Location: 918 Glass Ave NE
National register, State register, local register; Women’s History
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The Daniel and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow House, now the Bigelow House Museum, is one of the oldest existing documented homes in Olympia, built by 1860. Daniel Bigelow was a prominent attorney and civic booster, among the first American arrivals to Olympia. At the time he filed his Donation Claim here, and for all of his life, this was a remote and picturesque spot, requiring time and effort to make the journey from Olympia over muddy roads and a rickety bridge across Swantown Slough. The house is clearly visible on very old photographs of Olympia and on the Bird’s Eye View linked below.
The Bigelow House is associated with Olympia women’s history. Both of the Bigelows were early supporters of female suffrage, and hosted Susan B. Anthony here at a dinner.
The house is on the local, state and National Registers and is lovingly maintained by the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. Many of the original furnishings are still in the house.
More information:
Bigelow House photograph collection (includes many photographs of the home and the family)
Washington State Historical Society photographs: enter the following catalog number in collection search box: C1964.26.4.5.4
Echtle, Ed, (Re)discover Bigelow House! article from Society newsletter
Digital Archives photograph from 1960s
Bird’s Eye View of Olympia 1879, fenced property to right of “public school” (OCI building) in east Olympia.
Youtube video on the Bigelow House
For more information about the Bigelow family, see Residents section of this website and Bigelow House Museum pages.
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross