Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Guide to the Austin Mires Papers
1872-1936
Cage 212
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
- Creator
- Mires, Austin, 1852-1936
- Title
- Austin Mires Papers
- ID
- Cage 212
- Date [inclusive]
- 1872-1936
- Extent
- 17 Linear feet of shelf space, 24 Boxes
- Language
- Collection materials are in English.
- Abstract
- The papers of Austin Mires, lawyer, politician, and first mayor of Ellensburg, Washington.
Preferred Citation
[Item description]
Austin Mires Papers, 1872-1936 (Cage 212)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Biography/History
Austin Mires was born in Parrish, Iowa on February 11, 1852, the son of John H. and Anna (Deardorff) Mires. At the age of one his parents traveled westward overland and settled at Oakland, Oregon. In his youth he attended public common schools and later Umpqua Academy (Wilbur, Oregon) and Monmouth College. He taught for several years in Douglas County, Oregon and served briefly as a railway mail route agent between Portland and Roseburg, Oregon. In 1880, Mires attended law school at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He graduated in 1882 and began practicing law in Roseburg. In the spring of 1883, he relocated to Ellensburg, Washington Territory to practice law. He married Mary Loretta Rowland, the stepdaughter of a prominent Kittitas County farmer, on March 5, 1884 Two years later he was elected the town's first mayor and 1889 was elected to serve as a delegate to the constitutional convention in Olympia. In 1890 Governor E. P. Ferry named him as a member of the state board of equalization and appeal, a position he held for three years. He was appointed as census supervisor in 1899 by President William McKinley for the 1900 census. The following year he was elected president of the Washington State Bar Association. In 1904, he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney of Kittitas County after the death of his former law partner who held the office. He did not run for election in 1907 but remained in the city prosecutor's office for next six years. He also served as School Director for the City of Ellensburg and one term as a state senator. In 1912 Mires was chosen as a Progressive presidential elector. Six years later he ran for the United States Congress as a Republican candidate but was defeated. During his twilight years he served as city police judge and justice of the peace. On March 4, 1936 Austin Mires died of pneumonia. His body is interred at the Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery in Ellensburg.
(Source: Austin Mires Papers, 1853-1936, Ellensburg Public Library Northwest History Archives, Ellensburg, WA.)
Biography/History
A note about the expression “insane asylum”: Publicly funded psychiatric hospitals, then known as insane or lunatic asylums, emerged in the 19th century as part of a trend toward institutionalization of people with mental illnesses. Originally designed by reformers to provide a retreat from common society, asylums often perpetrated abuses against marginalized members of society. In addition, it merits noting that terms like “insane” and “crazy” have a problematic history in that they have often been used to stigmatize any person considered “unacceptable” to powerful members of society. For instance, asylums have at times been used to confine not only people with mental illnesses but also elderly individuals, assertive women, and conscientious objectors. These words often have the effect of excluding particular groups while perpetuating stereotypes about mental illness.
Scope and Content
The papers of Austin Mires, lawyer, politician, and first mayor of Ellensburg, Washington. The papers fall naturally into three series: correspondence, diaries, and miscellaneous items.
Series 1: Correspondence, deals with all facets of Austin Mires' political, professional, and personal life. Office notes, invitations (some with penciled marginalia), bills, and receipts have been retained to provide examples of daily life in the latter period of territorial years and the early part of this century. These papers are valuable in presenting an accurate picture of the diverse activities of Austin Mires. Although Mires himself was not often in public office he was an active participant and candidate and was often called upon by his friends and associates to pass judgment on political situations, party plans, and to give his support to political ambitions.
Series 2: Diaries, have daily entries for over sixty years; personal and private comments on his activities, associates, friends and enemies, and the political situations at all levels of government. While he kept his diary private during his lifetime, he realized that they would someday be of value. In addition to his comments, he often kept a daily record of his income and expenditures, in these diaries. Some were recopied by Mires and these copies are placed with the originals.
Series 3: Miscellaneous, is subdivided into groupings of photographs, newspaper clippings, essays and his literary writings, documents, and scrapbooks. The scrapbooks contain correspondence, eulogies, essays, and miscellaneous items that were gleaned from the collection by Austin Mires. They mostly cover territorial, state, and national politics, chiefly Republican, for the years 1883-1936.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged into three series: correspondence, diaries, and miscellaneous items.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2022
https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc/
Terrell Library
P.O. Box 645610
Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA
509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open and available for research use.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions apply. The literary rights in the unpublished writings of Mr. Mires in these papers are reserved by the Washington State University Library.
Acquisition Information
The papers of Austin Mires, Ellensburg Attorney, were purchased by the Washington State University Library in 1967 from a daughter, Mrs. Charles E. Phillips.
Processing Information
In 2022, in response to evolving standards regarding the language used to describe individuals and communities with disabilities, Talea Anderson added a Historical Note to this finding aid.
Related Materials
Related Material
Austin Mires Papers, 1880-1935 (Cage 4835)
Preliminary Guide to the Austin Mires Glass Plate Negatives, 1904-1919 (UPC 0017)
Eve Helen Mires Cookbook, 1910 (Cage 5154)
Names and Subjects
Corporate Name(s)
Subject(s) :
- Ellensburg (Wash.). Mayor -- Archives
Personal Name(s)
Subject(s) :
- Mires, Austin, 1852-1936 -- Archives
Subject(s)
- Lawyers -- Washington (State) -- Ellensburg -- Archives
- Politics, Practical -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources
- Constitutional conventions -- Washington (State) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Washington (State)
- Politics and Politicians
- Civil Procedure and Courts
Bibliography
Abraham, Terry P. Austin Mires: An Indexed Register of His Papers, 1872-1936, in the Washington State University Library. Pullman, 1968.
Detailed Description of Collection
Series 1: Correspondence |
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Subseries 1.1: Loose Papers |
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box | folder | |||
1888 |
1 | 1 | ||
January-February, 1889 |
1 | 2 | ||
June-July, 1889 |
1 | 3 | ||
August, 1889 |
1 | 4 | ||
September-October, 1889 |
1 | 5 | ||
November, 1889 |
1 | 6 | ||
December, 1889 |
1 | 7 | ||
1890 |
1 | 8 | ||
1891 |
1 | 9 | ||
1892 |
1 | 10 | ||
January, 1893 |
1 | 11 | ||
February, 1893 |
1 | 12 | ||
March, 1893 |
1 | 13 | ||
April, 1893 |
1 | 14 | ||
May, 1893 |
1 | 15 | ||
June, 1893 |
1 | 16 | ||
July-September, 1893 |
1 | 17 | ||
October-December, 1893 |
1 | 18 | ||
1894 |
2 | 19 | ||
1895 |
2 | 20 | ||
1896 |
2 | 21 | ||
1897 |
2 | 22 | ||
January-June, 1898 |
2 | 23 | ||
July-September, 1898 |
2 | 24 | ||
October, 1898 |
2 | 25 | ||
October, 1898 |
2 | 26 | ||
November, 1898 |
2 | 27 | ||
November, 1898 |
2 | 28 | ||
December, 1898 |
2 | 29 | ||
January-February, 1899 |
2 | 30 | ||
March-April, 1899 |
2 | 31 | ||
May-June, 1899 |
2 | 32 | ||
July-August, 1899 |
2 | 33 | ||
September-October, 1899 |
2 | 34 | ||
November-December, 1899 |
2 | 35 | ||
January, 1900 |
3 | 36-37 | ||
February, 1900 |
3 | 38-39 | ||
March, 1900 |
3 | 40-44 | ||
April, 1900 |
4 | 45-47 | ||
May, 1900 |
4 | 48-51 | ||
Census Maps, Papers, 1900 |
4 | 52 | ||
June, 1900 |
5 | 53-55 | ||
July, 1900 |
5 | 56 | ||
August, 1900 |
5 | 57 | ||
September, 1900 |
5 | 58 | ||
October, 1900 |
5 | 59 | ||
November, 1900 |
5 | 60 | ||
December, 1900 |
5 | 61 | ||
1901 |
6 | 62-63 | ||
1902 |
6 | 64 | ||
1903 |
6 | 65 | ||
January-February, 1904 |
6 | 66 | ||
March, 1904 |
6 | 67 | ||
April, 1904 |
6 | 68 | ||
May, 1904 |
6 | 69 | ||
June, 1904 |
6 | 70 | ||
July, 1904 |
6 | 71 | ||
August, 1904 |
6 | 72 | ||
September-December, 1904 |
6 | 73 | ||
1905 |
7 | 74 | ||
1906 |
7 | 75 | ||
1907 |
7 | 76 | ||
1908 |
7 | 77 | ||
1909 |
7 | 78 | ||
1910 |
7 | 79-81 | ||
1911 |
7 | 82-83 | ||
1912 |
8 | 84-85 | ||
1913 |
8 | 86 | ||
1914 |
8 | 87 | ||
1915 |
8 | 88 | ||
1916 |
9 | 89 | ||
1917 |
9 | 90 | ||
1918 |
9 | 91 | ||
1919 |
9 | 92-93 | ||
1920 |
9 | 94-95 | ||
1921 |
9 | 96-98 | ||
1922 |
10 | 99 | ||
1923 |
10 | 100 | ||
1924 |
10 | 101 | ||
1925 |
10 | 102-103 | ||
1926 |
11 | 104-105 | ||
1927 |
11 | 106-107 | ||
1928 |
11 | 108-109 | ||
1929 |
12 | 110-111 | ||
1930 |
12 | 112-113 | ||
1931 |
12 | 114-115 | ||
1932 |
13 | 116-117 | ||
1933 |
13 | 118 | ||
1934 |
13 | 119-120 | ||
1935 |
13 | 121 | ||
Undated Papers |
13 | 122 | ||
Subseries 1.2: Letterbooks |
||||
box | folder | |||
1890-1891 |
14 | 123 | ||
1891-1892 |
14 | 124 | ||
1892-1893 |
14 | 125 | ||
1891-1895 |
15 | 126 | ||
1893-1894 |
15 | 127 | ||
1893-1900 |
15 | 128 | ||
1900-1901 |
15 | 129 | ||
1902-1928 |
15 | 130 | ||
|
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Series 2: Diaries |
||||
box | folder | |||
1871 |
16 | 131 | ||
1875 |
16 | 132 | ||
1875 |
16 | 133 | ||
1876 |
16 | 134 | ||
1877 |
16 | 135 | ||
1877 |
16 | 136 | ||
1876-1877 |
16 | 137 | ||
1878 |
16 | 138 | ||
1879 |
16 | 139 | ||
1878-1879 |
16 | 140 | ||
1880 |
16 | 141 | ||
1881 |
16 | 142 | ||
1882 |
16 | 143 | ||
1883 |
16 | 144 | ||
1884 |
16 | 145 | ||
1885 |
16 | 146 | ||
1886 |
16 | 147 | ||
1887-1900 |
17 | 148-161 | ||
1901-1913 |
18 | 162-174 | ||
1914-1925 |
19 | 175-186 | ||
1926-1936 |
20 | 187-197 | ||
|
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Series 3: Miscellaneous |
||||
Subseries 3.1: Photographs |
||||
box | folder | |||
Austin Mires, 20 years old |
21 | 198 | ||
Austin Mires as Supreme Court Judge, with negative |
21 | 199 | ||
Austin Mires, 84 years old, with negative |
21 | 200 | ||
Austin Mires' first home in Ellensburg |
21 | 201 | ||
Austin Mires fishing |
21 | 202 | ||
Mrs. Mary L. Mires, with negative |
21 | 203 | ||
University of Michigan Law Class of 1882 40 individual photographs, many autographed |
21 | 204 | ||
U. S. Supreme Court 9 photographs |
21 | 205 | ||
3 Group photographs, circa 1882 |
21 | 206 | ||
Alpheus Felch |
21 | 207 | ||
House of Representatives, 1921 |
21 | 208 | ||
Territorial Capitol (in oversize case) |
21 | 209 | ||
Graduation picture, Class of 1882 (in oversize case) |
21 | 210 | ||
Geddis Block, Mires' Office |
21 | 210a | ||
Subseries 3.2: Newspaper Clippings |
||||
box | folder | |||
Unidentified list |
21 | 211 | ||
Articles of deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Austin Mires |
||||
box | folder | |||
Seattle Times, March 4, 1936 |
21 | 212 | ||
Ellensburg Evening Record, March 4, 1936 |
21 | 212 | ||
an unidentified clipping, 1940 |
21 | 212 | ||
box | folder | |||
Picture of Mires as first mayor of Ellensburg, undated |
21 | 213 | ||
Subseries 3.3: Essays and Writings of Austin Mires |
||||
box | folder | |||
Eloquence of Jesus Christ |
22 | 214 | ||
My first trip to Ruby City and the Okanogan Mines |
22 | 215 | ||
A trip to the head of Nigger Creek |
22 | 216 | ||
A hunting trip to Government Meadows |
22 | 217 | ||
A little trip across an Empire |
22 | 218 | ||
A trip to Lake Wapsus |
22 | 219 | ||
An auto trip from Ellensburg, Washington to Southern Oregon |
22 | 220 | ||
A short hunting trip to Crab Creek |
22 | 221 | ||
A trip to Oregon |
22 | 222 | ||
My first trip across the Cascade Mountains |
22 | 223 | ||
A trip to Upper Naches and Echo Lake |
22 | 224 | ||
A trip up the Chewawa River |
22 | 225 | ||
The Umpqua River |
22 | 226 | ||
The Calapooia River |
22 | 227 | ||
A short hunting trip in my early youth |
22 | 228 | ||
Some old Umpqua and Oregon history |
22 | 229 | ||
Some recollections gold. Umpqua Academy. OHQ Reprint. Vol 19, 1918, p. 38-48 |
22 | 229a | ||
A. W. Purdy |
22 | 230 | ||
The Roslyn Bank Robbery |
22 | 231 | ||
Tribute to my law partner, C. V. Warner |
22 | 232 | ||
An address, George Washington, 1922 |
22 | 233 | ||
The Republican Party |
22 | 234 | ||
Candidacy for State Representative, 1918 |
22 | 235a | ||
Patriotism, Ms; Marriage, Ms, 1895 |
22 | 236a | ||
The Nanum Mystery |
22 | 237a | ||
Swauk, Umpqua Academy address, June 6, 1920 |
22 | 238a | ||
Subseries 3.4: Documents and Diplomas |
||||
box | folder | |||
Washington State Bar Association Proceedings, 1897 |
23 | 235 | ||
Proceedings of the Washington Irrigation Institute, November 18-19, 1937 |
23 | 236 | ||
Judicial articles - Constitutional Convention, Ms., 1889 |
23 | 237 | ||
Vote by precincts for members of the Constitutional Convention, 1889 |
23 | 238 | ||
Committee on Water Rights - Constitutional Convention, Ms., July, 1889 |
23 | 239 | ||
Address of Austin Mires - President, Washington State Bar Association |
23 | 240 | ||
Names contributing to testimonial presented to Austin Mires, December 15, 1898 |
23 | 241 | ||
Appointment of Austin Mires as 12th Census Supervisor for Washington's Second District, by President McKinley., December 12, 1899 |
23 | 242 | ||
Bachelor of Law Degree, University of Michigan, 1882 |
23 | 243 | ||
Certificate of Law of the Supreme Court of Michigan, 1881 |
23 | 244 | ||
Certificate from Umpqua Academy, 1876 |
23 | 245 | ||
Articles of Constitutional Convention, 1889 |
23 | 246 | ||
Subseries 3.5: Scrapbooks |
||||
box | folder | |||
Scrapbook No. 4 |
24 | 247 | ||
Political scrapbook (1935), 1888-1900 |
24 | 248 | ||
Eulogies |
24 | 249 | ||
Letters related to U. S. Census (1930), 1900 |
24 | 250 | ||
Old Letters (1935), 1880-1900 |
24 | 251 | ||
Letters (birthday), 1918-1923 |
24 | 252 | ||
Related to the 70th and 80th birthdays of Austin Mires, 1922-1935 |
24 | 253 | ||
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