The Cedar Trade Drives Pacific Northwest Expansion
A new shipment of cedar creates a lucrative market for Victoria and Washington territory mills.
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 schooner Katie has been purchased by Messrs. George Willis & Co., of the Georgetown (Northwest Coast) cedar mills, and will be placed in good repair for carrying lumber from the mills to Victoria. It is thought that a large and lucrative trade in red and yellow cedar may be built up in this city, and the firm will engage largely in the production of the lumber.
“It is thought that a large and lucrative trade in red and yellow cedar may be built up in this city.”
This 1876 report highlights the economic reliance on raw material extraction that defined early Seattle industry. Today, while the industry has shifted toward tech and services, the 'back country' economic interdependence mentioned in the paper remains a core structural reality of the Puget Sound region.
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