WHC Resource Shelf
Exhibits
Washington Women at Work provides a glimpse into the varied occupations of Washington women. Women in Washington State have always partnered with men at home and in the public sphere. This photo exhibit from the Washington State History Museum shows women at work on a variety of tasks, such as vegetable processing, modeling, sewing, laying pavement, nursing, and cleaning fish.
First Washington Women in Law, produced by Washington Courts and The Washington State Heritage Center, offers profiles of Washington women who made important contributions to the field of law.
The Northwest Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) sponsored the Labor and Women's Suffrage exhibit for their conference in Seattle in April, 2010. The panels illustrate the important role of labor and labor unions in the successful 1909-1910 campaign to amend the Washington State Constitution for women’s suffrage.
University of Washington's A Ballot for the Ladies celebrates the 100th anniversary of women’s permanent right to vote in Washington State, and the women who worked so diligently to make it happen.
The exhibit traces the sixty year struggle that resulted in suffrage for Washington women. The exhibit provides narrative, images, and documents to trace the experience of women in Washington from the pioneer days of the 1850s through 1910, when Washington granted women the right to vote.
Equal Rights for Washington Women describes the hardships Washington women encountered while fighting for the right to vote. Washington women had voted from 1883 to 1888, but their voting rights were revoked by the Washington Territorial Supreme Court. Washington’s victory in 1910 was a pivotal event in the campaign which culminated in the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 enacting women’s suffrage nationally. The exhibit further describes how Washington women with the vote have continued the struggle for equal rights.
Photo by Asa Nelson.
From Parlor to Podium: Territorial Suffragists of Olympia Exhibit highlights how the suffrage movement went from the “parlor” to the public sphere as women and men organized for women’s rights. Another theme are the efforts centered in Olympia as the capital city during the period by visitors from the territorial and national movement — including Susan B. Anthony, Henry Blackwell and others to provide context to the events in Olympia.
The subsequent story of the efforts of 1889, 1898 and the final victory in 1910 are also highlighted — notable because they too had important connections to Olympia which was the territorial and state capital where much of the campaign was centered. The exhibit gives faces to the suffragists who worked tirelessly to win the vote during the territorial period, only to have it taken away by a final judicial decision in 1888 as well as conveying through artifacts, period clothing and settings the times in which they lived.
The exhibit also featured period suffrage ephemera from the collection of Washington State Senator Steve Conway and the podium where suffrage legislation was debated in 1909 at the Old State Capitol. The exhibit was designed by Kevin Jacobs of Firestarter Graphics and curated by WHC Coordinator Shanna Stevenson. The exhibit was displayed in Olympia at the State Capital Museum from March, 2010 to June 2011. To view images of the exhibit photographed by Asa Nelson, click here.
View a summary of exhibits created to honor the 2010 centennial of permanent women's suffrage in Washington State on the WHC Centennial Exhibits page.
Exhibits Created Through WHC's Local Grant Awards
Washington State Historical Society's Traveling Exhibit Services
The Washington State Historical Society's Traveling Exhibit Service (TES) is dedicated to encouraging the heritage activities of other historical organizations and community groups by lending low cost and high quality exhibits. TES offers exhibits that reflect the history of the entire state and its diverse communities.
To see where a TES exhibit is coming near you, check out the Traveling Exhibit Services calendar.