Burrows-Warren photograph collection, circa 1884-1935

Overview of the Collection

Title
Burrows-Warren photograph collection
Dates
circa 1884-1935 (inclusive)
1890-1900 (bulk)
Quantity
27 photographic prints (1 box )
Collection Number
PH0141
Summary
Photographs of the Burrows and Warren families, early settlers of Bellevue, Washington, and their homesteads.
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

Collection is open to the public.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

In 1882, Albert Burrows (1837-1896) moved his family from Des Moines, Iowa, to Seattle, Washington, where he got a job in a sawmill. He met George Miller, who had homesteaded with his family at Beaux Arts (area of present-day Bellevue) in 1883 and was looking for other families to settle nearby in order to organize a school. As a Civil War veteran, Burrows was entitled to a homestead, and Miller led him to the 160 lakefront acre homestead at Killarney (area of present-day Bellevue), where Burrows built a cabin and later a more substantial house. Albert Burrows served in the 1894 state legislature and died of bronchitis in 1896.

His son, Albert Selden Burrows (b.1871), graduated from University of Washington and taught in area schools, including Bellevue, beginning in 1898. He became King County superintendent of schools in 1905. Burrows married the daughter of homesteader Jesse B. Warren and settled on 80 acres south of the Miller farm. His aunt (Albert Sr.'s sister), Calanthia Wyoming Burrows, had been Bellevue's first schoolteacher in 1884. Her seven pupils were the five Miller and two Burrows children. Calanthia married Charles Meyers and moved to Capitol Hill. She died in 1930.

Just to the east of the Burrows farm, Jesse B. Warren (1839-1913) purchased 25 acres at present-day 100th Avenue & NE 8th Street. Warren was born in Northern Ireland. He brought his family to Bellevue via the Dakotas in 1890 where he farmed and raised an orchard. His daughter married Albert Selden Burrows. The Warren property was to become Bellevue Square Shopping Center in 1946.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

The first schoolhouse in Bellevue was a cabin at Killarney ( at 108th Avenue and SE 25th Street, Bellevue) built by Albert Burrows and George Miller. The location of the school moved several times to accommodate homesteading families. With statehood in 1889, tax levies were permitted to raise funds for the construction of the schoolhouse. The initial Bellevue school board consisted of Albert Burrows, Jesse Warren, and A.H. Sheehy, who passed a construction bond for $1,500. The two-room house with bell tower stood at Main Street and 100th Avenue SE. It was fed by the Clyde Hill, Beaux Arts, Medina, and Bellevue areas. The school operated there till 1930. The building was demolished in 1969.

Ferry service between Seattle and Bellevue began in 1885 with stops at Meydenbauer Bay. In the beginning, ferries stopped when hailed by passengers on shore. A regular schedule developed with the 1892 arrival of the 78-ft. steamer C.C.Calkins .

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of photographs of two early Bellevue families, the Burrows and the Warrens, and images of their orchards, farms, and homes. Images also show the first permanent schoolhouse of Bellevue, the Calkins Mercer Island Hotel, early Lake Washington ferries, and other early Bellevue settlers.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donor: Michael Burrows, April 1987.

Processing Note

Processed by Sarah Nelson, 2004.

Bibliography

McDonald, Lucile. Bellevue: Its First 100 Years (Bellevue, Wash.: Bellevue Historical Society, 2000).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Warren Family and FarmReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Folder item
1 1
Warren farm and other farm houses
Handwritten on verso: "Hip roof house Warren Farm. NE 9 from the proximity of 100th [Bellevue]."
ca. 1900
1 2 1935
1 3 1935
1 4 1903
1 5
1 6
Horse and cart loaded with hay, with man standing on top of hay and man in front, Warren farm
ca. 1900
1 7
1 8 ca. 1905
1 9
1 10
Boy with calf
Handwritten on verso: "This 1913 picture was taken on the J.B. Warren farm towards the NE of the present [Bellevue] Square. The boy is Rody Burrows, grandson of Warren."
1913
1 11
Family portrait
Handwritten on verso: "Lena, Margaret, William, Eleanor & Elizabeth Warren."
ca. 1895

Burrows FamilyReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Folder item
2 12
Log cabin
Handwritten on verso: "Restored Burrows log cabin built originally above Burrows Landing (SE 15th St.) in 1883."
2 13
Group of adults on porch of Burrows house in clearing
Handwritten on verso: "Burrows house at Burrows Landing, destroyed by fire in 1890s. A family group in the 1880s. This house was located at the lake end of SE 15th. The lady wearing the hat was Bellevue first teacher in 1884."
1880s
2 14 ca. 1905
2 15
2 16
Portrait of Calanthia Wyoming Burrows
Handwritten on verso: "Bellevue's first teacher in 1884; there were seven pupils. Her pay for three month term was forty dollars."
2 17
Portrait of Albert Burrows
Handwritten on verso: "Homesteaded a mile of waterfront around S.E. 15th St. in 1883."
1890
2 18
Swimmers in Lake Washington at Burrows Landing
Back row: Albert, Margaret and Don Burrows, Chester Kelsey, Watson McDowell, Leonard Ashwell. Front row: Unknown, Mrs. Kelsey, Marian McDowell, Eleanor Burrows.
1919

Scenes of Bellevue and surrounding areaReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Folder item
3 19 1900
3 20
Young woman and twin toddlers on rural lane with farm house
Handwritten on verso: "108 Ave NE & NE 15 - 1907. Those in the picture are Ruby Sharpe & her twin brothe[r]s Tom & Andy."
1907
3 21
Log cabin in snowy scene
Handwritten note on verso: "Log cabin at approx. N.E. corner of NE 8th & 100th Ave NE."
3 22
C.C. Calkins Hotel with people standing on porches and balconies. Located on Mercer Island
Handwritten on verso: "C.C. Calkins Mercer Island Hotel in 1890. It was located about 1/2 mile so of the floating bridge, vacant after 1902 and destroyed by fire in 1908."
1890
3 23
Group of children and adults
Handwritten on verso: "A church social held in Wildwood Park, 1900. Wildwood Park is now the location of Meydenbauer Yacht Club."
1900
3 24
Woman on horse
Handwritten on verso: "May Johnson delivering bulk mail from Houghton to Bellevue - 1898. NE 8th just east of 100th."
1898
3 25 ca. 1915
3 26
Ferry C.C.Calkins
handwritten on verso: "The S.S. 'C.C.Calkins' in 1890. It was one of the earlier boats on the lake. It ran from Leschi to East Seattle (Mercer Island) in 5 minutes."
1890
3 27

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Family farms--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
  • Farmhouses--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
  • Livestock--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
  • Log cabins--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
  • Pioneers--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Burrows, Albert Selden, 1871- --Photographs
  • Burrows, Calanthia Wyoming, d. 1930--Photographs

Family Names

  • Burrows family--Photographs
  • Warren family--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Bellevue (Wash.)--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographic prints