From the desk of Evan Robb

The Sedro-Woolley Public Library and Sedro-Woolley Museum recently completed work on a digital collection celebrating the history of Sedro-Woolley and neighboring communities of the Lower Skagit River Valley. Consisting of more than 300 digitized resources, the Sedro-Woolley Heritage Collection was funded by a Washington Rural Heritage grant from the Washington State Library.

According to Debra Peterson, Director of the Sedro-Woolley Public Library, “This has been such an exciting project.  Many of the photos in this collection have never been seen outside of the Sedro-Woolley Museum; it is such a great way to share these wonderful resources with our community.  Our students do extensive local history projects at several grade levels, and now they have instant access to historic documents that will assist them in their research.”

While most of the collection comes from the holdings of the Sedro-Woolley Museum, some of the material comes from the private collections of Sedro-Woolleyans themselves. For example, these fantastic photos from a community member, which depict the city’s businesses, buildings, community events, and local landmarks throughout the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. When the owner heard about the Library and Museum’s digitization project he enthusiastically offered up his collection for scanning.  “Most of these photos have not been seen by anyone (other than the donor) for years,” said Carolyn Freeman, Director of the Sedr0-Woolley Museum.

Additional collection highlights include:

• Photos depicting the grounds, building, and staff at Northern State Hospital.
• Early images of the downtown Sedro-Woolley business district.
• Logging and lumber industry photos.
• Materials documenting the 1914 robbery of Sedro-Woolley’s First National Bank.
• A collection of glass lantern slides from Sedro-Woolley’s Dream Theatre.
• Early Sedro-Woolley School System photos.

The Sedro-Woolley Public Library and Sedro-Woolley Museum join more than 65 cultural institutions throughout the state that have digitized material with assistance from the Washington Rural Heritage initiative. These collections include historic photos, texts, objects & artifacts, and audiovisual materials that were, in some cases, relatively inaccessible.  To date, Washington Rural Heritage has published 21 collections including more than 10,000 unique items which document local history from every corner of the state.