Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Alfred Renfro Photograph Albums and Diaries, circa 1901-1935
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Renfro, Alfred T., 1877-1964
- Title
- Alfred Renfro Photograph Albums and Diaries
- Dates
- circa 1901-1935 (inclusive)18961940
- Quantity
- 2 boxes, (.63 cubic feet)
- Collection Number
- 2013.39 (accession)
- Summary
- Diaries and photograph albums documenting Beaux Arts Village, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Alfred T. Renfro family.
- Repository
-
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
- Languages
- English.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Alfred T. Renfro was born in Alabama on October 13, 1877. He was an artist, craftsman, editorial cartoonist and photographer. His cartoons and writings first appeared in the Klondike Sun in the Yukon Territory during the Alaska Gold Rush. Later he worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer , the Seattle Times and the Santa Barbara Star as an art director, editorial cartoonist and photographer. He was a member of the Seattle Cartoonists’ Club and, along with his friend Frank Calvert, contributed satirical illustrations to The Cartoon: A Reference Book of Seattle’s Successful Men.
Beaux Arts Village, a lakeside community near Bellevue, Washington, was originally established by several Seattle members of the Society of Beaux Arts, including Alfred Renfro, Frank Calvert and Finn Frolich. Alfred Renfro built the first home at Beaux Arts Village at what is now 2873 102nd Avenue S.E. and moved there with his family in 1909.
Alfred Renfro was married to Beatrice Plaskett (b.1886.) They had four children: Beverly (1906-1995), LaReine (1908-1995), Beatrice (1910-1998), and Alfred Jr. (1912-2008). Alfred T. Renfro died in Santa Barbara, California on September 8, 1964 at age 87. Beatrice Plaskett Renfro died in Santa Barbara on July 17, 1983.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists primarily of titled photograph albums containing 3”x4” black and white snapshots taken by Alfred T. Refro. Subject matter includes Beatrice Renfro and the four Renfro children, along with images of domestic life at Beaux Arts Village including home interiors, furnishings and landscaping. Several albums document family vacations and motor-touring in Washington, Oregon and California. Other albums include outdoor family recreational activities such as fishing, camping, skiing, hiking and scouting.
The 1901 Klondike trip album contains small photographs with pencil captions documenting wilderness scenery, transportation, shipping, towns and people during the Alaska Gold Rush.
The collection also includes Alfred Renfro’s 1901 personal diary with daily handwritten entries, including a detailed personal cash account and budget kept during his Alaska trip.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
The Society of Beaux Arts was established to “develop art and its appreciation in the Northwest.” The Seattle members of the Society hoped to create a Northwest artist colony where they could live and work in a natural setting. In 1908, the Western Academy of Beaux Arts purchased a 50-acre isolated tract of forest land with 1,100 feet of Lake Washington shoreline to develop Beaux Arts Village. Ten acres in the center of the property was set aside for community outdoor recreation, art studios and craft workshops. At the time there was no electricity or phone service, and water had to be carried from the lake. The Beaux Arts ferry dock was at least 40 minutes from downtown Seattle.
Membership in the Western Academy of Beaux Arts sold for $200, making the holder eligible for a $250 reduction in the price of a lot. By 1916, there were still only 15 property owners living in the Village, although another 63 members held title to lots and could vote on Village business. A small strip of land on the north and south side of the Village was kept private property to prevent outsiders from using the waterfront as a public beach. The first one-room school house was founded at Beaux Arts in 1911, and two years later a four-room school was built on the grounds currently occupied by Enatai Elementary School, now part of the Bellevue School District. In 1917, electricity service provided just ten lights to the entire Village. Telephone service arrived in 1921 and sewers were not installed until 1965.
In an attempt to protect their property and lifestyle, the 304 residents managed to incorporate Beaux Arts Village as a separate town in 1954. Bellevue was rapidly expanding and the property owners wanted to guarantee they would not be annexed and the Village beach would remain private. Access to the beach is still available only to members of the Western Academy, which must approve any sale of Village property. Two governing bodies now administer the business of Beaux Arts Village: the Town Council and the Western Academy of Beaux Arts.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.
Restrictions on Use
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Alfred Renfro Photograph Albums and Diaries, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Photograph albums, circa 1901-1935Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | 2013.39.1: Klondike Gold Rush album 136 photographs
Original album. Photographs depict scenery, transportation, people and various travel activities, with
some handwritten captions.
|
1901 |
| 1/3 | 2013.39.3: Handmade china cabinet at Renfro residence, Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Window seat at Renfro residence, Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Handmade table at Renfro residence, Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Fireplace in living room at Renfro residence, Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 9 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict handmade furniture, cabinetry and interior
woodwork at Beaux Arts Village.
|
circa 1910 |
| 1/4 | 2013.39.4: Skagit Trip 13 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict Snoqualmie Falls, rivers, mountains and
camping.
|
circa 1925 |
| 1/5 | 2013.39.5: California trip 24 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict Mt. Shasta, the Pacific coast and
camping.
|
circa 1930 |
| 1/6 | 2013.39.6: Old house photographs 6 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict an unidentified rustic cabin and house.
|
circa 1920 |
| 1/7 | 2013.39.7: Auto tour 29 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict Northwest scenery and camping.
|
circa 1930 |
| 1/8 | 2013.39.8: Family vacation 24 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict coastal scenery and outdoor family
activities.
|
circa 1930 |
| 1/9 | 2013.39.9: Trip through Oregon 14 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict the Oregon coast, cabins and Mt. Hood.
|
1929 |
| 1/10 | 2013.39.10: Deep lake 1 photograph
Photographs removed from original album. Handwritten on back, first trip with car
|
1925 |
| 1/11 | 2013.39.11: Lost Valley series 19 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict camping, boy scouts, games and rustic
cabins.
|
circa 1935 |
| 1/12 | 2013.39.12: Around and about 7 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict Northwest scenery and camping.
|
circa 1925 |
| 1/13 | 2013.39.13: The spell of the river 9 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict Northwest rivers.
|
circa 1925 |
| 1/14 | 2013.39.14: La Push 12 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict Washington coast scenery.
|
circa 1925 |
| 1/15 | 2013.39.15: Family vacation 14 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict camping, fishing and outdoor scenery.
|
circa 1935 |
| 1/16 | 2013.39.16: San Juan Island 13 photographs
Photographs removed from original album. Photographs depict camping, family and outdoor scenery.
|
circa 1930 |
| 1/18 | 2013.39.18: Beaux Arts Village gazebo on bridge, ca. 1910 Man and girl posing at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 24 photographs
Original album. Album includes Renfro family photographs, and images of Beaux Arts Village house
interiors, exteriors and gardens.
|
circa 1910 |
| 1/19 | 2013.39.19: Alfred Renfro, Jr. playing in snow at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Lookout in snow at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Renfro family posing at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Beatrice Renfro with Beatrice and Alfred, Jr. at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 14 photographs
Original album. Photographs depict Beaux Arts Village snow scenes and the Renfro family.
|
circa 1910 |
| 2/1 | 2013.39.20: Beatrice Renfro with her children at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Alfred Renfro with his children at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 Alfred Renfro, Jr. playing in garden at Beaux Arts Village, circa 1910 21 photographs
Original album. Photographs of the Renfro family outdoors at Beaux Arts Village.
|
circa 1910 |
| 2/2 | 2013.39.21: Photograph album labeled #5 10 photographs
Original album. Photographs of the Renfro family outdoors at Beaux Arts Village.
|
circa 1910 |
| 2/3 | 2013.39.22: Photograph album labeled #6 11 photographs
Original album. Photographs depict the Renfro family at Beaux Arts Village.
|
circa 1920 |
| 2/4 | 2013.39.23: Photograph album labeled #7 11 photographs
Original album. Photographs depict the Renfro family at Beaux Arts Village.
|
circa 1915 |
DiariesReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/2 | 2013.39.2: Alfred Renfro's personal pocket diary
Handwritten daily entries include detailed personal finance accounting during the Alaska Gold Rush trip.
|
1901 |
| 1/17 | 2013.39.17: Katherine P. Murphy personal pocket diary and address book
Handwritten entries and addresses.
|
1924 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Artist colonies
- Families
- Family members
- Recreation
- Vacations
Personal Names
- Renfro, Beatrice
Geographical Names
- Beaux Arts Village (Wash.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Diaries
- Photograph albums
- Photographic prints
Finding aid prepared by Sue Terrible
2014
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
