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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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497 results for: Women's Rights

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Image of Demonstrators protesting closure of Seattle Service Men's Club, December 7, 1946
Photograph

Demonstrators protesting closure of Seattle Service Men's Club, December 7, 1946

During World War II, thousands of service men and women served in or passed through Seattle. In 1941 the Service Men's Club opened, providing free stationery, game rooms, dorms, and showers, and free or low cost snacks and meals. By 1945 Seattle had 14 service and recreation clubs, which also held regular dances attended by young women from the area.…
ID Number:PI28226
Date:1946
Image of Attendees decorating dance floor at USO, Seattle, December 26, 1947
Photograph

Attendees decorating dance floor at USO, Seattle, December 26, 1947

During World War II, thousands of service men and women served in or passed through Seattle. In 1941 the Service Men's Club opened, providing free stationery, game rooms, dorms, and showers, and free or low cost snacks and meals. By 1945 Seattle had 13 additional service and recreation clubs, including the large United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) Club in the…
ID Number:PI28227
Date:1947
Image of Elizabeth M. Ordway, circa 1865
Photograph

Elizabeth M. Ordway, circa 1865

A shortage of women in Seattle in the 1860s inspired Asa Mercer to travel to the east coast to find women who might want to resettle in the new city. Elizabeth M. Ordway, nicknamed Lizzie, was a native of Lowell, Massachusetts. She arrived in Seattle in 1864, along with ten other so-called "Mercer Girls." Miss Ordway had a long career…
ID Number:SHS126
Date:Circa 1865
Image of WACs parading at Fort Lawton, Seattle, February 3, 1944
Photograph

WACs parading at Fort Lawton, Seattle, February 3, 1944

In 1897, the city of Seattle donated land on Magnolia Bluff to the US government to build a new Army post as part of a defense system for Puget Sound; this was designated as Fort Lawton in 1900. During most of its active service, the fort served as an embarkation station where troops gathered before being sent to duty in…
ID Number:SHS876
Date:1944
Image of Mayor Bertha K. Landes at her desk, Seattle, circa 1927
Photograph

Mayor Bertha K. Landes at her desk, Seattle, circa 1927

In 1926, Bertha Knight Landes was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major American city when she became mayor of Seattle. She vowed to clean up city government, running on the platform of "municipal housekeeping." She served only one term as mayor but remained a civic leader in such organizations as the Women's University Club, the Women's…
ID Number:SHS2344
Date:Circa 1927
Image of Seattle skyline and suffragists, 1915
Photograph

Seattle skyline and suffragists, 1915

The print pictured here features two panoramic images, one of the Seattle skyline, with many landmarks identified, and the other of a large group of people posing together on a city sidewalk. Most of the individuals are women, and several are proudly displaying copies of The Suffragist, a weekly newspaper published by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage. Handwritten on…
ID Number:SHS5211
Date:1915
Image of PT&T operators working at Garfield Exchange, Seattle, 1951
Photograph

PT&T operators working at Garfield Exchange, Seattle, 1951

Telephone service in Seattle began with 90 customers in 1883. One of Seattle's original service providers, Sunset Telephone-Telegraph Company (later Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company, then AT&T) built a new exchange building in 1921 to help handle what was by then 83,347 customers, making half-a-million local telephone calls every day. The Garfield Exchange was built on Queen Anne Hill at…
ID Number:SHS11511
Date:1951
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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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