May Arkwright

May Arkwright Hutton (July 21, 1860 – October 6, 1915) was a suffrage leader and labor rights advocate in the early history of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. She played a large role in Washington's women's suffrage movement.

Early life May Arkwright Hutton, who has been described as an orphan by some sources, is now often believed to have been illegitimate. She was raised by her paternal grandfather, Aza, in Washingtonville, Ohio. Aza, who was blind, enjoyed political meetings and May often accompanied him.

Mining In 1883, she moved to Idaho, where she owned and operated a boarding house in Kellogg. In 1887, she married Levi "Al" Hutton, one of her customers. They moved to Wallace, Idaho where she oversaw the dining hall of the Wallace Hotel and her husband worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad. May and Al were part of a group of miners that struck it rich when discovering a vast silver mine. When miners dynamited the Bunker Hill and Sullivan's mine concentrator in Wardner, Idaho, Al was the engineer of the train used to deliver the dynamite.

Al was arrested in connection to the destruction of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan's mine concentrator, and held in a stockade known as the "bull pen". He was soon released, but May continued to write letters to Governor Steunenberg of Idaho and to newspapers in the name of the Western Federation of Miners. She accused the Governor of taking bribes of up to $50,000 and being a traitor to the union cause.

In 1897, the Huttons invested in the successful Hercules silver mine. Hutton also supported an eight-hour work day and six-day workweek for women.

Suffrage movement Hutton was a supporter of the women's suffrage movement in Idaho. She met Abigail Scott Duniway and Emma Smith DeVoe there, and women gained the right to vote in Idaho in 1896. Hutton became a well-known suffrage leader in the Washington movement, but her outspoken style and unconventional behavior contrasted sharply with that of the more moderate DeVoe, a national suffrage organizer who was active in Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle. There was a great deal of conflict between the two, but they achieved their goal in 1910, when women regained the right to vote in Washington.

Hutton claimed to be the first woman from Spokane to register to vote after the 1910 election. Hutton and F. A. Fassett were the first two women to serve on a jury in Spokane County. After the election, Hutton focused on lobbying the state to enact an eight-hour workday for women. She gained significant press coverage at the national level and gave speeches in Ohio in favor of women's suffrage on the return trip.

Death and legacy The last year of her life, she was ill with Bright's disease. She was known to travel in her chauffeured Thomas Flyer to farm communities, meeting farmers and trying to make matches to keep single mothers and their children together.

In her memory, Al started the Hutton Settlement orphanage in the Spokane Valley.