Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Nels Bjarke Papers
Date(s)
Extent
1 box
(.3 cubic feet)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Nels (Nils) Bjarke was born in 1875 in Denmark. He immigrated to the United States in 1915 and lived in Nebraska before moving and settling in Tacoma at the end of the first World War. He worked as a laborer in shipyards before becoming an engineer for the Fern Hill School. He moved to Fern Hill in 1927 with his family. Bjarke wrote about the history of the Fern Hill area including Byrd Mill Road and Naches Pass. He also compiled a history of Chief Leschi. Bjarke spearheaded the community effort to build the Fern Hill branch of the Tacoma Public Library by petitioning the library board and collecting signatures highlighting the desire for a local library. Bjarke died in 1950 at the age of 74.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Includes correspondence, writings on local history, and material related to the movement to build a library branch in the Fern Hill area.