![]() By the 1990s developers were offering them substantial sums for the homestead. Mary Ann especially embraced the family’s history and used her talent for storytelling and music to bring the past alive.Īs Daniel and Mary Ann aged, it became increasingly difficult to maintain the house. ![]() Mary Ann and Daniel graciously opened their home and many individuals, school classes, church groups, and others visited to learn stories of the past. However, by the 1950s, people interested in the history of the house began asking the Bigelows for tours. After their passing, Daniel and Mary Ann modernized the house to make it their own. In their early married life, they lived upstairs in Bigelow House, while Daniel’s aunts Margaret and Ruth lived downstairs. He too became a lawyer and in 1935 married Mary Ann Campbell. George’s son Daniel was born in their home just above the old Bigelow place in 1911. Among his many accomplishments, George Bigelow was instrumental in securing Priest Point as a city park for Olympia. Their youngest son, George, followed his father into law practice and served as Olympia’s city attorney. The eight children they raised in the house also went on to become prominent in local affairs. After Daniel’s death, Ann Elizabeth, an accomplished businesswoman in her own right, managed their extensive land holdings until her death in 1926. ![]() As key participants, they kept extensive documentation of their part in these activities.īy the time Daniel passed away in 1905, the Bigelows were venerated pioneers, consulted by the press and historians for their insights on the founding of Washington and their opinions on current affairs. While Daniel served in the first three legislatures-and later for a term in 1871-Ann Elizabeth was active in the Methodist Church and other social organizations, including the Olympia Women’s Club, the first founded on the west coast. Together, Daniel and Ann Elizabeth worked throughout their lives to ensure their community and their government embraced these values as well. He became a lifelong advocate of female suffrage, public education and equal treatment under the law for non-whites. That year she met and married Daniel and they began married life together on Daniel’s claim, across the bay from downtown.ĭaniel’s time in the Boston area exposed him to many social and political causes he adopted as his own. By 1854 she was working as one of the first schoolteachers in Washington. Ann Elizabeth arrived with her family at age 15. Twenty-eight year old Daniel came on his own as a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, looking for opportunity. To better understand the significance of these materials, a brief overview of Bigelow House Museum is in order.ĭaniel Bigelow and Ann Elizabeth White traveled the Oregon Trail separately in 1851. What many don’t know is the home not only showcases original antique furnishings and décor, it also holds the personal records of the Bigelow family, offering a window into more than 150 years of local, state and national history. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood, more recent homes now obscure its former prominence overlooking the town. Ed Echtle, President of Bigelow House Preservation AssociationĪs those familiar with local history know, the Bigelow House Museum on Olympia’s east side is the oldest surviving home in town.
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