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Tag: Washington State Digital Archives

Frontier Justice: Convicted Walla Walla land-claim fraudsters pardoned by President Hayes

Frontier Justice: Convicted Walla Walla land-claim fraudsters pardoned by President Hayes

Archivists realize that no matter how well they think they know their collection, it still holds surprises. The Washington Territorial Court Case Files collection at the Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch recently delivered such a surprise. Eastern Washington University graduate student and Archives Intern Devrick Barnett has been working on the Territorial case files for a few months now. Also known as the Frontier Justice collection, these consist of the surviving case files from the Washington Territorial Courts (1853-1889)….

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Jimi Hendrix’s Family History and Path to Seattle

Jimi Hendrix’s Family History and Path to Seattle

It’s hard to believe master guitarist Jimi Hendrix would have turned 77 this year. He has been gone almost twice as long as he was alive. Just 27 years old when he died in 1970, his musical career — although short — has had one of the most lasting and profound effects on guitarists today. With the 50th anniversary of Woodstock just passed, we are again reminded of Jimi’s guitar style. His guitar sounds are quickly recognizable and argued to…

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History Degree and Archives Experience is the Winning Combination for Whitney Wyngaert

History Degree and Archives Experience is the Winning Combination for Whitney Wyngaert

Whitney Wyngaert has interned and worked at the Eastern Regional Branch and Digital Archives of the Washington State Archives for the past two years. She was a graduate student in the history program at Eastern Washington University where she successfully defended her graduate portfolio and received her Master’s degree in June. Wyngaert’s graduate project was to assist Digital Archivist Debbie Bahn process part of the Hanford Health Information Archive (HHIA) collection. According to Wyngaert, the HHIA “collected, preserved, and provided…

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State Parks and Rec gives thanks for massive CCC photo-scanning project

State Parks and Rec gives thanks for massive CCC photo-scanning project

The Washington State Archives’ Digital Projects Archivists Maggie Cogswell and Mary Hammer led the way in completing a massive, 11-year project digitizing and cataloging photos of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. This collection of 2,396 photographs shows work conducted on Washington state parks by the CCC from 1933 to 1938, and includes images of Moran, Lewis and Clark, Deception Pass, Millersylvania, Riverside, Rainbow Falls, Carkeek, Denny Park, Mt. Spokane, Saltwater, Beacon Rock,…

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Digital Archives staffer contributes to award-winning book

Digital Archives staffer contributes to award-winning book

As the electronics records archivist for the Washington State Digital Archives, Debbie Bahn plays a key role at the first digital archives in the U.S. Bahn now can claim she also is part of a team of contributors that earned a national archives award. The Society of American Archivists recently announced that Philip C. Bantin, director of the archives and records management specialization at Indiana University, is the 2017 recipient of its Waldo Gifford Leland Award for his book, Building…

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Digital Archives reaches 180 million records!

Digital Archives reaches 180 million records!

The Washington State Digital Archives has been a source of pride for our office since opening in 2004. It’s the nation’s first archives dedicated specifically to preserving electronic records from state and local government agencies that have legal, fiscal or historical value. The Digital Archives hit a major milestone last year when it received its 150 millionth record. Last Friday, the DA reached another milestone when it took in its 180 millionth document. The document is from Island County Superior…

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Classic WA photos: Makah basket weaver

Classic WA photos: Makah basket weaver

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives) If you’re seeking cool or classic black-and-white photos of Washington’s people and places, look no further than our State Digital Archives, which has thousands of shots just a few clicks away. This photo, taken between 1890 and 1920, shows a woman with the Makah tribe on the Olympic Peninsula weaving a basket. The photo is part of the State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990. Go here to see the many different photo collections in…

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Classic WA photos: lighthouses

Classic WA photos: lighthouses

Lighthouse at Mukilteo State Park. (Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives) Lighthouses go hand in hand with Washington’s long coastline and Puget Sound shoreline. In fact, our state has about 25 lighthouses, most of them in active service, and all serving as magnets for camera-toting, cell-phone-equipped tourists. These beautiful sentinels stretch from Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the Columbia River north to Patos Island, part of the San Juans. You can view many classic photos of Washington lighthouses…

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Digital Archives milestone: 150 million records!

Digital Archives milestone: 150 million records!

Since opening in 2004, the Washington State Digital Archives has been a source of pride for our office, as it is the nation’s first archives dedicated specifically to preserving electronic records from state and local government agencies that have legal, fiscal or historical value. The Digital Archives recently hit a major milestone: it received its 150 millionth record! The landmark document is an appointment of successor, a type of land record, that was filed in King County earlier this year….

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Digital Archives, State Library among best genealogy sites, again

Digital Archives, State Library among best genealogy sites, again

It’s become an annual event, but we never tire of reading about it: Our Washington State Digital Archives and Washington State Library were again named among the 75 best genealogy websites for states by Family Tree magazine. Here are the excerpts from the magazine’s December issue: Washington State Archives: Digital Archives This terrific site already has more than 50 million searchable records online, including birth, marriage, death, census, cemetery and naturalization records. On the home page,   search by name or…

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