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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.

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122 results for: Washington Territory

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Image of Oil painting on copper of Dr. H. B. Bagley by Harriet Foster Beecher, 1899

Oil painting on copper of Dr. H. B. Bagley by Harriet Foster Beecher, 1899

Dr. Herman Beardsley Bagley (1842-1899), an operative surgery and surgical disease specialist, arrived in Seattle in 1875. In the 1880s, he was part of the Lake Washington Improvement Company and one of several men to first conceive the Lake Washington Ship Canal. H.B. Bagley became quite wealthy through real estate and owned a home at 4th Avenue and Spring Street…
ID Number:1924.709.2
Date:1899
Image of Handmade storage box, ca. 1880

Handmade storage box, ca. 1880

This handmade maple wood box was used to keep secret papers by early Seattle resident John Hollister in the 1880s.
ID Number:1946.5
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Side chair, 1830-1840

Side chair, 1830-1840

This chair belonged to the Mercer family. It traveled with them from Cadiz, Ohio, to Princeton, Illinois, in 1834, then across the plains to Seattle in 1852.
ID Number:1946.407.a
Date:1830-1840
Image of Portrait of Thomas Mercer by Edwin Isaac Ames, ca. 1870-1900

Portrait of Thomas Mercer by Edwin Isaac Ames, ca. 1870-1900

Thomas Mercer (1813-1898) was born in Ohio and came to Seattle in 1852 with Aaron Mercer, his father, Dexter Horton, David Bagley, and William H. Showdy. His first wife died in 1853 and he remarried in 1859. He owned a dairy farm, was a probate judge for ten years, and was one of the first county commissioners. Artist Edwin Isaac…
ID Number:1946.407.b
Date:Circa 1870-1900
Image of Slant front desk section, 1850-1900

Slant front desk section, 1850-1900

This section of a desk originally belonged to early Seattle settler Henry Yesler and it was received second hand by Mr. Henry Perry (H.P.) Grant sometime around 1900. Just prior to 1900, Grant opened a bicycle shop, Gifford and Grant, which, in 1904, morphed into the first gasoline powered automobile dealership in Seattle, "The Seattle Auto Co.," once located at…
ID Number:1946.556.1B
Date:1850-1900
Image of Silverplated chocolate pot or coffeepot from the family of Elisha P. Ferry, Washington Territory Governor from 1872-1880

Silverplated chocolate pot or coffeepot from the family of Elisha P. Ferry, Washington Territory Governor from 1872-1880

This after-dinner coffepot was part of the silver service set used by Governor Elisha Ferry in the 1880s. Ferry was the territorial governor of Washington from 1872-1880.
ID Number:1947.394.1.3
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Rug made by

Rug made by "Salmon Bay Charlie," ca. 1900

Hwehlchtid and Chilohleet'sa, known to many as Salmon Bay Charlie, and his wife Madelline, refused to move to the Port Madison Reservation. This mat fragment was from the home they shared at Shilshole, downhill from what is now Discovery Park. The maker twined the mat from factory-made yarn using techniques more commonly associated with cedar bark basketry.
ID Number:1947.437.2
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Painting of Kikisoblu's (Princess Angeline) home, 1894

Painting of Kikisoblu's (Princess Angeline) home, 1894

Kikisoblu (Princess Angeline), also known in Lushootseed as Kikisoblu, Kick-is-om-lo, or Wewick, was the eldest daughter of Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle). She was born around 1820 and lived until she was in her mid-seventies. The artist, Jessie M. Elliott (1861-1950), was born in Merrimack, Wisconsin, and moved to Seattle in the late 1880s to open an art school. In addition…
ID Number:1947.437.8
Date:1894
Image of Wooden chest, 1853

Wooden chest, 1853

This chest was brought across the country by pack train in 1853 by Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens. Stevens traveled to Puget Sound from the Midwest to conduct surveys of the newly established territory.
ID Number:1948.22.3
Date:Circa 1850
Image of Wood leveling plane made by Arthur Denny, 1800s

Wood leveling plane made by Arthur Denny, 1800s

Arthur Denny, early white Seattle settler, made this wood plane from applewood in his orchard.
ID Number:1948.93
Date:Circa 1840-1880
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Land Acknowledgement

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.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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