Oral Histories

The Washington State Heritage Center Oral Histories and Biographies page contains the stories of women and men who made history in Washington State, including U.S. Representative Jennifer Dunn; Washington State first lady Nancy Evans; astronaut Bonnie J. Dunbar; Civil Rights activist Lillian Walker; columnist Adele Ferguson, and Washington Supreme Court judge Carolyn Dimmick.

The Washington State Legislature Oral History project documents and preserves the history of the Legislature by recording the recollections of key members of the Washington House of Representatives and Senate. Oral histories available online include Former 36th District State Representative Helen Sommers and Former 16th District State Representative/Senator and Majority/Minority Leader Jeannette Hayner.

The ERA Oral History Project focuses on the views of women who worked both for and against the passage of the amendment in Washington State or who were members of organizations that were involved in these campaigns. The project incorporates the perspectives of members of pro-ERA groups including the National Organization for Women, the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters, and the Washington ERA Coalition as well as anti-ERA supporters of STOP ERA and Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum.

The Women of Central Oral History Transcripts allow women to describe their roles and experiences while at Central Washington University, providing a glimpse at the role women have played in Central’s institutional development. The transcripts contain varied and historically significant topics, including what it was like to be trained as a teacher at the Ellensburg Normal School, a black student in the 1940s, a student in the 1960s, Chairman of the CWU Board of Trustees, an administrative assistant to the President, a member of the classified staff, and a faculty wife.

The Washington State Archives' Women in Politics collection contains images, documents, posters and oral transcripts of interviews of prominent women in Washington state politics.

Western Washington University's WHC Oral Histories Collection comprises oral histories collected as part of the statewide Washington Women's Heritage Project. The collection includes interviews of women active in the commercial fishing industry and interviews of Bellingham residents who discuss a broad range of topics including local environmental issues, healthcare, entertainment, Native American issues and other ethnic and race relations, industry and businesses, transportation, and education.

Oral Histories Collected or Digitized Through WHC's Local Grant Awards

The American Indian Women's Service League collected oral histories as part of the Strong voices: Our life, Our words, Our story program.
The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community helped Stourwater Pictures produce the short film Fumiko Hayashida: The Woman Behind the Symbol, about the woman behind the iconic photograph that illustrated the removal of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island to internment camps during World War II.
Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society created a video project, On Shore & On Board, that included interviews of women describing their role in Gig Harbor's commerical fishing economy.
The Governor's Mansion Foundation created Voices of the Mansion, which contains interviews of the women who have lived, worked, and volunteered in the Governor's Mansion.
The San Juan Historical Society's Oral History Project digitized oral histories from women of the San Juan Islands.
The Seattle Municipal Archives created an exhibit entitled Seattle Women Firefighters: The Struggle for a Place on the Ladder that included an oral history with a long-time woman firefighter.
The Shoreline Historical Museum conducted interviews about Mareen Schultz Kruckeberg to chronicle Kruckeberg's contributions to Washington state women’s history through the fields of horticulture, rare plant propagation and garden design.
Washington State Association of Colored Women's Clubs' 1917-2008 History and Biographies project recorded and digitized oral histories of some its older members.
The Wing Luke Asian Museum created the Women of the Native Hawaiian Community in Washington State exhibit, which preserved the stories and histories of members of the Native Hawaiian community through oral histories and digital footage.