Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.
Join us at HistoryLunch on September 12th!
Four Seasons Seattle • 99 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101
Washington's forests have supported communities and been managed to meet human needs since time immemorial. Commercial logging brought significant change to NW forests in the mid-1800s. Over the past 200 years, how have human-forest relationships evolved?
Come to HistoryLunch to learn more aboutthe tremendous tale of timber!
Can't attend? You canmake a donationonlineto support HistoryLink.
Thank you!
This Week Then
8/24/2023
Parcels on the Go
On August 28, 1907, two teenage messengers named Jim Casey and Claude Ryan established their own delivery business in Seattle, which they operated out of the basement of a Pioneer Square saloon. Funded with a $100 loan from Casey's uncle, their American Messenger Service proved to be a huge success, and has since grown to become United Parcel Service – the largest package-delivery company in the world.
Within five years, Casey and Ryan's company employed 100 messengers and had purchased its first delivery vehicle – a Model T Ford. By 1919 it had expanded to San Francisco under the name UPS, and by 1930 covered the whole West Coast and New York City. The company eventually moved its headquarters to California, then to New York, then to Atlanta, but members of the Casey family became generous philanthropists in their hometown through the creation of Casey Family Programs, a nationally operating foundation based in Seattle that focuses on foster care and child welfare.
Fires Down Below
On August 24, 1894, fire broke out in the Oregon Improvement Co. coal mine at Franklin, a small coal town southeast of Black Diamond. The men working below rushed to the main shaft, desperate to escape the smoke and flames. Some made it out, others didn't. In the end, 37 miners suffocated in King County's worst coal mining disaster, second only in the state to an explosion and fire in the Roslyn mines that killed 45 men two years earlier.
But the increase in production came with a price. Fires and explosions took the lives of many workers. Four died in Newcastle in 1894. Eleven died in McKay in 1902. Seven died in Black Diamond in 1907. Ten died in Roslyn in 1909. Sixteen died in Black Diamond in 1910. Thirty-one died in Ravensdale in 1915. And countless others died alone in accidents down in the dark depths.
News Then,History Now
Pickett's Intent
On August 26, 1855, U.S. Army Captain George Pickett arrived in Whatcom County to begin construction of Fort Bellingham. The fort wasn't there long, as pieces of it were moved to San Juan Island in response to the 1859 Pig War. In 1861 – after his home state of Virginia seceded from the Union – Pickett resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and joined the Confederacy's forces. He rose to the rank of major general but is most remembered for "Pickett's Charge," a disastrous assault on the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg that marked the South's last invasion of the North.
Norway Event
On August 30, 1909, the Viking, a replica longship constructed by a Norwegian American boatbuilder, Sivert Sagstad, landed at Seattle's Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in celebration of Norway Day. The boat sailed to California in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, and later ended up in Balboa Park, where it was destroyed by fire in 1936.
Where the Trains Went
On August 28, 1911, South Cle Elum incorporated in Kittitas County. Located across the Yakima River from the larger city of Cle Elum, South Cle Elum owes its start to the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad (Milwaukee Road) which arrived in 1908 and built a depot, roundhouse, and rail yard. The burgeoning community quickly became a bustling rail center and division point, which led to its incorporation.
A Change in Plans
On August 27, 1914, a restaurant fire in Shelton spread and wiped out most of the city's downtown. When news of the blaze reached Mayor Mark Reed – who was in Seattle on business – his chauffeur drove the 100 miles of mostly unpaved roads back to Shelton in just under three hours.
Notable Spans
On August 26, 1956, the Skagit River Bridge opened north of Mount Vernon. It made national news in 2013, when it collapsed after being struck by a truck. This week also marks the August 28, 1962, opening of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge – which has since been replaced – and the August 27, 1966, opening of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, the longest continuous three-span, through-truss bridge in the world.
Rock and Roll Fans
On August 30, 1968, hordes of hippies descended on Sultan near the Skykomish River for the Sky River Rock Festival, one of America's first multi-day, outdoor rock concerts. The event lost money, but it was so much fun that another festival was held exactly one year later in Tenino, which more than 25,000 attended.
On August 30, 1914, the tugboat Lorne and the barge America (formerly a sailing bark) foundered on the rocks on the west side of San Juan Island and sank.
Quote of the Week
"Determined people working together can do anything."