The Lumber Barons Who Built the Sound
A 1882 reflection on the pioneers of the Puget Sound lumber industry, mapping the rise of the men who transformed Washington’s forests into fortunes.
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.
Some incidents of men who were and are still identified with one of our most important branches of trade—the lumber interest—will be the subject of this sketch. The first lumber mill of which we have any reliable record that was built on Puget Sound was erected in 1852 by J. J. Felt at Apple Tree Cove, near Port Madison. This was afterward sold to G. A. Meigs. The next mill was erected at Port Ludlow in 1853 by Messrs. Sayward and Thorndyke; this mill was finally sold to Amos J. Phinney. Mr. Pope, of Pope & Talbot, located his land at Port Gamble in 1853. Mr. Walker, partner in that firm, subsequently went to the Sound and, after finding sites at Port Discovery and Port Ludlow occupied, reached Gamble, where he located. The firm contracted in the East for a mill, which was brought out in the brig L. P. Foster. Joseph A. Coolidge, at present Secretary of the Merchants' Exchange, was with the firm in 1852. Both Pope and Talbot are dead; they amassed large fortunes, and the business is now conducted by their sons, who are active and enterprising young men. Howard & Renton located at Port Orchard in 1853; Mr. Renton is still in business as partner in the firm of Renton, Holmes & Co. with their present mill at Port Blakely. Grennan & Cranney located a mill at Utsalady and it was finally bought by Talbot.
“Both Pope and Talbot are dead; they amassed large fortunes, and the business is now conducted by their sons, who are active and enterprising young men.”
The concentration of capital in Seattle’s lumber mills during the 19th century mirrors the modern consolidation of industry in the Pacific Northwest. Today, as we grapple with the legacy of resource extraction, these early 'reminiscences' serve as a ledger of the foundational wealth that shaped the region’s landscape and power structures.
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