THe beginning of Seattle history :: essays papers

THe beginning of Seattle history The coast of Washington is rich with the history of early America. While much of the United States was still in its infancy, Washington was thriving with industry. Though the industry was large, the towns were just beginning to grow. Though Washington’s coastal towns offered much to its citizens, it was the logging industry that started it all. In this paper, I will discuss the growth of the logging industry, specifically in relation to Seattle, and the resulting extension industries in the development of what is now our nations largest port city. I. The early industry: The laborers who sat idle during the fur trading off-season were of great concern to George Simpson, resident governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821. As he sat in his newly transferred building situated on the north bank of the Columbia River, he noticed the commanding view, in which he saw endless stands of thick timber. By order of Simpson, command of the new post, Fort Vancouver, was secured by one John McLoughlin and together, the two established the first Washington timber mill (Ficken 1987). The mill, which began operation in 1828, was charged with the responsibility of supplying timber up and down the southern coast of the United States and where ever markets were deemed profitable. This venture enabled the company to cover expenses throughout the remainder of the year and according to Simpson, â€Å"†¦yielded quite a handsome profit† (Ficken 1987). The mighty Columbia had proven useful in transporting logs to the port in the Puget Sound. The successful Fort Vancouver sawmill constituted the only timber exploitation resource in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade. As the industry became more and more profitable, the inevitable happened, and the Americans came to the Northwest. II. The potential of Seattle is realized: In 1851, Arthur Denny and a small crew built small log shelters on the beach of Elliot Bay. As Denny and his party recognized the availability of timber in the region, they moved camp to the more protected eastern shores of the bay to erect facilities to process the lumber they would soon be harvesting (Ficken 1987). As they laid out their settlement, they called their village Duwamps (later to be know as Seattle). The industry grew and soon mills were showing up all over the coast of Washington.