500 Hundred Black Workers Brought to Work at Franklin Mine

In April of 1891 the white workers at Newcastle Mine were on strike. This protest of a recent contract with the mine’s owners was called by the union that most of the workers there belonged to, the Knights of Labor. About 25 miles southeast, in Franklin, the owners of the Newcastle Mine, the Oregon Improvement Company (OIC), had been preparing to keep production going in spite of union attempts to preserve their wages and the eight-hour day by reopening the Franklin Mine. Upon hearing news of the strike the month before the OIC sent Theron B. Corey, new superintendent of the Franklin Mine, to the Midwest to recruit as many Black workers as he could. Washington State chapters of the Knights of Labor’s previous discrimination against Chinese railway workers gave the OIC reason to believe that the Knights of Labor would not accept Black workers into their ranks although the national union had several all Black chapters throughout the country.

Corey was able to recruit 500 Black miners and laborers to come and work in the previously shut down Franklin Mine and they departed the Midwest on a train out of St. Paul, Minnesota. The train arrived in Palmer, and to avoid being spotted by the Knights of Labor, workers marched to Franklin under cover of darkness arriving on May 17, 1891. What they arrived to were new homes the OIC had promised, protected by barbed wire and armed guards. Their arrival did not go unnoticed though. The new Black miners were reported in that morning newspaper in Seattle where they were referred to as “invaders” by the press.

Many of the new hires were unaware they were being used to undermine the union. Although not technically scabs, since Franklin Mine was shut down before the strike, the OIC knew that the Knights of Labor would see it that way. Enough workers to operate the mine already existed in the area but, they were mainly union members and sympathizers. Moving Black miners into Franklin was a part of a larger plan by the company to rid all their mines of union workers.

On the morning of June 28, the OIC ordered that sixty Black miners travel from Franklin to Newcastle to cross union lines and work in the Newcastle Mine. While still on the platform in Franklin waiting for the morning train they were shot at by armed miners from Newcastle. Although none on the platform were injured, a man who met the shooters elsewhere, Ben Gaston was shot and fell downhill 30 feet. His attackers stole the gun he carried and fled. He was taken to the hospital and survived. This attack outraged the Black community of Franklin but intervention by private company guards and the county sheriff kept them from retaliating.

The violence did not end there. Around 7:30 PM that night the hired guards noticed two armed men hiding near Franklin station and made them leave. Two shots rang out as the train arrived and a guard on board returned fire. As he did so, everyone on board who was armed began to shoot in every direction. At the sound of the shots the Black community nearby also took up arms.

One group from Franklin believed the attackers to be hiding in the “flats” by the Green River and they headed there, taking a position facing the white miner’s homes. They opened fire on the houses and residents fled, hiding in the surrounding terrain. Several were injured but again, there were no reported deaths. Elsewhere, OIC manager Park Robinson though, shot two striking miners dead, claiming they had run towards him during the conflict.

The fighting was stopped when the National Guard arrived. The governor ordered that King County mines be disarmed and that the hired guards employed by the OIC be removed. Although the Knights of Labor denied involvement in the hostilities they would be largely blamed for this incident and violence around unions would soon lead to the end of the organization.

Black workers remained in the area after these incidents and continued to work in the coal mines. Forming their own social club which offered comradery and some protection by still sometimes hostile white workers.

The Eastside Heritage Center is working to bring more of the stories of this community to you. If you or anyone you know has information they can share with us about the Black community in eastern King County please email us at info@eastsideheritgecenter.org or simply respond to this email.

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Resources

The Coals of Newcastle - A Hundred Years of Hidden History. 2020 Edition. Published by Newcastle Historical Society. Newcastle, WA.

“Employing Racism: Black Miners, the Knights of Labor, and Company Tactics in the Coal Towns of Washington”. Jourdan Marshall . The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor Project. https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/black_miners.htm

"Oregon Improvement Company completes purchase of Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad Company and Seattle Coal & Transportation Company on November 26, 1880." John Calbick. Historylink.org. 2014. https://historylink.org/File/10920

Franklin: Everything you always wanted to know. Black Daimond History. 2011. https://blackdiamondhistory.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/franklin-everything-you-always-wanted-to-know/

African Americans used as strikebreakers at the Franklin coal mines starting on May 17, 1891. Greg Lange. Historylink.org. 2000. https://historylink.org/File/1941

“Knights of Labor.” History.com Editors. 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/knights-of-labor

"Knights of Labor." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Knights-of-Labor

Singer 66 Sewing Machine

The Singer Corporation was created in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer and Edward C. Clark. It was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865 and later the Singer Company in 1963. In 1900, the “Singer 66” model was introduced. At the time Singer produced 40 different sewing machine models.

The 66 models were heavy-duty and versatile domestic sewing machines, able to sew fine silk or heavy canvas. The machines weighed around 30 lbs, so they were usually sold in treadle tables or cabinets.

2019.002.004 Singer 66-4 Sewing Machine

Singer 66 machines were decorated with painted motifs. UK models had multiple artistic changes over the years, including the “Lotus” and “Sphinx” designs. American models featured a “Red Eye” design.

For more than 30 years, the 66 model was the star of the Singer Company. World War II and the introduction of the Singer 201 brought about the beginning of the end for this versatile machine.

2019.002.005 Singer Sewing Machine Manual

August 1924, Form 18041-Japanese

2019.002.005 Singer Sewing Machine Manual

Eastside Heritage Center is fortunate to have a Singer Machine 66-4 in our collection. This machine was owned by a Japanese family in Bellevue and the owner retained all the original parts and manual. The Japanese-language manual for this 1924 Singer 66 is a rare treasure. Inside there are beautiful illustrations of the machine and it’s various uses. At 96 years old, this little booklet is in incredible shape.

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Special thanks to the Mizokawa Family for this donation.

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Resources:

Okimoto family history, written 8/9/1994. Donated by Mary Ann Mizokawa.

“Singer Corporation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Corporation.

“Singer Sewing Machine Company History.” Singer Sewing Machines Ltd, www.singermachines.co.uk/faq/singer-sewing-machine-company-history.html.

“Singer Class 66 Sewing Machines.” International Sewing Machine Collectors Society, ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer-class-66-sewing-machine.html.

“Singer 66 and 66K Sewing Machines.” Singer Sewing Machine Model 66 and 66K, www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/66.

Askaroff, Alex. “Singer 66 & Singer 99.” SINGER 66, SINGER 99, SINGER RED EYE, SEWALOT, sewalot.com/singer%2066.htm.

Sunset Shopping Center

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

Few shoppers trying to negotiate the parking lots and traffic bottlenecks of the Factoria Mall of today—officially Marketplace@Factoria--remember the modest and very useful little shopping center that preceded it in the same spot.  In 1949 Swedish immigrant Ole Chellson and his son Henry began construction of their Sunset Super Market in what is today’s mall’s extreme northwest corner.  Ole had driven an ice truck for the Leschi Ice Company; now he turned entrepreneur. The Factoria area had been initially logged in the 1890s and platted in 1911 with hopes it would become a major manufacturing center.  That dream died early, although in 1927 the old stove factory (the only actual factory that opened at Factoria) was purchased with the expectation that it would become marketing headquarters of a developing rabbit industry on the Eastside.  The plant was being equipped to handle fresh and canned rabbit meat and to cure and market the fur.

 The Chellsons were in the right spot at the right time, with a clear eye to the future. Ole Chellson had bought his parcel in 1940, just as the Sunset Highway—today’s I-90—east to Issaquah was being straightened and widened to four lanes to be ready for the July 2nd opening of the new Lacey Murrow Floating Bridge across Lake Washington. In 1949 Norwood Village, a community of over 100 homes largely for families of World War II veterans, was being developed across the highway, and on hills to the East, in Horizon View and Hilltop, homes were being built.  Eastgate and Lake Hills would arrive within a few more years. A Seattle Times reporter noted that “the Chellsons expect the district will develop even faster when the tolls come off the Lake Washington Floating Bridge.” 

Photo (above): Three stores occupying Sunset Shopping Center Shown, Factoria Supermarket, Olive's Sundries, and George Bondo - Realty Priced Right

By December 1950 the Sunset Super Market was open for business, and the following year a second building went up next door, occupied by Olive’s Sundries (Olive was Henry’s older sister) and by George Bondo Real Estate.  At some point one of the walls of the grocery held a huge mural, perhaps created by “Mother Chellson,”  illustrating life on Lake Washington.   On the market’s first anniversary, Ole and Henry advertised in the Mercer Islander a free television set and groceries “to select customers.” Also in 1950 the Sunset Drive-In Theater opened, the venue for the shopping center’s “annual” Easter egg hunt in 1951 for kids under 12 years old.

In 1952 Henry was recalled to the Marines and went off to the Korean War.  The grocery was leased out, and to keep himself busy Ole built a gas station in the little complex and operated it for Richfield Oil.  Over the years more small businesses were added: a barber shop, Bob Jones Surveyor, and Petersen’s Upholstery Shop.  The market got Russ Baker’s Russell’s Meats, and Olive’s Sundries became Maxine’s Café (“a Good Place to Eat” according to local ads) and later Dotty’s Lunch. There was even an electrical service and plant nursery, owned by Nap Nolet. The drive-in theater was a favorite draw.  An Issaquah resident who grew up in Hilltop Community recalls that the local teenagers who didn’t want to spend the money for an entry ticket would drive to the hill across the Sunset Highway, near the Unitarian church, and watch the movie from there, even though they couldn’t hear it.

Photo (above): Image of shelves in the Factoria Supermarket stuffed with food. The mural designed by Mrs. Chellson can be seen on the back wall.

But the Eastside’s population was exploding, and the local subdivisions offered their own larger supermarkets and related small businesses.  In 1977 the Factoria Square Mall opened right next to and to the South of  the drive-in and the little Sunset Shopping Center.  Among the three largest stores were a Safeway, an Ernst Home Center and a Pay-n-Save drugstore.   Several other buildings held smaller shops.  In 1980 a three-theater complex opened at Factoria on the site of the old drive-in. The handwriting was on the wall.

In 1999 Henry Chellson donated to the Eastside Heritage Center a trove of family  photos and memorabilia.  Unfortunately, the outset of coronavirus has closed access to that collection, and with local libraries and archives still closed, it’s not currently possible to trace the final stages of life of the Sunset Shopping Center.  It still lives on in the memories of those current residents who grew up in the Eastside of the 1950s and 60s and for whose families the modest grocery was a godsend, a spot to pick up a quart of milk, loaf of bread, or some fresh meat on the way home from work in Seattle or shopping at Bellevue Square.

Photo (above): In this aerial photograph you can see the back of the drive-screen with the little shopping center buildings laying between the theater and highway 405.

Housing Discrimination

EHC is home to nearly 600 cubic feet of archival materials. Our archive hosts things like photographs, books, newspapers, and letters. One such letter showcases a painful chapter in one family’s journey to the Eastside. Far from exceptional, the Martin’s story is one of many who have faced housing discrimination both on the Eastside and in the United States.

Home Owners' Loan Corporation Security Map and Area Descriptions, January 10, 1936.

From Notes:

“D-4 Area: This is the Negro area of Seattle.”

“D-5 Area: This district is composed of various mixed nationalities. Homes are occupied by tenants in a vast majority. Homes generally old and obsolete in need of extensive repairs.”

(Mapping Inequality Project, University of Richmond)

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2008.051.001 Letter by Georgia Martin

Tim and Georgia Martin were looking to buy a home. In 1958 they were living in a two-bedroom house in the Central District in Seattle, with three children sharing one room. They needed more space and wanted to leave the Central District to pursue more opportunities for their family. There was just one problem - Tim Martin was Black.

During their house-hunting in Seattle, they were routinely met with discriminatory practices. Real Estate Agents refused to show them homes, banks declined to approve them for loans, and whole neighborhoods were off limits to them. A letter penned by Georgia in 1962 outlines the challenges they faced during this time.

“The person who answered the phone at Wallace Realty asked if we were Negro, Japanese or Caucasian. He said it made a difference and that he would not show the house to Negroes. He had nothing which he would show us.”

— Georgia Martin, 1962

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2008.023.003 Seattle Magazine, First Issue 1964

The first issue of Seattle Magazine, also in our collection, features an article written about Tim Martin and the challenges his family faced. This article elaborates on their eventual home-buying experience.

Tim and Georgia turned their sights east, to Bellevue. Tim had gone through the effort to become a licensed real estate agent, so he could draw up contracts and negotiate deals on his own behalf. When he saw an ad for a home in Lake Hills he was prepared to make a deal. The owner, while surprised by Martin’s race, was willing to sell to him and they quickly came to terms. After nearly two years of searching, they had a home.

Living in Bellevue was not easy for the Martins. Neighbors were distant and classmates shouted racial epithets at their children. After several months, they were gradually accepted into the community. Better schools and job opportunities for the Martin’s made the move worthwhile, but Tim had no illusions about their standing on the Eastside.

“Some people who have finally accepted me think that proves they are real, 14-carat liberals. It makes them feel oh so very proud. But if and when more Negroes move in, they’ll get the same treatment I did - and the white residents will use their acceptance of me as living proof that they aren’t bigots.”

— Tim Martin, Seattle Magazine 1964

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Tim and Georgia Martin were members of the Seattle Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

Georgia’s letter was written August 18, 1962 and presented as testimony to Seattle’s Mayor, Gordon Clinton, and the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Open Housing.

To learn more about this history, check out this article from the Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, University of Washington. The 1964 Open Housing Election.

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Resources:

2008.051.001 - Letter from Georgia Martin, 1962.

2008.023.003 - Seattle Magazine, April 1964. “A Pioneer’s Lonely Path”.

Jan, Tracy. “Analysis | Redlining Was Banned 50 Years Ago. It's Still Hurting Minorities Today.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/.

Gross, Terry. “A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America.” NPR, NPR, 3 May 2017, www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america.

Robert K. Nelson, LaDale Winling, Richard Marciano, Nathan Connolly, et al., “Mapping Inequality,” American Panorama, ed. Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers, accessed December 1, 2020, https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/.

“Home Owners' Loan Corporation Security Map and Area Descriptions, January 10, 1936.” The Seattle Public Library, cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16118coll2/id/379.

Quilts of the Eastside

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

Eastside Stories

The Eastside Heritage Center has a large collection of quilts which date from the mid-1800s to modern day. Patchwork quilting is an American tradition used mainly by women to create useful blankets, preserve family trees and memories, and demonstrate a wide range of skills related the textile arts. A quilt is made by joining a patchwork top layer to a solid or also patched backing, although they are warmer with a cotton sheet or batting layer in the middle this is not always a part of the quilters creation as it can be expensive or hard to find at certain periods of the past.

Photo above: Detail of quilt made of hexagon patches shoeing hand stitching.

Quilting is a very time-consuming task and one can imagine how much more so before sewing machines were readily available. The smaller the patches the longer the quilt would take to make with the hexagon flower pattern above. Each hexagon is only about an 1 ½ inch tall and the top layer for this is completely handsewn. It’s no wonder the quilter didn’t finish stretching and sewing this quilt to the backing. Still, this quilter’s labor is preserved in the EHC collection.

Some quilt designs are the result of fads like the Victorian era crazy quilt while many quilts are made from necessity. Quilters will often utilize any material they can find from fine ribbons and lace to worn clothes and flour sacks. Historically some companies have even catered to this by printing designs on their sacks or providing small slips of silk in cigar boxes which could then be used to make quilts. In the Eastside Heritage Center’s Collection there are quilts which still bare the logos of the mills which produced the flour backing some of the quilts.

Photo (above): Red, white, and blue patchwork quilt using the pattern known as "Job's Troubles".

Many quilt patterns were developed from stories in the Bible such as the quilt above showing a pattern called “Job’s Troubles”. The character Job in the Bible faced many hardships but kept his faith in God and may have been an inspiration for women who traveled west and faced many hardships themselves as they made a new life for their families. Often the creator of a pattern goes unknown. Just like today, quilters learn from each other and emulate what they see through skill. The four patches at each corner create a star and the four stars coming together create an almost circular shape. This quilter plays with the negative space by keeping all the larger patches white so together they emphasize the stars and the stars complement the shape back.  

Quilts take so long to make that sometimes quilters start them and work on them for years or set their work aside and come back to it after a long period of time. There are two quilts in our collection which were started and finished about forty years apart. We know this because the quilters themselves documented the years they worked on each.  In the back-left corner of a sunbonnet quilt, in a hard-to-read red thread over blue, white, and red flowers, are the words “Made by Georgia and Essa Smith 1938-1979”. Another quilt made by the sisters, featuring 25 stunningly hand-embroidered flower panels, reads “Made by Georgia & Essa Smith”/”Started 1930”/”Finished 1979”. Sometimes hand-stitched records like this are all we have to tell us who, what, when, and where regarding the quilts and other textiles in our collection.

Still, many things can be learned based simply on the patterns chosen, the cloth utilized, and the pictures, shapes, and stiches used to create each quilt. Quilts can be used to document communities, like one quilt in our collection showing the “5 Points Neighborhood” which existed on an intersection with five points that no longer exists. Their matching patches document the shape of the streets and show the creativity of each group who created them. Quilting can be an individual or a community activity and either way gives a unique glimpse into moments and times throughout east King County’s history. To see more patterns and learn about the history of quilts, download our new Basic Quilt Coloring Book and look out for more information on our quilt collection.

Photo (above): Quilt showing the use of printed bags from milling companies as backing for a crazy quilt.

Historical Recipes and Cookbooks

The holiday season is characterized by large meals, lavish spreads of specialty dishes, and family traditions. Below you’ll find a selection of recipes from the history of the Eastside. Try one and share your dish with us! Email a picture of your creation to our Collections Manager to be featured on our social media pages.

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1950 Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Famous Eating Places

The cookbook lists restaurants throughout the United States. Each page describes one restaurant, and includes an illustration and a recipe from that establishment.

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Pound steak with tenderizer. Pour flour into shallow pan; add salt and pepper. Press steak into flour mixture and turn several times. Melt shortening in heated Dutch oven (425°). Brown steak well on both sides, then add chopped onion. Mix mushroom soup with equal parts of water, stir well, and pour over steak. Turn fire down to 350° and let simmer for 2 hours. Add more water if necessary. Serves 4 to 6.

Dutch Oven Steak

2 pounds round steak, 1 inch thick

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup shortening

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 can mushroom soup

1962 Favorite Recipes from Faraway Places

Century 21/Seattle World's Fair Souvenir Cookbook. The book was printed by Frederick and Nelson and Revere Ware.

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Pour mixture over 4 pork chops - 1” thick.

Let stand for 24 hours.

Remove chops and brown in Revere 10” Skillet.

Pour Vinegar mixture over chops and cook until chops are tender.

Garnish with 4 slices pineapple and 4 maraschino cherries.

Pork Chops Tahitian

Mix Together:

3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons dry mustard

4 cloves garlic

1916 Jell-O, America's Most Famous Dessert

In addition to the recipes, this book tells the story of a new bride and how she uses Jell-O to cook dinner for her new husband, entertain, and cook for her children.

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Thrifty Salad

Dissolve one package of Lemon Jell-O in one pint of boiling water. When cold, put a shallow layer in bottom of mould, and when partly set, place in sliced tomatoes. Fill mould with alternate layers of salmon, cold cooked peas and cold Jell-O. Serve on bed of lettuce leaves, garnished with tomatoes, adding French dressing or mayonnaise.

A History of Snoqualmie: Finding Funds for a Road by Lobbying, Taxing, and Swindling

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

Eastside Stories

Much of the construction of the road through Snoqualmie Pass was driven by money. Originally a desire of local citizens, the project would eventually attract federal funding. Economic opportunities convinced private citizens early on of the need for an easily traveled road, but the US government’s reasons hinged on military defense.

As early settlers sought to attract both travelers and those hoping to set up residence, finding funds for the project was of utmost importance. The Seattle area settlers hoped to attract more people to the region and capitalize on those traveling to other parts of the west. Still, finding funds required creative thinking and patience as the project experienced several setbacks.

After Governor Steven’s two exploratory parties, The Puget Sound War of 1855 both halted construction and encouraged further exploration of the region. Although the war interrupted its construction, in the end it would be a driving force for federal funding. Major J.J.H. Van Bokkelen felt that to deter attacks from Native American groups to the east of the Seattle area on the growing population of the Seattle area a military highway was needed. He documented topographical information himself to locate strategic sites for the establishment of military encampments.

After the war military desires and a new economic opportunity further encouraged the Snoqualmie Pass project. In 1859 the Gold Rush inspired many to come west seeking fortune and the construction of a road by Snohomish county settlers across Cady pass just a little north of Stevens Pass. This is also the year that Seattle used $1,050 to appoint a superintendent of roads and started again on their project to build a road across Snoqualmie Pass. Fortunately for them soon after this Bokkelen’s ideas made it to Washington. Congress secured funds in 1860-1861 to build a road through the Cascades for military movements. They gave $75,000 for the project, but the Civil War soon interrupted the construction yet again.

Photo (above) :Snoqualmie Pass Road - planked or corduroy road through the woods. Photographed by King County Public Works.

Still desiring a road that would route settlers towards Seattle, in 1875 Seattle businessmen lobbied for legislature to allow them to hold a “grand lottery”. The group would sell 5-dollar tickets to raffle off Henry Yesler’s $100,000 sawmill. Unable to sell their goal of 60,000 tickets the lottery dragged on until it was declared illegal by the courts. It is thought the promoters of the lottery profited more than the road and construction remained slow.

Finally, citizens collected $2,500 to start again and construct a 25 mile road. W. W. Perkings worked from July till November with 20 men to open road. Workers labored manually and were constantly foiled by falling trees and other obstacles. Cutting brush and other debris by hand, bridges were also constructed by brute force with cedar planks. The first party that built the road with hard labor named Rattlesnake Prairie for the Camas seed pods that rattled there in the wind. They were also the first to report seeing chunks of coal in the pass which would inspire later entrepreneurs. The early work done by these 20 men would allow travel time to be cut from days to minutes as the road progressed to what it is today. From beginning to end the construction of Snoqualmie pass roads and eventually highway has been fueled by economic concerns.

Resources

Eastside Heritage Center Archives

Automatic Voting Machine Corp. Instruction Model.

As we draw nearer to the 59th quadrennial presidential election, let’s take a look at a piece of election history.

1997BHS.26.020

This is our Automatic Voting Machine Instruction Model. Added to the collection in 1997, this machine was probably used in the 1950s.

This demonstration device would have been available at the polling place for poll workers to show voters how to place their votes before they entered the privacy of the large voting booth.

When using the full voting machine, a voter would enter the machine and pull a lever to close the curtain. The voter would then make their selection from an array of small voting levers denoting the appropriate candidates or measures. The machine would lock out other candidates when one candidate's lever is turned down. When the voter was finished, they pulled a lever which opened the curtain and reset the machine.

Mechanical lever voting machines were first officially used in 1892. By 1930, they were in use in virtually every major American city, and by the 1960s well over half of votes in U.S. elections were cast on these machines.

These days, Washingtonians don’t have to use mechanical levers to cast their votes. Mail in voting was made available as a permanent part of our election process in 2005.

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Election day is November 3rd this year and EHC encourages everyone to make their voices heard.

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Fact Sheet Courtesy of the Washington Secretary of State

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Resources:

The History of Elections and Voting in Washington. (n.d.). Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/timeline/index.htm Washington Secretary of State

Bird, W. L., Jr. (2004, July 16). The Gear and Lever Voting Machine. Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/votingmachine.html

Historical, Political, 1956 Presidential Election Voting Machine, Instruction Model. (n.d.). Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://www.georgeglazer.com/wpmain/product/historical-political-1956-presidential-election-voting-machine-instruction-model/

The Colman Diaries

In 2005, Eastside Heritage Center was given a set of diaries. The Colman Diaries, as they are now known, are a rare treasure and a glimpse into the life of a woman who history might have forgotten otherwise. Written by Clarissa Colman and spanning nearly 30 years, they tell the story of her life on the Eastside.

James Colman

Her early years are accessible to us largely through census records. Born Clarissa Denison in New York in 1832, married to James Colman in Iowa in 1859, and living in King County, WA by 1880. It isn’t until the tragic murder of her husband that Clarissa begins her journal. Nearly a year after his death, Clarissa records all she can remember of the period immediately leading up to his murder and the court cases that followed. After the State Supreme Court overturns the conviction of the suspected killer, she processes her grief in the pages of her diary.

“This is the 30th anniversary of my wedding day. Three years on the 8th since James was murdered & still that man Miller is living here on the lake, in sight of our place. I wonder how much longer I shall have to wait for justice. Oh:: Lord, how long.”

— Friday February 15th, 1889

Over the years she records her daily life as a widow and a mother. She cooks, manages their household, and takes note of the weather. She sells goods to the local stores, invests in property in Seattle, and successfully sues a railroad company. She mourns the loss of a grandchild and struggles with estrangement from her youngest son. In her writings we’re able to see a whole, complex person. A woman who is exceptional and ordinary; her story both familiar and remarkable.

These diaries are a primary source, a document that contains observations and insights recorded firsthand by people of the time. These are the cream of the crop when it comes to historical research. Documents like these inform us as historians about the impact that major historical events have on real people. They give context to facts. For example, in 1889 Clarissa describes seeing fire and smoke from the direction of Seattle. She was witnessing the Great Seattle Fire from the shores of Lake Washington.

“The big smoke we saw was Seattle in flames. The whoe [sic] business part is burnt. Dan Murphy came down this morning for hay ^ told us.”

— Friday June 7th, 1889

While she never intended for her words to be read by strangers, her work has allowed us a peek into life on the Eastside at the turn of the last century.

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Special thanks to the Fawcett family for the donation of these Diaries.

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Resources:

Colman Diaries. 2005.017 Gift of Clarissa Fawcett, Robert Fawcett, George Fawcett, and Greg Fawcett in memory of Clarissa Colman and James Colman.

Ancestry.com

Grindeland, S. (2006, August 5). 1800s diary tells of murder mystery, life on Eastside. The Seattle Times, pp. A1, A13.

Archaeology Around Japanese American Communities at Barnestown

Edited by David R. Carlson

Around 1898 to 1924 a small town existed in southeastern King County known as Barnestown. This town was created for sawmill and lumber workers recruited to work in the area. Building towns like this allowed workers and their families to live in a community and enjoy some comforts in between hard labor. The needs of workers and their relations is why a store, bathhouse, and school were all built. The buildings have since been taken down by the Kent Lumber Company and the lumber sold, but remnants of Barnestown’s occupants, can still be found today. The material objects left behind are clues about how Japanese Americans there spent their days and the kind of changes and pressures they faced living in a new land.

 Recently, University of Washington PhD student David R. Carlson has conducted archaeological research into the site focusing on Issei (first generation) and Nissei (second generation) Japanese Americans who lived and worked at Barnestown. By first conducting a surface survey and then excavation, Carlson and his team explored what material culture was left behind to tell about the Japanese American laborers lives and some of their experiences around adapting the life in the USA, labor relations, and racial discrimination. From documented histories about our region we know that adjusting to life in the USA was not easy for many immigrant groups, mainly because of the discrimination they often faced. For Japanese American laborers bigotry took the form of pay inequality, legal exclusion from settlement, and even outright violence. By looking at written records and the layout of the town of Barnestown, Carlson was able to create a workplan that could potentially shed light on the day to day experiences of Japanese Americans in sawmill towns like this. Carlson hopes to discover this and more about how the pressures of discrimination affected their daily lives.

Although issues such as adjusting to cultural changes and racial discrimination are not always directly evidenced in excavated material or blatantly obvious in styles of living, research into history creates an understanding of the context which typically guides archaeological research. For example, one of Carlson’s research questions is to figure out the patterns and activities related to alcohol consumption in the community. This requires him to understand what kinds of alcohol were consumed and where, and to contrast the different kinds of alcohol consumed in public versus private areas. These patterns might not seem significant, but with an understanding of existing pressures at the time, these patterns can be given more meaning. Well-documented bigotry was prevalent among many more established immigrants of European descent towards newer Japanese American immigrants. Because of this, influential members of the Japanese American community often discouraged drinking in order to help avoid dangerous situations for their fellow community members. This kind of information, can help archaeologists like Carlson imagine how certain patterns of alcohol consumption—such as a community avoiding high-proof, hard alcohol consumption—can point to larger ideas of socially acceptable alcohol consumption and racial discrimination.

This is just one example of how a more holistic view of history and material evidence can lead to important connections. The above example indicates why this is so important to put material evidence into a larger context. Archeologists rely on the physical materials and chemical evidence discovered during excavation to give clues about the reality of people’s lives in the past. Trained archaeologists have the skills not only to apply a historical context from researching paper records, they also learn to document findings during excavations in a way that tells much more than any one object could. Without this kind of information even the most interesting artifact can become useless in learning about the past. Unfortunately for this particular project, much of the analysis of physical objects had been delayed by the global Covid-19 outbreak, but David R. Carlson shared his preliminary work with us this July, and we look forward to hearing more when he is able to continue his work.

 Special thanks to University of Washington PhD. candidate David R. Carlson (pictured left) for sharing his work with us and providing the information for this article.

David R. Carlson’s research was funded by a UW Department of Anthropology Pilot Study grant and a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (ID # 1743498). It was conducted with the permission and support of Seattle Public Utilities and the Cedar River Watershed Management District. This project further relies on assistance and/or material from the Cedar River Watershed Education Center, the DENSHO Encyclopedia, the Northwest Nikkei Museum, the Hoover Institution Archives, the Seattle Municipal Archives, and the University of Washington Special Collections Library, as well as a large number of incredible and dedicated volunteers! Special thanks to these organizations and Mr. Carlson for bringing this research to the Eastside Heritage Center.