ca. 1920s. Buses of the Sumner Tacoma Stage Co. parked in front of the bus depot on Main St. and Ryan Ave. in Sumner, Washington in the 1920's. The bus company was owned by Peter "P.O." Conlon and his brother John W. Conlon. The people who can be identified in this picture are (l to r) Pete Gratzer, Frank Conlon, Peter Conlon, John W.Conlon, Charley Marquardt, and Mac Wilson. The small buses at the far right in the picture were tourist buses that were used to take riders to Wilkeson and Carbonado, Washington. (Photograph courtesy of the Jack Conlon collection)

Buses--Sumner; Bus drivers--Sumner; Sumner Tacoma Stage Co. (Sumner); Gratzer, Pete; Conlon, Frank; Conlon, Peter; Conlon, John W.; Marquardt, Charley; Wilson, Mac;

ca. 1920. Foss launch identified by William L. Case as the "Tyee." The Foss family rowboat rental business, started by Thea Foss in 1889, was thriving at the turn of the century. With an eye for opportunity, Thea branched out into the business of supplying anchored and arriving ships in Tacoma with provisions. With the purchase of the family's first launch, sons Arthur and Wendell Foss were able not only to bring supplies, but also to ferry ship's personnel to land. By 1912, the company owned seven launches, the "Tyee" being one of the smallest. (photograph courtesy of the William T. Case collection) ("Foss: A Living Legend" by Bruce Johnson and Mike Skalley)

Launches--Tacoma; Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1916. J.E. "Ed" Hahn and Bill Gray (behind steering wheel), foreman and sales manager, respectively, of the Gerlinger Motor Car Co., are seated on a Gersix truck ca. 1916 while a band plays in the rear. The Gerlinger Motor Car Company, 3011 South Fife Street, manufactured 6-cylinder, structural steel trucks in Tacoma beginning in 1915. This particular truck may have been the third truck manufactured by the Tacoma Company. Gerlinger Motor Car Co. eventually became the Kenworth Motor Truck Co., a leading producer of custom trucks. A Kenworth dealership opened in Tacoma in 1929 and both Bill Gray and Ed Hahn worked there for many years. Mr. Gray left in 1940; Mr. Hahn stayed until 1950. Photograph provided by Robert (Bob) Hahn, Ed Hahn's son.

Hahn, J.E.; Gray, Bill; Trucks--Tacoma--1910-1920; Gerlinger Motor Car Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1916. Gersix truck manufacturing plant at 3011 South Fife in Tacoma. View of 6-cyclinder, structural steel framed trucks. The Gerlinger Motor Car Co. was the manufacturer of Gersix trucks; the firm was managed by Edward E. Gerlinger. The company was later sold to Edgar Worthington and Cpt. Frederick Kent who renamed it the Gersix Motor Co. After reincorporation in 1923, Ken-Worth (named after the two principal shareholders, Worthington and Frederick Kent's son, Harry) was created. Kenworth Motor Truck Co. established its headquarters in Seattle and became known for their custom trucks. Photograph provided by Robert (Bob) Hahn, whose father, J.E. (Ed) Hahn, worked for many years at Gerlinger Motor Car Co. and later Kenworth. (www.kenworth.com/7100_ken.asp)

Gerlinger Motor Car Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1910-1920;

ca. 1915. Sepia photograph of a man, possibly J. Frank Hickey, standing next to Tacoma Transit Co. bus parked outside the Donnelly Hotel, 9th & Pacific, ca. 1915. The small bus apparently had a Puyallup-Tacoma route. Tacoma Transit was the first bus line in Tacoma and was started by J. Frank Hickey in 1913. Mr. Hickey would also become the president of the elegant Tacoma Hotel.

Buses--Tacoma; Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1915. This 43-foot tug with 14-foot beam, the Foss #12, was constructed by Gig Harbor designer/builder Robert Crawford and entered service in 1914. She was the first Foss vessel planned and ordered exclusively for towing. #12 handled so well that she was also used as a steamer assist vessel and became the area's first motorized fireboat. With a 75 horsepower gas engine, she was capable of pumping 1,000 gallons of water per minute. #12 was hired as the City of Tacoma's fireboat in 1915, a service for which Foss was paid nearly $3,000 a year. The vessel was a favored one and was skippered by Henry and Drew Foss and later by Capt."Bill" Case. She faithfully served the company as a steady workhorse until 1966. Then on July 4, 1967, the hull was towed out into the Bay and set afire as part of the celebration of the Nation's 191st year of Independence. Foss #12 literally went out in a blaze of glory. (photograph courtesy of the William T. Case collection) (Johnson & Skalley: "Foss: A Living Legend;" Skalley: "Foss: Ninety Years of Towboating" )

Case, William T.--Associated objects; Fireboats; Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma);

Grenada. The four-masted steel barque 'Grenada', 2268 tons, anchored in an unidentified port [steel 4 mast barque, 2268 tons. ON104591, 278.4 x 42.0 x 24.1. Built 1894 (11) Russell and Co. Greenock. Owners: P Denniston and Co. registered Glasgow c.1900 Lang and Fulton then Gwalia Shipping Co. (Roberts, Owen and Co. ) Captured by German submarine 32 miles SW by S from Beachy Head, Nov. 22, 1916 and sunk by gunfire. (State Library of South Australia, B 3456, PRG 1218/3 or OH 456/1, Digital Collections, South Australiana Collection, Photographs, A. D. Edwardes Collection, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/17/60)

Sailing ships; barks; barques;

ca. 1907. Dorcas Spalt rides through Wright Park in her 1906 Cadillac, driven by her son, Worthy Morris. Purported to be the first Cadillac in Tacoma. Man standing next to car was not identified except as a friend of Mr. Morris. (Original print owned by Allen Morris. No print copy on file.)

Cadillac automobile; Spalt, Dorcas; Morris, Worthy; Wright Park (Tacoma);

ca. 1906. A fleet of new Ford automobiles is lined up outside the Washington Automobile Co., 710-12 Pacific Ave., circa 1906. The firm, operated by W.W. Pickerill, was the first automobile dealership in Tacoma. Prior to being occupied by the Washington Automobile Co., the building had been the home of the Tacoma Athletic Club and also served later as the Odd Fellows Temple.

Ford automobile; Washington Automobile Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1906. A small crowd scattered on the sidewalk pauses to admire a fleet of new Fords lined up outside the Washington Automobile Co., 710-12 Pacific Ave., circa 1906. The Washington Automobile Co. was the first car dealership in Tacoma. It was operated by car enthusiast and entrepreneur W.W. Pickerill. The brick building housing the dealership had previously been home to the Chas. W. Langert Liquor Co. and the Tacoma Athletic Club and later became the Odd Fellows Lodge. The Washington Automobile Co. was in business there from 1905-1909.

Ford automobile; Washington Automobile Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1905. The steamer Fairhaven is in drydock for repairs at Quartermaster Harbor, Vashon Island, circa 1905. Built in Tacoma in 1889 and launched from the yards of Cpt. John Holland, the stern-wheeler was 130 feet long with 26-foot beam. She was built at a cost of $30,000 for the Fairhaven Land Co., of which Nelson Bennett was president. The wooden stern-wheel steamer was used by more than one company including the La Conner Trading & Transportation Co. and the Island Transportation Co. She had suffered several accidents during her long tenure on local waters including sinking in ten feet of water after striking a rock near Utsalady in 1902 and smashing her bow while caught by strong gales at Coupeville in 1907. Here the Fairhaven is undergoing repairs circa 1905 at Quartermaster Harbor, a nearly five-mile-long inlet which is formed by Vashon Island on the west and Maury Island on the east. The drydock was one of the largest in the Puget Sound. It could lift several large ships at a time and was in place until 1909. The Fairhaven was beached in 1918 after a fire and ended her days as a quasi-houseboat. (Carlaw, 'The Pickrell Brothers recall the Fairhaven,' The Sea Chest, XV1 (Dec. 1982-article)

Stern wheelers; Steamboats; Boat & ship industry; Quartermaster Harbor (Wash);

Snow & Burgess Built as a full-rigged ship at Thomaston, Maine in 1878 by Thomas Watts. Converted to a fiveΓÇômasted schooner on the West Coast in 1904. 1655 gross tons. Burned for junk in 1922 after arriving at Port Townsand from Manila with a broken back, a year earlier. (Gibbs, Jim. Pacific Square-Riggers : Pictorial History of the Great Windships of Yesteryear. 1987. Pg. 190.)

Sailing ships; Schooneers;

ca. 1904. U.S.S. Tacoma on maiden voyage to Tacoma after being commissioned on January 30, 1904. She was laid down on September 27, 1900, at Mare Island, California by Union Iron Works and launched on June 2, 1903. The ship was the second "Tacoma" and was Cruiser No. 18. She was under the command of Comdr. R.F. Nicholson. After her visit to Tacoma she voyaged to Hawaii in the spring of 1904 and then, after returning to San Francisco, proceeded to sail for Cape Horn. In the next couple of years the busy "Tacoma" voyaged to Hispaniola, Europe and the Mediterranean. She spent the next ten years providing service on the east coast and cruising the Caribbean and West Indies to protect American interests there. More cruising involving the Canal Zone, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras followed. After a short spell in reserve, she once again began patrolling in 1912 where she cruised the Gulf of Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. The "Tacoma" cruised the Mexican coast in 1914 and then to Haiti. After another stint in reserve in 1916 she was fully commissioned for patrol duty. The warship made five round trips to Europe protecting US convoys once the United States entered World War l. The "Tacoma" ran aground on January 16, 1924 near Vera Cruz. She was unable to be freed and her name was struck from the Navy list in February of 1924. (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, p.7-8-article)

Cruisers (Warships)--United States--1900-1910;

The four masted steel barque 'Springburn', 2655 tons, under sail [steel 4 mast barque, 2655 tons, ON98318, 296.0 x 45.6 x 25.7. Built 1892 (2) Barclay, Curle and Co. Glasgow. Owners: R Shankland and Co., registered Greenock, 1906 sold to AD Bordes et Fils, and renamed 'Alexandre'. Sunk during WW1. State Library of South Australia, B 3456, PRG 1218/3 or OH 456/1, Digital Collections, South Australiana Collection, Photographs, A. d. Edwardes Collection, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/11/90

Sailing ships; Barques; Barks;

ca. 1903. Noted Northwest marine photographer Wilhelm Hester photographed the crew of the "Buckingham" circa 1903 with grain elevator A on Tacoma's waterfront in the background. The men were under the command of William Roberts and all were neatly dressed in suits. There was also one woman in the center of the group, perhaps a family member of one of the crew. Wilhelm Hester, a Seattle resident, had offices in Tacoma's Bernice Building at 1106-08 Pacific Ave. for several years in the first decade of the 20th century. He took photographs of ships and sailors on the Tacoma, Seattle and Port Blakely waterfronts. This ship was probably in port to pick up a cargo of flour.

Shipping--Tacoma--1900-1910; Cargo ships--Tacoma--1900-1910; Waterfronts--Tacoma--1900-1910; Grain elevators--Tacoma--1900-1910;

Crompton, The four masted steel barque 'Crompton', 2810 tons, under sail [steel 4 mast barque, 2810 tons, ON97800, 310.0 x 45.3 x 24.9. Built 1890 (7) T. Royden and Sons Liverpool. Owners Steel Sailing Ship Crompton Co. MacVicar, Marshall and Co. registered Liverpool. State Library of South Australia, B 3456, PRG 1218/3 or OH 456/1, Digital Collections, South Australiana Collection, Photographs, A. d. Edwardes Collection, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/6/67

Sailing ships; barks; barques;

Donna Francisca. The 'bald-headed' four masted steel barque 'Donna Francisca', 2277 tons, under sail. This ship is 'Jubilee-rigged' [steel 4 mast barque, 2277 tons. ON99059. 277.5 x 42.0 x 24.5. Built 1892 (4) Russell and Co. Greenock. Owners: J Hayes and Co. registered London. Sold 1910 and renamed Herbert and registered in Germany, renamed Lemkenhafen in 1922 and was wrecked in 1924. One of the early ships to be fitted with water ballast tanks. State Library of South Australia, B 3456, PRG 1218/3 or OH 456/1, Digital Collections, South Australiana Collection, Photographs, A. d. Edwardes Collection, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/1/81

Sailing ships;

ca. 1896. A two-masted sailing ship is docked on Tacoma's waterfront circa 1896 at the Northern Pacific Railroad's Ocean Freight warehouse to take on cargo. In the background to the left is the Crescent Creamery at what is now 100 Schuster Parkway. The creamery was built in 1890 and demolished about 1920.

Shipping--Tacoma--1890-1900; Sailing ships--Tacoma--1890-1900; Warehouses--Tacoma--1890-1900; Crescent Creamery (Tacoma); Waterfronts--Tacoma--1890-1900;

Tweedsdale. Four masted iron barque 'Tweedsdale', 1460 tons, under sail iron 4 mast barque, 1460 tons, ON76767, 244.4 x 37.4 x 22.6. Built 1877 (4) Barclay, Curle and Co. Glasgow. Owners: J&A Roxburgh, registered Glasgow, later Hatfield, Cameron and Co. Said to have been the first iron hulled sailing ship [and also the smallest ever built] rigged as a four mast barque. (State Library of South Australia, B 3456, PRG 1218/3 or OH 456/1, Digital Collections, South Australiana Collection, Photographs, A. D. Edwardes Collection, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/18/43)

Sailing ships;

ca. 1894. The whaleback steamer "City of Everett" under construction in Everett, Washington, circa 1894. Her revolutionary design, reminiscent of both a cigar with tipped ends and the body of a whale (when fully loaded only the curved part of the hull was above water), was created by Alexander McDougall, a captain on the Great Lakes. He managed to bring forth a vessel that could carry heavy loads but also be fast, cutting through water with little resistance. His body of work totaled 40, 24 barges and 16 steamers, all whalebacks. The "City of Everett," which was launched in 1894 but not completed until 1895, was the only whaleback steamer built in Everett. She measured 346 feet long with a 42-foot beam. Truly a workhorse, she was in service for 29 years, including such memorable trips as sailing to India for famine relief, at which time she became the first American steamer to navigate the Suez Canal and continuing on to Spain, becoming the first American steamship to circumnavigate the world. The "City of Everett" had survived collisions at sea and a fire in port but on October 11, 1923, she went down with all hands during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. The wreck was not found until September 10, 2010, in 400 feet of water about 150 miles due west of Naples, Florida. The whaleback steamship was nearly intact and appeared to have sunk stern first. (St. Petersburg Times, "Fishermen find big one that didn't get away: a steamship resting miles off Naples," 12-12-2010; Armitage, "Alexander McDougall and the Whaleboat," 6-8-2008)

Steamboats--Everett; Boat & ship industry--Everett;

Steam schooner Julia H. Ray lost on Coos Bay Bar

Sailing ships; Schooners; Steam Ships;

ca. 1888. Two ships sit at dock next to the Tacoma coal bunkers while three more ships lay at anchor in Commencement Bay in this photograph from 1888. The enormous bunkers along the waterfront enabled Tacoma to become, briefly, the leading coaling station on the Pacific Coast. In 1879-180, the Northern Pacific built a branch railroad up the Puyallup River valley and opened the Pierce County field in Wilkeson, Carbonado, and Fairfax. The first commercial coke plant was established and put into operation by the Tacoma Coal and Coke Company in 1888. TPL-8327

Ore industry--Tacoma--1880-1890; Coal--Tacoma--1880-1890; Cargo ships--Tacoma--1880-1890; Sailing ships--1880-1890

This is an undated photograph of the towboat, "Vigilant," prior to being purchased by the Foss Launch & Tug Co. and renamed the "Anna Foss." She was a wood two-deck boat with 75-hp steam engine with a 69-foot length and 18-foot beam when built in 1907 in Tacoma for the WallaceTowboat Co. The "Vigilant" put in thirteen years of hard work for Wallace before being sold to the Cascade Tugboat Co. in 1920. Cascade sold her two years later to the Gilky Bros. of Anacortes for log towing in northern Puget Sound and British Columbia. Once more ownership changed hands when Cpt. C.C. Croft traded his tug for her about 1925. Now part of the Vigilant Towing Co. of Seattle, she substituted her steam plant for a 200-hp 2-cycle Worthington diesel in 1926, enabling her to tow heavy gravel scows. In 1930 the "Vigilant" was sold to the Anchor Tugboat Co. of Portland for use on the Columbia River. The Foss Co. acquired her in 1933 for $5,300 at a U.S. Marshal's sale. Her primary job was to bring down millions of feet of Canadian logs for mills operating in Salmon Bay and Elliot Bay. In 1938 the "Vigilant" became the "Anna Foss" after the wife of Peter Foss, Andrew Foss' brother. She would complete more than 50 years of service before being retired on August 2, 1968. The boat would have one final owner, former Chief Engineer Everett Atkinson, who purchased her in May of 1969. Her name reverted back to the "Vigilant" and she was anchored in Colvos Passage in front of Mr. Atkinson's Vashon Island home. She sank in 40 feet of water on September 16, 1969 when her pump apparently failed. (Skalley, "Foss Ninety Years of Towboating," p. 90-92)

Tugboats;

Three drivers and four trucks in this undated photograph believed to have been taken post-1925 at the Sumner Garage. The trucks are part of the Conlon Bros. fleet of vehicles. The firm handled long distance moving and appeared based in Sumner. John W. Conlon and his brother Peter also operated the Sumner Tacoma Stage Co. in the 1920's and 1930's. John Conlon would pass away in March of 1935. (Photograph courtesy of the Jack Conlon collection)

Trucks--Sumner; Moving & storage trade--Sumner; Sumner Garage (Sumner);

Lord Templeton. Vessel Type: Sailing Ship. Built: Harland & Wolff Ltd. Belfast. Hull: Steel. Launch Date: 5 May 1886. Owner. Irish Shipowners Co. In 1924-1932 she was owned by Coastwise Steamship & Barge Co. Ltd., Vancouver BC. As a barge she carried ore from Anyox to Tacoma WA USA. (MacFarlane, John M. ΓÇ£The Nauticapedia.ΓÇ¥ Kisbee Ring Kisbey Ring, or Kisbie Ring, 2018, www.nauticapedia.ca/dbase/Query/Shiplist4.php?&name=Lord%2BTempleton&id=9365&Page=1&input=Lord%2BTempleton)

Sailing ships;

Susie M. Plummer. Four-masted schooner. Built 1890 in Thomaston, ME. Gross tonnage 920, net tonnage 808, length 181'6", breadth 37'6", depth 17'6". Home port San Francisco. (Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States. 1907. Pg. 139)

Sailing ships; Schooners;

Meteor

Sailing ships;

Courtney Ford, Portluck, and Eric pulled by the tug Tacoma. The Courtney Ford (originally a skysail brig, but rerigged late in 1901 as a three -masted schooner) was wrecked September 7, 1902 on Glen Island, Izembek Bay, her hull being still fairly intact after more than 60 years on the beach. (Gordon Newell, Maritime Events of 1902, H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle : Superior Pub. Co., 1977, p. 84.) Eric, four-masted schooner of 574 tons and 750 M capacity, was built by Hall Bros. In 1917, the Eric was sold for $65,000 to Burns Philp Co., the Australian copra merchants, but retained U. S. registry. In December, 1923, she put into Honolulu, waterlogged, on a voyage from Clallam Bay, B. C., to Brisbane, Australia; but was repaired and completed the voyage. On her return to San Francisco, the Eric was sold to J. E. Shields of Seattle, and in January, 1925, was towed to that port. There she was sold to Sir Guy Gaunt, and went under British registry for a world cruise. John Lyman, "Pacific Coast-Built Sailers, 1850-1950" The Marine Digest. April 5, 1941, p. 2.

Sailing ships; Schooners;

Crown of Germany. The four masted steel barque 'Crown of Germany', 2241 tons, 284.4 x 41.9 x 24.5. Built 1892 Workman, Clark and Co. Belfast. Owners Crown SS Co. Ltd. (J Reid and Co) registered Belfast c.1902/3 Crown of Germany Ship Co. Potter Bros. registered London. In 1910 sold to Hamburg and renamed Fischbek. On her first voyage was wrecked in Le Maire Straits near Cape Horn, August 1910. (State Library of South Australia, B 3456, PRG 1218/3 or OH 456/1, Digital Collections, South Australiana Collection, Photographs, A. D. Edwardes Collection, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/5/90)

Sailing ships; barks; barques;

Benjamin F. Packard 244-foot square-rigged sailing ship launched in Bath on November 15, 1883. Originally built by Goss, Sawyer & Packard, Bath, Maine for transporting cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans around Cape Horn. "BenjaminF.Packard.ΓÇ¥ BenjaminF.PackardHouse, 2018, benjaminfpackardhouse.com/history

Square-rigged sailing ships;