Partner and Collections Overview
The Washington Women's History Consortium Digital Archive is an aggregation of digital collections from Consortium Partner universities, colleges, libraries, museums, and historical societies in the State of Washington. The WHC continues to add new partners and collections to the consortium collections and as part of the Washington State Historical Society.
The Washington State Historical Society Digital Collections currently contributes two collections to the WHC Digital Library: the WSHS Women's Collection and the Women of Ellensburg collection.
The Washington State Library has contributed the Emma Smith Devoe Papers to the WHC Digital Library. The DeVoe collection chronicles the activities of the woman who became the president of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association and was a pivotal figure in the 1909-10 suffrage campaign to win the vote in Washington State.
The Washington State Archives contributed images from several collections related to late 20th century women's history and the suffrage movement in Washington. The Papers of The Governors of Washington State Related to Women's Issues 1904-1984 records document contacts between the Governor's Office, women, and women’s organizations regarding women's issues, women's suffrage, women's rights, and comparable worth.
The State Archives also contributes four collections related to the status of Women in Washington, covering the period from 1963 to 2006. These collections are grouped into the WHC Digital Collection, The Status of Women, 1963-2006.
The Records of the Washington State Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women documents the activities of the Washington State Governor's Commission on the Status of Women, which was created by Governor Albert D. Rosellini in February 1963 to investigate and report on the legal, social, economic and political status of women in Washington State. The Commission issued a report and recommendations in December 1963. It was continued by Governor Daniel J. Evans in 1968, and was dissolved in 1970 when the Interagency Committee on the Status of Women and the Women's Council were created.
The State Archives also contributes to the WHC Digital Archive the Records of the Washington State Women's Council, 1971-1978, the Records of the Washington State Governor’s Interagency Committee of State Employed Women, 1970-2006, and Documents and Reports on Comparable Worth in the State of Washington, 1964-1995.
Washington State University Digital Collections has contributed two collections to the WHC digital Library: The Catherine May Congressional Papers 1959-1970 and A Century of Women's Athletics at Washington State University. May was the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington State.
The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture has contributed The May Arkwright Hutton Papers to the WHC Digital Library. May Arkwright Hutton, who led the 1909-10 suffrage campaign in Eastern Washington, was a boardinghouse operator in the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho, an author, and a suffragette who led the 1909-10 suffrage campaign in Eastern Washington. The collections includes personal letters relating to suffrage activities, social and political events in Spokane, and family matters; manuscripts for speeches on equal rights; photograph; and scrapbooks.
Central Washington University Collections has contributed 1977 Washington State Women's Conference & Related Materials Digital Collection to the WHC Digital Library.
The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University, contributed two "digital collections" to the WHC Digital Library. Washington Women's History Consortium - Images and Washington Women's History Consortium - Oral Histories contain primary source materials that were digitized as part of CPNWS's commitment to the Washington Women's History Consortium project (funded by the Washington State Legislature). Drawn from a variety of different archival collections at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, these digital resources include photographs, manuscripts and oral history interviews documenting the history and achievements of women in Washington State.
The University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections has contributed to the WHC by providing access to five of its many wonderful collections. Those collections include the Fashion Plate Collection, The Mountaineers Collection, the Prior and Norris Troupe Photographs, the Social Issues Photographs, and the Pacific Northwest Historical Documents Database. Although none of these collections are dedicated to Women's History in Washington State, each contains a wealth of information relevant to Women's Studies and to the history of women in Washington. Plans for a UW Women's History Collection are in the works, so please look forward to more interestingt material from UW as you re-visit the WHC web site and Digital Archive in the near future.