The Mill That Built a Town: Inside Port Discovery’s Industrial Heart
A rare look inside the massive lumber operation on Port Discovery Bay, where 60 men worked around the clock to feed the timber boom of the Pacific Northwest.
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.
Few who go up and down upon the regular passenger steamers suspect what a man may lose in not visiting the beautiful, landlocked harbor of Port Discovery.
This bay is some ten miles long, and averages from three to three and one half miles wide. It was first discovered by Vancouver, the navigator, who named the bay after his ship, the 'Discovery.' This bay is situated some eight miles back of Port Townsend, about two miles from its mouth in Protection Island, so-called because when a person is in the centre of the bay, this island appears to wholly close its entrance, making it land-locked, yet of easy entrance, as well as easily fortified. It is naturally best situated for a Naval depot, for wooden war vessels, of any place on this coast.
The Port Discovery Mills are situated on the West side at the harbor, about six miles from its mouth. Its present means of communication with Port Townsend is by stage to Yukey's Landing, thence, on the lively little steam ferry 'Fanny.' This is one of the most complete mills, in all of its appointments, of any on the Sound. Its capacity is about 60,000 feet of lumber, daily, and about 60 men are regularly employed about the mill.
In 1870, this mill shipped to San Francisco and foreign ports, 18,000,000 feet of lumber, and 8,000,000 of lath. The vessels owned by the company are: Ship 'Walkawak', capacity 700,000 feet. Bark 'Mary Glover', 650,000 Brig 'Ocean', 500,000 These three are running regularly to San Francisco. The bark 'Ranger' has been, for a year, carrying coal from Nisqually.
Their tug, the S. L. Mastic, is claimed to be as powerful and as good a navy tug on this coast. It is, at present, commanded by Capt. J. E. White, a very efficient officer, but one of the most modest of gentlemen. While there, the 'Mastic' towed the French bark 'Europe' from Townsend to Sebichi, in four and one-half hours, and returned to Townsend in four hours.
The Mill is being refitted, has received entirely new foundation timbers, the joints are braced with knees, like a ship's deck, making it as firm as possible. The mill has three steam engines, the largest of which is said to be the finest on the Sound. The refuse slabs are taken away by a very ingeniously contrived endless chain apparatus.
O. E. P. Woods, the resident manager of the establishment, is a gentleman of fine social qualities, who enjoys the distinguished honor of being the author of our present excellent nuisance law, which, in the hands of Judge Lewis, our able Chief-Justice, so effectually disposes of aqua brothels and kindred nuisances.
This 1870s snapshot of Port Discovery reveals the sheer scale of the timber industry that defined Snohomish County's economy. The '60 men' employed here represent the backbone of local labor, while the mention of 'nuisance laws' and 'aquatic brothels' hints at the moral policing that often accompanied these industrial boomtowns.
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