The End of the First Coal Bunker on the Pacific Coast
After thirty-four years, the historic Bellingham Bay coal bunkers are being dismantled, marking the close of the region's first industrial era.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Forces of men in the employ of the Great Northern Railway Company are now engaged in tearing down the old coal bunkers of the old Bellingham Bay coal mines; the big white mill. This will remove from the landscape of the bay a venerable and familiar landmark. This is the first coal bunker ever constructed on the Pacific coast. It was erected in 1858 by the Bellingham Bay Coal Company. The bunkers have for some time been regarded with apprehension by the engineers on account of the decay of the timbers. It was with reluctance that President Cornwall of the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company gave his consent to the removal of this venerable relic. The timbers are being carefully saved. The roof affords a fine illustration of the durability of the Washington red cedar shingle. The shingles, which have been exposed to the weather for thirty-four years, are still sound and show no evidences of decay.
“This is the first coal bunker ever constructed on the Pacific coast.”
This story documents the literal physical erasure of the industrial beginnings of Bellingham. Today, as Seattle and surrounding cities continue to replace historic industrial infrastructure with new development, the tension between preserving 'venerable relics' and modernizing for safety and utility remains a core civic debate.
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