The Pioneering Female Physician of Seattle
Dr. S. D. Hewes, the first woman graduate in medicine to establish a practice in the Washington Territory, brings a decade of experience to the frontier.
Mrs. S. D. Hewes, M. D., Homoeopathist. Being the First Lady Graduate in Medicine, offers her services to the people of Seattle and the North Pacific Coast. Mrs. Doctor Hewes comes West after ten years of constant and successful practice. Will open her house to the sick. Mothers can find a home, with the best medical attendance during confinement, and patients for general medical treatment. Will treat the sick by letter, and fill orders for medicine by mail or express. Residence on Union Street, between Fourth and Fifth.
“Mrs. Doctor Hewes comes West after ten years of constant and successful practice. Will open her house to the sick.”
In 1871, a female physician was a groundbreaking sight in Seattle, operating in a world dominated by male practitioners. Today, while medicine is far more equitable, the struggle for accessible, localized healthcare remains a central issue in the rapidly densifying downtown blocks where Dr. Hewes once practiced.
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