Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington: yard employees' Christmas party. Employees chat over bowls of soup, paper cups of coffee and long loaves of French bread. The Pennsalt plant manufactured caustic chemicals used in paper, pulp and plywood manufacturing. It was one of the largest plants in the Tacoma Tideflats industrial area.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington: yard employees' Christmas party. Employees sit at long tables arranged between what appear to be containers of the company's chemicals. Employees eat a holiday meal of soup, bread and coffee poured from a large urn into paper cups.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington; yard employees' Christmas party. The lone female at this gathering laughs out loud while the man behind her seems to be offering to help her with her soup. The Pennsalt plant manufactured chemicals used in industrial processing, sanitation and also insect irradication. The company later changed its name to Penwalt.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington; yard employees' Christmas party. Pennsalt president and general manager Fred C. Shanaman, in center, enjoys a bowl of soup with employees. Pennsalt, at 40 acres on the Hylebos Waterway, was one of the largest plants in the Tideflats industrial area. Materials were brought into the plant by ship and rail. The company was also the major user of Tacoma power & water.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960; Shanaman, Frederick Charles, 1901-1982;

Flat cars for advertising use for Pennsylvania Salt. Man explaining pipe adjustment on equipment to workman at chemical plant. Industrial safety mask close by. Photograph was taken on May 17, 1940.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Gas masks;

ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at the intersection of 11th Street and Milwaukee Way. The company was the only manufacturer of builders' hardware in the Pacific Northwest. This plant was constructed in 1948, with additions in 1950, 1952 and a million dollar expansion in 1953. In 1956, the plant occupied 120,000 square feet and turned out more than 450 products for national and foreign markets. The company manufactured small hardware such as drawers, knobs, pulls and hinges. Also pictured on 11th Street is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. Blake, Moffitt & Towne were wholesale distributors of printing and wrapping paper and stationery and were formerly located on Jefferson Avenue. (TNT 9/3/1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hardware;

ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at 1940 E. 11th St. 11th Street is shown intersecting with Thorne Road. The larger building on Thorne is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. The body of water at the bottom of the picture is the Sitcum Waterway. The railroad tracks run between the waterway and 11th Street. At the left hand side of the intersection of Thorne and 11th Streets is the Tideflats Texaco gasoline station, beside the station is B & M Distributing Co. Washington Steel Products was the only Northwest manufacturer of builder's hardware, including rolling door hardware and Kitch'n-Handy cabinet attachments. The company began operation in Seattle in 1945 and moved to Tacoma in 1948. The company was sold to Ekco Products Company of Chicago in October of 1959. At the time of the sale, the company had 475 workers, with 200 in manufacturing, and a payroll of 1 1/2 million. (TNT 09-03-1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960

Damage to a lye tank at Pennsalt. Hoisting equipment is being used to remove the damaged tank from its perch on June 5, 1956. Photograph ordered by the Whiting Corp.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery;

Close up of chlorine tank cars for Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. Two men working on top of rail car, one is inside porthole. Photograph taken on July 2, 1940.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma;

Close-up of chlorine tank cars for Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. Three men on top of tank car adjusting equipment overhead in this photograph dated July 2, 1940.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma;

Man on platform of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company chlorine tank car in this photograph dated July of 1940. Hylebos Waterway in background.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma);

Back of Photo:
"NEWS 3/17/89 (Photo by Russ Carmack)
Judy Slaney puts a Mazda decal on the tail gate of a Mazda 4x4 pick-up truck at the Mazda import facility at the Port of Tacoma. Congress is taking a critical look at Foreign Trade Zones to see if they help or hinder the U.S. economy. Port of Tacoma has the second largest Free Trade Zone in the country, and the port officials consider it an important economic development too. Mazda adds accessories and detailing to cars imported from Japan and Korea.

Back of Photo:
Aerial view of Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad terminals and Shaffer terminals at Tacoma, Washington.

Chapin Bowen Inc. Photographers

ca. 1910. A grouping of rough loggers, probably employees of the Grays Harbor Logging Co., posed for the camera on and around a downed giant tree, circa 1910. The early era of the Grays Harbor lumber industry was often called the "Timber Rush," as fortunes were made in the attempt to clear cut the great stand of Douglas Fir. The Grays Harbor Logging Co. was in operation from 1909-1920. They had logging camps on the East Fork of the Wishkah River and maintained offices in Aberdeen. The company's president was C. H. Shutt and the Secretary/Treasurer was F.E. Burrows. ("They Tried to Cut It All" by Edwin VanSyckle") (photograph courtesy of Dan Powell) TPL-9833

Grays Harbor Logging Co. (Aberdeen); Lumber industry--Grays Harbor; Loggers; Woodcutters;

ca. 1910. An unidentified logger stands in front of a logging shed, circa 1913. The shed is labelled "Grays Harbor Logging Co., Camp #2." The Grays Harbor Logging Company was located on the East Fork of the Wishkah River, outside of Aberdeen in Grays Harbor County, where they maintained three logging dams. The head of the company was Calvin Herbert "Bert" Shutt, who drowned in one of his own logging ponds on the river November 18, 1915. The company was in operation from around 1909-1920. By 1913, the company also maintained offices in Aberdeen, located on "Skidroad," near the corner of Hume and F St. The secretary/treasurer of the company was F.E. Burrows. ("They Tried to Cut It All" by Edwin Van Syckle) (photograph courtesy of Dan Powell) TPL-9835

Grays Harbor Logging Co. (Aberdeen); Lumber industry--Grays Harbor;

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