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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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713 results for: Labor and Labor Unions

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Image of Coxey's Army in Seattle, 1894
Photograph

Coxey's Army in Seattle, 1894

The 1893 nationwide depression threw many Americans out of work. In 1894, the Commonweal of Christ, made up of groups of unemployed people from all over the country, marched to Washington D.C. They wanted the government to create jobs and reform the money system. People called these groups Coxey's Army, after Jacob Coxey, the movement's leader. Congress did not pass…
ID Number:SHS16535
Date:1894
Image of John Henry Smith, Seattle, circa 1921
Photograph

John Henry Smith, Seattle, circa 1921

Typed on verso: Smith, John Henry, active in I.W.W., 1913-25. Born in England, he immigrated to Canada shortly after the turn of the century, coming to Seattle about 1910. A hod carrier by trade, he became active in I.W.W. circles about 1913. He married Helen L. Livingston in 1913. They had two daughters, Helen (1914) and Edna (1916). Smith died…
ID Number:SHS16652
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Seattle City Light line crew with horse-drawn wagon, January 1914
Photograph

Seattle City Light line crew with horse-drawn wagon, January 1914

By the 1910s, electricity from Seattle City Light powered homes and businesses as well as the streetlights and trolleys. This photo, taken in 1914, shows a Seattle City Light line crew and their horse-drawn wagon parked near a power line. The caption on the photo notes that this was one of four line crews, and identifies the workers as, left…
ID Number:SHS17525
Date:1914
Image of PT&T operators working at Garfield Exchange, Seattle, circa 1921
Photograph

PT&T operators working at Garfield Exchange, Seattle, circa 1921

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:SHS17731
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Henry Finch posing with diving equipment, Seattle, January 1924
Photograph

Henry Finch posing with diving equipment, Seattle, January 1924

In January 1924, divers from the Seattle marine engineering firm Henry Finch & Son were called in to repair a broken six-inch water main running beneath the Duwamish Waterway. This image, from an album of photographs taken for the Finches, shows Henry Silas Finch, Jr. (1887-1961), posing in diving gear at the job site. He is holding a helmet and…
ID Number:SHS18658
Date:1924
Image of Diver holding a water main joint, Seattle, January 29, 1924
Photograph

Diver holding a water main joint, Seattle, January 29, 1924

In January 1924, divers from the Seattle firm Henry Finch & Son were called in to repair a broken six-inch water main running beneath the Duwamish Waterway. This image, from an album of photographs taken for the Finches, shows an unidentified diver on board the firm’s support vessel. He is wearing his helmet and holding a broken flexible joint from…
ID Number:SHS18660
Date:1924
Image of Worker making saddle at Duncan & Sons, Seattle, December 23, 1918
Photograph

Worker making saddle at Duncan & Sons, Seattle, December 23, 1918

Duncan & Sons was a harness and saddle manufacturing business located at 212 Second Avenue South. Their familiar model horse stood above the entrance to the business for many years, only recently to disappear when the company closed. In this photo, a worker rivets coat straps to the body of a cavalry saddle. It is part of a series of…
ID Number:SHS19314
Date:1918
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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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