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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.
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4/11/2024
Logging On
On April 15, 1854, the Washington Territorial Legislature created Sawamish County out of Thurston County. Named for the tribe of Native Americans who lived along the bays and inlets of southern Puget Sound, it was later renamed Mason County, after Charles H. Mason, Washington Territory's first secretary of state and acting governor.
The county’s first seat was in Oakland on the claim of William Morrow, a Baptist minister who forbade the use of alcohol on his property. Two miles down the beach, David Shelton’s claim featured a floating saloon, which local loggers found more to their liking. The town of Shelton grew, and it became the new county seat in 1888, two years before it incorporated. One of the town's noteworthy citizens was aviation pioneer Lawson Sanderson, who later became a brigadier general in the Marine Corps, where he helped develop the dive-bombing technique used in aerial warfare.
In 1914 a fire wiped out most of Shelton's business district. 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. Reed was also head of Simpson Timber, Mason County's largest employer, and used the disaster as an opportunity to rebuild downtown.
Logging and milling were instrumental in Mason County’s early growth, but oyster harvesting also had an impact, as did the wine industry after Prohibition ended. In 1921, voters created the Port of Allyn, the first of five public ports in Mason County. The others, in order of establishment are the Port of Grapeview, the Port of DeWatto, the Port of Shelton, and the Port of Hoodsport.
Making Tracks
On April 15, 1888, Spokane entered a new era of transportation with the launch of the city's first streetcar. Local residents lined Riverside Avenue to see or ride on the new conveyance, which traveled one mile, ending at a new development called Browne's Addition. The developers paid to have the streetcar line built, primarily to sell real estate. It proved to be a success, and competitors soon followed. Within two years, the streets of Spokane were filled with steam-powered streetcars, cable cars, and electric trolleys.
Streetcar use in Spokane followed the same transit arc experienced in Seattle and Tacoma. The lines were extremely popular in the early 1900s, but experienced a slight drop-off of ridership in the 1910s and a steeper decline in the 1920s. The reason is clear when you consider that automobiles were introduced into the state in 1900 and were both affordable and widespread two decades later. Spokane held onto its electric trolleys until 1936, when the last car was given a Viking funeral, set aflame at the end of its run.
On April 11, 1897, the USS Oregon became the first in a long line of battleships to dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. Nearly a century later, on April 12, 1992, the shipyard welcomed home the USS Missouri for deactivation and storage, but the historic vessel didn't stay long.
The town of Bothell incorporated on April 14, 1909, and three days later residents got an eyeful of incivility after a local newspaper publisher wrote a scathing editorial about poor performance at the local post office. The town's assistant postmistress took umbrage and horsewhipped the man right on Main Street.
On April 16, 1921, the serenity of Seattle's Lake Union was broken when it became the scene of a crime most foul, in a case that became known as the Mahoney Trunk Murder. The culprit was later hanged. This week also marks the anniversary of an unsolved crime, when Florence Wehn, wife of sculptor James Wehn, was found brutally murdered blocks from their home on April 18, 1917.
On April 15, 1934, the Blue Moon Tavern opened its doors for the first time to thirsty taxpayers and other denizens of the Seattle's University District. Over the years the unofficial cultural landmark has hosted such illustrious characters as Theodore Roethke, Richard Hugo, Richard Gilkey, Alex Edelstein, Stanford Poll, Patrick McRoberts, Walt Crowley, and Marie McCaffrey.
On April 15, 1952, Boeing achieved new heights with the launch of the B-52 Stratofortress, and on April 17, 1969, the aerospace company received the design contract for the AWACS. Later that year the Boeing Bust hit, and the economic downturn dealt a heavy blow throughout the region.
On April 15, 1954, panic reached a fever pitch throughout the region after mysterious windshield pits began appearing on cars from Bellingham to Seattle. Concerned citizens, blaming the phenomenon on everything from H-bomb tests to UFOs, looked for answers and assistance all the way up to President Eisenhower. In the end, the truth was right in front of their eyes.
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Seventy-five years ago this week, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Puget Sound region on April 13, 1949.
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