ca. 1891. This portrait of Elisha P. Ferry, first Governor of Washington State, was taken circa 1891. On October 1, 1889, Washington voters ratifed the state's first constitution by a four to one majority. Republican Elisha P. Ferry (1825-1895), former lawyer and mayor, was elected governor. He served from 1889-1893. President Ulysses S. Grant had appointed Ferry governor of territorial Washington in 1872 and he was the only territorial governor to be appointed a second term. Ferry County in the northeastern corner of the state was named for the governor in 1899. (www.secstate.wa.gov/history; Washington HistoryLink.org)

Ferry, Elisha P., 1825-1895; Governors--Washington (State);

ca. 1891. In 1891 the LaMotte & Watkins Grocery Store, called simply "My Store" on the sign above their door, was located at 2420 Pacific Avenue. The store was owned by John W. Watkins and Mrs. Annie E. LaMotte, the widow of Oscar LaMotte. The four men standing in front of the store are (l to r) Mr. Lenard, a farmer; Charles S. Ecklund, a clerk at the store who later went to Alaska to seek his fortune; Herschel Rawlings, who was the store's bookkeeper and later became a Tacoma dentist; and Robert K. Taylor, a sales clerk who later moved to Seattle. (TNT 8/17/1922 p.4) Copy negative from 1939.

Grocery stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; My Store (Tacoma); Ecklund, Charles S.; Rawlings, Herschel; Taylor, Robert K.

Back of Photo:
Yesteryear Feb. 7, 1986
Puyallup Indian Tribe members gathered on Feb. 9, 1891, as part of their monthly neighborhood meetings. This was the time when Indian families gathered to discuss the business of running the reservation and making improvements in the quality of life. The women were not generally included in business affairs of the tribe, which would explain their absence in the photograph.
State of Washington Views
Rutter, Photo
Tacoma, Wash.

ca. 1891.

ca. 1893. Copy negative of a photograph, ca. 1893, of a Griffin Transfer Co. moving wagon. An unidentified man stands next to the horse-drawn wagon. The Griffin Transfer Co. is listed in the 1893-94 Polk Directory for Tacoma as owned by Griffin Brothers, Frederick and William. The office was at 1105 Pacific Ave. They maintained a yard and their residence at 813 J St. Company founder Frederick L. Griffin came west in 1889 to make his fortune. He was able to purchase a wagon and horse. He started out delivering fuel wood that he cut himself. After a few years, he obtained more wagons, horses and employees and branched out into a moving and hauling service. The company also dealt in coal, wood and ice. The company eventually grew into the Griffin Fuel Co., in the forties the oldest and largest dealer in fuel west of Chicago. The company remained in the hands of the Griffin family. TPL-7177

Moving & storage trade--Tacoma--1890-1900; Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1890-1900; Griffin Transfer Co. (Tacoma); Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1893. Interior of Miller & Grinnell grocery store. Charles Grinnell (l) and James Miller (r) were the proprietors of a grocery store located at 2903 Sixth Avenue in the 1890's. They along with two employees had their photograph taken circa 1893 inside the store. All are wearing long white aprons. The woman is possibly Mary Miller, James' wife. Prominently displayed is a large collection of spices from the Schilling Co.

Grocery stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Grinnell, Charles H.; Miller, James W.; Spices; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1893. Copy negative of photograph of old Peoples department store when it was at the corner of 19th and Pacific. At this time, the address was known as 1834-1840 Pacific Ave.The five story Romanesque building was built in 1890 from a design by F.A. Sexton. It is known as the Garretson-Woodruff-Pratt building. In the twenties, the building housed Sears and Roebuck. It is now part of the University of Washington-Tacoma campus. Two horse-drawn carriages parked in front of store. Photograph appeared in the Tacoma Times 07-19-1939. The store had its origins as a wholesale business, begun in 1889 a few months before statehood, in the Baker Building at 1306-08 Pacific. After four years, the company moved to this location. It converted to retail sales and took the name "Peoples Store." The day that it opened, it was crowded morning to night. In 1895, the store relocated to 1101-07 Pacific. The Peoples Store closed in 1983. (T. Times 7/19/1939, pg. 17)

Department stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Peoples (Tacoma);

ca. 1893. Copy of historical print made on August 31, 1950. This copy of a historical print shows Pacific Avenue about 1893. Tracks visible were used to haul dirt across Pacific Avenue. What appears to be part of Pacific Avenue at the near right was actually a wooden bridge over Galliher's Gulch between 24th & 26th Sts. Items of interest on the right side of Pacific are the Northern Pacific shops (in the distance), the Arlington Hotel (1955 Pacific), the Boston House (2413 Pacific) and to the extreme right, the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge. Two small children in hats sit in a cart in the photo's lower left. TPL-1384, TPL-8073

Cityscapes; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Business districts--Tacoma--1890-1900; Children--Tacoma--1890-1900; Arlington Hotel (Tacoma); Boston House (Tacoma); Bridges--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1893. Located at 2903 Sixth Avenue in the mid-1890's was a grocery store owned & operated by Charles H. Grinnell and James W. Miller. The two-story wood framed building faced Sixth Avenue with parking for delivery carts and customers on North Pine. The 1895 City Directory indicated that the store sold groceries, hay, grain and feed. The next year the store's contents had expanded to include flour, tea, coffee, spices and produce. Charles Grinnell was born in Minnesota in October of 1862. He is shown clutching the hand of his little girl, Ethel, while standing outside his business establishment. His partner, James Miller, is the man on the farthest left. Mr. Miller, born in Ohio in May of 1851, also resided in Tacoma with his wife and three sons. One of the boys, "Willie," has his arm extended to possibly hold the reins of a horse-drawn cart. By the time of 1897-98 City Directory, only James Miller's name was listed as proprietor; Mr. Grinnell was the deputy chief state grain inspector. (photograph has been written on)

Grocery stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Grinnell, Charles H.; Miller, James W.; Grinnell, Ethel A.; Miller, William E.; Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1890-1900; Horses--Tacoma--1890-1900;

On November 28, 1894 at 11:10 p.m., a landslide collapsed the Northern Pacific Railway Co.'s wharf, spilling the freight office, pump house and part of a warehouse into Commencement Bay. A few minutes later, at this site further north, a second slide occurred, carrying away part of the Ocean Dock. Observers near the Crescent Creamery, the white building on left located at approximately 100 Schuster Parkway, felt a jar followed by the crash of the warehouse as it broke up and fell into the water. The Crescent Creamery, constructed around 1890, was the first cold storage plant build on the Pacific Coast. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma Washington" vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-100

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

Late in the evening of November 28, 1894, a large landslide occurred in the waters of Commencement Bay carrying part of the Northern Pacific Railway Co.'s warehouse, its freight office, adjoining stockyards, the pump house and the home of H.H. Alger into the water. The night watchman and the Alger daughter lost their lives. In the daylight of the following day, observers came to see the previously inhabited land now covered with water. Although the Railway's freight office was found later floating near the southern tip of Maury Island, the company's safe, rumored to contain $10,000 in cash and $25,000 in securities, was never found. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma Washington" Vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-099, TPL-9550

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

At 11:10 p.m. on November 28, 1894, a strip of land 250-300 yards long and 20-60 feet wide slid into Commencement Bay, carrying with it the home of H.H. Alger, 45 feet of the Northern Pacific Railway Co's Puget Sound warehouse, the company's freight office and the adjoining stockyards. The lack of light made rescue work difficult. Night watchman John Hanson and Emma, the 15 year old daughter of Alger, lost their lives. A second slide followed in a few minutes and another the next night. When the land stopped sliding, it was estimated that the Bay now covered 20 acres of previously inhabited land. Where the warehouses had stood, there was now 60 feet of water. The slide was attributed to a washing out of quicksand beneath the filled-in earth. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma" vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-098

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

At 11:10 p.m. on November 28, 1894, a strip of land 250-300 yards long and 20-60 feet wide slid into Commencement Bay, carrying with it the home of H.H. Alger, 45 feet of the Northern Pacific Railway Co's Puget Sound warehouse, the company's freight office and the adjoining stockyards. The lack of light made rescue work difficult. Night watchman John Hanson and Emma, the 15 year old daughter of Alger, lost their lives. A second slide followed in a few minutes and another the next night. When the land stopped sliding, it was estimated that the Bay now covered 20 acres of previously inhabited land. Where the warehouses had stood, there was now 60 feet of water. The slide was attributed to a washing out of quicksand beneath the filled-in earth. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma" vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-097

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1895. Copy of customer print. Commercial fishing scene from ca. 1895. Men in slickers and hats examine the day's catch still tangled in fishing nets. Photograph ordered by the Town of Steilacoom. TPL-9524

Fishing--Washington; Fishermen--1890-1900; Fishing nets--Washington;

ca. 1895. Four wooden houses, side-by-side, labeled "Club Houses Tacoma Golf Club." Small children, men and women pose in front and on porches of these nearly identically styled buildings. According to an entry in the History of Pierce County, Vol. 1, this was the initial club house of the Tacoma (Country &) Golf Club located on leased 280 acres of prairie land in Edison in the latter half of the 1890's. One of the buildings served as the club room, one as locker room for men, another as women's locker room, and the fourth as the caretaker's home. The club relocated to the eastern shores of American Lake in 1904. Copy of original photograph ordered by the Weyerhaueser Co. on November 23, 1965. (History of Pierce County, Vol. 1, p. 47-48)

Tacoma Country & Golf Club (Tacoma); Clubhouses--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1895. Considered to be the most beautiful home in Tacoma, the Hewitt mansion was designed by architect Andrew J. Smith for Henry Hewitt Jr., one of the founders of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. The interior of the three story "castle" was filled with ornately carved woodwork of cherry, maple, oak and birch. Much of the interior woodwork was brought west from Milwaukee, where the house was designed. Tacoma of 1889, the year that the house was built, did not have a local industry that could accommodate the elaborate plans for the Hewitt house. The home passed through a succession of owners. Although still in excellent shape, the mansion was demolished in 1957 to make room for the parking lot of the Central Lutheran Church.

Hewitt, Henry J.--Homes & haunts;

ca. 1895. Joseph Bachrach (left) and Theo Feist (right) posed around 1895 at the entrance of their first dry goods store located at 945 Tacoma Avenue South. The woman standing next to Theo is believed to be his sister, Irma Feist. The other woman in the picture is probably Lucie Feist, another sister of Theo's and a clerk at the store. Lucie Feist married Joseph Bachrach in 1895, six years after she and Irma moved to Tacoma from Paris, France. The next store the partners opened was in their own building on Pacific Avenue near 10th St. in 1897. In 1916, they moved to a newly constructed building on Broadway which later housed the J.C. Penney store; eleven years later Feist & Bachrach moved to 1113 Broadway. Copy negative made for the Tacoma Times on July 17, 1937. The photograph and accompanying article appeared in the Golden Jubilee insert in the Times' July 19, 1939, edition. TPL-5478 (T.Times 7-19-39, p. 17)

Dry goods stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Feist & Bachrach (Tacoma); Bachrach, Joseph; Feist, Theophile;

ca. 1895. On Saturday June 20, 1891 the Tacoma Fire Department moved into its newly built Station No. 6 at 823 A St. The two-story brick building, which was built at a cost of $24,400, also became the Headquarters for the Fire Department. Captain J.L. Dietsch was the first officer in charge of Engine Co. No. 6 with Lt. W.E. Borland as his lieutenant. Chemical Engine Co. No. 1 moved in on June 20, 1891. Equipment owned included a second size Clapp & Jones piston steam fire engine and a W.T.Y. Schneck four wheeled hose wagon. Horses were used to pull these apparatus. This photograph shows how the station appeared in the late 1890's with its front on A St. It was torn down in 1974, and part of the land on which it stood is now part of Fireman Park. (100 Years of Firefighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma, Washington, p. 21; T. Times 6/18/1936, pg. 1-picture) Copy made approximately May, 1937. TPL-2525 (cropped version of TPL-397)

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Fire stations--Tacoma--1890-1900; Fire engines & equipment--Tacoma; Horses--Tacoma;

ca. 1895. View of Steilacoom Transfer Co. stable and horses taken ca. 1895; it was located at the corner of Wilkes & Commercial. Building to the right may be the home of the Steilacoom Transfer Co. owner and operator, Nick Doering. The firm, a livery, feed and fuel company, was one of Steilacoom's oldest businesses. Wagons and horses could be rented at Doering's establishment as well as purchase of the food necessary to feed the animals. Wood and bark could also be bought and delivered to customers. Proprietor Nick Doering had been born in Germany and came to the United States as a youngster, working and residing in Wisconsin and South Dakota. He came to Steilacoom and began a successful hauling and transfer business. His horses would not only haul deliveries as far away as from Tacoma but would also plow and later haul sand and gravel for the new Northern Pacific railway roadbed. The family business thrived and was maintained even after Doering's death in 1942. His son and grandson continued the business until it was sold to Lakewood Fuel Co. in 1971. (Town on the Sound, p. 99, Steilacoom Historical Museum Quarterly, Fall 1986, p. 1)

Steilacoom Transfer Co. (Steilacoom); Carts & wagons--Steilacoom; Horses--Steilacoom; Doering, Nick--Associated objects;