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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

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122 results for: Washington Territory

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Image of Three-legged pot with handle, ca. 1850s

Three-legged pot with handle, ca. 1850s

This hanging pot was owned by the Denny family, early settlers of Seattle. It may have been brought with them across the plains from Illinois to the Puget Sound region.
ID Number:1964.3230.9
Date:Circa 1850
Image of Gavel made from wood from the steamer ship Beaver, ca. 1890

Gavel made from wood from the steamer ship Beaver, ca. 1890

Built in 1835 London, the Beaver was the first steamship to reach the Northwest. She went up and down the coast, carrying goods from one Hudson Bay Company trading post to the next. This gavel is one of several items in the MOHAI collection that was fashioned from the salvaged wood of the Beaver.
ID Number:1964.3230.17
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Wood and glass inkwell, 1854

Wood and glass inkwell, 1854

Arthur Denny gave this inkwell to his brother David. It was used in the first territorial legislature of Washington in 1854.
ID Number:1964.3230.18
Date:1854
Image of Inkwell used by Arthur A. Denny, ca. 1860

Inkwell used by Arthur A. Denny, ca. 1860

In 1851, Arthur Denny (1822-1899) led a contingent of his family west from Illinois to the Pacific Northwest, where he helped found the city of Seattle. He served as Seattle's first postmaster, was a delegate to the Washington Territorial Legislature, was one of King County's first commissioners, and he was instrumental in founding the University of Washington.
ID Number:1964.3230.19
Date:Circa 1860
Image of Hand school bell from the first Seattle Public School, 1870

Hand school bell from the first Seattle Public School, 1870

Seattle's first public schoolhouse, located on what is now 3rd Avenue and Madison Street, opened on August 15, 1870. "Mercer Girl" Lizzie Ordway was the first teacher at the school.
ID Number:1964.3230.21
Date:1870
Image of Clock brought with Cavanaugh family across plains in 1861

Clock brought with Cavanaugh family across plains in 1861

Martin Cavanaugh and his wife Mary Anne Maple, early settlers in the Puget Sound region, brought their clock all the way from Missouri. A clock this ornate probably held a place of honor in their farmhouse which was built on land that became Boeing Field.
ID Number:1964.3312.1
Date:1810-1840
Image of Rifle, 44-caliber, used by first Seattle Chief of Police, William Surber, ca. 1880

Rifle, 44-caliber, used by first Seattle Chief of Police, William Surber, ca. 1880

William Surber was the Seattle Town Marshall in 1861 and became the first of this city's chief of police in 1866.
ID Number:1964.3483.72
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Silk bag with drawstring, ca. 1890

Silk bag with drawstring, ca. 1890

This button or sewing bag once belonged to Mrs. N.H. (Margaret) Latimer, an early white settler in Seattle.
ID Number:1966.3829.16
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Money purse worn under garments, ca. 1860s

Money purse worn under garments, ca. 1860s

Annie Miller Peebles came to Seattle in the early 1860s and married Mr. Amos Brown in 1867. Although not a "Mercer Girl" herself, she did take passage on the same ship "The Continental."
ID Number:1966.3915.7
Date:Circa 1860
Image of Trunk lined with newspapers from the Washington Territory, 1875-1876

Trunk lined with newspapers from the Washington Territory, 1875-1876

The interior of this trunk is covered with several 1875 and 1876 issues of the Daily Pacific Tribune, a newspaper produced in Olympia from 1869-1878. The Pacific Tribune originated from the Overland Press, founded in 1861, and it was the first daily newspaper for the Washington Territory.
ID Number:1966.4041.8
Date:Circa 1875
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
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