Back in January, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society started accepting entries for its youth-writing contest, welcoming essays on “Women History Makers of the Duwamish Peninsula.” We promised to publish the winning essays. The SWSHS has chosen its winners, and tonight, here’s the first one, from the 3rd-5th-grade category.

A Hero to Washington
By Lillian Stowell

Katherine Smith was a hero to Washington, but no one made a statue or a mural for her, even though she deserved one.

She was born on February 9, 1868, in Pennsylvania. Then when she married George A. Smith she moved to Colorado. Colorado was the second state that women could vote in. However, she lost her right to vote when she moved to Alki, Washington in 1904.

She started a woman suffrage club that 200 people attended. Women gained the right to vote in Washington in 1910. I chose Katherine because she fought for women suffrage fairly. She did not riot, instead she convinced officials to let women vote by talking to them. I think women’s voting is important because women might have different opinions then men. For example, if there was a president that didn’t treat women respectfully then women couldn’t vote for someone\ else.

Without women like Katherine who fought for women suffrage, we might not have Vice President Kamala Harris today.

Lillian is a student at West Seattle Elementary. The SWSHS contest had middle- and high-school winners, too, and we’ll publish those winning essays over the next two nights.

Photo of Katherine Smith from the Seattle Star, February 1911