Skip to main content

Lola Greene Baldwin collection

 Collection
Identifier: Coll 388

Scope and Contents

Papers of Lola Greene Baldwin, Portland, Oregon's first policewoman, compiled by Marian E. Hays. Collection includes biographical materials; family papers; clippings; photographs; correspondence; and reports, including War Department reports (1915-1918) for the West Coast (Section 7) of the Commission on Training Camp Activities, Section on Women and Girls. Also included are a letter by Azalia E. Peet smuggled out of wartime Japan in 1939; materials relating to the Albertina Kerr Center; and two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings (1905-1962).

Dates

  • Creation: 1827-1995

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical note

Lola Greene Baldwin moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband, LeGrand Baldwin, in 1904, and quickly found unpaid work organizing Portland's Juvenile Court and with the YWCA Travelers' Aid program during the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. She used her experience and connections to deftly create an unprecedented full-time paid position with the Portland Police Department as supervisor of the Women's Protective Division from 1908 until her retirement in 1922. As the nation's first policewoman, she contributed in numerous ways to efforts to improve social and moral conditions for women and girls. Baldwin drew from years of volunteer investigative experience with charitable organizations on the East Coast and her earlier career as a teacher. During World War I, Lola Baldwin supervised the West Coast (Section 7) of the War Department Commission on Training Camp Activities, Section on Women and Girls, reporting on social conditions and vice control near military camps. In her retirement, Baldwin remained an ardent advocate for women.

Extent

0.56 Cubic Feet (2 document cases)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Papers, photographs, and scrapbooks of Lola Greene Baldwin, Portland, Oregon's first policewoman, compiled by Marian E. Hays.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Lib. Acc. 26372.

Title
Guide to the Lola Greene Baldwin collection
Status
Completed
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240