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Old newspapers, pinned to the places they wrote about — the streets you can still walk today.
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With no fire department and only buckets, the Kitsap County seat of Sidney watched its entire business district burn to the ground in three hours — then promised to rebuild as Seattle had.
“"It's no use to fight a fire like that with buckets. We must have something more effective. Moreover, if we were provided properly with apparatus we would secure a needed reduction in insurance rates."”
A century before Puget Sound became a hub of naval power, local politicians battled Congress for federal funding to establish a permanent dry dock at Port Orchard.
“Port Orchard, on the contrary, admits the application to the utmost extent and in the least expensive manner, of all the resources of the engineer. It is the citadel of Puget Sound.”
Local residents petition the Navy to investigate alleged contractor favoritism in the growth of Charleston.
“The contractors are, it is alleged, trying to build up the town of Charleston and the residents of Sidney and Port Orchard are indignant.”
An Indigenous man is shot in a dispute over a death attributed to 'bad Tamanas' or spiritual curses.
“The Indians had attributed his death to the bad Tamanas of an old Indian medicine man... and predicted that serious trouble would ensue.”
A Congressional commission ends deliberation on the Pacific Coast site, settling on Kitsap County.
“The commission appointed by Congress to select a site for a navy yard on the Pacific Coast, has, after due deliberation, selected Port Orchard.”
Senators from Washington and Oregon clash in Congress over the location of a new naval dry dock, revealing a fierce regional rivalry between the Sound and the Columbia River.
“Heretofore the Washington and Oregon delegations have worked in harmony, but today they fought like brothers.”
A Seattle contractor bypasses local stone to import Canadian granite for the massive new Port Orchard dry dock, sparks a cross-border trade friction.
“Even with a duty of 10 cents a foot on the stone, the Nelson island quarry can be worked so easily that it is cheaper to use than the inferior American stone.”
A government commission selects Port Orchard for a $2 million naval facility, igniting a land rush in the burgeoning suburb of Tracyton.
“The government will expend $2,000,000 in erecting the plant for the new naval station.”
Senator Squire secures a legislative victory for Washington, outmaneuvering Oregon representatives to establish the naval site.
“The proceedings occupied the greater part of today's session... Senators Squire and Allen were, of course, conspicuous in support of the amendment.”
A rapid-fire inferno destroys a town landmark, underscoring the dangers of early Seattle-area settlements lacking municipal fire suppression.
“The town having no fire apparatus, a bucket brigade was organized... but the fire had gained such a strong hold that it was impossible to get water on it.”
A former Justice of the Peace vanishes from Kitsap County following accusations of financial impropriety.
“He packed up all his papers and sent them to his wife with a letter intimating that he would probably be heard from next at the bottom of the bay.”
A Seattle contractor's low bid for the new Port Orchard dry dock is thrown out by federal officials because of changing labor regulations.
“The department now finds it necessary to throw out all the old bids and advertise for new ones, delaying the construction of the dock.”
A mix-up over naming rights between two Kitsap County towns leads to a mail delivery crisis.
“The postmaster there sends it back to Seattle, from whence it must be again sent out, and a considerable delay is thus occasioned.”
The residents of Port Orchard vote overwhelmingly to incorporate as a new municipality.
“The officers-elect are all young men of intelligence and spirit, and on their mettle for the good of the place.”
A murder trial proceeds in Kitsap County despite defense arguments that local prejudice makes a fair hearing impossible.
“The prosecution ... filed the affidavits of forty of the spectators in the court room, all of whom claimed that prejudice did not exist against the prisoner.”
Local residents decry the political renaming of the Sidney post office, arguing it’s a scheme to fire a veteran and confuse the mail.
“It is a dangerous mistake and an injustice to the citizens of Kitsap County.”
A Sidney woman faces murder charges after her husband dies in agony from suspected arsenical poisoning.
“She told other parties that she married him solely for a home.”
The federal government hesitates to award a massive contract for a key Navy project, citing doubts about the contractor's ability to deliver.
“At the navy department it was said this afternoon that there was a vexatious hitch over the matter.”
A peaceful expedition of 150 men and a team of oxen descends on Port Madison to relocate the county records to Sidney.
“As a means of keeping peace between the people of the two towns, no liquor was allowed on board the boat.”
An Everett booster attempts to block federal funding for the Kitsap County naval facility in a desperate bid to lure it to his own town.
“If each city or section fights every community seeking just appropriations from the government and succeeds in defeating these appropriations, the effect will be disastrous to the whole state.”
A murder trial in Kitsap County is stalled after a clumsy jailer heads downtown with the only key to the prisoner's cell.
“The deputy sheriff came forward in an embarrassed manner, twisting his felt hat in his hands until he tore it.”
Seattle labor organizers protest the use of British Columbia rock for a U.S. Navy contract.
“The Trades' Council, claiming that American workmen and American granite are discriminated against on British government buildings, are interesting coast labor organizations in demanding that the Navy Department compel Fox to use superior American granite.”
James Bigler, who has built the giant steel caissons in every government dry dock in the country, arrives on Puget Sound to assemble the mammoth gate for the Port Orchard dock — a 600-ton steel vessel shipped in pieces around Cape Horn.
“Do you know what a caisson looks like? Well, I'll tell you. The one at Port Orchard was built at Newberg entire... It looks like a ship — a big three-decker — and is 140 feet long.”
A federal jury in Port Orchard has valued land for a new military fort at $185,000—nearly double the government's appraisal. Officials warn the deal may collapse if the price is too steep.
Senator Henry Mason Allen secures $100,000 for a naval facility at Port Orchard, marking one of the first major federal infrastructure wins for the young state.
Burglars used black powder to blow the safe of a postmaster in a small town, wrecking the building in the process.
“Blasting was being constantly done at the dry dock the report was considered an ordinary occurrence.”
A Seattle attorney pulls a local government worker from a watery death in the harbor by the tails of his coat.
“Peterson heard the splash and saw a black, fluttering object which appeared on the surface of the water. It was the tails of Preston's long rubber coat.”
A stone quarry worker sues his employer for over $11,000 after a rockfall left him permanently crippled, citing negligence and ignored warnings.
“Olson alleges that... his fellow laborers notified Carlson that the rock was ready to fall and should be removed, but that Carlson... told the laborers in Olson's hearing that it was safe to work under the rock.”
Amid steam whistles and cheering crowds, the battleship USS Iowa successfully navigated the Port Orchard dry dock, proving the facility’s superiority over its East Coast rivals.
“The Iowa remained in the Port Orchard dock without a hitch of any sort, demonstrating that it is one of the best of its kind in the United States.”
A look at the origins of regional place names, from the renaming of a county to the memory of local chiefs.
“The Indian word Kitsap meant 'brave,' according to Professor Meany.”
A local fisherman's harrowing encounter with a tentacled beast off the coast of Kitsap County.
“As the fish was rather disposed to be aggressive and took hold of the boat with considerable emphasis, the fisherman concluded he did not care to bring him ashore.”
A squall nearly capsized a rowboat near Port Orchard; a Nipsic crew rescued Minnie Ketcheson and a captain's son.
“The squall came up when the young couple were about a mile from shore, causing such high waves that the boat could not make the land.”
A young Chicago transplant drowns in a remote lake after a fishing trip ends in a mysterious, fatal accident.
“It was no small task to bring the remains to Sidney yesterday morning through snow drifted in some places four feet deep.”
A flurry of bids arrives for the massive Navy project in Port Orchard, testing the influence of Seattle and Tacoma firms.
“The department had found it necessary to readvertise for bids for this work owing to the complications growing out of the eight-hour law.”
When the USS Iowa arrived in Port Orchard, local dignitaries and chamber of commerce members boarded a steamer to greet the battleship, leading to a dramatic encounter in the fog and a cordial invitation to a banquet.
A historic excerpt from Captain George Vancouver’s 1792 journals describing the discovery and naming of the harbor we know today as Port Orchard.
“This harbor, after the gentleman who discovered it, obtained the name of Port Orchard.”
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