Title: LeEtta King Collection, ca. 1915
Date: ca. 1915
Caption: In 1910, 2,296 African-Americans lived in Seattle. Before World War I, there weren’t too many colored people in Seattle but we did all kinds of fun things, just as if there were a lot of us here. We had activities, boat rides, dinner parties and outings. Dances were given at the Renton Hill Club House, which was at 18th and Madison. We wore pretty party dresses and the men wore tuxes. Before the war there was just lots of pleasures – just a great deal of pleasant, happy life. -LeEtta Sanders King

Photo Collection: Black Heritage Society of Washington State
Image Number: BHS.2001.17.2.16

Notes: To order a reproduction or inquire about permissions, contact: TheBoard@blackheritagewa.org. Please cite the Image Number.

 

Title: Front page of Seattle Republican featuring Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, ca. 1909
Date: ca. 1909
Caption: In 1909, the famous Booker T. Washington came to visit the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, and it was natural that he should stay with our family. His visit was a great event for all Negroes in the city, and our house was the hub of his activities. -Horace Cayton

Photo Collection: Black Heritage Society of Washington State
Image Number: BHS.2004.203.52

Notes: To order a reproduction or inquire about permissions, contact: TheBoard@blackheritagewa.org. Please cite the Image Number.

 

Title: Photo courtesy of the Black Heritage Society
Date: Unknown
Caption: Back in the ‘teens, we used to take the Yesler cable car down to the foot of Yesler Way, to Leschi, and take the ferryboat across the lake to Kirkland. At the time, Kirkland was practically woods, and Bellevue wasn’t even in existence. We used to go over to Kirkland to pick blackberries.

-Priscilla Kirk

Photo Collection: Black Heritage Society of Washington State
Image Number: BHS.1997.02.48

Notes: To order a reproduction or inquire about permissions, contact: TheBoard@blackheritagewa.org. Please cite the Image Number.

 

Title: Great Northern train, Wellington, ca. 1909
Date: ca. 1909
Caption: In 1940, I was a waiter on the Great Northern Empire Builder, from Chicago to [Seattle]. We’d catch the train in Minneapolis, go to Chicago and then we’d be on our feet working the whole rest of the way to Seattle – we’d “walk all the way across the country.” We stopped in Seattle overnight, and the next morning we had to pack new groceries in the train for the ride back. We came out a couple of times in December. In Seattle, the grass was green and the roses were blooming. It had been 36 degrees below zero for 36 days straight back in Minneapolis. I decided I had enough of that! It was Seattle for me! -Leon Vaughn Photo Collection: Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection
Image Number: 1983.10.8963

Notes: To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@seattlehistory.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph.

 

Title: Photo of Marjorie Sotero and sister, Camp George Jordan
Date: Unknown
Caption: My sister and I organized recreation at Camp George Jordan. I taught many servicemen how to write their names for the first time – so they could sign the payroll. They, white and colored, came from the deep South, without any education, and a lot of them were embarrassed that they did not know how to write. They would come to me in privacy, and I promised I would never tell anybody that I had taught them how to write their names.

-Marjorie Sotero

Photo Collection: Black Heritage Society Collection
Image Number: BHS.2003.14.2.2

Notes: To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@seattlehistory.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph.

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