The Industrial Boom of Salmon Bay
A major creosote plant, destined to be the largest of its kind in the nation, promises to reshape Seattle’s industrial landscape and bring hundreds of jobs to Salmon Bay.
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.
Arrangements have been completed for the establishment of one of the largest manufacturing enterprises in Puget Sound at Salmon Bay, a few miles north of Seattle. It will be the largest creosote and wood preserving works in the United States, representing over $100,000 in machinery investment. Several months ago, Edward Wheeler of Seattle conceived the idea of the works, eventually organizing the Pacific Creosote Company. The board includes President W. P. Canaday, Vice-President Dr. T. T. Minor, and directors J. R. McDonald, A. M. Brookes, C. H. Kittinger, and Wheeler. The plant will be located on eight acres of cleared land at Salmon Bay, featuring 1,000 feet of waterfront. The company aims to preserve timber from dry rot and the teredo worm, utilizing a process to extract oils on-site. The facility will require eight large buildings, including a retort house for boilers, engines, and an electric light plant, and will eventually employ 60 to 100 men. The company expects to process 170 cords of wood per week, with an initial capacity of 100 piles every 24 hours.
“The object of the enterprise is to preserve timber from dry rot and the ravages of the teredo and other insects by the process of wood creosote.”
The 1888 establishment of an industrial titan at Salmon Bay mirrors Seattle's ongoing struggle to balance heavy industry and manufacturing with the preservation of its rapidly developing waterfront. Today, the area—formerly industrial—is a hub for maritime infrastructure and Ballard’s bustling commercial life, reflecting the city’s transition from raw resource extraction to a specialized marine economy.
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