The life of Dr. Cora Smith Eaton, a dedicated suffragist who climbed Mount Rainier in 1909 and helped found the Mountaineers Club, is the topic of a free talk sponsored by the Woman’s Century Club at noon on Fri., Feb. 17, at the Harvard Exit Theatre, 807 E. Roy, Seattle.
The talk will be given by Shanna Stevenson, coordinator of the Washington Women’s History Consortium in Olympia. The public is warmly invited to attend; to reserve a seat, email [email protected].
Dr. Cora Smith Eaton graduated from Boston University School of Medicine, and in 1892 became the first woman to practice medicine in North Dakota. She attended a 1905 suffrage convention in Portland and climbed Mount Hood afterward, then moved to Seattle and set up a medical practice. She was the first woman to reach the East Peak of Mount Olympus on August 15, 1907, in what is now Olympic National Park, and went on to summit all six major peaks in Washington.
Along with 76 other women and 74 men, Dr. Eaton was a founding member of The Mountaineers Club, and during the club’s third annual outing to Mount Rainier, in July 1909, she planted a “Votes for Women” banner at the summit. More information on this expedition is available at HistoryLink: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=8578.
The speaker, Shanna Stevenson, has a B.A. in history and education from Gonzaga University and is the author of the book “Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices: The Campaign for Equal Rights in Washington.” Her book will be available for purchase at the talk, and she will be happy to autograph copies. The event is co-sponsored by Elliott Bay Book Co.
The Woman’s Century Club was founded by suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, a protege of Susan B. Anthony, in Seattle in 1891, and is being revitalized by a new generation of women. Today’s club presents free monthly programs that connect and inspire women, and awards an annual scholarship to a deserving woman student at a Seattle-area college or university. The club welcomes new members; for more information, visit www.womanscenturyclub.org or find us on Facebook.
