The Battle for Seattle's Coal Wealth
A report on the power struggle between the Oregon Improvement Company and the Northern Pacific, and how it shaped the local 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.
The recent weakness of the stock of the Oregon Improvement Company is linked to a disagreement with the Northern Pacific Railroad. The Oregon Improvement Company holds coal mines in Newcastle and Renton, reached by a narrow gauge road out of Seattle. The company had hoped to extend a line up the White River to access 30,000 acres of valuable coal fields. However, the Northern Pacific has refused to ratify agreements to sell these lands, preferring to build its own lines to the mines at Wilkeson and Carbonado. This maneuver effectively blocks Seattle's ambitions to become a major independent railroad terminus, keeping the coal traffic under the control of the Northern Pacific.
“This line, built in the interest of Seattle, in order to make it a railroad terminus, was longer than the route by water, from Tacoma to Seattle.”
This story highlights the historic importance of coal to the economic geography of the Seattle area and the ruthless competition that determined which towns thrived as rail hubs versus those that were sidelined.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.