The Yolo County Historical Collection at the Gibson House has received the writing desk of Emily Hoppin. Photo courtesy of Yolo County

WOODLAND, CA (MPG) - The Yolo County Historical Collection at the Gibson House has received the writing desk of Emily Hoppin, a Woodland agriculturalist and activist whose work helped shape local civic life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hoppin’s descendants donated the desk to the Historical Collection in September.

Hoppin was born in Michigan in 1854 and moved to Yolo County after marrying Charles Rossiter Hoppin in 1875. She became active in women’s rights, agriculture and civic organizations. Her roles included president of the Yolo Women’s Christian Temperance Union, editor of the White Ribbon Ensign, vice president of the Farmers’ Protective Association, director of the Yolo County Chamber of Commerce and president of the California Federation of Women’s Clubs.

Hoppin wrote and delivered many speeches on women’s rights, agricultural labor rights and life as a farmer. Many of those speeches were written at this desk and are part of the Yolo County Historical Collection.

“The Hoppin descendants here in Woodland and across the country are delighted to return our Great-Grandmother’s writing desk back home to Yolo County from Michigan where it’s been for 50 years,” said Hoppin’s great-granddaughter Shirley DicKard, who is currently researching and writing her biography. “We know it will be well cared for, enabling future generations to appreciate the work Emily did at this desk as an early 1900s activist for prohibition, suffrage, farming and peace.”

Yolo County Museum Curator Sarah Bartlett said the desk will help the Historical Collection tell a fuller story of Yolo County and give local women’s history a permanent place in the Gibson House. The Yolo County Historical Collection plans to use the desk to help share the complex and diverse stories of women such as Hoppin with visitors.

For more information about the Yolo County Historical Collection, contact Sarah Bartlett at 530-908-9421 or [email protected]. For more information about Yolo County Library, visit YoloCountyLibrary.org or follow Yolo County Library on Facebook.