Olympic Peninsula Community Museum - Online Exhibit

In a remote part of the Olympic Peninsula there was once a tiny seaport community called Mora, known as Akt’sot’ to the Quileute, referring to a place where there is a riffle in the water. Mora is located a mile from the mouth of the Quillayute River at its confluence with the Dickey River or Dickodochteda, meaning muddy water in Quileute. Across the river, the Quileute Indian Reservation at LaPush was established by Executive Order in 1889 to accommodate the people indigenous to the 700,000 acres of surrounding territory.

Fannie Taylor came to Mora in 1909. After leaving Deadwood, South Dakota in 1905, the Taylor household first settled at Keyport, Washington. Upon moving to Mora, Fannie took over the postmistress position from Minnie Erickson on April 1, and continued as postmistress until 1924. Fannie's daughter Tealie served as postmaster from 1924, while her mother taught school on the Navajo Reservation for the Indian Service, until Fannie became postmistress again in 1937. The post office was discontinued on September 30, 1942, as a result of the area being purchased under the Public Works Administration, eventually to be added to Olympic National Park.

Besides serving as postmaster, Fannie operated the store and overnight accommodations at Mora. A few of her diaries, written from 1914 to 1922, have been preserved and donated to Olympic National Park by Doreen Taylor, the wife of Fannie's grandson. In her diaries Fannie describes the day to day activities of community life, such as interactions with road builders, miners, Quileute neighbors, the stage and mail drivers, and the occasional tourist. Fannie was an exceptional photographer, and Doreen Taylor has donated Fannie's panoramic photographs to the Museum and Art Center of Sequim and Dungeness Valley and her other photos to Olympic National Park.


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	In a remote part of the Olympic Peninsula there was once a tiny seaport community called Mora, known as Akt’sot’ to the Quileute, referring to a place where there is a riffle in the water. Mora is located a mile from the mouth of the Quillayute River at its confluence with the Dickey River or *Dickodochteda*, meaning muddy water in Quileute. Across the river, the Quileute Indian Reservation at LaPush was established by Executive Order in 1889 to accommodate the people indigenous to the 700,000 acres of surrounding territory. Fannie Taylor came to Mora in 1909. After leaving Deadwood, South Dakota in 1905, the Taylor household first settled at Keyport, Washington. Upon moving to Mora, Fannie took over the postmistress position from Minnie Erickson on April 1, and continued as postmistress until 1924. Fannie's daughter Tealie served as postmaster from 1924, while her mother taught school on the Navajo Reservation for the Indian Service, until Fannie became postmistress again in 1937. The post office was discontinued on September 30, 1942, as a result of the area being purchased under the Public Works Administration, eventually to be added to Olympic National Park. Besides serving as postmaster, Fannie operated the store and overnight accommodations at Mora. A few of her diaries, written from 1914 to 1922, have been preserved and donated to Olympic National Park by Doreen Taylor, the wife of Fannie's grandson. In her diaries Fannie describes the day to day activities of community life, such as interactions with road builders, miners, Quileute neighbors, the stage and mail drivers, and the occasional tourist. Fannie was an exceptional photographer, and Doreen Taylor has donated Fannie's panoramic photographs to the Museum and Art Center of Sequim and Dungeness Valley and her other photos to Olympic National Park.