ELIZA JANE'S DREAM HOME
Explore Meeker Mansion
with Tea and sweets
Eliza Jane Day honors Puyallup's first lady and invites guests to stroll through her Italianate-style Victorian mansion while enjoying complimentary tastings of tea.
Inspired by the Victorian era, Eliza Jane worked with renowned architects, Farrell and Darmer, to design a modern home with indoor plumbing and hot and cold running water on the first and second floors. It was the first of it's kind in Puyallup at the time. Though originally plumbed for gas, Ezra and Eliza Jane also installed electrical wiring to prepare the home for the convenience of heat and light at the flip of a switch. Transition lighting fixtures enabled them to swap between gas and electric power as needed.
Eliza Jane then turned her eye towards the Mansion's interior finishing touches. Unique specialty woods were included in the theme of each room, along with hand carved mantles and Encostic ceramic tile designs that inspired hand painted ceilings and room colors. Experienced craftsmen milled intricate trim work that complimented artisan stained glass throughout the home.
Built to withstand time, Meeker Mansion has always welcomed family and friends. So invite your mom and sisters, or schedule a girl's day out, and visit the Meeker's home. Suffragette attired docents will lead guest tours created to honor Eliza Jane Meeker, a wonderful hostess in her role as 1st lady of Puyallup.
ELIZA JANE (SUMNER) MEEKER
A principled woman who loved
her husband and family.
Eliza Jane believed women should have the right to vote and was a leader of the Puyallup chapter of suffragettes. Our volunteer docents for this event will be dressed as suffragettes in honor of her leadership for women's rights.
She was an independent woman of substance and integrity who loved to grow flowers and vegetables. She was passionate about literacy and enthusiastically created Puyallup's first Library. A list of her first printed offerings for check-out can been seen in the first floor library of the Mansion.
Ezra considered her an equal partner who not only supported him on their arduous trek over the Oregon Trail, she assisted him with various business endeavors, including brokering hops for the Puyallup Valley farmers and his business in the Yukon during the gold rush. Eliza Jane was a very private person and ultimately instructed Ezra to destroy her letters and journals before her death. Ezra honored her wishes leaving very few items in her handwriting. Ezra eloquently described his love and respect for her in his final tribute to her at her memorial service. He then spent the next 20 years of his life memorializing their trip across the Oregon Trail and the subsequent development of the West coast.
Join us as we celebrate her life as a fine example of wife, mother, sister and community leader. You will inspired.
