January 10, 2013 - January 16, 2013

The First Two

One hundred years ago this week, Frances C. Axtell and Nena Jolidon Croake took the oath of office along with 95 male colleagues in the House of Representatives on the opening day of Washington's 13th state legislative session, January 13, 1913. The two women were elected in November 1912 in the first state elections after Washington women gained the right to vote in 1910. Axtell represented a Whatcom County district and Croake was from Pierce County.

Women who have held office in Olympia since then include Reba Hurn, the first woman elected to the Washington State Senate; Belle Reeves, who went on to become Washington's only female Secretary of State; Pearl Wanamaker, who fought for construction of the Deception Pass Bridge and later became Superintendent of Public Instruction; Mary Farquharson, who served in the state senate from 1934 to 1942; Peggy Maxie, who in 1970 became the first African American woman elected to the Washington State House of Representatives; Jeanne Kohl-Welles, who went on to serve as House majority whip; Jeanette Hayner, who became the state's first woman Majority Leader; Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, the first Latina elected to the House of Representatives; and Claudia Kauffman, the first Native American woman elected to the state senate.

Catherine May and Julia Butler Hansen served in the state legislature and became the first two Washington women to be elected to the United States Congress. Other women who have served in the "other" Washington include Jennifer Dunn, Patty Murray, and Maria Cantwell. And back in our own state capital, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Washington's two women governors, Dixy Lee Ray and Chris Gregoire.

Snohomish View

On January 14, 1861, Snohomish County was created -- carved out of Island County by the Washington Territorial Legislature. A rough census taken at the time counted Snohomish County's non-Native population at 49 men and no women, but those numbers grew quickly.

We invite you to enjoy our Snohomish County cybertours and slide shows. Wander through downtown Snohomish, take a virtual stroll along Everett's Bayside waterfront, pedal through the Snohomish Bicycle Tree, go for a drive on the Mountain Loop Highway, visit sites important to the Tulalip Tribes, check out some centennial farms, and then rest your feet at the Edgecomb Stump House.

News Then, History Now

Port Townsend Starts: On January 16, 1860, the Washington Territorial Legislature passed an act incorporating the city of Port Townsend, making it the fourth settlement in Washington to receive such a charter. The city traces its roots to 1851, when Alfred A. Plummer and Charles Bachelder became the first non-Indians to settle in the area.

Knowledge and Smarts: On January 13, 1892, the opening of a solitary building on a treeless 25-acre campus near Pullman marked the first day of classes at the Washington Agricultural College. Since then the college has blossomed into Washington State University, one of the top public research universities in the United States. The university has undergone many changes, especially during the past half-century, while remaining faithful to its mission of expanding access to higher education for Washingtonians on both sides of the state.

Oxen of Fame: In the 1850s, Ezra Meeker and his wife Eliza traveled cross-country on the Oregon Trail, eventually settling in the Puyallup Valley. Decades later he retraced his steps, in the name of historic preservation and to promote a transcontinental highway for auto traffic. This time, his oxen Dave and Dandy pulled his wagon and achieved as much fame as Meeker. On January 14, 1916, Meeker donated their taxidermied bodies to the Washington State Historical Museum in Tacoma, where they remain on display to this day.

What's in a Name: On January 10, 1901, John McMaster named the lakeshore village of Kenmore after his previous home of Kenmore, Ontario, which in turn got its name from Kenmore, Scotland. It must have taken quite a while for local Kenmorians to make sense of all that, because the city didn't incorporate until 1998.

Ominous Skies: On January 12, 1942, Seattle suddenly lost all electric power when an air-defense barrage balloon dragged its cable across transmission lines and shorted out City Light's grid. A year later the homefront was once again crippled, this time by a massive snowstorm that hit on January 15, 1943. And as bad as that snowstorm was, it was no match for a huge winter blast that hit Washington on January 12, 1950.

Fall, and Then Rise: On January 15, 2001, a wayward delivery truck clipped Seattle's historic Pioneer Square pergola and sent it crashing to the ground. Thanks to a lot of hard work (and money), it rose anew in August 2002.

Quote of the Week

There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.

                             -- Susan B. Anthony

Image of the Week

Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal was dedicated on January 10, 1914.