The Unharvested Wealth of Grays Harbor
An editorial call to action urges local businessmen to invest in a cold storage plant and a fishing fleet to challenge Puget Sound's monopoly.
W. M. Griggs, of Portland, fish buyer for Clilopeck Bros., arrived in Aberdeen Sunday evening, and is shipping large quantities of salmon east. There is no industry in this section that offers better returns than fishing. We need a cold storage plant and a few rustlers with a little money to engage in the business. A fishing schooner is needed to fish on the banks opposite the mouth of the harbor, where halibut, rock cod and other varieties are to be found in abundance. One schooner could do more work from this harbor than two of the same could from Puget Sound, where the greater portion of the time is spent in traveling to and from the fishing grounds. Terminal rates are in effect, and we can ship from here as cheap as from Puget Sound. We have the fish here and all that is necessary is to take our hands out of our pockets and start the enterprise.
“We have the fish here and all that is necessary is to take our hands out of our pockets and start the enterprise.”
This editorial captures the early 1890s 'booster' mentality in Aberdeen, where every local industry was viewed as a potential empire waiting for the right influx of capital. It mirrors contemporary frustrations with regional economic disparities, where small towns often feel bypassed by larger commercial hubs like Seattle.
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