Guide to the Photographs of Ezra Meeker
ca. 1880-1928

Biographical Note

Ezra Meeker was an early Washington State pioneer who trekked across the country by way of ox cart on the Oregon Trail. He was born December 29, 1830, in Huntsville, Ohio, to Jacob and Phoebe Meeker. By the time he was ten years old, the family had relocated to Indiana, near Indianapolis. In 1851, Meeker married his childhood sweetheart, Eliza Jane Sumner. Meeker, his wife, and his newborn son left Iowa for Oregon in 1852, arriving in the Puget Sound area the next year. They settled permanently in Puyallup in 1862, where Meeker established a successful hop-raising business. He and his family lived in a tiny cabin for the next 26 years. Eliza Jane planted an ivy vine at one corner of the cabin in 1864, and it flourished, providing shade for the home. It was still there years later when the cabin walls finally rotted away, long after the Meekers had moved into their new home, the "Meeker Mansion." The citizens of Puyallup, grateful for Meeker's gift of his land as a park (Pioneer Park), decided to preserve the vine as a part of the town's heritage, and provided a concrete pergola to support the vines. The ivy-covered pergola stands where the Meeker cabin once stood.

At 76 years old, Meeker became a national celebrity when he loaded up his ox cart and followed the Oregon Trail to the east. Along the way he gave speeches, encouraging the preservation of the Oregon Trail route. The expedition was such a success that Meeker undertook the journey once again in 1910. Meeker also wrote a book on the trail and convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside money for trail preservation. In later years, he made the trip by automobile, train, and even airplane. Meeker continued to promote the Oregon Trail until his death at age 98.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of portraits of Ezra Meeker, as well as photographs of him with other Northwest pioneers. In addition, there are photographs of Meeker in various Puyallup locations, along with images documenting his efforts to gain support for the preservation of the Oregon Trail.

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open to the public.

Processing Info

Processed by Rebekah Dalby, August, 2002.

This collection was originally housed in the repository's Portrait File.

Inventory

Folder

Item

Date

Ezra Meeker

1

1

"Hon Ezra Meeker, Puyallup, W.T."

Lithograph.

2

Ezra Meeker

3

Ezra Meeker

Photographer: Edward S. Curtis Studios

The Curtis studio was located in the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.

Box/Folder

Item

OS 1

4

Ezra Meeker and note from Ezra Meeker    OVERSIZE

Oct. 10, 1916

OS 2

5

Ezra Meeker    OVERSIZE

1927

Photographer: Latimer, H. A.

Folder

Item

1

6

Painting of Ezra Meeker by Kathleen Houlahan

Photograph of the painting. The original hangs in the reading room of the Special Collections division.

7

Ezra Meeker

8

Ezra Meeker

Photographer: McBride Studio (Seattle, Wash.)

9

Pallbearers carrying the casket of Ezra Meeker

Dec., 1928

John E. Ayer identified as one of the pallbearers.

Folder

Item

Date

Ezra Meeker with other Northwest pioneers

2

10-11

Ezra Meeker, Clarence Bagley, and George Himes at dedication ceremony for Oregon Trail Marker

July, 1919

12

Ezra Meeker, David Longmire, and George Himes at dedication ceremony for Oregon Trail Marker

July, 1919

13

Ezra Meeker, David Longmire, and George Himes with group at dedication ceremony for Oregon Trail Marker

July, 1919

14

Ezra Meeker, Scott Himes, and Rolf Granger

Meeker is third from left, Himes is on Meeker's immediate left, and Granger is on Himes's immediate left.

15

Group of men and women in front of house

Sitting (L to R): Mrs. Woolesy, Mrs. Dunlap, Mrs. Meeker, Mrs. Boatman, Mrs. Rogers. Standing (L to R): Unknown, George Bird, Ezra Meeker, Willis Boatman, Mr. Rogers.

Folder

Item

Date

Ezra Meeker and Puyallup locations

3

16

Ezra Meeker and others at site where Meeker's cabin once stood, Pioneer Park, Puyallup, Washington

17

Ezra Meeker at site where his cabin once stood, Pioneer Park, Puyallup, Washington

18

"The big ivy," planted by Ezra Meeker at site of his former home, now Pioneer Park, Puyallup,Washington

19

30 year old sequoia tree on Ezra Meeker homestead

20

Ezra Meeker ranch, Puyallup, Washington

1890

Photographer: Haynes, J. F.

21a

Ezra Meeker in front of statue of himself by Alonzo Victor Lewis, Pioneer Park, Puyallup, Washington

Photographer: Griffin (Puyallup, Wash.)

M270a

21b

Ezra Meeker and audience at dedication of Meeker statue, Pioneer Park, Puyallup, Washington    OVERSIZE

Sept. 14, 1926

Panoramic Cirkut photograph

Folder

Item

Ezra Meeker and Fort Nisqually

3

22

Ezra Meeker and man at 1833 site of Fort Nisqually

23

Ezra Meeker in front of Hudson Bay Company Warehouse (built 1844), Fort Nisqually, Tacoma

Folder

Item

Date

Promoting Oregon Trail preservation

4

24

Ezra Meeker and another man in front of Oregon Trail monument, Baker City, Oregon

ca. 1910

25

Oxen "Twist" and "Dave"

26

Ezra Meeker with ox cart and dog on Oregon Trail

ca. 1910

Photographer: Curtis, Asahel

27

Ezra Meeker and his oxcart with two men, "Mardon" and "Sim," at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas

1911

28

Ezra Meeker and boy scouts in front of sign marking end of Oregon Trail

ca. 1910-1911

29

Ezra Meeker and Mardon with ox cart

ca. 1910-1911

30

Ezra Meeker (composite photograph with Theodore Roosevelt added) in front of ox cart and large building

ca. 1910-1914

31

Ezra Meeker with other men and American flag standing in front of the Washington State capitol building, Olympia, Washington

ca. 1910-1914

Photographer: Collier

32

Ezra Meeker standing on ox cart amidst a crowd of people, Tenino, Washington

1913

Photographer: McKee

33

Ezra Meeker and child "Kay," Olympia, Washington

May 19, 1914

34

Ezra Meeker's ox cart, Olympia, Washington

ca. 1914

Subject Terms

Personal Names:

Meeker, Ezra, 1830-1928--Photographs.

Subjects:

Historic preservation--United States.

Historic sites--Northwest, Pacific--Photographs.

Historic sites--West (U.S.)--Photographs.

Pioneers--Northwest, Pacific--Photographs.

Geographic Names:

Oregon National Historic Trail--Photographs.

Pioneer Park (Puyallup, Wash.)--Photographs.

Puyallup (Wash.)--Photographs.