Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Gates family papers, 1888-1996
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Gates family
- Title
- Gates family papers
- Dates
- 1888-1996 (inclusive)18881996
- Quantity
- 3 linear feet.
- Collection Number
- XOE_CPNWS0050gates (collection)
- Summary
- The Gates family papers comprise articles and clippings, personal papers and photographs of a prominant Bellingham family. Collection materials were generated by businessman Cyrus and Mabel Huntoon Gates, and their children: Frances Ellen, Cyrus Kingsley, and Katherine Elizabeth.
- Repository
-
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
A prominent Bellingham businessman and civic figure, Cyrus Gates moved from Vermont to Fairhaven, Washington in 1890 to work as private secretary for C.X. Larrabee. Gates became actively involved in various Larrabee business enterprises, holding part-ownership in the Roslyn-Cascade Coal Company, and serving as Secretary-Treasurer of the Pacific Realty Company until his death on January 13, 1927. Gates donated large amounts of time, money and land to civic and commercial development of the Fairhaven District and Chuckanut Drive. He was especially interested in the development of the city park system. Gates was survived by his wife Mabel Huntoon Gates and their three children: Frances Ellen, Cyrus Kingsley and Katherine Elizabeth. In 2004, the City of Bellingham purchased Woodstock Farm, the Gates’ family home along Chuckanut Bay, as a city park.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Gates family papers comprise personal papers, photographs, and albums and scrapbooks spanning the period 1888-1996. Personal papers include articles and clippings, and papers generated by individual members of the Gates family. Cyrus Gates' papers include correspondence from Charles X. Larrabee encouraging his 1890 move from Vermont to Fairhaven, Washington. The collection also contains a small amount of material generated by Cyrus Gates’ wife, Mabel Huntoon Gates and their children: Frances Ellen, Cyrus “Cy” Kingsley, and Katherine “Betty” Elizabeth Gates. The bulk of the collection comprises photographs of the Gates family and friends, including images taken by Mabel Gates' brother, photographer Bert W. Huntoon, and images of Woodstock Farm, the Gates’ family home on Inspiration Point along Chuckanut Bay. There are also photograph albums and scrapbooks related to Mabel Huntoon Gates and her sister, Grace Huntoon Sheerer, as well as Cyrus Gates, which include photographs, personal papers, and news clippings.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Gates family papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The Gates family papers are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:
- Series I. Personal Papers, 1890-1977
- Series II. Photographs, 1899-1991
- Series III. Photograph Albums and Scrapbooks, 1888-1994
Processing Note
The papers came to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies with no internal order. Center staff organized the Gates materials into two series: Personal Papers and Photographs of the Gates family. In November 2005 Emiley Jensen re-engineered the finding aid.
Processing Note
About Harmful Language and ContentTo learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content
Related Materials
The Larrabee family papers at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies include business correspondence generated by Cyrus Lester Gates through his work for C.X. Larrabee.
Custodial History
Collection formally donated by Barbara Sheerer Morris in 2017.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series I: Personal Papers, 1890-1996 Return to Top
Personal papers include correspondence from C.X. Larrabee to Cyrus Gates, encouraging his move from Vermont to Fairhaven, Washington in 1890. Cyrus Kingsley Gates' papers also include correspondence with Robert B. Thomas (author of Chuckanut Chronicles), Mary Bourque (daughter of C.X. Larrabee) and Consuelo Larrabee regarding local and family history.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Articles and Clippings re: Gates family |
1923; 1929; 1937; undated |
Cyrus Gates
|
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/2 | C.X Larrabee correspondence |
1890 |
| 1/3 | Resolutions upon his death |
1927 |
| 1/4 | Obituaries |
1927 |
Cyrus Kingsley Gates
|
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/5 | Correspondence (Incoming) |
1920-1990 |
| 1/6 | Correspondence (Outgoing) |
1990-1991; undated |
| 1/7 | Diary |
1918 |
| 1/8 | Diary (trip to Alaska) |
1920 |
| 1/9 | Fairhaven High School Yearbook Aurora
|
1919 |
| 1/10 | Fairhaven High School Memorabilia |
undated |
| 1/11 | First National Bank Checkbook |
undated |
| 1/12 | Fraternity membership card |
undated |
| 1/13 | Letter announcing Cy’s death |
1996 |
| 1/14 | Oregon State Agricultural College degree certificate |
1928 |
| 1/15 | St. John’s military academy - commencement program |
1923 |
| 1/16 | St John’s military academy - rowing crew badge |
undated |
Frances Ellen Gates (McCord)
|
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/17 | Baby Book |
1900-1901 |
| 1/18 | Bellingham Public School – First Grade Report |
1907 |
| 1/19 | Correspondence (Incoming) re: Chuckanut Bay Property |
1977 |
| 1/20 | Marriage Service and certificate |
1923 |
| 1/21 | Neale Bennett McCord (husband)- High School Yearbooks El Archivero
|
1916; 1919 |
Mabel Huntoon Gates
|
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/22 | Correspondence (Incoming) |
1900; 1927 |
| 1/23 | Eldridge Family card and wedding invitation |
1920 |
| 1/24 | Washington State Teaching Certificate |
1897 |
Series II: Photographs, 1890-1991Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/25 | Cyrus Gates |
1899; undated |
| 1/26 | Cyrus Kingsley Gates |
circa 1909-1929 |
| 1/27 | Cyrus Kingsley Gates |
circa 1929-1991 |
| Oversize Folder | ||
| 1 | Cyrus Kingsley Gates |
circa 1910s |
| 1 | Frances Ellen Gates |
circa 1920s |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/28 | Frances Ellen Gates |
circa 1901- 1920s |
| 1/29 | Katherine Elizabeth Gates |
undated; 1936 |
| Oversize Folder | ||
| 1 | Katherine Elizabeth Gates |
circa 1936 |
| 1 | Mabel Huntoon Gates |
circa 1890 |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/30 | Mabel Huntoon Gates |
1898-1899; undated |
| 1/31 | Gates Family Photographs |
1900-1929; undated |
| 1/32 | Gates family friends |
circa 1920s |
| 1/33 | Unidentified people and places |
undated |
| 1/34 | Chuckanut Bay area |
undated |
| 1/35 | North Cascade and Mt. Baker region (Huntoon photos) |
1923; 1925 |
| 1/36 | Woodstock Farm |
1915-1917; 1923; 1935 |
Series III: Photograph Albums and Scrapbooks, 1888-1994Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/1 | Grace Huntoon / Mabel Huntoon Gates binder with
photographs and miscellaneous documents
Assembled by Barbara Sheerer Morris and Tim Wahl.
|
circa 1888-1920s |
| 2/2 | Grace Huntoon Sheerer scrapbook with photographs and
news clippings
Includes items of interest to a young female student (the compiler) of the State
Normal School in Bellingham and University of Washington. Photos of women's bicycling,
sailing and picnic outings to Marietta and Chuckanut, etc. Social column clippings
from newspapers.
|
circa 1890s-1907 |
| 2/3 | "Around the Old Home Town" photograph album made for
Betty Gates by Bert Huntoon
Album contents include references to Woodstock as "Our Home..." reflecting the
Huntoon's role as elders to their niece, Betty Gates Brooks Clark, after the death of
her father.
|
1923 |
| 2/4 | Cyrus L. Gates binder with family photographs and
miscellaneous documents
Assembled by Barbara Sheerer Morris and Tim Wahl.
|
circa 1890-1994 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Personal Names
- Brooks, Katherine Elizabeth Gates. (creator)
- Gates, Cyrus --1858-1927. (creator)
- Gates, Cyrus Kingsley -- 1905-1995. (creator)
- Gates, Mabel Huntoon. (creator)
- McCord, Frances Ellen Gates -- 1900- (creator)
Family Names
- Gates family --Archives (creator)
Geographical Names
- Fairhaven (Bellingham, Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
- Woodstock Farm (Bellingham, Wash.) -- History -- Sources -- Photographs.
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Huntoon, Bert W. -- 1869-1947. (creator)
Finding aid prepared by Emiley Jensen.
2006
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
