Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Frederick E. Smith papers, 1865-1988
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Smith, Frederick E. --1914-1979
- Title
- Frederick E. Smith papers
- Dates
- 1865-1988 (inclusive)18651988
1898-1988 (bulk)18981988 - Quantity
- 5 linear feet.
- Collection Number
- XOE_CPNWS0060smithfe (collection)
- Summary
- The Frederick E. Smith papers document the research of a self-trained historian born in Blanchard, Washington. The bulk of the collection comprises research material regarding the Equality Colony, a socialist Utopian settlement based near present-day Bow-Edison in Skagit County, Washington between 1897 and 1907.
- Repository
-
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Access to some oral history interviews will require advance permission from interviewees.
- Languages
- English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Born in Blanchard, Washington, Frederick E. Smith (1914-1979) held a keen interest in the history of his hometown and the surrounding region. Much of his research focused on the history of the Equality Colony, a socialist utopian community near present-day Bow-Edison between 1897 and 1907.
In the course of his research, Smith conducted numerous interviews with former colony members and nearby residents, and gathered photographs documenting the colony and its inhabitants. Smith’s research formed the basis for his manuscript Equality Colony, published posthumously by his sister, Florence Lowe, in 1988. His other research interests included socialism, the International Workers of the World (Wobblies), and the history and culture of Native Americans in the Northwest. At the time of his Equality research, Smith worked as a sign-painter and lived in Everett, Washington.
The Equality Colony was founded and financed by members of the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (B.C.C.). Organized in 1895 in Maine, the B.C.C. hoped to encourage the spread of socialism by establishing socialist colonies in the American West. In October 1897, B.C.C. member G.E. “Ed” Pelton purchased 280 acres near Blanchard, Washington for the site of “Equality”. At its height, the colony had an estimated population of 200-300 people. Colonists operated their own sawmill, creamery and school, and published a newspaper entitled Industrial Freedom. In 1905, under the influence of anarchist Alexander Horr, the colony re-organized as “Freeland Colony,” By 1907, however, suffering from financial difficulties and an increasingly factionalized membership, the colony disbanded and sold its property.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Frederick E. Smith papers document the research and interests of self-trained historian Frederick E. Smith. The bulk of the collection comprises research material regarding the Equality Colony, a socialist Utopian Colony based near present-day Bow-Edison in Skagit County, Washington between 1897 and 1907. Smith’s papers also reflect his broad interest in local and regional history, including labor and Native American history.
Smith’s research papers include correspondence with his sister, Florence E. Lowe, regarding the progress of his Equality Colony manuscript, as well as drafts and a final version of the manuscript completed and printed by Lowe in 1988. The collection also contains subject-based note cards compiled by Smith during the course of his research, a small number of copies of the colony newspaper, Industrial Freedom, and newspaper articles regarding “Equality.” Photographs document colony buildings and inhabitants, and include publicity shots taken by photographer P.L. Hegg.
Smith’s research papers also include a small number of photocopied articles regarding Native American tribes in Washington State, clippings about the Telegraphic systems and Telegraph Road, and a photograph of the steamship “Verona” (one of the vessels carrying I.W.W. members during the “Everett Massacre” of 1916).
Reel-to-reel audio recordings include Smith’s interviews with former members and nearby residents of the Equality Colony, and their descendents. The interviews include discussion of the individuals and families who lived at the colony and their experiences, as well as public perceptions of the colonists. Interviewees also discuss the history and changing landscape of Blanchard and surrounding Skagit County, and the history of the Samish people. Reel-to-reel tapes also contain copies of records and radio broadcasts recorded by Smith in the 1960s, including a 1967 program about the Everett Massacre, and programs from Moscow radio.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies requires advance notice for use of reel-to-reel audio recordings.
Preferred Citation
Frederick E. Smith papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The Frederick E. Smith papers are organized in accordance with the following series and subseries arrangement:
- Series I: Research Projects 1854-1988, bulk 1898-1988
- Sub-series 1. Equality Colony 1898-1988
- Sub-series 2. Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest History 1854-1978
- Series II: Audio Materials 1967-1970
Acquisition Information
The provenance of the Frederick E. Smith papers is unknown.
Processing Note
Ruth Steele processed the Frederick E. Smith papers for the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 2006.
Processing Note
About Harmful Language and ContentTo learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content
Bibliography
Smith, Frederick E. Equality Colony Bellingham, 1988 LeWarne, Charles Pierce. Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1975.
Related Materials
University of Washington Libraries in Seattle houses issues of the newspaper, Industrial Freedom, letters written by Equality Colony member Henry Demarest Lloyd, and records of Whidbey Island's Freeland Colony (including Equality Colony materials).
Additional images of the Equality Colony are housed at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, and in the Mickey Neylan Collection at University of Washington Special Collections.
Interviews from the 1962-1979 Skagit County Oral History Project include discussions of the Equality Colony. Transcripts are available at the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner, and the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University.
The Charles Pierce LeWarne collection at Western Washington University Libraries' Special Collections contains reference material regarding collective settlements in the Pacific Northwest.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series I: Research Projects , 1854-1988 , (bulk 1898-1988 ) Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Subseries
1
:
Equality
Colony research
|
1898 – 1988 | |
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Correspondence re: Equality
Colony manuscript |
circa 1971-1972 |
Equality
Colony manuscript
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
1/2 - 1/5 | Drafts and revisions |
undated |
2/1 - 2/2 | Handwritten draft |
undated |
2/3 - 2/4 | Typed Manuscript (unbound) |
1988 |
2/5 | Typed Manuscript (bound) |
1988 |
Research Note
Cards
|
||
Box | ||
3 | People (A-Z) |
circa 1960-1970 |
4 | Subjects |
circa 1960-1970 |
5 | Subjects |
circa 1960-1970 |
Box/Folder | ||
6/1 | Newspapers - Industrial Freedom (Equality Colony
Newspaper) |
1900, ; 1974 |
6/2 | Newspapers - clippings re: Equality Colony
|
1898, ; 1900, ; 1961 |
Photographs
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
6/3 | Prints - Buildings |
circa 1900-1910, ; undated |
6/4 | Prints - Landscapes |
1900, ; 1969, ; undated |
6/5 | Prints - People |
circa 1898-1900, ; undated |
6/6 | Prints - People |
circa 1900-1908, ; 1941, ; 1969, ; undated |
6/7 | Negatives |
undated |
OversizeFolder | ||
1 | Proof sheets for Equality Colony manuscript
|
circa 1988 |
Box/Folder | ||
6/8 | Socialist Party Membership card (copy) |
1901 |
6/9 | Souvenir of Equality School membership |
1902 |
6/10 | Student Paper: Bradley Gamroth “Equality Colony:
Reasons for the Founding of the Colony and its downfall” |
1993 |
Subseries
2
:
Puget Sound
& Pacific Northwest History
|
1854-1978 | |
Articles re: Northwest Native
Americans
|
||
Box/Folder | ||
7/1 | Indian Story-telling and folk-tales. |
1953 |
7/2 | Gibbs, George, Extract from Indian Tribes of
Washington Territory |
1854 |
7/3 | Collins, June M. “Distribution of the Chemakum
language”. Extract from Indians of the Urban Northwest |
1949 |
7/4 | Lambert, Mary Ann, “Circumstantial Evidence,”
extract from Dungeness Massacre and other Regional Tales |
1961 |
Box/Folder | ||
7/5 | Articles and clippings re: telegraphic systems and the
Telegraph Trail , |
1865, ; undated |
7/6 | Image of the Steamship Verona (“the Wobbly
battleship”) |
undated |
Series II: Audio Recordings, 1967-1970 Return to Top
All recordings are on reel-to-reel tape (1⅞ speed unless otherwise noted). Interviews and phone conversations are sometimes interspersed with Smith's comments - much of the identifying description is taken from Smith's notes on the reel-to-reel boxes. Where noted, the tapes are damaged or contain poor quality recordings.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
box-reel | ||
8/1 | “Dwayne and Brenda” (family
recording. ) |
1967 October. |
8/2 | “Dave” (family recording – poor
quality) |
1967 October 13. |
8/2 | Charles LeWarne [minor tape
damage circa 0025] |
1967 December 17. |
8/3 | child – barely audible
|
1967 November 4 |
8/4 | Nellie Halladay re: Equality
Colony and Blanchard. |
November 17, 1967. |
8/4 | Edna Boherns Rogers re: Equality
Colony |
1967 November 19 |
8/4 | Mary Blanche Smith re: EC
|
1967 November 19 |
8/4 | Frederick Smith comments re: Edna
Boherns Rogers / Labor Songs. |
Undated |
8/4 | Edna Boherns Rogers re: Native
Americans in Blanchard. |
1968 March 5 |
8/5 | Edna Rogers re: Blanchard,
Barbeau North, Native Americans, Canadian Plains, Equality |
1967 November 21; ; 1967 November 22 |
8/5 | Mary Blanche Smith |
1967 November 22 |
8/6 | Edna Rodgers, Colony Photos
|
1967 November 29 |
8/6 | Edna Rogers |
1968 January 29 |
8/7 | African-American High School
Students on Bus / Izak Jesson & Mary Jane Redcay |
1967 December 1 |
8/7 | Emma Peterson re: Equality
|
1967 December 4 |
8/8 | Emma Peterson |
1967 December 4 |
8/9 | Alice & George Lawson,
Blanchard |
1967 December 5 |
8/10 | Edison: Howard Morrison / Mrs
Prentice re: Pearsons |
1967 December 6 |
8/10 | Mrs and Mrs (Tillie?) George
Coble |
undated |
8/11 | Hans Solie |
1967 December 8 |
8/12 | Edith Hovig on Bow |
1967 December 18 |
8/12 | Emma and Johnson on Vernona and
Colony |
1967 December 12 |
8/13 | Etta Kenyon Kerr – Blanchard and
Colony |
1967 November 30 |
8/13 | Etta Kenyon Kerr/Grace Kenyon
Peterson/Colony |
1967 December 31 |
8/14 | Phone conversation with Mrs
Geneva Graham, Secretary of Samish Tribe [Tape damage at 0179] 10 min.
|
1968 January 5 |
8/15 | Interview with Mrs Geneva Graham
(Secretary, Samish Tribe). [Tape damage at 0035 and 0080] |
1968 January 7. |
8/16 | R.A. “Bob” Pierson and Charles
Lewarne (Freeland and Equality) |
1968 January 27 |
8/17-8/18 | Mel Brann on Samish, Blanchard,
and Colony |
1968 March 1 |
8/19 | Phone conversation with Mrs.
Harriette Dover (Tulalip, Samish and Books) |
1968 March 8 |
8/19 | Mrs Nellie Halladay re: Colony
|
1968 March 13 |
8/20 - 8/21 | Bill Giles, Wenatchee
|
1968 March 28 |
8/22 | Freeland - Ernie Lieseke
|
1968 April 13 |
8/22 | Austin Marshall, Fred Smith,
Steven Uthoff |
1968 April 13 |
8/23 - 8/25 | Charles Marquart, Sedro-Woolley
(Equality) |
1968 July 18 |
8/26 | E & K. Kallstrom |
1968 August 20 |
8/26 | Mrs Edna Rogers |
1968 August 27 |
8/27 | “Emma Hertz and Johnson”
|
1968 September 24 |
8/28 | Mary Scott – Samish Island
|
1968 October 2 |
8/29 | Howard C. Ault |
1968 October 11 |
8/30 | Howard C. Ault, Tacoma.
|
1968 October 11 |
8/31 - 8/32 | Dick Lewis, Amy Lewis, Ruby May
Johnson (Seattle) |
1968 October 15 |
8/33 - 8/34 | Roland Lewis, Anacortes
|
1968 October 18 |
8/35 | Minnie Missoura Lang re: Equality
(Everett) |
1968 December 4-5 |
8/36 | Mrs Dora McClintock and Mrs Otis
Metcalf “concerning Charles H. Pelton” |
1968 December 9 |
8/37 | Rose Savage, Scotty Eichholtz
(Anacortes) |
1969 April 7 |
8/37 - 8/38 | Thomas Scott Eicholtz
|
1969 April 7 |
8/38 | Bernard Halladay |
1970 June 7 |
8/39 | Mary Eddy Chown re: Equality
(Olympia) |
1969 April 11 |
8/40 | Giles and Dodge at
Bow |
1969 June 9 |
8/41 | Giles at Burlington / Giles and
Dodge at Bow |
1969 June 9 |
8/42 | Bernard Halladay, Everett
|
1969 June 22 |
8/43 | Blanchard picnic with Florence
Pelton Clark, Bud Ault, Gladys Ault Gray, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Ault, Mrs
“Mickey” Cunningham, Mrs. “Babe” Bridgeman, George Gray, Mel Brann, Bill Giles
. |
1969 August 17 |
8/44 -8/45 | Gladys Ault Gray, Mrs Mickey
Cunningham, Mrs Bridgman (Seattle) |
1970 June 20 |
8/46 | Charles Marquat, Sedro-Woolley
|
undated |
8/47 | Lawson |
December 5 |
8/48 | Suzanne and Janna Dohner
|
undated |
8/49 | Songs and Dances of Washington
Coast Indians (Neah Bay, La Push) |
January 30, 1968 |
8/50 | Recording of Indian music,
Northwest (Puget Sound) from Library of Congress |
undated |
8/51 | Indian Music of the Pacific
Northwest Coast (Folkways Record) |
December 8, 1967 |
8/52 | Everett Waterfront Wobblies -
radio program |
1967 November 13 |
8/52 | Loggers Tavern Scene |
1967 November 14 |
8/53 | Songs of the Revolution / “News
.. Songs..Mao” |
1967 November 8 |
8/54 | International Music / Voice of
Lenin |
1967 October 23 |
8/55 | Radio Moscow: 50th Anniversary
Songs to Lenin; News; Speech by Chedi Jagan; Science and Engineering Space
Link-up / Kosmos 186/188 link |
November 7-8 |
8/56 | Speech by Lin Piao 50th
Anniversary (Mao Tse Tung’s Thought) |
1967 November 8 |
8/56 | News; Moscow 50th Anniversary /
10 Days that Shook – Reed |
1967 November 8 |
8/57 | Peking; NHK; Moscow / Music From
Moscow; News and comment |
1967 November |
8/58 | Commentary on Cultural
Revolution; Cuba; Songs of the People / Chou En Lai; Radio Moscow |
1967 October 8-9 |
8/59 | Cuba: Havana; Latin America /
Vietnam |
1967 October 3 |
8/60 | Peking: Inner Mongolia
Revolutionary Committee; Music and News / Inner Mongolia; Music |
1967 November 2 |
8/61 | Peking: 18th Anniversary of
Chinese Revolution |
1967 October 1 |
8/62 | Mockba: What is Communism?; Jazz;
Vietnam Solidarity Week / Pravda Commentary / Threat of Federal Germany ;
Moscow University Choir; News |
1967 December 15 |
8/63 | Music from Mockba / Ira
Blue |
1967 November 15 |
8/64 | Cuba; Vietnam |
1967 October 25 |
8/65 | Mao Quotes; Moscow; Venus Landing
/ Cultural Revolution |
October 21 |
8/66 | Peking: 18th Anniversary
Celebration; Radio Moscow News and Commentary |
1967 October 1 |
8/67 | Peking; Russian drama and music;
Nihon Tamra (?) |
undated |
8/68 | US In Vietnam; Red Guard Cultural
Revolution / Venus Probe; News; What is Communism? |
1967 October 23 |
8/69 | “Fragment” (Radio program with
music) |
October 25 |
8/70 | Radio Moscow broadcast
|
1967 October 25 |
8/71 | Radio Moscow broadcast
|
1967 October 25 |
8/72 | Family recording |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Indians of North America -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources.
- Indians of North America -- Washington (State) -- Skagit County -- History -- Sources.
- Collective settlements -- Washington (State) -- Skagit County -- History -- Sources.
- Communal living -- Washington (State) -- Skagit County -- History -- Sources.
- Everett Massacre, Everett, Wash., 1916 -- History -- Sources.
- Labor disputes -- Washington (State) --Everett -- History -- Sources.
- Socialists -- Washington (State) -- Skagit County -- History -- Sources.
- Utopian socialism -- Washington (State) -- Skagit County -- History -- Sources.
Personal Names
- Frederick E. Smith -- 1914-1979--Archives
Geographical Names
- Blanchard (Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
- Equality Colony (Skagit County, Wash.) -- History -- Sources -- Photographs.
- Equality Colony (Skagit County, Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
Titles within the Collection
- Equality Colony
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Hegg, P.L. -- (Peter L). (creator)