Four tall smokestacks on an industrial building.

Riegel Carolina Paper & Pulp Mill looking out on the docks on a ship named Mogul with a striped and lettered G figure.

Fischer & Porter Co. West Tacoma Newsprint Co. in Steilacoom, WA.

Side view of the Henry Mill & Timber Co. building with smoke pluming in the background. A more rustic wooden structure, crane and frame under construction are in the foreground.

Two men in suits and hats observe a laborer move lumber along a series of rollers outside.

ca. 1920. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, Engine #10253. This is an Asahel Curtis print, #46216, which was requested copied by the Washington State Historical Society on April 1, 1977. Three men are standing next to the electric powered engine, spaced far apart, with the man in the foreground seemingly prepared to give the "go ahead" signal. Photographer Curtis documented industry in Washington State as well as historic events and geographic features. He was based in Seattle and worked there until his death in 1941. 60,000 of his images are held in trust by the Washington State Historical Society. (www.wshs.org/wshm/online-exhibits/curtis/exhibitb.htm)

Railroad locomotives; Railroad cars; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co.; Railroads;

New home for the Whistle Bottling Works, built in 1926 by the Cammarano Brothers. Interior showing machinery and potted plants. The new $50,000 plant was filled with modern equipment. After being "mixed" according to preset formulas, flavored syrups were poured into sterilized bottles on a conveyor belt. They travelled from machine to machine, where they were filled with carbonated water, capped and labelled. The plants and flowers were probably sent by well wishers for the plant's opening. (TDL 8/22/1926, pg. A10-14) (filed with Argentum)

Beverage industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Whistle Bottling Co. (Tacoma); Bottling industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Cammarano Bros. (Tacoma);

The second floor laboratory, or "mix" room, in the new $50,000 Whistle Bottling Co. plant. Interior shot showing vats, gallon bottles on shelves. The room had a long testing bench or counter with shelves above it filled with graduates, filters and a large assortment of concentrated syrups. A 100 gallon mixing tank was used for compounding "simple syrup" from boiling water and pure cane sugar. This tank was connected with mixing tanks, where the simple syrup was mixed with the concentrated syrups that gave the beverage its distinctive taste. The mixed syrup flowed down a pipe into the first floor machine room where it went into sterilized bottles that were topped off with carbonated water. (TDL 8/22/1926, pg. A10-14) (filed with Argentum)

Beverage industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Whistle Bottling Co. (Tacoma); Bottling industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Cammarano Bros. (Tacoma);

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. Several railroad carsloaded with logs are standing in the yard at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. The City of Tacoma can be seen in the background. Since the company had their own rail spur they could deliver the logs to whatever part of the plant they needed or they could even dump them into the waterway which was nearby.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Aerial view of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. The Tacoma plant covers nearly 40 acres of tideflats on the Hylebos waterway. This location was chosen in 1929 because of favorable electric power rates, availability and quality of water, access to water, rail and motor transportation and its central location for its principal customers, the pulp and paper mills. The name of the corporation was changed to Pennwalt Corp. prior to the merger of Pennsalt and Wallace & Tierman, Inc. (TNT, 11/29/1968)

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma); Waterfronts--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association, stages of plywood prefabricated panel manufacturing taken at Tacoma Lumber Fabricating Company. The panels were used to build prefabricated houses. Here workmen are placing one of the panels in a steel pressure press. This press is one of six the company owns. The company took over the location of the earlier Henry Mill in 1944. (T.Times, 11/6/1946, p.7)

Plywood; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Lumber Fabricating Co. (Tacoma);

Douglas Fir Plywood Association, stages of plywood prefabricated panel manufacturing taken at Tacoma Lumber Fabricating Company. A framework for a one of the prefabricated panels is sent through a roller before being placed on a piece of plywood which will be the covering of one side of the panel. The prefabricated panels were manufactured in standard sized for floors, walls, ceilings, partitions, and roofs. They are freely adaptable to contractors' specification for all grades of houses. (T.Times, 11/6/1946, p.7)

Plywood; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Lumber Fabricating Co. (Tacoma);

Douglas Fir Plywood Association, stages of plywood prefabricated panel manufacturing taken at Tacoma Lumber Fabricating Company. Men add another plywood cover to the side of the milled lumber frame interior of the prefabricated panel. The company's goal is to complete 1,000 panels per day, enough for 10 complete homes per day. (T.Times, 11/6/1946, p.7)

Plywood; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Lumber Fabricating Co. (Tacoma);

Aerial view of Puget Sound Plywood, Inc., other plants, and the waterways on the Tacoma tideflats. Philadelphia Quartz has a new plant to make silicate of soda, a liquid mineral adhesive used extensively in manufacturing plywood and composition board. Puget Sound Plywood opened in March 1942. They were the first cooperative plywood plant in the city, organized by a group of Tacomans and others connected with and interested in the lumber industry. The plant occupied 3 1/2 acres at the head of East F Street and East E Street between the City and Middle waterways. With rail facilities direct to the plant, there were switching facilities to all railroads. (T.Times, 2/25/1942; Ledger, 1/25/1942)

Puget Sound Plywood, Inc. (Tacoma); Waterfronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cooperatives--Tacoma;

Tacoma Boat Building. At the time of this July 27, 1946 photograph, Tacoma Boat Building was nearing completion of "West Point," their first all-steel tuna clipper. She was launched August 17, 1946, and christened by Christine Jangaard. The vessel is 112 feet by 26 1/2 feet, powered by a 675 hp Cooper-Bessemer engine. TPL-8906

Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Waterfronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Air Reduction Sales Co., an oxygen producer. Four tanks, two smaller than the others, stand side-by-side. Shut-off valves, faucets, pipes, guages and a hose are attached to the tanks. The smallest pipes lead through the floor to another location.

Air Reduction Sales Co. (Tacoma); Factories--Tacoma;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A farmer leans against his new plywood silo standing next to his barn. A conveyor belt loader leans against the top of the silo.

Farmers--Puyallup; Silos--Puyallup; Plywood;

ca. 1946. The unveiling of the giant cross section of a tree trunk at the Northwest Door Company. In the summer of 1946, Northwest Door Co. cut down this tremendous old growth Douglas Fir tree southwest of Mt. Rainier. They shipped a cross section of the stump to their Tacoma plant. The tree was almost 14 feet in diameter. The small signs on either side of the section of tree show what years each ring represents and events that occurred that year. A crowd turned out in the rain to watch the unveiling of the log. The cross section of fir was moved in 1965 to the Lakewood branch of the Pierce County Library system.

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

For I.W. Johnson Engineering Company. An interior view of a sawmill near Packwood, Washington. A large, radial-arm saw, upper center, cuts lumber to length. A narrow conveyor belt seen in the foreground moves lumber through the mill.

Saws; Mills--Packwood--1940-1950; Logs; Lumber industry--Packwood--1940-1950; Woodcutting--Packwood--1940-1950;

For I.W. Johnson Engineering Company. An interior view of a sawmill near Packwood, Washington. Logs just delivered to the mill have already been cut into convenient lengths (usually 32 feet) for the machines that will have the next go at cutting the logs into lumber. (Fortune Magazine, April 1934)

Saws; Mills--Packwood--1940-1950; Logs; Lumber industry--Packwood--1940-1950; Woodcutting--Packwood--1940-1950;

An interior view of a sawmill near Packwood, Washington. Large logs are stacked on the left while two men operate the "head-rig", one to the right and one in the center, background. The log is being broken down. Running the "head-rig" is a two person operation. The "sawyer", in the center right, stands beside the carriage on which the log is clamped and as the carriage swings the log into the teeth of the saw he signals, with hand signals, to the "setter", on the right, operating the carriage, where and how much to cut. For I.W. Johnson Engineering Company. (Fortune Magazine, April 1934)

Saws; Mills--Packwood--1940-1950; Logs; Lumber industry--Packwood--1940-1950; Woodcutting--Packwood--1940-1950;

This aerial view of the "head of the bay" (the south end of the Foss Waterway) shows the Tacoma Boat Building Company and the Reliance Lumber company (to the right) as they appeared in March of 1947. The Northern Pacific Railroad roundhouse can be seen at 2211 East D Street, just above Tacoma Boat. Tacoma Boat were the exclusive designers and manufacturers of "Northern Dragger" winches, "North" purse seine winches, "Northern" anchor winches and "Northern" purse seine and dandelion blocks. They built wood and steel trollers, purse seiners and tuna clippers. (T. Times, 2/26/47, p. 9-B).

Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Railroad roundhouses--Tacoma; Aerial photographs;

Cascade Pole Co. manufactured poles and posts using Tacoma lumber. They manufactured their own creosote, and pressure creosoted their products for longer durability. Victor C. Monahan was President and J. R. McFarland was the Vice-President. Exterior view of Cascade Pole Co., a pole is being shaped using this machine.

Logs; Lumber--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Cascade Pole Co. (Tacoma);

Cascade Pole Co. manufactured poles and posts using Tacoma lumber. They manufactured their own creosote, and pressure creosoted their products for longer durability. Victor C. Monahan was President and J. R. McFarland was the Vice-President. Exterior view of Cascade Pole Co., logs are being brought into the plant by the railroad car.

Logs; Lumber--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Cascade Pole Co. (Tacoma);

Cavanaugh Lumber was owned by Cecil Cavanaugh. In 1931 they had a fire that destroyed most of their plant and a significant amount of their stock. They were able to rebuild and expand their business. View of unidentified man from Cavanaugh Lumber unloading plywood using a tool that measures the width of plywood, from company truck, photo ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cavanaugh Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Western Machine Works designed and built automatic labor saving machinery. They were owned and operated by Frank Schmidtz. View of machinery built by Western Machine Works.

Machinery industry--Tacoma; Machinery; Western Machine Works (Tacoma);

Peterson Boat Building was launching a 98-foot wooden tuna purse seiner in April of 1947 which was also capable of sardine seining. The fishing vessel was built for John and George Stanovich and Louis LeMont of San Pedro, California. The boat was christened as the "Golden West," with Mrs. John Stanovich as sponsor. Mrs. Stanovich is pictured above holding her bouquet and the champagne bottle just before the ship christening. After completion, the "Golden West" was headed south to fish for tuna on behalf of the French Sardine Co. (T. Times, 4/2/47, p. 9 & Pacific Fisherman, Jan. 1948, p. 185). TPL-8924

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Launchings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stanovich, John--Family; Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Peterson Boat Building Co. (Tacoma);

The Cheney Stud brand carries a stud horse imprinted on the ends and faces of Cheney Studs, it quickly became recognized throughout the industry as a sign of top quality. The demand for eight foot Cheney Studs dramatically increased while the availability of suitable tie lumber for the portable mills and the market for railroad ties decreased. Exterior view of Cheney plant, Cheney Studs are stacked up, hoisting machinery is in center.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Cheney Lumber Co. was a modern stud mill, providing Tacoma and national industries with the building material most needed. Cheney had been at their current site since 1942, they were located on the west side of Port of Tacoma Road, north of East 11th Street. Exterior view of pier with studs, laborers and hoisting pulleys and equipment.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Loading a shipment of lumber from Cheney Lumber Company was made easier by the Cheney's facilities and dock on Sitcum Waterway. Cranes could load directly from railroad cars with tracks on the dock. TPL-5677

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma);