Clara Cynthia Munson (June 16, 1861 – October 19, 1938) was an American politician who served as mayor of Warrenton,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and was the first woman elected mayor in Oregon during the 20th century. Her term lasted one year (1913–14) before she was succeeded by George Schmitz.

Biography

Clara Cynthia Munson was born on June 16, 1861, in Oysterville, Washington. Her father, Joel W. Munson, serviced the lighthouse at Cape Disappointment on the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

side of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

near present-day

Ilwaco Ilwaco ( ) is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 936 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1890, the city was home to the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company along the Long Beach Peninsula, with its core economy b ...

. Munson witnessed the ''Industry'' crash on the

Columbia River bar The Columbia Bar, also frequently called the Graveyard of the Pacific, is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It is known as one of the most dangerous bar crossings in ...

which resulted in the deaths of 17 of the ship's crew. Munson was unable to rescue the doomed seamen because the lighthouse was not equipped with a lifesaving boat. Later Munson worked at

Point Adams Light Point Adams Light was a lighthouse near the mouth of the Columbia River on the Oregon Coast of the United States. The lighthouse was designed by Paul J. Pelz, who also designed Point Adams's sister stations, Point Fermin Light in San Pedro, Calif ...

. Clara Munson attended St. Helens Hall in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, and graduated in 1880. Munson was an active member of the

Daughters of Rebekah The Daughters of Rebekah, also known as the Rebekahs and the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, is an international service-oriented organization and a branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Just like the Independent Order ...

. In 1900, Munson was involved in two cases before the

Clatsop County Clatsop County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. The county seat is Astoria. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of ...

Circuit Court, one in which she was the

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...

against

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but a ...

James M. Gillette and the other in which Munson was the

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

being sued by Susan B. Henderson. The Henderson case was over a debt allegedly owed to Henderson by Byron Kimball, whose estate was being administered by Munson. According to Henderson, she applied to Munson for wages owed, but the request was denied. The jury returned a

sealed verdict ''Sealed Verdict'' is a 1948 American adventure drama war film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Ray Milland and Florence Marly. Plot Maj. Robert Lawson (Ray Milland), a lawyer working in Germany as part of the American Army's tribunal for ...

in favor of the plaintiff awarding Henderson $1,200 of the $2,500 she had sought. In the May 18, 1904, edition of ''

The Daily Astorian ''The Astorian'', formerly known as ''The Daily Astorian'', is a newspaper, published in Astoria, Oregon, United States, established in 1873,

'', Munson was described as "''The Astorian's'' west side correspondent". In April 1908, she began her career in public service, temporarily acting as Warrenton's

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

while Mrs. Denver, the town's regular postmaster, was on vacation. Munson was nominated by the Citizens Ticket for Mayor of Warrenton during the town's 1912 municipal elections. Her opponent was J. W. Detrich, who was nominated as an independent candidate. Munson was the first woman to win elected office in Oregon following the state's

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

law taking effect. One-third of the electorate during the Warrenton municipal elections were women. Munson took office on January 2, 1913. After Munson's victory she began to be erroneously labeled as the first woman elected mayor in Oregon by sources including ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', the ''

East Oregonian The ''East Oregonian'' (''EO'') is a daily newspaper published in Pendleton, Oregon, United States and covering Umatilla and Morrow counties. The ''EO'' was the first-place winner of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association General Excellence ...

'' and ''The Daily Astorian''. However, Alice E. Burns was elected mayor of

Florence, Oregon Florence is a coastal city in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies at the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the Pacific Ocean and about midway between Newport and Coos Bay along U.S. Route 101. As of the 2020 census, the city had a to ...

, in 1895, part of an all-female ticket that won election to five local offices but all of whom were prevented from taking office because of state law preventing women from holding elected office. ''The Oregonian'' reported on December 20, 1912, that congratulatory

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

s were sent to Munson from as far as

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In addition to serving as mayor, Munson served as the school clerk for her district and was Warrenton's deputy postmaster. While visiting Portland in January 1913, Munson was interviewed by ''The Oregonian'' which quoted her as saying, "It's lots of fun to be mayor. There are surprises constantly and the duties of the office are not onerous. I fully appreciate the honor, as Warrenton is a city healthy morally and financially and there is no necessity to probe for

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption *Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...

or start a vice crusade. We are free from debt and it is mutually understood that we will incur no liabilities until the money is in sight to meet them. In my first message to the arrenton CityCouncil, I advocated the organization of a fire department, which will be carried out, and appointed an auditor, marshal and dyke inspector, but withheld the appointment of

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

as it is a useless expense. ..In politics I have been a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

all my life, but if I had a vote at the last presidential election I would have done as many of my male friends did and voted for oodrowWilson, in certain to make the defeat of heodoreRoosevelt." Munson was not in favor of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, telling the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

, "I am not a believer of prohibition as it is handled today, and did not believe it incumbent on me to interfere with local saloons so long as they were conducted in accordance with laws of the city, county and state." During the Warrenton municipal elections on December 18, 1913, George Schmitz was elected to succeed Munson who declined to run for re-election. Munson continued to stay active in public life, serving as the secretary of the Warrenton Civic Club in 1916 and as secretary of the Warrenton branch of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

throughout

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1921, she joined several coastal civic leaders, including her successor as Mayor of Warrenton George Schmitz, in advocating for a paved highway from Portland to Warrenton. Munson died on October 19, 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munson, Clara C. 1861 births 1938 deaths People from Pacific County, Washington Oregon Republicans Mayors of places in Oregon Women mayors of places in Oregon People from Warrenton, Oregon 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Oregon Episcopal School alumni

Biography

See also

References