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Fisher Flouring Mills officially opens on Harbor Island in Elliott Bay on June 1, 1911.

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On June 1, 1911, Fisher Flouring Mills celebrates its official opening. The two founding brothers, O. W. Fisher and O. D. Fisher, had begun mill operations in April. The Fisher mill is one of the first industrial businesses to open on Harbor Island, located in Elliott Bay at the mouth of the Duwamish waterway. Construction of the artificial island was completed in 1909.

In 1926, the Fishers founded a radio station (KOMO) and went on the air in part to advertise Fisher's Blend Flour. Another famous product was Fisher Scones, purveyed at fairs and festivals throughout the Northwest. The president of the Puyallup Fair, William Paulhamus, discovered the triangular shaped scones in 1915 at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. He debuted the scones at the Puyallup Fair the same year.

The flour milling firm acquired more stations and today (2002) is owner of 26 radio stations and 12 TV stations including KOMO-TV in Seattle. The firm owned (until September 2002) substantial real estate on Lake Union and continues to own property in downtown Seattle (Fisher Plaza on 4th Avenue), and in Kent and Auburn. In 2001, Fisher Communications, which remains a Seattle-based company, sold the flour mill to Pendleton Flour Mills, a firm based in Pendleton, Oregon. The flour business was losing money.

In July 2002, Pendleton put the historic Harbor Island property up for sale.

Sources:
Todd Bishop, "Historic Seattle Flour Mill To Be Closed," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 25, 2002 (www.seattlepi.com); "Fisher Concludes Sale of Flour Milling Business," News Release, April 30, 2001, Fisher Communications Website (http://www.fsci.com); Carole Beers, "William W. Warren, 87, Pioneer in Seattle TV, Radio Broadcasting," The Seattle Times January 16, 1999 (http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com); Fair Scones, Inc. Webpage (www.fairscones.com); "Fisher Completes Sale of Lake Union Properties," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 6, 2002, p. 1-C.

By Priscilla Long, August 28, 2002

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