One of the great things about our State Archives is its vast collection of historical photographs. An example is the work of a talented amateur photographer named Mary Rowland Mires. Her photos give us an intimate look at pioneer, family, and Native American life in Western Washington. Here are some shots she took in the early 1900s.

The following info about Mary was provided by the State Archives’ Mary Hammer:

Born in McMinnville, Oregon, in 1862, Mary’s mother moved the family to Washington Territory in 1876. Mary married at the age of 18 and shortly thereafter bore her first son.  She left her husband and son behind for unknown reasons in 1882, and moved to Seattle as a live-in seamstress with family friends. Her husband filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion.  A few years later, Mary met and married Austin Mires, who would become a territorial legislator and signer of the Washington State Constitution. Mary and Austin had 3 children: Anna, John, and Eve. Mary and her first son, Frank, were reunited when he came to live with the Mires family in 1892. This family played a central role as subjects in Mary’s photographs, as she documented their activities in work and leisure…

Mary left little written work behind to describe her journey as a photographer.  It is not known what initially inspired her, or how she learned to take photographs. We do have a clue about when she may have taken her first photograph from her husband’s diary entry of September 22, 1901: “Mary took and printed her own photographs.”  (Austin Mires Papers, Washington State University.) She worked with large glass plates, and technically, her photos show experimentation with double exposures and light. Topically, Mary favored documenting her family, Native Americans, and Ellensburg events, buildings and scenery. Her images are valuable and beautiful documents of early 20th century life in Washington.

About 70 of Mary Rowland Mires’ glass plates came to the Washington State Archives via Susan Parish in 2007. The collection is currently being processed and made ready for online access.

Just a few of the jewels that are part of the historical treasures found in our State Archives.