Eleanor Barrow Chase (1918-2002)

January 18, 2007

/ Contributed By: Janet Hauck

Eleanor Barrow Chase|

Eleanor Barrow Chase, a member of one of Spokane, Washington’s pioneer African American families, made many contributions to the city during her lifetime. Eleanor excelled in sports and academics, graduating magna cum laude from Whitworth College with a degree in vocal music in 1941. After graduation, Eleanor became a soloist at several downtown churches and later worked for the state as a case worker and probation officer. She served over a dozen organizations and institutions; among them her alma mater’s Board of Trustees. She also received numerous accolades, and was eventually presented the Golden Deeds Award by the city.

Eleanor and her husband, James, were life-long supporters of the NAACP. She was very proud of the fact that James was elected local NAACP president, as well as Spokane’s first African American mayor in 1980. As a native of Spokane she was an emphatic local booster. “I love the city of Spokane because of the wonderful people we have, and its great beauty in every way.” Today, the Eleanor Chase House stands as a women’s facility of the state Department of Corrections, named “in honor of Eleanor Elizabeth Barrow Chase, renowned community leader.”

Author Profile

Janet Hauck

Janet Hauck is the College Archivist at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington., having come to the college in 1999. She also teaches public history courses for the History and Continuing Studies Departments, and is involved with the Core 150 program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Seattle Pacific University, and a Master of Librarianship from the University of Washington. Janet has researched and written in the public history and archival fields, including such articles as, “The Whitworth Rock,” and such papers as, “‘To Consider the Propriety of Organizing a Church’: the Beginning of Calvary Baptist Church of Spokane, Washington.” She has received grants from NEH, NARA, OSPI, and the Washington State Library, and has administered numerous grant projects in the college archives. Part of her ongoing work has been the integration of archival primary source materials into existing college courses. Janet is proud of the fact that Whitworth is a contributing member of the Northwest Digital Archives project.

Categories:
African American History People

Tags:
20th Century (1900-1999) Civil Rights - NAACP Gender - Women United States - Washington

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CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Hauck, J. (2007, January 18). Eleanor Barrow Chase (1918-2002). BlackPast.org. https://new.blackpast.org/african-american-history/chase-eleanor-barrow-1918-2002/

Source of the Author's Information:

American Association of University Women. Spokane Branch. By the Falls: Women of Determination ”
(Spokane: American Association of University Women, 1989): Janet E. Hauck, ‘To Consider the Propriety of Organizing a Church’: the Beginning of Calvary Baptist Church of Spokane, Washington. Paper presented at the Association for African American Historic Research and Preservation Conference, Seattle, February 2005. See also: http://www.aaahrp.org/Abstracts/abstracts.html