Postmistress-Mora, Wash. 1914-1915: Journal Entries and Photographs of Fannie Taylor

The diaries of Fannie Taylor were written from 1914 to 1922 during her time at Mora, a community on the western edge of the Olympic Peninsula, now inside the boundaries of Olympic National Park. These entries have been transcribed from the original writings archived in the collections of Olympic National Park. Featured here are her diary entries of 1914 and 1915, -with few omissions. Fannie operated the store and overnight accommodations and served some meals, while also serving as postmaster at Mora. In her diaries Fannie describes the day to day activities of community life at Mora, and gives vivid descriptions of her homestead at Taylor Point, or ¿the ranche¿ as she called it. She kept a commentary of interactions with road builders, miners, Quileute and non-Indian neighbors, the stage and mail drivers, and the occasional tourist. A few details from her 1914 diary are supplemented with entries from her daughter Tealie¿s journal of that same time. To provide a visual perspective to Fannie¿s words, many of her photographs are included and identified whenever possible. Fannie was an aspiring photographer and her photographs presented along with her journal entries provide a unique portrait of life on the Washington coast in the early 1900s.