Lola Greene Baldwin collection, 1827-1995

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Baldwin, Lola Greene
Title
Lola Greene Baldwin collection
Dates
1827-1995 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.56 cubic feet, (2 document cases)
Collection Number
Coll 388
Summary
Papers, photographs, and scrapbooks of Lola Greene Baldwin, Portland, Oregon's first policewoman, compiled by Marian E. Hays.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Lola Greene Baldwin moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband, LeGrand Baldwin, in 1904, and quickly found unpaid work organizing Portland's Juvenile Court and with the YWCA Travelers' Aid program during the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. She used her experience and connections to deftly create an unprecedented full-time paid position with the Portland Police Department as supervisor of the Women's Protective Division from 1908 until her retirement in 1922. As the nation's first policewoman, she contributed in numerous ways to efforts to improve social and moral conditions for women and girls. Baldwin drew from years of volunteer investigative experience with charitable organizations on the East Coast and her earlier career as a teacher. During World War I, Lola Baldwin supervised the West Coast (Section 7) of the War Department Commission on Training Camp Activities, Section on Women and Girls, reporting on social conditions and vice control near military camps. In her retirement, Baldwin remained an ardent advocate for women.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Papers of Lola Greene Baldwin, Portland, Oregon's first policewoman, compiled by Marian E. Hays. Collection includes biographical materials; family papers; clippings; photographs; correspondence; and reports, including War Department reports (1915-1918) for the West Coast (Section 7) of the Commission on Training Camp Activities, Section on Women and Girls. Also included are a letter by Azalia E. Peet smuggled out of wartime Japan in 1939; materials relating to the Albertina Kerr Center; and two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings (1905-1962).

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Lola Greene Baldwin collection, Coll 388, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Lib. Acc. 26372.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Policewomen--Oregon--Portland
  • Vice control--Oregon--Portland--History
  • Women--Oregon--Portland--History
  • World War, 1914-1918--United States

Personal Names

  • Baldwin, Lola Greene

Corporate Names

  • Albertina Kerr Centers
  • Portland (Or.). Bureau of Police

Geographical Names

  • Portland (Or.)--History
  • West (U.S.)--Social conditions

Form or Genre Terms

  • correspondence
  • photographs
  • reports
  • scrapbooks

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Hays, Marian E. (compiler)