Bellingham Bay's New Steamship Era
The arrival of the steamship Wilmington signals a shift from the gold-rush volatility of 1858 to a permanent, resource-driven prosperity for the region.
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.
The arrival at Whatcom the other day of the steamship Wilmington, from San Francisco, created a considerable sensation. The arrival of the Wilmington marks an important era in the history of Whatcom, and in the minds of the old settlers revives recollections of the stirring times during the gold excitement of 1858. The Wilmington has the proud distinction of being the first ocean steamship, carrying freight and passengers, to come to Bellingham bay since 1858. To see her steaming into the bay Wednesday, direct from the straits, via Bellingham channel, was truly gratifying to the people of Whatcom, New Whatcom, Bellingham and Fairhaven, for the reason that it marks a new beginning in the development that is taking place at this end of the Sound. And how different from the temporary boom that prevailed here for a few short months in 1858. The boom then was based upon the gold discoveries in the mountains forty or fifty miles from Whatcom. Now the boom is based upon the agricultural, timber, coal and iron resources of the county, and means the permanent and lasting prosperity of Whatcom county.
“The boom is based upon the agricultural, timber, coal and iron resources of the county, and means the permanent and lasting prosperity of Whatcom county.”
This reflects the 19th-century struggle to transform boom-and-bust frontier towns into stable industrial hubs. Today, Bellingham continues to grapple with the legacy of that resource-extraction economy while seeking modern sustainability.
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