The Last Great Salmon Run of 1876
While Seattle’s modern relationship with the Duwamish is defined by restoration, a century-old dispatch reveals the sheer industrial scale of the salmon harvest that once powered the region’s early economy.
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.
During the last seven days, Mr. Shoecraft has put up 140 barrels of salmon at his packing establishment. Those now caught are very fat and will average nine pounds each, although many of those taken yesterday will turn the scale at 30 pounds. The present run is expected to last only about one week longer.
“Those now caught are very fat, and will average nine pounds each, although many of those taken yesterday will turn the scale at 30 pounds.”
In 1876, the salmon run was viewed as an inexhaustible resource for canning and export. Today, the struggle to protect the remaining Chinook and Coho populations in the Duwamish and surrounding watersheds is a central pillar of Seattle's environmental and tribal sovereignty efforts.
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