Gig Harbor Lumber Company

I have been quite interested in Gig Harbor Lumber Company since the early 1980s when I purchased a home in the Millville District of Gig Harbor.  So I have been researching on and off the 3 interrelated companies: Lumber, Logging, and Mill but it is very hard to find comprehensive information on them.    In fact, my home was owned from 1890 until 1897 by George M. Savage who was a pile driver and foreman for the GH Mill Company before he went off to become a very successful businessman first as a contractor in Olympia and then, in Tacoma as Savage & Scofield.

George Savage & Annie Sibley Savage

John Novak and Joseph Dorotich along with their spouses have named the area and platted the Town of Millville on June 23, 1888 after the Gig Harbor Mill which was located on the waterfront nearby.

“Along The Waterfront” complied and written by Students of 1974-75 at Goodman Middle School write on page 21, “…The first mill in Gig Harbor was established in 1887 on the west side of the harbor (platted as Millville).  It was called the Gig Harbor Mill Company, and Frank Hall (one of many settlers from Alberta Lea, Minnesota) was president.  ….The Gig Harbor Mill Company employed a large crew, and soon a shingle mill was built near it. ….Because of the growing industry, men drifted into town, and to house them, a group of rough cabins were built in the vicinity of Dorotich Street and Harborview Avenue.  This area became known as “Millville”.

”An Excellent Little Bay, A history of the Gig Harbor Peninsula” by J. A. Eckrom, tells us on page 64 that “The Gig Harbor mill had a wharf 450 ft. long and 80 ft. wide to handle the volume of lumber flowing to the ports of the world.”  Mr. Eckrom goes on to tell us on page 65 that “In November 1891 the West Coast Lumberman told its readers, “The Gig Harbor mill was sold under foreclosure sale to the Washington National Bank of Tacoma for approximately $23,000 (in 2014 = $605,360).  The purchasers contemplate reorganizing the company as soon as the title is settled, and expect to increase the capital stock to $100,000 (in 2014 = 2,500,000).  (Puget Sound Lumberman, January 1893, p.9.

And, lastly, published in an unknown publication and date (c. 1926) Anna Goodman Wheeler wrote the following:  “During the winter of 1887 and 88 the Gig Harbor Mill Co. was organized with Frank Hall of Alberta Lea as president.  A sawmill was erected on the South Side with George Atkinson as manager, he having previously served in that capacity in the Old Tacoma Mill.  Through his influence a number of vessels came to the harbor for cargoes of lumber, among them being the Republic which took a cargo of one million feet of lumber.  A shingle mill was built near the sawmill and it is due to this that Millville became so named.  Although it is now known as either West Side or South Side.  Near the mill a ship yard was erected which built the Steamer Alberta Lea that, used to make daily trips to and from Tacoma; also a large three-masted schooner called the Vine for Capt. John Burns of Tacoma.”

"Vine" built for GH Sawmill, launched 10/7/1890, commissioned by J. E. Burns, First load of Lumber

Ed Shannon, a columnist for the  Alberta Lea Tribune wrote the following on August 19, 2011: 

 

“The Alberta Lea Colony goes west

When museum volunteer Anita Lotts did the research on the local ties with the communities of Gig Harbor and Tacoma, Wash., she used the word colony for a group of area folks who moved to the Puget Sound region.

She made a list of 20 individuals and families who went west by railroad in the late 1880s.  Before these folks are listed, I want to stress that they did not go as a group.  Instead, they went at different times.  In some situations one person might go out west to check on the situation, then return to Alberta Lea for the rest of the family or friends.

Now here’s the list:  Dr. A. M. Burnham family, Hans E. Knatvold family, Major Frank Hall family, Powell family (Ida Hall), George A. Parker, Ed Parker family, Bunk Bickford family, A. H. Bartlett, J. H. Parker, Ozro Fobes, E. S. Prentice family, Cline Wannemaker, E. E. Budlong, George Hyatt, Capt. George T. Gardner, Gunder O. Gunderson family, Judge Ira A. Town family, Dr. M. M. Dodge family, L. P. Lock family and the Van Vechten family.

Some of these people went west to become a part of the operations of the Gig Harbor Lumber Co.  Several years later when the lumber firm went out of business, a few remained in Gig Harbor and the majority soon ended up in nearby Tacoma or other parts of western Washington.”

So it was of great interest to me when I obtained the incorporation documents from the State of Washington for the Gig Harbor Lumber Company and the Gig Harbor Logging Company showing they were incorporated in 1889.  I have been unable to find any documentation from Pierce County Archives of the State of Washington archives showing a license to operate prior to these articles of incorporation.  Still, I thought it might be of interest to be able to read those documents.  The mill is referenced in the Articles of Incorporation of the Gig Harbor Lumber Company (Article VI).  I realize that not everyone will find the Articles of Incorporation as interesting as i, but i still think they are important, and hopefully give a fuller picture of the companies.

We will start Gig Harbor Lumber Company filed on March 24th, 1888 and follow with Gig Harbor Logging Company filed on March 9th,1889. 

 _________________________________________________________________________

The capital at time of incorporation was $100,000 (or if converted to the dollar in 2014 that would be $2,500,000).

The Articles read as follows:

We, Francis Hall, Ozro B. Fobes and Ira A. Town from Pierce County, Washington Territory, and  Edward S. Prentice and James H. Parker of Freeborn County, State of Minnesota, do hereby associate ourselves together, and become a corporation under the laws of the Territory of Washington and the United States of America, and do hereby make execute and acknowledge in triplicate these Articles of Incorporation.

Article I.  The corporate name of the said company shall be and is Gig Harbor Lumber Company.

Article II.  The object for which the said corporation is formed is to lease, purchase, own, hold & sell Real Estate, to construct and operate one or more sawmills.  To buy and sell logs and lumber.  To manufacture lumber, to carry on logging business, to build or purchase or lease all such boats, vessels, wharfs and landings as may be necessary or convenient to carry on said business and to operate said boats overseas for the carriage of passengers & freight.  To buy or build and and all houses, stores or shops there may be necessary or convenient to carry on said business.  To buy & sell goods, wares and merchandize and particularly to buy and sell goods to supply the employees of said company.  To manufacture furniture such as blinds, moldings and any such all wood materials used in building and to erect & operate all mills necessary therefore.

Article III.  The amount of the capital stock of said corporation shares shall be One Hundred Thousand dollars, which shall be divided into one thousand shares of one hundred dollars each share, and which said capital stock may be increased in the manner provided by law to the amount of One Hundred and fifty Thousand dollars.

Article IV.  The time of the existence of said corporation shall be fifty years.

Article V.  The management of the concerns and affairs of said corporation shall be by a board of five trustees, who shall be elected at such times and in such manner as is and may be prescribed by law and provided by ByLaws hereafter to be enacted by said corporation, and for the period of six months from the date hereof.  The following named persons shall be and are the trustees of the said corporation to wit:

Frances Hall, Ozro B. Fobes, and Ira A. Town of Tacoma, Washington Territory, and Edward S. Prentice and James H. Parker of Alberta Lea, Freeborn County, State of Minnesota, all of whom are stockholders in the said corporation and citizens of the United States.

Article VI.  The location of the said mill and the operation of said manufacturing shall be at Gig Harbor, and at such other place as may be hereafter determined, and the general office and principle place of said corporation shall be at Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington Territory.

Signatures of all men were witnessed by Miles L. Clifford and E. S. Shull 

Notary Public:

Territory of Washington}

Pierce County              }

Be it known that on this 23rd day of March A.D. 1888 before me, a Notary Public in and for said Territory & County personally appeared Frances Hall, Ozro B. Fobes, Ira A. Town, Edward S. Prentice and James H. Parker each to me known to be the identical persons described in, and who executed the above and foregoing article of incorporation in triplicate, and they each acknowledge that they signed and sealed the same as their free and voluntary act and deed for the uses and purpose therein mentioned.

Miles L. Clifford, Notary Public

Filed and recorded at the request of Ira A. Town March 24th at 1:20 o’clock P.M.

Edward Huggins

Auditor Pierce County

W. T.

________________________________________________________________________________

The capital at time of incorporation was $20,000 (or if converted to the dollar in 2014 that would be $500,000).

____________________________________________________________

Know all men by these presents; that we George E. Atkinson and James H. Parker of Tacoma, Francis Hall, M. J. Darling and George T. Gardner, of Gig Harbor, all of Pierce County, Washington Territory, and Asa W. White of Alberta Lea, Freeborn County, State of Minnesota de hereby agree to become and be a corporation under the corporate name of the “Gig Harbor Loging (sic) Company; for the object and purpose herein after stated that is to say:  To lease, contract, buy, hold, own, release and sell real estate.  To purchase and sell timber, standing or otherwise, to contract, lease, buy, own, and operate loving (sic) roads, tramways and railroads.  To do a general loving (sic) business.  To contract,own and operate booms, to build, buy, run & operate Mills.  To manufacture and sell all kinds of building material and to contract, run & operate barges and boats for transportation.  The capital stock of said company shall be Twenty Thousand Dollars, to be divided into eight hundred shares of Twenty Five Dollars each.

The time of the existance (sic) of said corporation shall be twenty years from the first day of March A. D. 1889.

The concerns of said corporation shall be managed by five trustees, and the name of the trustees who shall manage the concerns of the company for the period of six months from the date of these Articles are George E. Atkinson and James H. Parker of Tacoma, Francis Hall, M. J. Darling and George T. Gardner of Gig Harbor, all of Pierce County, Washington Territory.  The principal place of business of said company shall be located at Gig Harbor, Pierce County, Washington Territory.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 7th day of March A. D. 1889.

In presence of  } George E. Atkinson

W. W. Likens   } James H. Parker

E. S. Prentice } Francis Hall

M. J. Darling

Geo. T. Gardner

Asa W. White

United States of America }

Washington Territory       }  SS

County of Pierce             }

This certifies that on this 7th day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, before me a Notary Public in and for Pierce County,Washington Territory personally appeared the within named George E. Atkinson, James H. Parker, Francis Hall, M. J. Darling and George T. Gardner and Asa W. White whose names are subscribed to the foregoing instrument as party thereto, personally known to me to be the individuals described in & who executed the within deed, and acknowledged the same to be their free and voluntary act and deed.

Witness my hand and Notarial seal the day and year above written.

{Notarial Seal} W. W. Likens

Notary Public Wash. Terry.

Filed and recorded at request of Gig Harbor Logging Co. March 9th 1889 at 1:05 P.M.

Edward Huggins

Auditor Pierce County

W. T. by W. H. Hollis, Deputy

______________________________________________________________

In closing I want to mention a specific blog I came across on the internet which research these companies which is probably the most comprehensive background on the Gig Harbor Lumber Company available.  Unfortunately it is copyrighted and I was unable to obtain permission to use any of it in writing this blog.  It has been written by Greg Spadoni, a member of one of our community’s older founding families.  I definitely recommend you read his piece.  You will find it most interesting.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Savage Ancient Sea Monsters in Gig Harbor!

Don't miss this new exhibit at the Harbor History Museum...

Savage Ancient Seas...through July 14

As the tag line says...when dinosaurs ruled the land, sea monsters ruled the sea.  And we're showing some of the biggest prehistoric sea monsters of all time.

Travel back 65 to 145 million years ago to the dark waters of the Western Interior Seaway. Experience a world of huge carnivorous marine reptiles with double-hinged jaws and teeth in the middle of their palates, gigantic flesh-eating fish big enough to swallow an adult human whole, flying reptiles with three-foot skulls, and the biggest sea turtles to have ever lived. Unrivaled for their amazing varieties, voracious appetites, incredible teeth, and gaping jaws, the creatures in this exhibition are unlike anything known in today's world.

This exhibition, developed and created by Triebold Paleontology, brings prehistoric marine skeletons "up close and personal" -- as well as providing engaging informational kiosks, graphic panels, and touch specimens. Together, they provide visitors with a greater understanding and appreciation for these magnificent sea creatures.

And, special programming from Harbor WildWatch helps bring today's sea creatures into the museum! Be sure to stop by for...

Touch Tanks: Invertebrate Investigations...May 11, June 15, July 6; 11 am to 2 pm (museum lobby; free; does not include museum admission to exhibits)

Ocean Crafts: May 18 and June 29; 11 am to 2 pm; no charge (does not include museum exhibit admissions)

Special Lectures:

May 9: Jeff Christensen from the Seattle Aquarium presents the lecture "Sixgill Shark Research"
6:30 pm (no charge)

June 20: Joanne Moore presents "From Gig Harbor to the Arctic" 6:30 pm (no charge)

All programming takes place at the Harbor History Museum...see you there!



© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Martin Skrivanich

This is an oral history prepared by Mary Mead in May, 1990. I find Martin’s history very interesting because I live in the house that his uncle and step-father purchased in 1909. 

The house was originally built by Joseph Dorotich when he and John Novak platted Millville in 1888. George M. Sprague purchased the property on January 10, 1889 for $360. I have been unable to find any information on Mr. Sprague; is he the Sprague that Sprague Avenue in Tacoma is named for?  George Savage is shown as owner on December 27, 1890 and I was told by an old-timer that George Savage was a notary public, and that the house was used as an office for the lumber mill in Millville.  Again I have not been able to find any documentation on those facts. Mrs. M. K. Anderson bought the property on July 12, 1897, and she sold it to Dominick Skrivanich in 1909 for $900. Martin’s mother was Godenta Johanna Morin Skrivanich. His brother, born before his mother married Dominick Skrivanich, was Gaspero.

But let’s get on with Martin’s interview with Mary Mead...

“Martin was seven years old when he arrived in Gig Harbor. Martin’s father had died and his uncle hearing that his brother’s widow and children were starving sent for them to come to America. They arrived in New York on the 25^th of August 1909. The ship that carried them to the new world was the Argentina. From there, they traveled to Tacoma by train. Martin’s mother and uncle married in Tacoma in 1909.

“Martin’s father had fished the Columbia River in the 1890-1900s. They fished for salmon in large row boats 'powered by big 200 pound bruisers with 16 foot oars.' They would fish in the spring for early Chinook salmon, Steelhead late in winter, and in the summer Chinook salmon. On a good day you would catch three to four big salmon, after which the men would go to shore and celebrate. 'That was what life was all about then.' These men would also have tug boats tow them up to fish in the San Juan Islands. Martin remembers sleeping in Lizzy Larson’s cave in the San Juans.

Fishing boat "Aeroplane"

“In 1918, Martin’s stepfather bought a boat and named it Aeroplane. Martin, who was 16 years old, was chief engineer. The Aeroplane was a seiner where the nets had to be pulled by hand. Nineteen eighteen proved to be a poor year for fishing. Many boats did not make enough to pay for the food. Martin remembers making 20 cents after they took out the money he owed for boots. However, he remembers 1919 being a good year as they went into partnership on the St. Mary and the Freedom.  However, too many partners made it difficult to run the company smoothly. In 1929, Martin went to California to buy the Fort Bragg.  It was time for him to run his own boat. The new boat was 62 feet long with a 15 foot beam, a boat big enough to live on while fishing instead of living on shore. It also was a purse seiner with a gas engine.

“1930 was a good year for fishing but the Depression hit and they had to dump five to six thousand fish overboard because no one would pay anything for the fish. Martin remembers catching 13,000 fish a day but only getting 5 cents a piece. In 1935, they sold the Fort Bragg because they couldn’t maintain the boat on 5 cents a fish.  Martin continued to fish running a company boat.

Fort Bragg

“In 1940, he had a gillnetter built named the Mary Lee.  He fished with this boat three to four years, fishing the [Salmon Banks] outside of the San Juan Islands. In 1942 to '44 he fished on a purse seiner named the Oregonian. These were fair years for fishing. In 1940, fishermen became upset because they wanted to sell fish by the pound not the piece. As with everything, it was a struggle in the beginning. Now the buyer wouldn’t have it any other way. Martin remembers a big year around 1942-44 where they were getting $1 a piece for Sockeye salmon. All of a sudden, the cannery dropped the price to 50 cents because they saw a large school of fish moving into the straits. Nothing to do but 'cuss and spit.' Some men chose to go out and fish anyway and the price ended up at 40 cents. They continued to fish on the Oregonian 12 to 14 years, eventually installing a D-1300 diesel engine to give them more power. Now, they went dragging in Alaska. They would drag the net on the bottom fishing for sole, line cod, and rock cod. They also fished for dog fish, keeping only the liver which was used for oil. Martin remembers the boat being stacked high with dog fish three different times in a day. The problem was when you throw too many fish overboard at one time the bottom gets sour and the fish will not come back to that spot.

“In 1945 to 47 he went to Alaska salmon fishing. Martin’s son David continued to fish in the Bering Sea. The Oregonian was sold and burned in Alaska taking the life of the new owner.”

  

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Hubert Blaine Secor

A couple weeks ago while reading the blog on Gig Harbor Sand & Gravel Co., we learned that Tom Myers owned a bus line running from Bremerton to Tacoma, aptly named Bremerton-Tacoma Stage Line, in 1939.  This naturally reminds us of Hubert Secor and the bus service which he started in 1922 with the total capital of $45.

But before we discuss the bus line let’s step back a moment and start with the arrival of the Secor family in the Gig Harbor area.  Hubert’s maternal Grandfather, Robert Irvin Franklin arrived on the Gig Harbor Peninsula in 1886 with his second wife, Sarah H. Benway Franklin (1847-1901).  His first wife, Elizabeth Ann Dickens Franklin who had died in 1875 was “Littie’s” (Artalissa Naomi Franklin Secor) mother.  

David E. Secor had married Littie Franklin in 1878 in Colorado where he was engaged in mining. They then moved to Elma, Washington from Colorado with their two sons, Eugene (1879-1946) and Hubert (1892/1972), and then to Tacoma in 1904; in 1905 David served as a Deputy Sheriff and assisted in the quelling strike disturbances in Pierce County.  The Lonshoremen’s Union and the Sailor’s Union disagreement erupted into battle causing one death and numerous injuries.  

The family arrived on the Gig Harbor Peninsula in 1907 to care for Littie’s ailing father.  (Hubert was 15 that year.)  

Littie went on to become one of the founding members of the Gig Harbor Fortnightly Club.

1907 Gig Harbor Fortnightly Club members

  David was active in political and civic affairs, as well as associated in the bus business with Hubert.  Hubert’s brother, Eugene, was employed by the Peninsula Gateway following his schooling.   Eugene was also known throughout the community as being one of the better horseshoe pitchers in Gig Harbor.

Eugene Secor, Peninsula Gateway's office

Like so many of the early Gig Harbor residents, Hubert took the ferry to Tacoma where he attended Stadium High School.  Following his graduation, Hubert went to work for the telephone company, first in Tacoma at Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company, and then in Gig Harbor with the Island Empire Telephone & Telegraph Company.

In 1922 at the age of 30, Hubert and his father, David, began a bus service.  On May 12, 1922, the State of Washington Department of Transportation issued a certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to H. B. Secor, to furnish passenger, express and freight service between Gig Harbor and Tacoma.  Certificate was transferred to Henry Kaffenberger and H. B. Secor d/b/a Gig Harbor-Tacoma Transportation Co. on September 8, 1922.   Followed by a transfer to H. B. Secor on 2/16/23, passenger and express service only.  The route was to and from Gig Harbor and Tacoma.

This was the original garage in 1922

Hubert leased the Scarponi family garage at 8802 North Harborview Drive, located just a few doors southwest of Uddenberg’s Market.  His first bus was a White Motor Company bus, and soon exchanged for a larger Pierce-Arrow bus, and in 1924, a second Pierce-Arrow bus was purchased.   Roscoe Savage was hired to drive the second bus, and then, perhaps as early as 1926, Roy Clark 

took his place.

As well as transporting passengers, Hubert had a contract to carry mail between Tacoma and Gig Harbor twice a day for approximately 10 years.  The fare was 25 cents one-way to Tacoma including the ferry fare.  Rides in and around Gig Harbor only to run errands, et cetera, were free.

Passengers in the early days included students going to Stadium High School in Tacoma since Gig Harbor did not yet have a high school.  Some of those students included Ruth and Erick Erickson, Nellie Austin, and Bertha Lund.  Dr. William Treutle, Sr., a dentist in Tacoma, and Mr. Brintnall, a printer for one of Tacoma’s newspapers were also passengers.

Sometime between 1922 and 1928, Hubert added a run from Gig Harbor to Bremerton using an eleven passenger Studebaker bus, again with two round trips daily.  By 1928 two additional daily bus routes were added to the Tacoma run.  All the drivers were required to be 21 years old or older.  The drivers, Hubert and Oroville Hemphill, worked 12 hours a day; Hubert 6 AM to 6 PM, and Oroville 8 AM to 8 PM.  Their daily wages were each $4.40 per day.

Gig Harbor Stage at Head of Harbor in front of the Sweeney Building

C. Mojean, driver, Gig Harbor Bus

On February 1, 1931, according to information provided by a Mr. George R. Llewellyn of Silverdale, WA, the route’s certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity was transferred to Joseph Lyons, owner of the Tacoma Bus Company.  However, Hubert continued to drive the bus until 1934.

In 1929, Hubert and his wife, Marian, had started Minterbrook Oyster Company on the Key Peninsula at Minter Bay and Rocky Bay.  So it was only natural that when he decided to sell the bus company and stop driving, he would devote his full time attention to growing the oyster business.  He and Marian would continue to maintain and operate the oyster company until 1954.  That year, they sold the operations and company to Harold and Beverly Wiksten who continued expanding the business until finally selling it in 2012 to Kent, Donna, Austin and Garrett Kingman.  The Kingman family operates Mintercreek Oyster Company today.

In 1964, Hubert Secor was elected mayor of Gig Harbor; in 1969 he had a stroke which led to his death in 1972 at age 80.  He worked for a few years for the Pierce County Road Department and was involved in many community activities during his lifetime.

Secor's Garage as listed on the Gig Harbor Historic Inventory 2008 Listing

*************

Note:  Courtesy of Mr. Llewellyn:  “On May 12, 1922, the State of Washington Department of Transportation issued a certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to H. B. Secor, to furnish passenger, express and freight service between Gig Harbor and Tacoma.  Certificate was transferred to Henry Kaffenberger and H. B. Secor d/b/a Gig Harbor-Tacoma Transportation Co. on September 8, 1922.   Followed by a transfer to H. B. Secor on 2/16/23, passenger and express service only. Transferred to Tacoma Bus Company, 2/1/31.  Added service between Tacoma and Bremerton via Gig Harbor.  Certificate transferred to Bremerton-Tacoma Stages, Inc. 12/10/1934.  Added service between Purdy and Longbranch via Wauna, Vaughn, Home, and Lakebay, Bremerton and Shelton via Navy Yard; Bremerton and Eldon; Eldon and Port Angeles 9/4/46.

Note: 

 Mintercreek Oyster Company 

Find-A-Grave Memorial for Secor Family Members

Peninsula Gateway Obituaries    

Pierce County Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Our "Excellent Little Lady" by Leann O'Neill

Our “Excellent Little Lady”
By Leann O'Neill

A Compilation of Thoughts by All ~ September 30, 2013

How do we honor a woman who has given us all so much
One who shared her vision and talents with a very special touch
For all you’ve done that we know about; for all about which we don’t have a clue! 
Vicki, you’ll be missed more than words can say.  This tribute is for you.

Fourteen years with the museum, starting off without much training
Then she studied to become Curator, and her knowledge just kept gaining
In the A-frame to start off with in spaces so cramped and so small
Such wonderful working conditions with no room for anything at all
A desk right beside Jennifer, for convenience, everyone thought
But Vic soon moved to the kitchen ‘cause Jennifer talked a lot!
A multi-purpose area that Formica counter became
Food prep, carpentry, exhibit starts – it was all the same
On one side was the copy room, the lounge, storage, and meeting place
“What could she do for fun each day?”  Try turning around in that space!
Piled floor to ceiling with boxes, papers, photos; never pristine
It was the messiest, coldest, most odorous office anyone had ever seen
Many road trips were involved for each exhibit and artifact
Stories of those travels and getting lost are endless. Amazing they ever made it back!
For years there was lots of brainstorming about traveling trunks, displays and more
Vicki quietly infused everyone with energy that opened so many doors
“Do not touch; alarm will sound,” a museum mantra she couldn’t endure
If ever there was a new museum, she’d have interactives for sure.

Many years of dreaming and just never giving up
Meant finally time to leave the A-frame, and pack up all that stuff
Such a dusty, nasty job and Vicki insisted on masks
Seems air quality wasn’t the best during those moving tasks
So on to the Sehmel building – every exhibit has Vicki’s stamp
Countless hours always spent to create, design and revamp
A “New Place in Time” was about to take shape; the dream of so many in town
Vicki’s attention to detail and leadership meant a museum of renown
Vicki’s commitment to the museum is like the United States PO
She never let rain or heat keep her down; even trudged to work in the snow
We could call her “Recycle Queen,” both for garbage and exhibit displays
And who could forget the rats and cockroaches in “An Excellent Little Bay”
An expert by choice; she learned on her own for love of history and this town
Never one for kudos; for previews and openings, often not even around
Exhibits so varied, fascinating; hundreds of flags, astounding textiles
Intriguing sandpits, golden oldies, woven baskets, and even scary reptiles
Life-sized surrey, wagon pulled by goats, former storefronts, vintage clothes
Undersea creatures, incredibly big; Maritime Art and PAL Juried Shows
Photographs of gigantic size and a Christmas card collection
Stories of quilts and tapestries; “Requiem for Trees;” a 9/11 place for reflection
QR codes, audio tours, Backpacks for Kids; “Savage Ancient Seas” blockbuster
Up ‘til all hours with exhibit installation; nothing could deter or fluster
The “Pioneer School Experience” for schoolchildren to take part
They just can’t wait to go back in time after the school bell start
Then off they go to the galleries for “I Spy” and history lessons
All the while knowing “we’re gonna be friends” long before the end of the sessions
Leveling signs, straightening letters, display cases and Plexiglas walls
Pedestals, placards, reader rails, emails and seemingly endless phone calls

No place she’d refuse to work or crawl, often with flashlight in hand
Even when searching for that horrible stench, Vicki was in command
A wealth of knowledge is in her head; tons of facts in her memory
Questions always answered for docents and guests, much fast than Google or Siri
Although she owned a few vehicles, her BMW sports car was frequently found
Sitting there in the parking lot, then she’d roar out with the top down
We’re lucky to have a real schoolhouse and a real fishing boat too
And all of us who worked with her know, she’s the “real deal” through and through
Never afraid to climb ladders and we’re not talking a social one
Changing light bulbs, putting banners outside, replacing TP; now who’ll get these jobs done?
A mentor for so many others; she let us into her world
Researcher, director, manager – the “Above and Beyond Curator Girl”
Loyal, generous, compassionate, professional, even keeled
Enthusiastic, diligent, inquisitive, incredible leadership revealed
Devoted, creative, tireless; we’re all in awe of her skill
Always going the extra miles and millenniums so history could delight and thrill
Never a prima donna, great sense of humor, incredibly smart
Now every visitor can touch, feel and learn from Vicki’s “works of heart”
Award-winning programs and grant writing; there’s nothing Vicki can’t do
All of us just keep shaking our heads.  Whatever will we do without you?
Vicki, you have been our rock, laying foundation so crystal clear

As good as gold, the salt of the earth.  Your value is cast in stone here
You always found the silver lining; in every job, you were top brass
It’s been our privilege to work with you.  Everything you do is first class
No matter the task, you’ve always found treasure; you’re a visionary beyond parallel
To say you’ll be missed is an understatement.  You’re irreplaceable, Mrs. Blackwell
We know this decision was not easy for you – it was complex and hard and weighty
Just know, for sure, that you will always be our “Excellent Little Lady!”

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

McNeil Island

The Map described below as gifted to Harbor History Museum

The Harbor History Museum was very fortunate a couple weeks ago when they were gifted a copy of McNeil Island that was drawn sometime around 1936 showing everything on the island from property owners to schools to the territorial cell house.

And it got me to thinking that few of us know very little about its history;  most people know about the federal penitentiary and  its closure in 2011.  But how many of us realize how intertwined the history of McNeil Island, Anderson Island, Eagle Island and Steilacoom?  I didn’t.  Betsey John Cammon, born in 1886 on Anderson Island, known as Wallace Island in the 1870-1880s expressed the connection this way that following her wedding to Oscar Cammon in July, 1906:  “Coming to McNeil to live, where Oscar and his brother Martin had, several years earlier, butlt their bachelor home, wasn’t like coming to a strange land.  McNeil and Anderson Island people had been and were at this time close neighbors…..We moved to our newly-built home on Anderson Island in 1916.”  So other than those short ten years, and her time teaching at Kapowsin, she lived her entire life on Anderson Island.

The island was originally charted in 1841 by Captain Charles Wilkes specifically during his exploration of Puget Sound.  As was his want, Captain Wilkes named the island.  He chose, as HistoryLink.org put it, “On a rampage, he even saluted the British with Anderson Island for the chief trade at Fort Nisqually, Alexander Canfield Anderson, and McNeil Island for a Hudson’s Bay “chief factor” named William Henry McNeill.”  However when naming the island, Captain Wilkes dropped one ‘l’ and so, McNeil Island it became.

William Henry McNeill was captain of a Boston built brig Llama which he sailed from Boston to the Pacific Northwest on a fur trading expedition in 1830.  Two years later while in Honolulu Roderick Finlayson, Hudson’s Bay Chief Factor for the Pacific Northwest, purchased the brig and retained Captain McNeill as Captain.  But by doing so, the Hudson’s Bay Company was forced to make an exception to their ‘all British employees’ and for the first time had a ship commanded by someone very familiar with the west coast.  By 1836, steamship started replacing the brigs, and Captain McNeill took over command of the S. S. Beaver, and later the Una.

The earliest days of settlement did not start until, in 1850, the United States Donation Land Claim Act was enacted by the U. S. Congress.

In 1853 we find Ezra Meeker settling on McNeil Island and he is thought to have been the first white settler on McNeill.  His proportion which he never filed the paperwork for his claim, later became the the territorial cell house, and then the federal penitentiary.  After building a log cabins for  his wife and child to live in, he and his brother Oliver left to guide their parents and their party across the Cascade mountain range.   I know most of us always associate Ezra Meeker with Puyallup after he left his home in Ohio and came west.  But before he moved to Puyallup in 1862, he owned a farm and built a home on McNeil Island.  Just one interesting fact about Erza Meeker that doesn’t belong in this blog about McNeil Island but I thought should be shared is:  “He found another kind of success when he began his efforts to mark the route of the Oregon Trail that he and Eliza Jane had taken west in 1852. Now in his 70's but still hale and hearty, Meeker crossed the continent with his replica covered wagon, raising funds to erect memorials along the route and eventually meeting with President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D. C. Meeker became a splendid publicist, issuing booklets and postcards, inspiring newspaper and magazine articles about his efforts. Before his death in 1928, just a few days shy of his 98th birthday, Ezra Meeker had not only walked the Oregon Trail several times, he'd ridden along it in an automobile and aboard a train, and flown over it in an airplane: he'd come a long way, and for many his story symbolized the opportunities that had been available on the frontier.” 

The map gifted to the museum, dated ca. 1920-1936, is quite important because it shows all the various property owners including the federal cell house that was built originally in 1873, ownership placed under the direction of the United States Marshall in November 1874 and changed to a ‘territorial’ prison. As mentioned earlier, this was the property which Ezra Meeker originally claimed but when he left for Puyallup was turned over or sold to J. W. McCarthy, Jr. and then purchased by Jay Emmons Smith.  Smith then sold it, all 27 acres,  to the territorial government for $100 in 1870.   When it opened in 1875 it housed nine prisoners.  In 1889 when Washington was admitted to the Union, and afterwards, in 1893, the prison received its first warden, Gilbert L. Palmer and a custodial force of seven guards.

Other than an isolated settler here and there, it wasn’t until the 1880’s when settlers really populated the island.  Betsey Johnson Cammon writes in her book “Island Memoir” “An old map of McNeil made at this time (1880) by David White, a civil engineer, shows fifteen land owners.  They were:  J. Brown, J. Hawk, P. A. Berry, J. Holm, J. Smith, W.S. Label, F.A. McCarty, J. Swan, J. Ross, J.S. Ward,s. Shucker, G. E. Smith, E. J. Clendenen, Dilley Brackel, and A. Harrison.  (The only familiar names among the list are J. Holm and J. S. Ward.)  All but three of the above_named owned waterfront property.  By contrast, on the Anderson Island map made by David white at the same time we find twenty-eight landowners.

The largest property owners on our 1936 map included Clark and Hunt, A. B. Savage, H. Halverson and the school property.  Including the school and penitentiary property there were 207 property owners that I counted on the map.  Small farms were the general rule.  The first school was established in 1888 and remained until 1936 at which time everyone was forced to vacate the island except for prison employees and the school then was kept open to service the children of prison employees.  It closed permanently 1980.

McNeil Island eventually had three post offices the first in opened in the Benjamin F. McCain General Store in 1895.  The Meridian Post Office was originally opened on the mainland but moved to McNeil Island west side in 1915 opposite where it had been on the mainland.

The third post office was established in January 1900 inside Carl Johan Julin’s store which he had built in 1899 in Still Harbor. It carried the name Gertrude Post Office after the small island sitting in Still Bay.  (Gertrude Island housed St. Anne’s which was a home for unwedded girls.)  Julin served as postmaster 14 years until his death in 1922.  He originally settled on the island in 1884 and his family remained living on the island until forced out in 1936 by the federal government.  It is also interesting to discover his daughter, Nina Julin Ulsh was Wes Ulsh’s mother.  Julia worked at the Johnson Woodyard on Anderson Island rowing back and forth each day until he opened his store.  But all this time he continued to farm his land.  He and his wife, Ida, had five sons and four daughters.

iPhone picture of the Julin Family from Island Memoir by Betsey John Cammon

Like the greater Gig Harbor Peninsula and other surrounding areas, McNeil Island was heavily wooded.  Settlers had to remove the timber to build their homes and to cultivate their farms.  But they also discovered that if surplus timber was cut into cords, or kept in marketable logs, it could be sold for profit bringing in needed income.  There were several individuals logging as well as logging companies such as Meridian Logging Company.

Once the logs were available it was helpful to establish sawmills, and Betsey Johnson Cammon tells us there were several both large and small sawmills.  Joe Floyd on of the loggers had one on his property at Meridian.  His equipment was sold to Willis Thomas Parr & Norgren Bros. who built their own sawmill on the west side off Pitt Passage.  Parr bought his partners out in 1910, renamed the the sawmill Parr Manufacturing Company and besides producing cut lumber and shingles he also manufactured fruit boxes.  The mill was also known as the West End Mill.  It was destroyed by fire in 1926.

The largest mill was the Washington Lumber and Box Company started in 1908 by partners - Herbert Williams, the Cammon brothers and the Johnson brothers.  Within a short time, the partnership was bought out by Zech and Munson of Puyallup.  I’m not sure whether the operator Mr. Bach, also from Puyallup, was just an employee or new owner.  However the last owner was George A. Misener of Tacoma and retained ownership until 1936.

Being an island, boats were and remain as necessity for transportation to leave the island for any purpose.  The Hunt Bros. of Gig Harbor, the Lorenz Bros. of Lakebay, the Bay Island Producers Union were just a few of the folks providing transportation for people and goods on and off the island.  Even the Skansie brothers Washington Navigation Company provided service at one time.

But it was not all work and no play for the people living on McNeil Island.  Hagar Miller, a bachelor farmer, was active in forming the McNeil Island Library Association in 1909 and served as its first president.   The association was quite successful in raising funds to buy a lot, build a two story hall for meetings and library, dressing rooms, kitchen and dining room and nice entrance hall with the stairway to the second level.  but also, on the second floor have a stage for plays with a sizable auditorium.  He was also active as the manager and coach of the Still Harbor Baseball team.   When Miller married, he sold his farm to Albert and Selma Westrom and left the island.  

The folks on the south side of the island established the South Side Improvement Club and one of the first things it did was work with the Pierce County Commissioners to get a dock built.  The entire island benefited from it.  

Like all the other communities around, McNeil Island had a service organization, The Helping Hand Club.  Membership was made up by people from all over the island, and they lived up to their name.  Fifteen of their young meant serviced in the military during World War I; and three served in the Spanish-American War against Pancho Villa in 1916 in New Mexico.  They lost one soldier in each of the two wars.

And of course we mustn’t forget their church founded by the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Sunne Congregation of Anderson and McNeil Island.  Their first meeting was held at Carl Juliann’s home to decide where to build the church in 1896.  Edwin Iverson donated some of his property on McNeil Island, northwest of the south dock.  The church was used until the forced closure of McNeil Island by the federal government.  All of the existing history, articles of incorporation, membership information (births, confirmations, marriages, deaths) as well as two books of meetings, minutes, and reports, in Swedish are archived at Pacific Lutheran University along with letters of dismissal. 

Betsey Johnson Cammon’s earliest memory of Sunday School was in 1891, and although she lived on Anderson Island as did many of the church members, everyone attended church on McNeil Island.  First in Julin’s home and then in the school house until the church building was erected.

We learned a little about Carl Julin earlier in the discussion of the post office, his farm, and his store.  But I was unable to discover a lot about Mr. Iverson except Betsey Johnson Cammon’s description:  “Mr. Iverson was a retired gardener who had been in partnership in the nursery business with a Mr. Carlson in Tacoma.  He lived on his fifteen-acre tract just north of the South Side Dock.  There he delighted in growing things, giving to his neighbors generously.  He even came to Anderson Island.  I remember him making a lovely border of flowers for Mama Johnson.”

Eric and Martha Nyberg, island pioneers, donated the land for the first cemetery. Charles Larsen, president, and James Ward, secretary, managed the cemetery and all the settlers helped to maintain it.  The first burial occurred in 1905 when Christian Tangen died, and the second occurred that same year when Carl Tangen was accidentally killed in a logging accident. When all residents were forced to leave in 1936 the cemetery was closed, the remains exhumed and reburied in cemeteries on the mainland.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNeil_Island

Gradually the federal government started buy additional property, first for a prison garden, then for water rights so that by 1931 the federal government owned almost half of the island: 2,303.1 acres versus total island acreage of 4,445 acres.  Now, they were raising steers for beef and milking cows as well as pigs and vegetables with a few chickens thrown in the mix as well.

By 1936, the federal government was exercising their rights to eminent domain as well as the individual purchases and fee simple title granted to the U. S. Government for the entire island.  By 1940 the entire island was under federal control.  http://www.doc.wa.gov/facilities/prison/micc/mcneilhistory.asp

I found the following article in the October 8, 1979 Spokane Daily Chronicle:

“Island Heirs Set Suit”

“TACOMA (AP) - About 100 former McNeil Island property owners and the heirs gathered here over the weekend to officially organize their effort to win back property confiscated by the government in 1936 for the federal penitentiary.

“The group members, called McNeil Island Heirs, intend to go to federal court to challenge a 1949 law which says former owners of federal land have no special rights to regain their land if the government declares it surplus.

“The government plans to close the century-old prison by January 1982 and turn the 4,400-acre island over to the General Services Administration for disposal.” 

The Appendix in Betsey Johnson Cammon’s book "Island Memoir”  states 

“Land Owners in 1936

THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON in the matter of the petition of the United States of America to condemn, appropriate and take certain real estate and other property rights adjacent to the United States Penitentiary at McNeil Island, and all of Gertrude Island and Pitt Island, all in Pierce County, State of Washington.

And this paragraph is followed by a list of all property owners at that time.

iPhone picture of 1936 McNeil Island Property Owners from Island Memoir by Betsey Johnson Cammon

Note:

• Island Memoir, A Personal History of Anderson and McNeil Islands, by Betsey Johnson Cammon
• Images of America Anderson Island by Elizabeth Galentine and the Anderson Island Historical Society
• Wikipedia-McNeil History
• Washington State McNeil History
• Pacific Lutheran University Archives
• Spokane Daily Chronicle, 10/8/1979

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