North End in Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

Emma Smith Devoe

1848 - 1927

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, October 25, 2016

1. Emma Smith Devoe Marker

Inscription. Emma Smith Devoe moved to Tacoma in 1905. She was President of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association and worked constantly to win the women's right to vote.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Women.

Location. 47° 16.491′ N, 122° 28.033′ W. Marker is in Tacoma, Washington, in Pierce County. It is in North End. Marker is at the intersection of North 30th Street and North Carr Street, on the right when traveling west on North 30th Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tacoma WA 98403, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jennie Jones (a few steps from this marker); Alice Maude Smith, M.D. (within shouting distance of this marker); Ester Allstrum (within shouting distance of this marker); Job Carr's Cabin (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); First House in Tacoma (about 300 feet away); Community Life in Old Tacoma (about 300 feet away); Our First Settlers (about 300 feet away); Tacoma City (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tacoma.

Also see . . . DeVoe, Emma Smith (1848-1927) (HistoryLink.org). Emma Smith DeVoe was a major figure in the American woman suffrage movement and a Republican
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Party activist. Although she spent the bulk of her political life in Washington state, she was also a paid suffrage worker on the national level, helping to bring about woman suffrage in Washington in 1910, and the Nineteenth Amendment granting the vote to all American women in 1920. The guiding principle of her campaigns was: “Always be good-natured and cheerful” (Ross-Nazzal, “Emma Smith DeVoe,” 76). Her efforts in Washington state were both effective and controversial. The 1909 conventions in Seattle of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association (WESA), of which she was president, and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), for which she was a paid organizer, brought to a head the controversies with the Eastern Washington clubs led by Spokane’s May Arkwright Hutton (1860-1915). Despite what some considered DeVoe’s heavy-handed leadership style, her overall contribution to the suffrage movement was extraordinary. After ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, DeVoe entered Republican Party politics, eventually rising to leadership positions on the state and national levels. (Submitted on November 3, 2016.)

Emma Smith Devoe Marker - Wide View, Looking East on North 30th Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, October 25, 2016

2. Emma Smith Devoe Marker - Wide View, Looking East on North 30th Street

The marker is visible here in the foreground, mounted in the sidewalk.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2016, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 383 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 3, 2016, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.