ca. 1910. House surrounded by flood waters in Wilkeson, Washington. Other buildings in background. Probably the Wilkeson flood of March, 1910. From the collection of N.P. Anderson. TPL-10401

Floods--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Houses--Wilkeson;

ca. 1910. Some of the damage in Wilkeson caused by the flood of March 1910. A line of men are standing on the railroad bridge that crossed Gail's Creek just south of town. The vehicle bridge next to the railroad bridge has been washed out by the flood. TPL-10402

Floods--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Bridges--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Railroad bridges--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Gail's Creek (Wilkeson);

ca. 1910. Residents of Wilkeson stand at the Wilkeson railroad bridge looking at the damage caused by the flood of March 1910. From the collection of N. P. Anderson. This photograph was sent as a post card. It is dated March 18, 1910. TPL-10404

Floods--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Bridges--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Railroad bridges--Wilkeson--1910-1920;

ca. 1910. Days of torrential rain and warm Chinook winds that raised the temperatures in the Cascades to the 40s brought floods throughout western Washington in March of 1910. In Wilkeson, Gail's Creek became a river, overflowing its banks and flooding the town. The Livesley & Dice General Merchandise store can be seen just beyond the railroad bridge that crossed the raging creek at Church and Davis Streets. (From the collection of N. P. Anderson.) TPL-9751

Floods--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Livesley & Dice General Merchandise (Wilkeson); Railroad bridges--Wilkeson--1910-1920; Gail's Creek (Wilkeson);

ca. 1907. Horse and wagon teams in front of the new concrete storage warehouse at 2302-12 East E St., circa 1907. The two story warehouse was built at a cost of $30,000 for developer W.P. Reynolds. The building, designed by architect and structural engineer I. Jay Knapp, was 75 x 140 feet at the foundation and was fireproof. On its completion, the Commercial Truck Co. moved into the building. They were a moving and storage company. They were sold in 1929 to the group owning AA Star Transfer of Aberdeen and became Star Commercial Moving and Storage. In 1941, Star dropped their storage business and became solely a moving company. The building was taken over by Terminal Warehouses, Inc. (photograph courtesy of Dan Powell) TPL-9834

Commercial Truck Co. (Tacoma); Moving & storage trade--Tacoma--1900-1910; Storage facilities--Tacoma; Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1900-1910; Horse teams--Tacoma;

ca. 1919. Advertising card for the Commercial Truck and Storage Co. of Tacoma, circa 1919. By 1913, Commercial Truck and Storage Co. had the largest transfer and storage equipment facilities on the west coast. Their holdings consisted of the two story fireproof concrete storage facility, left, at 2303-12 East E St., the Garretson-Woodruff-Pratt building, right, at 1754 Pacific Ave. and another brick warehouse, address unknown. The company had occupied the building on Pacific since 1910 and in 1919 they purchased it for $70,000. They also owned moving trucks and their own portable crane. (photograph courtesy of Dan Powell) TPL-9836

Commercial Truck Co. (Tacoma); Moving & storage trade--Tacoma--1910-1920;

ca. 1929. Daniel (Dan) Peterson and Ione (last name unknown) were pictured sitting on some large segments of logs and smiling for the camera. It is believed that Mr. Peterson came to Tacoma from Aberdeen when A.A. Star Transfer Co. of Aberdeen acquired the Commercial Truck Co. of Tacoma from owner James Garvin in 1929. The company incorporated as Star Commercial Moving and Storage Co. with J.E. Turnquist as president, J.E. Anderson as vice-president and Dan Peterson as secretary/treasurer. Mr. Peterson was the grandfather of Dan Powell, owner of Star Moving Co. in Tacoma. (photograph courtesy of Dan Powell.) TPL-9837

Peterson, Daniel; Star Commercial Moving and Storage Co. (Tacoma); Moving & storage trade--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1920. Undated photograph of Puget Sound Electric Railway's streetcars #512 and companion #525 at the Tacoma Depot, 702 A St. In the background left is the Park Hotel at 802 A St. These cars were used on the Seattle-Tacoma Interurban, which operated from 1902- 1928. The 512 was built by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1907 and was identifiable by its arched windows. Motor Coach 525 was built by the same company in 1910. It burned on the main line around 1921. (Photograph courtesy of the Tom Stenger Collection) ("To Tacoma by Trolley" by Warren W. Wing)

Puget Sound Electric Railway (Tacoma); Mass transit--Tacoma; Electric railroads--Tacoma; Transportation facilities--Tacoma; Park Hotel (Tacoma);

ca. 1888. Eight loggers pose with two large sections of logs that are sitting on a flat-bed railroad car. On the side of the railroad car are the words - W. F. McKay, Tacoma, Wash. T. One of the logs is larger in diameter then the out stretched arm of one of the loggers. Two loggers hold a long hand saw. The Puget Sound Directory for 1888 lists a William F. McKay as a logger.

Loggers; Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1880-1890

ca. 1887. A group of ten men stand by a very tall picket fence. Beyond the fence can be seen a number of hop kilns. There is a large stack of wood to feed the fires used to dry to hops. The caption on the photograph only identified it as "Washington Territory".

Hops--Washington--1880-1890; Brewing industry--Washington--1880-1890; Fences

ca. 1888. Titled "Loading Wheat for Gt. Britain, Tacoma, W.T. 1888" this lantern slide shows several sailing ships at dock next to the Puget Sound Flouring Mills Co. Warehouses. The railroad tracks in the foreground are Northern Pacific tracks. TPL-8716

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1880-1890; Sailing ships--Tacoma--1880-1890; Puget Sound Flouring Mills Co. (Tacoma); Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1880-1890;

ca. 1888. This photograph from 1888 shows the Hotel Fife, 742-50 Pacific Ave., as it appeared shortly after it was built. It stood on the north west corner of 9th and Pacific. This photograph is looking up 9th street. There is a horse drawn wagon standing in front of the hotel. The hotel was demolished in 1925. TPL-9660

Hotels--Tacoma--1880-1890; Hotel Fife (Tacoma); Commercial streets--Tacoma--1880-1890

ca. 1912. This unidentified boy is seated on a Flanders 4 motorcycle parked outside on grass while a man, several feet away, looks on in this circa 1912 photograph. The Flanders 4 was built for "all-round serious service, day in and day out, and especially on rough roads." The motorcycle was not meant for kids nor for speedsters but for those desiring a safe and dependable ride. The Flanders Mfg. Co. of Pontiac, Michigan, sold this model "4" motorcycle to RFD carriers who were certain to encounter errant road conditions or bad weather while on their carrier routes. The price was $175 at the factory and it was guaranteed unequivocally. (scanned from negative, no print on file) GDOE-168 (www.postalmuseum.si.edu/rfdmarketing) TPL-10532

Motorcycles; Houses--1910-1920;

ca. 1918. This photograph of William Thomas Case, in uniform, was probably taken during his basic training at Fort Worden around 1918. Mr. Case took his training at this fort near Port Townsend that protects the Strait of Juan de Fuca. He was trained to crew a large cannon during the first World War. The second of eight children, Mr. Case was born in Arkansas City, Kansas. He came to Washington in 1900 and Tacoma in 1913. He went to work for Henry Foss in September of 1915 as a deckhand on the tugs and launches. He worked his way through the ranks at Foss Launch & Tug Co. becoming a skipper and finally the chief dispatcher for the fleet of tugs and launches. He was the longest serving employee of Foss and one of the company's most valued. He was the skipper of Foss #12 for six years, the second oldest tug in the line, and one that served the city as a fireboat, the only one for the harbor until the city of Tacoma acquired their own. Mr. Case died in 1956 at the age of 59 after a year long illness. (photograph courtesy of the collection of William T. Case) (TNT 4/15/1956, pg. A-12)

Case, William T.; Uniforms--United States--World War, 1914-1918;

ca. 1935. William T. Case hard at work at his desk at the Foss Launch & Tug Co.'s floating office at 400 Dock St. In November of 1932, the original Foss offices at this location caught fire. Mr. Case discovered the fire and helped escort out the 20 people asleep on the premises, saving their lives. The Foss family scouted about for a viable substitute for their destroyed building. They found the first seaplane hangar in the Northwest on sale in Seattle. The huge building floated on a scow and was used by Eddie Hubbard, pioneer aviator, to house his hydroplane on Lake Union. It was purchased, towed to Tacoma and remodeled. The main deck contained the repair shop for tugs and the store for needed provisions. The second deck contained offices, bunk rooms, an apartment for Mr. Case and his family, a recreation room and company accountant Oscar Iverson's rooms. Heavy winds could cause the building to rock and more than once big freighters in the waterway came a little too close. (TNT 10/9/1935)

Case, William T.; Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1898. Johnson Nickeus, Mayor of Tacoma 1898 and 1899. Mr. Nickeus came to Washington around 1892, an already elderly man seeking milder weather. He brought with him the experience garnered in his long political and legal career; having served from 1883-86 in the Dakota legislature, as well as the Attorney General of that area and two years as a Consul to South America under President Benjamin Harrison. He was elected Mayor of Tacoma in April of 1898. In August of 1899, he was charged by a grand jury with "attempting to receive" a sizable bribe from C.P. Hurley, manager of the Tacoma Gas and Electric Light Co., in connection with a compromise of a million dollar suit against Light and Water. He went to trial on September 10, 1899. On the morning of September 14th, after arguing all night, the jury declared itself deadlocked 6 to 6. In April of 1900, Tacoma selected a new Mayor. (TDL 8/18/1899, pg. 1; 9/12/1899, pg. 1; 9/15/1899, pg. 3)

Nickeus, Johnson; Mayors--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1906. John Mason house. John Mason and family including: (l to r, standing) Robert Mason, and Lyde Wilson Wray; (l to r, sitting) woman believed to be Robert Mason's wife, John Paul Mason, Virginia (Mrs. John Quincy) Mason, Anita Noel Mason (with Ted Mason on her lap), and John Quincy Mason. Anita Noel Mason was the wife of Thomas Mason, who is not pictured. This family portrait was taken circa 1906. Mrs. John Quincy Mason had designed this Colonial home which was built in 1905. Her pioneer husband would pass away in 1920 and she died in 1936. (From the collection of David Kenworthy) (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Mason, John--Homes & haunts; Mason, John--Family; Mason, Virginia; Mason, Robert; Wray, Lyde Wilson; Mason, John Paul; Mason, Anita Noel; Mason, Ted; Mason, John Quincy; Families--Tacoma--1900-1910;

ca. 1910. Clarence R. Sharpe, Manager, (2nd from left) standing in front of the Longmire Springs Hotel in this circa 1910 photograph. From the collection of Beverly Knoll.

Longmire Springs Hotel; Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.); Sharpe, Clarence R.;

ca. 1888. Unidentified baby photographed by Isaac G. Davidson in Tacoma, W.T., circa 1888. The infant is wearing a loose fitting, long sleeved outfit and looks unsmilingly at the cameraman.

Infants--Tacoma; Children--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1880-1890;

ca. 1880. Charles Hebard and Franke Tobey Jones taken before they moved to Tacoma from Michigan.

ca. 1931. Man with an artificial left arm hanging wallpaper.

Wallpaper industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Artificial limbs; Amputees

ca. 1932. A staged photograph taken for the Unemployed Citizens League of Tacoma showing five women doing various kinds of needlework. The woman at the front left appears to be doing crocheting or hooking. The woman at the right seems to be doing needlepoint. The woman seated to the right toward the back may be doing crewel work, and the woman who is standing seems to be knitting. The photograph was taken in a private residence. There is an American flag hanging over the fireplace, and a chalkboard on the wall.

Needlework--Tacoma--1930-1940; Flags--United States

ca. 1880. Alexander Smith (A.S.) Abernethy, elected Mayor of Tacoma September 6, 1882. Mr. Abernethy served as Mayor in 1882 & 1883. He was born in New York in 1813. In 1850, he was asked by his older brother George to come to the Northwest to manage the Oak Point (saw) Mill. George Abernethy (1807-1877) went on to become Oregon's first Governor. Alexander Abernethy was Oak Point's most prominent citizen from 1850-1880, campaigning for Washington Territory and later serving as a Republican in local political positions. He had a land claim west of Longview in Cowlitz County. Already an elderly man when he served as Mayor, he died five years later in February of 1888 and was buried in the family cemetary on his land claim. (History of Stella, Oak Point, Eufaula, Coal Creek and Surrounding Areas; US GenWeb Archives)

Abernethy, Alexander Smith; Mayors--Tacoma--1880-1890;

ca. 1916. Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Highway, Oregon, circa 1916 as photographed by Portland photographers Arthur B. Cross and Edward L. Dimmitt. The men teamed up to form the firm of "Cross & Dimmitt" in 1916. They sold real photo post cards of Portland, Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood off the running boards of their Model T at Crown Point as the Columbia River Highway was under construction. This view of the cascading 611-foot tall Multnomah Falls was one of theirs. Multnomah Falls, about a 30 minute drive east of Portland, remains a spectacular sight year round as it does not dry up during the late summer months. (www.pdxhistory.com/html/post_card_history-article; www.oregon.com/attractions-article)

Waterfalls; Multnomah Falls (Oregon); Scenic overlooks;

ca. 1903. Salmon weir under construction in White River, four miles south east of Auburn and near or within the south west boundary of the Mucklesoot Reservation. The structure seems to be complete except for the wattled screen. A horizontal pole suspended by a cord is being installed by the workers. This snapshot was taken when two youths were on a hike in the summer of 1903. Photo by Elmer E. Patten. Mr. E. D. VanWinkle, of Auburn, furnished the print of which this is a copy. (Caption from the typed note on the back of the photo.) (Donated by Arthur Ballard) TPL-8040

Fishing weirs--Washington;

ca. 1950. Simpler form of funnel snare woven of willowstems. Designed to trap the steelhead trout on its return downstream in the early spring of the year. The proportions of the snare are somewhat distorted owing to the nearness of the camera. (Caption taken from the typed note on the back of the photo) (Donated by Arthur Ballard) TPL-8042

Fishing nets--Washington;

ca. 1938. Dickman Lumber, 2423 Ruston Way. This aerial view, taken circa 1938, shows vast stacks of lumber ready to be loaded onto ships. Dickman Lumber was located just south of the present Old Town dock. It was purchased in 1922 by Leonard Howarth and Ralph L. Dickman, Sr. Dickman Lumber was closed in September of 1977 and its mill destroyed by fire in January of 1979.

Aerial photographs; Dickman Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940;