Clara Pottle Sylvester came to Olympia in 1854 after she married the city's founder, Edmund Sylvester. She hosted the first meeting of the Women's Club of Olympia in 1883.

~Washington State Historical Society/State Capital Museum Collection.

The Executive (Governor's) Mansion, circa 1908, still stands on Capitol Campus. ~Craig/Smith private collection.

The Olympian

A woman works at the St. Paul & Tacoma Veneer plant, circa 1960. ~Courtesy of Washington State Historical Society.

Amanda Benek Smith was Olympia's first woman mayor. ~Photo by Patrick Neary, The Olympian.

Our People; continued

Path Shakers -- Mothers & Daughters

Path Shakers -- Mothers & Daughters

Although the earliest Euro-American settlers were men, women were welcomed with open arms. The census records show there were only three women in Olympia in 1850: Susan Simmons Rider, Catherine Simmons Broshears and Rebecca Ebey. But when The Donation Land Claim Law of 1850 provided that each married woman could claim as much as 320 acres of free land, women were in hot demand.

This offer did not attract all women because the conditions were hardly soft or refined. The ones who came to this rugged area had a passion for succeeding, a desire to assert themselves, a voice to be heard. They had to have strength of character and a dream or two up their sleeves. As time went on, women made their presence felt by organizing fund-raisers for schools, libraries, churches, women's groups and social gatherings. They led the way for forming the cultural fabric of the community. Abigail Hunt Stuart, Ann White Bigelow, Pamela Hale and others blazed the way for the women's rights movement.

Another notable woman in Olympia's history is Emma Page (1853-1910) who lost her sight an early age. The Washington State Woman's Christian Temperance Union named her as national organizer and lecturer of the Department of Mercy. She was also an ordained minister in the First Christian Church of Olympia. As an expert speaker and writer for causes of temperance, kindness to animals, and women's and children's rights, she lobbied to have school curricula include a minimum of 10 minutes each week devoted to systematic teaching of kindness to all living creatures. After her death in 1910, funds were raised to erect a fountain in her honor, which appropriately included a drinking fountain for dogs at the base. The next time you walk in Sylvester Park, note the fountain and the new plaque in the northwest corner of the park and reflect on the woman who devoted her life to temperance and kindness.

Not all women worked in the home. Some women worked as photographers, midwives, nurses, doctors, ministers, skilled laborers and laundresses. Rebecca Howard, an African-American woman, operated a hotel and restaurant at Main Street and Third Avenue from 1860 to 1881. Dr. Flora Chambers Mustard shared a medical practice with her husband. Bertha Eugley established a millinery store in Olympia in 1878. Pamela Case Hale opened a private school in 1871 and became superintendent of Olympia School District No. 2 in 1879. Elizabeth Ayer, who in 1921 became the first woman graduate of University of Washington School of Architecture, designed some of the most distinctive homes in Olympia. Architects Phyllis Dohm Mueller, Mary Page and Trena Worthington also built a number of Olympia homes. Olympia's first female attorney, Julia Waldrip Ker, began her law practice in 1915.

Olympia has seen generations of female elected officials. The first woman to work for the Legislature was Libbie Peebles, in 1868. The first women legislators, elected in 1912, were Frances C. Axtell (Whatcom County) and Nena J. Croake (Pierce County). Since that time nearly 200 women have served in the Legislature. Other women elected from around the state include: Deborah Senn, Insurance Commissioner; Jennifer Belcher, Commissioner of Public Lands; and Christine Gregoire, Attorney General.

Olympia's first woman mayor was Amanda Benek Smith, who served from 1953 to 1960. Holly Gadbaw was mayor from 1988 to 1990. Female council members include Mary Stuart Lux, 1982-1996; Joan Kelly, 1982-1988; Cora Pinson, 1988-1992 (Olympia's first black council member); Sandra Romero, 1990-1993; Nina Carter, 1990-1994; Margaret McPhee, 1993-2000; Jeanette Hawkins, since 1994; and Laura Ware, since 1996.

Dixy Lee Ray, the first and only female governor and the first woman appointed to the Federal Atomic Energy Commission, is most remembered for her academic and political achievements. Few people knew Ray also was an accomplished artist. Her American Indian woodcarvings and beaded jewelry were commissioned by word of mouth only.

Due in part to its position as the state's capital, Olympia has attracted strong-willed, visionary, accomplished women since its earliest days. Transforming a wilderness into a community was hard work, and pioneer women rolled up their sleeves and did what needed to be done. As we enter the 21st century, women continue to play vital roles in shaping Olympia and following the tradition of finding new paths.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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