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Tag: Isaac Stevens

The Voyage of the “Unknown Steamer”

The Voyage of the “Unknown Steamer”

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: 160 years! And our flame continues to illuminate the world around us. The Washington State Library is celebrating its 160th birthday in 2013. Why is this an important number? First, no other public cultural or educational institution in Washington can make this claim. And second, not only are we are still here but WSL staff continue to provide excellent access to the information needs of…

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Library jewel #3: Poem about former Territorial Gov. Stevens

Library jewel #3: Poem about former Territorial Gov. Stevens

Besides being Washington Territory’s first governor and a major factor in the creation of the Territorial Library in 1853, Isaac Stevens also was a brigadier general in the Civil War until he was shot and killed at the Battle of Chantilly in northern Virginia on Sept. 1, 1862. This poem about Stevens following his death is the third and final Library jewel for September. The poem was found in a Bible that was once owned by Hazard Stevens, son of…

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That’s General Reed to you

That’s General Reed to you

Decked out in a Union general’s uniform from the Civil War, Secretary Reed addresses the crowd gathered Tuesday night for the grand opening of the new, privately funded exhibit on Isaac Stevens, Washington Territory’s first governor who later was a Civil War general.  The exhibit will be displayed through February 2012.

Who plays Isaac Stevens: Pitt or DiCaprio?

Who plays Isaac Stevens: Pitt or DiCaprio?

Now that our new Civil War sesquicentennial exhibit featuring the first Washington territorial governor, Isaac Stevens, is up and ready for everyone to see in our office’s front lobby, one recurring comment made by some office staffers is that Stevens bared a strong resemblance to actor Brad Pitt, who, as one female co-worker put it, “is Mr. Dreamy.” Another colleague remarked that Stevens looks a bit like Mr. Titanic himself, actor Leonardo DiCaprio. So, not wanting to miss out on…

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Check out our new exhibit

Check out our new exhibit

There’s a new, privately funded exhibit being featured in the front lobby of the Secretary of State’s executive office. It showcases Isaac Stevens, who was Washington’s first territorial governor and later was a general in the Civil War before he was killed in action. The exhibit is in line with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.  The exhibit will be up until next February.

Governor’s business card, circa 1853

Governor’s business card, circa 1853

Let’s say you’re the governor of a brand-new U.S. territory created in the 1850s and you don’t have any printed business cards. What do you do? Why, you write them up yourself. That’s what Isaac Stevens did soon after becoming the first governor of Washington Territory, in 1853. The State Archives in Olympia has both an original and the digital version of former Gov. Stevens’ business card.