880, Mrs. E.C. Poston's Seminary for Young Ladies, as it was officially known, occupied an historic house at 1020 Oak Street, between 10th and 11th Streets, the present site of Oakland Museum of California. As many as seventy-five pupils were enrolled "under the direct influence of the principal," with management said to be that of a large well-regulated family. The pupils pursued a course of study similar to that of the best appointed institutions for the education of young women. The pleasantly shaded spacious grounds offered opportunities for healthful exercise and quiet seclusion.