Mary Ann Conklin: Demon in Petticoats

It’s episode 6, and we’re heading back to the muddy streets of 1850s Seattle to meet Mary Ann “Mother Damnable” Conklin, the woman who ruled a rough port town with a sharper tongue than any sailor. She ran Seattle’s first hotel, cursed in six languages, and scared even the Navy into retreat. Some called her a madam, others a witch, but everyone remembered her. And when she died, locals swore her body turned to stone, as if even death couldn’t silence her. Mary Ann Conklin: Demon in Petticoats is the story of Seattle’s most unforgettable woman, who was fierce, funny, and far too stubborn to stay buried.

References

Atlas Obscura. (n.d.). The damnable dames who helped shape Seattle’s character. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-damnable-dames-who-helped-shape-seattles-character

Find a Grave. (n.d.). Mary Ann Conklin (1821–1873). Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5103826/mary_ann-conklin

HistoryLink.org. (n.d.). Mother Damnable (Mary Ann Conklin). In HistoryLink: The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.historylink.org/

Library of Congress. (n.d.). Chronicling America: Historic American newspapers. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). (n.d.). Seattle collections: Photographs and manuscripts. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://mohai.org/

Pacific Northwest Quarterly. (various years). Articles on early Seattle social and cultural history. University of Washington Press.

Seattle Public Library. (n.d.). Special Collections: Seattle Room digital collections. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://spl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15015coll4/id/3649/

Seattle Times & Seattle Post-Intelligencer archives. (1880s–1920s). Historical newspaper archives. Available via Newspapers.com and other databases.

Speidel, W. C. (1967). Sons of the profits: The story of Seattle and its first businessmen (Rev. ed.). Nettle Creek Publishing.

The Stranger. (2013, March 6). The madam who turned to stone. Retrieved from https://www.thestranger.com/features/2013/03/06/16170221/the-madam-who-turned-to-stone

University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections. (n.d.). Digital collections: Pioneer reminiscences and early Seattle materials. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections

Washington State Archives. (n.d.). Territorial records, King County and Thurston County. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives

Washington State Historical Society. (n.d.). Research center and collections. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.washingtonhistory.org/