[One bit of folklore concerning the Washington State Library Territorial Collection has to do with the original source of ownership for a dozen books, mostly vellum bound and chiefly dating back to the 1500s. When old catalogers gather around the campfire at night, they tell tales of the ancient books in WSL that were initially part of the library at the Catholic Mission in Priests Point, in north Olympia. And if this is fact, these library books predate all others in the Territorial Collection for length of Washington residency.

The WSL Manuscripts Collection includes an essay by educator L.M. Dimmitt entitled The Story of Priests’ Point, written in 1932. When WSL Diane Hutchins began to research the history of the Territorial Collection, she felt compelled to include the following note with Dimmitt’s piece. This effort earns her a Mythbusters medal. Here are her notes]

Notes regarding the titles mentioned on pages six and seven of “The Story of Priests’ Point” by L.M. Dimmitt (MS 354)

The Dimmitt article states on page six, “[w]ith the passing of St. Joseph d’Olympia the first spark of the old world culture to reach the Puget Sound country slipped from sight.  In recent years, from some unknown source [emphasis mine], many of the fine old books, some velum [sic] bound, have found their way into the State Library.”  The implication may be that these books had come from the old Mission.  When this article was written (1932), the detailed receipts generated by the purchase by Isaac Stevens of materials for the Territorial Library had not yet been microfilmed.  (This was not done by the National Archives until 1960.  This microfilm, covering book purchases made by Isaac Stevens in 1853, 1854, and 1855, may be found in the WSL collection.  The call number is NW MICRO 027.5797 UNITED 1960.)  Among those receipts is a four-page itemized list compiled by Charles B. Norton on June 8, 1854, and paid (“Voucher no 7”) by Isaac Stevens on August 30, 1854, in New York City.  On one of the margins of this voucher is the statement “I certify on honor that the above account is correct & just, and that I have actually, this thirtieth day of August 1854 paid the amt. thereof.  Isaac I. Stevens, Gov. Wash. Terr.”  Many titles in Latin, French, and Spanish appear in the list.  As demonstrated in the following table, all of the titles mentioned on pages six and seven of the Dimmitt article were included in the 1854 purchase.

Origin of Books Mentioned in “The Story of Priests’ Point” by L.M. Dimmitt

Research and notes by:  Diane Hutchins, Program Manager for Preservation and Access Services, Washington State Library.   11 September 2007.

[Not all the surviving books of the original Territorial Collection reside in the Washington State Library. A good portion of them went with the Washington State Law Library when they split from WSL. The current State Law Librarian, Kay Newman, tells the story]:

The Territorial Library originated March 2, 1853, when Congress passed the Organic Act of the Territory of Washington. Section 17 provided $5,000 to be spent by the Governor of the new Territory to purchase a library. On March 17, 1853, Congress confirmed Isaac Ingalls Stevens as Governor of the Washington Territory.

Subsequently, he wrote to executives of the states and territories, asking for suggestions of books for the new Territorial Library. Books were purchased and donated; and by February 1854, the Territorial Library was housed near the corner of 4th and Main (now Capitol Avenue).

The State received land in 1891 to provide a place for a Capitol building. The legislature did not appropriate funds until 1911; but after $350,000 was provided, work began on the Temple of Justice. In 1913 the Supreme Court and the law library moved into the Temple of Justice, although the building was not actually finished until 1920.

In 1921, approximately 1200 law books were transferred from the Territorial Collection to the State Law Library’s collection.  These books were placed in the general collection, and some of the items were transferred to an off-site storage facility.

In 2004, Renee Corcoran, discovered books in the law library’s general collection which she believed were part of the original Territorial Collection. She spoke with the State Library and made trips to Archives to copy microfilm with the original shipping lists from items sent around the Cape to the Washington Territory.

From these lists, library staff began to comb through items at offsite storage and the general collection looking for books on the shipping lists. Copies were checked for book plates, and Renee began steaming off bookplates which said “State Library” if those items were on the shipping lists. Frequently, we found that the State Library bookplates had covered the Territorial Collection bookplates.

The library staff continued to go through the collection, cataloging everything which was part of the Territorial Collection. Currently, The State Law Library holds over six hundred verified volumes from the original Territorial Collection.