Best archives in Washington state for maps & history of Seattle?

[csziggy]

I know of a map of Seattle from 1890 that should go to an archive in the state. According to WorldCat.org, the only place that has this map archived is Harvard University. While the map is not mine, I can probably convince the owners to donate it to a historical archive or association.

If anyone here has contacts with locations in Washington state appropriate for a historical piece like this, please let me know!

[eridani]

1. Try the SecState's website n/t

[csziggy]

2. Thanks - I should have thought of that

Though Washington State University has an online archive of maps, some by the same company that made this one, for Tacoma and Spokane Falls, but they don't have the equivalent for Seattle.

The family has a lot of this sort of thing that have been stashed away for a hundred years or so. I firmly believe that much of it not directly related to the family history needs to go to the areas and groups that will store it better to preserve it and have it available to researchers.

[datadem]

3. Some other options

The Seattle Public Library has a wonderful local history collection:
http://www.spl.org/locations/central-library/cen-plan-a-visit/cen-special-collections

The University of Washington is another option:
http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/

Both have online collections.

I applaud your effort to get some of these materials into the hands of people who can care for them and make them accessible!

[csziggy]

6. Thank you!

I'll start exploring places that can use and appreciate the material the most.

Harvard University has a copy of this map in their digital collection and in their Geospatial collection but ours varies from theirs slightly. Theirs was probably a purchased copy while ours is "courtesy" of a real estate firm. Our family history would be completely different if great grandfather had bought property in Seattle and stayed there - but during the depression of that time, he couldn't find a job so moved back to Escanaba, Michigan where his father got him a postition.
http://vc.lib.harvard.edu/vc/deliver/~maps/011148360

[SeattleVet]

4. You can also contact the Historylink project

They may not have the actual archives, but they would know the best place for you to contact to make the donation.

See www.historylink.org and hit the 'About Us' button for contact information. They are a great repository of local history.

[csziggy]

5. Thanks for the historylink.org site!

They may be able to help.

I'm more inspired than ever to do this - a man contacted me recently about info on sawmills on Vancouver Island. It turns out that the sawmill my great-great-grandfather owned was an important part of the history there. I had a lot I could provide him - accounts by my grandmother of stories about the family time there, photos from when they were there in 1890, and snapshots from when my great-grandfather visited in 1936. Since the mill burned down in 1941, those may have been the last photos taken of it.

All those little snippets of family history and odds and ends collected over the generations contribute to real history in so many ways!

[SeattleVet]

7. Glad I was able to help.

(I have to watch out when I go to Historylink, though, because I usually wind up spending a LOT of time browsing through the interesting stuff they have there.)