Mary Thompson (businesswoman) explained

Mary E. Thompson (died 1892) was one of the richest early African Americans in Seattle, Washington. She owned the Minnehaha Saloon, located at 319 Jackson street, which had a brothel upstairs.

Thompson reported died in Oakland, California.^[1] At the time of her death she owned real estate in Seattle and Butte, Montana. She also had a horse and carriage, an extensive jewellery collection, and $20,000 in cash. By the standards of the time, this made her quite wealthy.^[2]

Following Thompson's death, the Minnehaha Saloon was torn down in April 1894.^[3]

External links

• HistoryLink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington State History

Notes and References

1. "Very Peculiar Will: It provokes a Contest Among Negroes For a Saloon," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 18, 1893, pg 5.
2. Book: Quintard Taylor. Taylor. Quintard. The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle's Central District, from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era. 1994. University of Washington Press. Seattle, Washington. 978-0-295-97345-6. 30–31.
3. "Secret Halls and Rooms: Arrangement of an Opium Smoking Join Exposed," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 18, 1894, pg 8.