Name: Oysterville
Brand: Sydney Stevens
SKU: 9780738580760
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Oysterville

9780738580760

$24.99

For generations, Chinook Indians camped in the area that is now Oysterville, gathering oysters from the shallow waters of Shoalwater Bay. When tribal elder "Old Klickeas" introduced two young adventurers, Robert Hamilton Espy and Isaac Alonzo Clark, to the oyster treasure, the pioneer boom years began. Oysters were marketed in gold-rich, oyster-hungry San Francisco, where a plateful sold for $50. Within months, there were several hundred settlers, and in 1855, Oysterville was chosen as the seat of Pacific County, Washington Territory. Oysterville had many county firsts: a school, a college, a newspaper, a post office, and a church--but never a bank. When schooners arrived to pick up their oyster cargoes, oystermen were paid in gold coin that then might be buried or stashed under floorboards for safekeeping. Often there was more gold in Oysterville than in any town on the West Coast except San Francisco. Today the peaceful vistas along the lanes and shoreline of the village belie its tumultuous history. Oysterville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Lost Restaurants of Walla Walla

9781467136341

$23.99

Dining in Walla Walla blossomed from an influx of mining transplants in the late 1800s. Within decades, a roadhouse called the Oasis boasted a seventy-two-ounce slab of beef, and the old Pastime Café opened at 5:30 a.m. with white toast and whiskey for breakfast. In the early 1950s, Ysidro Berrones opened one of the valley's first Mexican restaurants, the El Sombrero Tortilla Factory and Café. Owner of Denney's Hi-Spot for two decades, Joe Denney also satisfied locals with his morning crooning to piano on KTEL. Native and local wine writer Catie McIntyre Walker celebrates this rich heritage with decades of departed, beloved establishments and the people behind them.

The Ballard Locks

9780738559179

$24.99

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, known locally as the Ballard Locks, are an integral part of Seattle's extensive waterways. The busiest facility of their kind in America, the Ballard Locks form the heart of the channel connecting Puget Sound's saltwater with Seattle's main freshwater lakes. When completed in 1917, the locks were second only in size to the Panama Canal and the first of their kind on the West Coast. They function primarily to maintain the lakes' levels and allow the movement of vessels between them and the sea. The Ballard Locks are among Seattle's top tourist attractions; more than one million people visit annually. They watch salmon and other fish migrate through the fish ladder, visit the botanical gardens, and watch the nonstop parade of ships—from working vessels to pleasure craft—as they rise and fall in the locks.

Road to Rainier Scenic Byway

9781467129282

$23.99

The Road to Rainier Scenic Byway has grown from a Native American forest trail, hundreds of years old, to a modern forest highway carrying 1.5 million travelers a year. In 1833, a European tourist first reached a glacier, and soon others followed, seeking the wonders of Mount Rainier. In 1903, the railroad reached Eatonville; and national park visitors, who started as a few thousand, became tens of thousands. With a market for timber, hundreds rushed to claim the lands. Forestry and tourism both thrived off the rich natural resources, and as the region developed, purely commercial ventures were supplemented with educational outreach. Charles L. Pack Experimental Forest, established in 1926, conducts scientific research into forest management and sustainability. Historical interpretation has become a function of the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad and Logging Museum. The Road to Rainier Scenic Byway continues to serve all as it heads to scenic Mount Rainier.

Paine Field

9781467131421

$24.99

Paine Field was named in honor of hometown hero Topliff Olin Paine, an Army Air Corps pilot during World War I. Located 6 miles south of Everett and 20 miles north of Seattle, Paine Field-- known as Snohomish County Airport--got its start as a WPA project in the 1930s. Situated on 1,000 acres, this airport was shaped by numerous events, such as World War II, the Korean War, and the arrival of Boeing, as well as social, political, and environmental issues that continue to influence its destiny. Throughout its 77-year history, Paine Field has continued to evolve into a thriving aviation community. At the heart of its success has been the key role of general aviation. A rags-to-riches story, Paine Field has grown from a small regional airport into an aeronautical complex that garners worldwide attention.

Rainier Valley

9780738588971

$24.99

Where could one find "Garlic Gulch," a stadium named Sick, an urban fireworks factory on a hill, a Japanese American botanical garden, and the largest stand of old-growth timber in Seattle? All are icons of Seattle's Rainier Valley, an area whose past and present are richly varied. Although the fireworks factory and the stadium are gone, the smell of garlic still hangs on mixed with the aromas of Asian spices, Ethiopian coffee, Mexican salsa, and fish and chips. Saved from development by the organized protests of the community, the 85-year-old botanic garden still thrives. And Seward Park, with its virgin timber, is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a public park. The Rainier Valley, one of the most ethnically and economically diverse communities in the country, is a reflection of the many families, businesses, and events that filled the past 150 years.

Mount Vernon

9780738596075

$24.99

On the banks of the Skagit River in the late 1800s, an untamed wilderness was settled by Jasper Gates. He was followed by Harrison Clothier and Edward English, who had a vision for a new town. But before the city of Mount Vernon could become a reality, the early settlers would have to use simple tools and pure determination to clear two ancient logjams that prohibited travel up the river. Once the river was navigable, the logging industry could flourish, which, in turn, cleared fertile lands that would support world-class farming and culminate in a booming dairy industry. Eventually, Mount Vernon would be referred to as "Milk City." The area was a top seed producer as well as the site for food processing and canning. Today, it is best known for bulb and flower growing; every April, hundreds of thousands of people journey to view the spectacular flower fields.

Fife

9780738588940

$24.99

When the citizens of Fife voted to incorporate the town in 1957, they sought to control their destiny and retain their idyllic community. However, Fife's location between the burgeoning cities of Tacoma and Seattle and proximity to Commencement Bay presented challenges of eminent domain, which ultimately brought about the transformation of the fabric of the land. This history documents the transformation of Fife from the establishment of the Puyallup Indian Reservation through that of the pioneer farmers who worked the rich, volcanic soil while developing a close-knit community of families and friends.

Downtown Vancouver

9780738529592

$24.99

Named for a British sea explorer, Vancouver was conceived in the early 1800s when Lewis and Clark camped at the waterfront and deemed the area ripe for settlement. The Hudson's Bay Company soon established its fur-trading empire here, and "Fort Vancouver" became the commercial center of the area. In 1849 American troops set up Columbia Barracks nearby, establishing the area as a military stronghold. In 1857 the city of Vancouver was incorporated, and gradually became an important industrial and residential city. Vancouver is now a big city, and along with nearby Portland, Oregon, is home to high-tech, maritime, lumber, and manufacturing industries.

Historic Haunts of the Long Beach Peninsula

9781467147385

$21.99

The towns and scenic byways of the Long Beach Peninsula attract more than just tourists, and from Oysterville to Ilwaco, ghostly tales abound. In Seaview, the Lamplighter hosts a multitude of spirits, including Lily, a murdered barmaid, while at the nearby Shelburne Inn, many guests have reported a ghostly presence that has yet to be identified. Mysterious footsteps can be heard on the stairs of the George Johnson house in Ocean Park, and a man holding a baby is rumored to appear at the Old Ilwaco Hospital. Join author and historian Sydney Stevens as she uncovers the spooky side of these beloved seaside towns.

Historic Haunts of the Long Beach Peninsula

Seattle

9780738580081

$24.99

The Puget Sound region was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before settlers arrived. After initially landing at Alki Beach in West Seattle, the Denny Party established a settlement on the eastern shores of Elliott Bay in 1852. For years, the cultural and commercial life centered around Yesler's Wharf and Sawmill. The city grew rapidly following the 1870s after the discovery of coal in the Cascade foothills. The entire commercial district was incinerated in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, but it was quickly rebuilt out of enduring brick and stone. The city stumbled economically following the Panic of 1893, but it recovered after the Klondike Gold Rush began in 1897. By the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle was the undisputed leader in the Pacific Northwest.

Mount Rainier's Historic Inns and Lodges

9781467124874

$29.99

Presiding over the Puget Sound region, Mount Rainier has lured adventurers and entrepreneurs to its slopes since the earliest settlers. Visitors rode packhorses or hiked miles to tent "hotels" at Theosophy Ridge, Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, and Ohanapecosh. James Longmire opened Longmire Springs Hotel near bubbling mineral springs. In 1899, Mount Rainier became a national park, and eventually, a motley array of services was consolidated by the Rainier National Park Company, which built National Park Inn and Paradise Inn. Roads, services, and activities expanded, and guests poured in. Winter activities, such as skiing and tobogganing, increased the park's popularity. The 1936 Winter Olympic Ski Trials and training for World War II ski troops were even hosted there. Visitors today might be surprised to know that many inns, rental cabins, bathhouses, and other buildings have come and gone, leaving some areas more pristine now than for much of the park's history.

Mount Rainier's Historic Inns and Lodges

Kalama

9781467116237

$24.99

Pioneers had first settled in the area along the Columbia River by 1847, but Kalama was not officially incorporated there until 1890. Early riverboats stopped in Kalama to obtain timber to fire their boilers. The Northern Pacific Railroad chose Kalama as the site to land its rail-transfer ferry, and it also became the terminus for Northern Pacific Railroad to complete a rail line to Puget Sound. The city grew and flourished around these industries. However, it also endured many hardships, surviving devastating floods, a fire that destroyed the business district, and the loss of its agricultural base, but each time, the citizens rebuilt. With the second-largest port by volume in Washington State and a growing industrial base, Kalama continues to prosper today. People are drawn to its small-town charm and advantageous location along the I-5 corridor and the Columbia River, where rail, road, and river meet.

Steamboat Rock

9781467104715

$24.99

Rising out of Banks Lake in the heart of Grand Coulee is Steamboat Rock State Park, a destination for thousands of vacationers every year. A geological wonder that was once an island in the diverted bed of the Columbia River, Steamboat Rock spent centuries landlocked in Washington State, finally becoming a beacon and a crossroad for travelers of the barren landscape. When the pioneers arrived, they found a rugged frontier and faced many hardships establishing a community, only to have it all washed away with the waves of progress and the building of the Grand Coulee Dam. This is the story of the people who settled the Steamboat Rock area, the land they fought hard to tame, and the inevitable outcome of man versus progress. With this book, uncover mysteries and unlock the story of Steamboat Rock.

Cover image for Steamboat Rock, isbn: 9781467104715

Mosquito Fleet of South Puget Sound

9780738556079

$24.99

Before the advent of roads in western Washington, steamboats of the Mosquito Fleet swarmed all over Puget Sound. Sidewheelers, stern-wheelers, and propeller-driven, they ranged from the tiny 40-foot Marie to the huge 282-foot Yosemite, and from the famous Flyer to the unknown Leota. Floating stores like the Vaughn and shrimpers like the Violet sailed the same waters as the elegant Great Lakes lady, the Chippewa, and the homely Willie. A few, like the Bob Irving and Blue Star, died spectacularly or, like Major Tompkins, shipwrecked after a short time, while others began new lives as tugboats or auto ferries; some even survive today as excursion boats like the Virginia V. From 1853 to modern car ferries in the 1920s, this volume chronicles the heyday of steamboating--a unique segment of maritime history--from modest launch to sleek liner.

Haunted Graveyard of the Pacific

9781467149501

$21.99

A road trip along spooky shores and treacherous waters.

Despite its idyllic setting, the coast of the Pacific Northwest has another, darker name by which it is known: "The Graveyard of the Pacific.'? Two thousand ships and countless lives have been lost to the waters of the Pacific Ocean and, the Columbia River claimed many more. The spirits of early settlers, Native Americans and drowned mariners are said to linger near the shores. From ghostly treasure hunters eternally searching for buried gold to a graveyard filled with souls who met violent ends, legends abound.

Join author Ira Wesley Kitmacher as he uncovers mysterious tales and guides readers through this most haunted place in America.

Tacoma

9781467103121

$24.99

Preceding the state of Washington's admittance to the United States in 1889, Tacoma, located south on Puget Sound, was officially incorporated on November 12, 1875, after the Northern Pacific Railway determined that Tacoma should be the western terminus of its transcontinental line. With this decision, the city began its transformation into the "City of Destiny" and allowed farm products and manufactured items to be brought across the country and shipped to Asia and anywhere on the Pacific Rim. Known for its fishing and logging industries, Tacoma prides itself on being the original world headquarters for the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and the birthplace of Bing Crosby. Today, Tacoma has a population that exceeds 200,000 and is the third-largest city in Washington, preceded by Seattle and Spokane.

Seattle's Belltown

9780738548166

$24.99

When most of Seattle's original founders settled at today's Pioneer Square, William Bell set up his own neighborhood a couple of miles up the waterfront. "Bell's Town" grew in the early 20th century, when Seattle leveled the adjacent Denny Hill, and the newly flat regrade became a low-rent district of bars, hotels, and industry. In recent decades, Belltown has become one of the nation's fastest growing urban neighborhoods with upscale condominium towers and fashionable restaurants. This new volume chronicles--in more than 200 images--the colorful history of this diverse and constantly changing area. Readers will enjoy early glimpses of such landmarks as the Seafair Torchlight Parade, the Seattle Center Monorail, the legendary Dog House, and the Edgewater Inn.

Tacoma's Wright Park

9780738559322

$24.99

The origins of Wright Park date to 1886, when the Tacoma Land Company--the real estate agency of the Northern Pacific Railway--donated 27 acres of land to the newly incorporated and booming young railroad town of Tacoma on the condition that it become a city park. A hilly, logged, and brambly parcel of land, the acreage was nonetheless enthusiastically received by citizens of Tacoma. Named in honor of Charles Barstow Wright, the president of the Tacoma Land Company, Wright Park and its surrounding streets and avenues soon became the early address of distinction for Tacoma's grand residences as well as many educational, religious, and medical institutions. Now, more than a century later, Tacoma's landmark Wright Park is the recipient of renewed citizen investment and appreciation, as this photographic retrospective demonstrates.

Redmond

9780738520711

$24.99

Only 17 miles northeast of Seattle, Redmond is nestled among fir trees, with the majestic backdrop of the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic Mountains to the west. In 1870, when the first official census of Seattle listed 1,107 people, Luke McRedmond obtained a land patent in the area later to be named for him. From the auspicious beginnings of lumber, fishing, and hunting industries sprang a thriving town which was destined to gain international recognition as the home of Microsoft.

With photographs collected from the relatives of its founding families, this volume focuses on the history of Redmond from 1870 to the 1920s. Included are many unpublished photos of the pioneer families, as well as rare glimpses of the railway station, early farms and schools, and historic shots of the Redmond Fire Department. Pictured social occasions include the earliest 4th of July celebrations, birthday parties, and Redmond's famous Derby Days, the country's oldest annual bicycle race, begun in 1939.

Issaquah, Washington

9780738520759

$24.99

Incorporated as Gilman in 1892, Issaquah was among the earliest communities settled on the east side of Lake Washington. By 1900, immigrants and newcomers were flooding into the town now known as Issaquah to work the mines, mill lumber, and establish farms and businesses. Though the town's growth dwindled with the coal market in the 1920s, families first attracted by the area's business opportunities stayed because they loved the close-knit community. In 1940 the first bridge across Lake Washington heralded a new era of growth, bringing Issaquah within an hour's drive of Seattle. By the time Interstate 90 came through town in the early 1970s, many trademarks of the small town were fading.

This collection of photographs, many never before published, illustrates Issaquah's heyday of mining and logging, its quiet years as a rural community, and its recent transformation into a thriving city. Included are scenes of local events such as the annual Issaquah rodeo, the Squak Valley Hot Shots musical group, and the Issaquah Skyport air show. The deconstruction of architectural symbols such as the Issaquah high trestle and an old pioneer home are also documented.

Mount Spokane

9780738595436

$24.99

Located just 25 northeast of Spokane, Mount Spokane has been a popular winter and summer recreation area for many years. The area around the 5,883-foot peak is rugged and covered with dense forest and plant habitat. As the population around the area grew during the last half of the 19th century, more people and community leaders got involved with Mount Spokane. In 1927, the area became a state park. Skiing has long since been popular on the mountain, and today the skiing tradition continues stronger than ever. For the first time, this book brings together the complete history and photograph collection of Mount Spokane. This photographic history covers not only skiing but also early auto tour trips, a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and a Spokane television station that built its transmitting tower on the summit of a mountain. Today, Mount Spokane is a 13,919-acre park, the largest state park in Washington.

Seattle's Luna Park

9780738575858

$24.99

Luna Park emerged on the north end of Alki Beach during the golden age of American amusement parks. Billed as "the Nation's Greatest Playground on the Pacific Coast," the park introduced the city to a host of novel attractions. Pleasure-seekers rode shimmering horses, thundered down the roller coaster, and marveled at daredevils and sideshows. There were games to be played, prizes to be won. Thousands swam in the waters of its natatorium and twirled across the floor of its dance hall. The park's glittering nighttime display shone across the bay and arrested the attention of the city. Though open only briefly, Luna Park remains a vibrant piece of Seattle's history.

Upper Skykomish Valley

9780738558394

$24.99

Until 1890, human activity in the Upper Skykomish Valley was largely seasonal hunting and berry picking by the small downriver Skykomish tribe. After 1890, people from as far away as Europe and Asia stormed into the upper valley when the Great Northern Railway was routed along the Skykomish River and news of a rich strike of galena (lead ore) reached the outside world. What followed was a frenzy of human activity where boomtowns with names such as Corea, Nippon, Berlin, Alpine, and Wellington came and went, some within a decade. While the longest railroad tunnel in the western hemisphere was being built through one part of the valley, a major prizefight between Jack Humphrey and Kid Kelly was held in the now-vanished town of Scenic. Building the railroad, harvesting forests, and extracting tons of ore required a hardy people working and living in demanding conditions.

Lighthouses and Lifesaving on Washington's Outer Coast

9780738559711

$24.99

Washington's storm-ridden outer coast stretches from Cape Disappointment, at the mouth of the Columbia River, to Cape Flattery, at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a distance of about 150 miles. Historians have labeled these waters "the Graveyard of the Pacific" and "the Unforgiving Coast." Despite their hazards, sea routes to, from, and along the coast have been busy. Maritime fur traders and explorers, warships, Gold Rush shipping, passenger vessels, lumber carriers, break-bulk freighters, container ships, and tankers have plied these waters. Concurrently, fisheries developed along the coast, adding to the number of vessels at risk. To assist mariners sailing these waters, the United States built its first lighthouse on the Washington coast at Cape Disappointment in 1856. Additional lighthouses, lightships, and lifesaving stations soon followed. With more than 180 images from archives throughout the Pacific Northwest, this collection documents their history.

Lighthouses and Lifesaving on Washington's Outer Coast

Tacoma's Stadium District

9780738580692

$24.99

A telegram stating, "We have located terminus on Commencement Bay," was sent on July 14, 1873, by R. D. Rice and J. C. Ainsworth, Northern Pacific Railroad commissioners, to Gen. Morton Mathew McCarver in Tacoma and Arthur Denny in Seattle's Pioneer Square. This message set the iron wheels in motion for Tacoma's destiny and transformation from old-growth forests to the Stadium District of today. It is here that railroad tycoons, timber barons, industrial leaders, and everyday people built their homes and raised their families. Perched high on the bluffs overlooking Commencement Bay, Mount Tahoma (Rainier), and the Cascade Mountains is one of the best-preserved historical residential areas in the nation. Magnificent Stadium Bowl is an important gathering place, and the steep spires of Stadium High School have inspired thousands of Tacomans for more than a century.

Port Orchard

9780738589220

$24.99

The town of Sidney was platted in 1886 by Frederick Stevens and contained a pottery works, shingle mill, and sawmill by 1889. The surrounding thick forests and lack of roads meant the area was accessible only by water. The year 1889 also saw the building of the first wharf, allowing numerous passengers and freight steamers of the Mosquito Fleet (so called because its numbers were said to resemble a swarm of mosquitoes) to stop at Sidney, thus facilitating the growth of the town. In December 1890, three months after Sidney's incorporation, the federal government approved Sinclair Inlet as the location for a Pacific Northwest shipyard. Early major developments determined the town's future: moving the county seat from Port Madison to Sidney, renaming the town Port Orchard, and locating the Washington State Veterans Home near Port Orchard.

Spanaway

9781467131414

$24.99

Around 1840, the British Hudson Bay Company set up a cattle ranch on the shore of a haunted lake that local tribes called Spa'nu-we. A hunting trail through the Cascade Mountains crossed at Spa'nu-we with another pathway running to Puget Sound from the sleeping volcano Tu'qobu (Tacoma). Both trails became roads and railways that drew settlers to Spa'nu-we's rich prairie and abundant water. Thus began decades of conflict--often armed--with the evolving town of Spanaway caught in regional and national turmoil. Because of its strategic location, Spanaway homesteads were used as temporary military outposts during two wars. Hundreds of family farms were lost forever when they were condemned to form Camp Lewis. Spanaway's resort "on the most beautiful lake in a land of lakes" has drawn controversial rallies, lawsuits, and political battles. Spanaway, still buffeted by political winds, continues today as a regional playground and transportation hub.

Early Monroe

9780738599724

$24.99

In the middle of the 19th century, those who ventured several miles up the tree-lined Snohomish River looked upon a wilderness that is now Monroe. They also found the friendly remnants of the native population living where three valleys with rich bottomland come together, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Cascade Mountains. Over the years, settlers arrived to farm the land and harvest the bountiful timber. Although a settlement called Park Place existed early on, there was no real town to serve the area until the coming of the railroad in 1893. Relocated to be nearer the railroad, the new settlement was named Monroe after the nation's fifth president and as a concession to the postal service requirement for one-word towns. The small community saw rapid growth in the next few decades. A steady influx of newcomers soon built a thriving town that is today best known for the annual Evergreen State Fair.

African Americans in Spokane

9780738570112

$24.99

In 1888, black men were recruited from the southern states to come to Roslyn, Washington, to work in the mines. What they had not known until their arrival was that they were there to break the strike against the coal company. Upon their arrival on the Northern Pacific Coal Company train, they were met with much violence. When the strike was finally settled, everyone-black and white-went to work. After the mines closed, the blacks migrated across the Pacific Northwest. Arcadia's African Americans in Spokane is about those black families who arrived in Spokane, Washington, in 1899. This collection of historic images reveals the story of their survival, culture, churches, and significance in the Spokane community throughout the decades that followed; this is the story of the journey that began once their final destination was reached, in Spokane.

Seattle's Green Lake

9780738548517

$24.99

Discovered in 1855, Green Lake has been an essential feature within Seattle's distinctive juxtaposition of landscape architecture and urban expansion, providing recreation and community focus for the last 150 years. Named after the persistent algae bloom that still occurs, the lake is a valuable natural landmark at the center of a neighborhood in transition, and its past is threaded with tenacious organizations and ambitious individuals. From its first homesteader, Erhart "Green Lake John" Saifried, to the vision of the Olmsted brothers, from Guy Phinney's menagerie to the triumph and tragedy of Helene Madison, from ice-skating to the Aqua Follies, this broad collection of vintage images illustrates a bygone era and provides a unique perspective on community values and ecological struggle.

Hockey in Seattle

9780738529233

$24.99

Professional, semi-pro, and junior league hockey teams have skated on Seattle ice for nearly a century. Great players like Frank Foyston, Bill MacFarland, Guyle Fielder, and Glen Goodall have thrilled fans and led their teams to championships. Hockey in Seattle is the story of these men and their teams. These stories are all here--the birth of hockey in Seattle, the 1917 Stanley Cup champions, the glory years of the Totems in the 1960s, and the Thunderbirds of today. Along the way you'll meet the players, owners, and fans that make up Seattle's colorful history as a hockey town. Put on your skates, pick up your stick, and relive the memories.

Washington's Sunset Highway

9781467132039

$24.99

The Sunset Highway works its way east to west across the 300-mile-wide expanse of Washington State from the Spokane River to its ending at Seattle on Puget Sound. Later known as Highway 10, the route traverses a landscape of big cities, small towns, and wide-open spaces; rolling hills and rugged mountains; fertile fields of grain, apple orchards, and ranches; roaring streams, deep rivers, and rock-walled coulees--now dry, but once a mighty watercourse. The Sunset Highway arose from a collection of existing wagon roads, becoming the main cross-state thoroughfare with highway improvements. As traffic increased, roadside businesses sprang up to accommodate motorists. In towns, bright neon lights attracted both locals and passers-through, while tourist courts, restaurants, burger stands, and service stations lined the highway approaches.

Bridges of Spokane

9780738596358

$24.99

Spokane's history begins with the arrival of explorer David Thompson, who established the trading post Spokane House in 1810. From that period forward, the area teemed with Euro-American settlers who often mingled with the Native American population. Spokan Falls, officially incorporated in 1881, and by 1891 known simply as Spokane, became ground zero for the extractive industries of mining and logging and later a vast hub for the railroads. These factors led to the greatest boom in the city's history between the years 1900 and 1915. Spokane's growth came on the heels of an increase in the built environment that included the creation of parks, subdivisions, an expanded downtown business district, and an almost feverish movement to create some of Washington's most beautifully designed bridges. Because of this, Spokane has often been referred to as the "City of Bridges."

Puyallup

9780738523743

$24.99

For many early Americans, native and immigrant, Puyallup was much more than simply a destination in Western Washington, but was a fulfillment of a dream, a vision of prosperity and opportunity. The lush valley region along the Puyallup River provided both beauty and bounty, sustaining countless generations and a variety of cultures, from the early American Indians to the later European explorers and settlers. Within this untamed wilderness, a group of hardy and self-reliant pioneers began the great task of carving a livelihood, and through their extraordinary efforts, created a lasting monument to their courage and determination-the city of Puyallup.

Puyallup: A Pioneer Paradise chronicles the story of the city's evolution from the indigenous tribe that once populated the valley to the post-World War II building boom that attracted thousands of new residents. Readers travel across several centuries of change as the country of the "Generous People," or Puyallup tribe, succumbed to the unyielding waves of new people, such as the colonists of the Hudson's Bay Company, the stalwart Naches Pass Immigrants, and scores of later men and women searching for the promise of land. This unique volume traces the city's varied history, including its once-prominent agricultural traditions in hops, berries, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and Christmas trees, and remembers a host of its colorful characters, citizens like Ezra Meeker and J.P. Stewart, who worked tirelessly to promote Puyallup's development and supplied much of the land and leadership necessary for its growth.