Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Mildred T. Powell papers, 1928-2000
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Powell, Mildred T., 1886-
- Title
- Mildred T. Powell papers
- Dates
- 1928-2000 (inclusive)19282000
- Quantity
- 2.21 cubic feet (4 boxes)
- Collection Number
- 1829
- Summary
- Materials related to Mildred T. Powell, political activist and civic leader
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Open to all users.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Mildred Towne Powell was a Seattle area political activist and civic leader. She served as the only woman member of the Seattle City Council from 1935-1955, and is the second longest serving woman on the council. She was born on February 9, 1886, in New London, CT, to parents Walter Alanson Towne and Alice Nichols Warner. Following her graduation from New London's Williams Memorial High School (a public school for girls), Powell attended Wellesley College for one year before transferring to Smith College where she received a bachelor’s degree in 1908. She taught school in Connecticut and Massachusetts until 1910, when she married Francis Foster Powell and moved to Montana. In 1923, the Powell family--including children Francis, Jr., Alanson, and Alice--moved to Seattle. Powell was actively involved in the local community, including serving as the president of the Seattle Parent Teacher Association. After her husband died in 1934, she was urged by prominent leaders, among them Bertha Knight Landes, to run for the City Council. She ran as Mrs. F. F. Powell (in honor of her husband) and was elected in 1935. She was re-elected for her second term in 1938 with the highest number of votes of any candidate and was the third woman to ever sit on the City Council. She served in many positions on the Council including the Council President and acting Mayor of Seattle (three times).
At the end of WWII, she was chosen to represent the U.S. to lecture on municipal government in England and Germany. In 1950, she ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the First Congressional District. She was active in the Moral Re-Armament (MRA) movement, which was based on Christian ideals that promoted world peace and unity and opposed Communism. It was founded by Frank Buchman in the 1920s, was ecumenical in nature, and by the 1950s, encouraged the spread of the MRA ideology through the production of plays such as The Vanishing Island . At that time it maintained a popular international following and worked to stop the spread of Communism. In 1955, she was invited to join a peacemaking journey to 28 countries in Asia and the Middle East by the MRA. She encouraged Myrtle Edwards to fill her Council position. When Mildred resigned from the City Council, more than 40 organizations and leaders, including the Governor of Washington, praised her years of service on the Council. She continued to be active in the MRA for many more years until her health brought her home to Seattle, where she died on June 16, 1977.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Correspondence, speeches and writings, newsletters, news releases, speech notes, travel notes, ephemera, clippings. Documents Powell's activities on behalf of the international movement, Moral Re-Armament, ca. 1945 to 1965. Other material relates to her election campaigns for the Seattle City Council and Congress, ca 1935 to 1955, and civic activities.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Organized into 3 accessions.
- Accession No. 1829-003, Mildred T. Powell papers, 1928-1965
- Accession No. 1829-004, Mildred T. Powell papers, 1940-1955
- Accession No. 1829-005, Mildred T. Powell papers, 1930-2000
Separated Materials
Material Described Separately: Mildred T. Powell Photograph and Ephemera Collection (PH Coll 558)Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Accession No. 1829-003: Mildred T. Powell papers, 1928-1965Return to Top
Scope and Content: Correspondence, speeches and writings, newsletters, news releases, speech notes, travel notes, ephemera, clippings. Documents Powell's activities on behalf of the international movement, Moral Re-Armament, ca. 1945 to 1965. Other material relates to her election campaigns for the Seattle City Council and Congress, ca 1935 to 1955, and civic activities.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Donated by Mildred Powell, 1/20/1972.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Series 1: Moral Re-Armament |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
1/1 | 1829-003 | Incoming Letters regarding "An Idea to Win the
World" |
1957 |
1/2 | 1829-003 | Invitations |
1955 |
1/3 | 1829-003 | Notes re: Travel |
1949-1956 |
1/4 | 1829-003 | "An American in Postwar England" |
undated |
1/5-7 | 1829-003 | Miscellaneous speeches and writings |
1950-1958 |
1/8 | 1829-003 | Writings of Evans, Vincent |
1955 July - August |
1/9 | 1829-003 | Howard, Peter and Cecil Broadhurst - "The Vanishing
Island" |
1955 |
1/10 | 1829-003 | Writings of Others: "Inspirational
Material" |
1940-1954 |
1/11 | 1829-003 | Writings of Others re: Education |
1942-1958 |
1/12 | 1829-003 | Writings of Others: Children's |
undated |
1/13 | 1829-003 | Writings of Others: Jokes and Stories |
undated |
1/14-15 | 1829-003 | Newsletters |
1955-1958 |
1/16 | 1829-003 | News Releases |
1955 |
1/17 | 1829-003 | Reports |
1955 |
1/18 | 1829-003 | Ephemera |
1955-1956 |
1/19-20 | 1829-003 | Clippings |
1940-1965 |
Series 2: Personal Papers |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
1/21 | 1829-003 | Biographical and Historical Features |
1970 |
1/22 | 1829-003 | Incoming Letters regarding "An Idea to Win the
World" |
1936-1966 |
1/23 | 1829-003 | Outgoing Letters |
1937-1956 |
1/24 | 1829-003 | Outgoing Letters - Cards |
1955-1956 |
1/25 | 1829-003 | General Correspondence - Langlie, Arthur B.
|
1956 June |
1/26-32 | 1829-003 | Notes |
1935-1952 |
1/33-35 | 1829-003 | Speeches and Writings |
1936-1961 |
1/36 | 1829-003 | Writings of Landes, Bertha K., Mayor |
1928-1963 |
1/37 | 1829-003 | Campaign Materials |
1935-1952 |
1/38 | 1829-003 | Campaign Speeches |
1935-1944 |
1/39-40 | 1829-003 | Clippings |
1933-1977 |
1/41 | 1829-003 | Scrapbook |
1937-1939 |
1/42-43 | 1829-003 | Ephemera |
1937-1949, 1968 |
Box | |||
OSVF042 | 1829-003 | Ephemera |
undated |
Box/Folder | |||
1/44 | 1829-003 | Miscellaneous speeches and writings |
1949 |
1/45 | 1829-003 | "Nathan Hale" |
1915, 1939 |
Accession No. 1829-004: Mildred T. Powell papers, 1940-1955 (bulk 1955)Return to Top
Scope and Content: Contains speeches, writings, and correspondence from Powells' time in public service.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Donor: Marbeth S. Powell, 11/9/2012.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Folder | Accession | ||
1 | 1829-004 | Powell's Speeches, News Clippings, &
Tributes. |
1942-1949 |
2 | 1829-004 | Community Letters & Acknowledgment, Correspondence
re: retirement. |
1955 |
3 | 1829-004 | Moral Re-armament (MRA) Organization News Clippings,
Writings, and Correspondence. |
1940-1950 |
4 | 1829-004 | MRA "Report of Address of Mrs. Mildred Powell at Civic
Reception and Dinner" & Media Mentions |
1949-1950 |
Accession No. 1829-005: Mildred T. Powell papers, 1930-2000Return to Top
Scope and Content: This collection contains materials primarily related to Mildred Towne Powell's twenty years of service on the Seattle City Council, as well as her later involvement with Moral Re-Armament. Materials include newspaper clippings, correspondence, an election scrapbook, and photographs. Miscellaneous materials include a 1938 issue of "Better Homes and Gardens" featuring the Powell home, obituary and funeral information for Mildred Towne Powell and her husband (Francis F. Powell), biographical information, 1970s newspaper clippings/information on women's progress, and exhibit posters with biographical information and photographs.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Gretchen T. Bersch, 2014-05-29
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
1 | 1829-005 | Biographical information, newspaper clippings,
photographs, correspondence, City Council materials, and Moral Re-Armament
materials. |
circa 1930s-1970s |
2 | 1829-005 | Exhibit posters: "Mrs. F. F. Powell: Seattle’s City
Councilwoman and Feminist" |
2010 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- City councils--Washington (State)
- Elections--Washington (State)
- Moral re-armament
- Municipal government--Washington (State)
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
- Women--Political activity--Washington (State)
Personal Names
- Landes, Bertha Knight, 1868-1943
- Langlie, Arthur B. (Arthur Bernard), 1900-1966
- Powell, Mildred T., 1886- --Archives
Corporate Names
- Seattle (Wash.). City Council
- United States. Congress. House--Elections, 1950
Geographical Names
- Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government
- Washington (State)--Politics and government--1889-1950
- Washington (State)--Politics and government--1951-