Belle Bush Gaston by Agnes Mitchel – 6/22/25

Looking Back’s theme for 2025 features Thurston County area photographers, artists, and their subjects. Between 1891 and 1894, photographer Agnes Mitchel operated a studio at 507 4^th Avenue. The State Capital Museum collection at the Washington State Historical Society contains two photographs by Mitchel, including this photograph of Belle (Mandana Isabelle) Bush Gaston, daughter of noted agriculturalist and state representative William Owen Bush, and granddaughter of early settlers George and Isabella Bush. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org. courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society