Kitsap County, 1909
Little more than half a century ago Kitsap County, Washington, was a dense wilderness of gigantic fir and cedar trees. The first settlement was made about 1853, where Port Gamble…
From: 1853 C.E. To: 1909 C.E.
Location: Kitsap County, Washington, United States of America
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Kitsap County, Washington,” from The Coast, 1909.
Little more than half a century ago Kitsap County, Washington, was a dense wilderness of gigantic fir and cedar trees. The first settlement was made about 1853, where Port Gamble is now located, the original town being known as Teekalet. Seabeck was settled a few years later, about 1856, by Adams, Blinn & Co., who built a sawmill there. The county seat was originally Port Madison, which was founded by G. A. Meigs. In January, 1893, the county’s business was removed to Sidney, where it now remains.
Kitsap County lies west of King County and north of Pierce County, on a peninsula which extends out into the waters of Puget Sound. It is bounded on the north and east by Admiralty inlet and on the west by Hoods Canal. It is indented by numerous bays and inlets of deep water and safe anchorage, and has a tidewater and frontage of over 400 miles - more than any other county of like size in the United States.
Three bays divide the interior of the county into as many districts, the most important of which is Port Orchard Bay, where is located the United States Navy Yard of Puget Sound and the towns of Bremerton and Charleston. Another is Dogfish Bay, where are located the towns of Poulsbo and Pearson. The third is Port Washington Bay, upon which are the towns of Silverdale, Tracyton and Chico.
The one great industry of this county is lumbering, the entire county being heavily timbered with fir and hemlock on the higher ground and densely covered with alder, maple and cedar in the valleys and lowlands. Some of the land has been logged off, yet there is still standing thousands of acres of timber. Two of the largest lumber mills in the world are located in this county, of which extended mention is made elsewhere, one at Port Gamble and the other at Port Blakely.
Many beautiful and attractive country homes are located on the slopes along the waterfront in the county. The country is generally level, the central portions undulating and rising gradually towards a range of hills known as the Black Hills. Springs of pure, fresh, freestone water abound in every portion of the county, forming into small springs, which in turn form creeks and rivers and finally drain into Puget Sound. There are many fresh water lakes in the interior of the county, which abound with fish of all kinds.
The soil is similar to that in all of Western Washington, the bottom and low lands being a rich black loam and the higher or uplands a shale clay or reddish loam, all of which is very productive in grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables.
As a fruit producing county this is one of the very best in the state. All kinds of fruit that can be grown in this climate are grown here, and for quantity per acre and quality the fruit of Kitsap County has few equals. Apples, pears, plums, prunes, crab apples, cherries, currants, blackberries, strawberries and kindred fruits grow in great profusion. Kitsap County has for many years past been the first in the state to send to the Seattle market home-grown strawberries, which being so very early always bring a high price.
Oats yield as high as 125 bushels to the acre, and clover and other grasses grow as well here as any place on earth. Gardening and fruit raising are carried on quite extensively and good returns are obtained for the time and labor expended.
The poultry industry is an important one, and thousands of cases of eggs are annually shipped to Seattle, besides a large quantity of chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc., in addition to the home consumption.
The raising of Angora goats, sheep and cattle is proving profitable, especially the Angora goat industry as these animals thrive on the dry uplands in parts of the county which are covered with sallal, ferns and willows. The Angora goat is good for its wool, hide and meat.
There is no government land left in the county, but good farms and land upon which good farms can be made can be purchased at exceedingly low figures, in either large or small tracts, ranging from one to a thousand acres and suitable for individuals or colonies.
Deep sea fishing is quite an industry of this county. There is the rock cod, the salmon, smelt, herring and all kinds of fish in profusion, and many men find employment the year round supplying the city markets with fish. There is also much game in the county, such as deer, quail, pigeon, grouse, pheasant and in the lakes and bays many varieties of wild ducks in season. Like many other portions of Western Washington, this might well be termed the hunter’s and fisherman’s paradise.
At the head of Port Orchard Bay a quarry is in operation where is taken out material for artificial stone paving and concrete, and a goodly number of men are employed. An immense brickyard is located at Harpers, which is becoming a large and important industry. Native oyster beds are found at Poulsbo. A socialistic colony is situated at Burley, in the southern part of the county. Excellent opportunities are offered for dairying. This industry has been neglected, and much good outside range has gone to waste for lack of cattle to utilize it.
There are many logging camps in the county, giving employment to many men at wages ranging from $2 to $3 per day. Workingmen are in good demand at the mills and logging camps. Wages are good, all kinds of produce brings a good price, and there is no excuse for an able-bodied man being idle here.
No county in the state is better located with reference to shipping and good markets than Kitsap County. Transportation is entirely by water, which is recognized the world over as the cheapest kind. No less than ten boats run daily between Kitsap County ports and Seattle, and there are from three to five running daily to Tacoma, giving the farmers, fruitgrowers and gardeners the advantage of two good markets.
Kitsap County is one of the oldest counties in the state. It was organized January 16, 1857. The first county seat was Port Madison. In 1893 the county seat was changed to Port Orchard, then called Sidney. The area of the county is 392 square miles, and the population is almost 15,000. It is a county of the thirteenth class. The climate exhilarating and exceedingly healthful. The county abounds with most excellent freestone springs and wells, and also fine and healthful mineral springs of rare and magnificent qualities. It has 256,000 acres of land. Clay especially adapted for use in manufacturing pottery, sewer pipe and vitrified brick is found here in large quantities. At the present an area of development and building advancement is in progress.
The county contains twenty-eight post-offices, most of which receive daily mail. It has as good common school facilities as counties in the older states, being divided into fifty-six school districts, in each of which is held school the major portion of the year. The schools are all easy of access, and there is nothing to prevent children living in any part of the county from receiving a good common school education.
The county is well supplied with roads, and no one wishing to locate here have any fear of being cut off from the public highway.
Kitsap County also enjoys the distinction of having no bonded indebtedness and no outstanding warrants. It is now and for some years past has been doing business on a strictly cash basis, and its taxes are as low and its affairs as well managed as those of any county in the United States. Its citizens are a quiet, industrious, sober people, nearly all nationalities being represented. Almost all religious denominations have churches in the county, and secret societies are well represented.
The Port Madison Indian Reservation, having an area of 7,284 acres, is located in the county, just north and west of Bainbridge Island. It may be of interest to here note that Chief Seattle is buried there.
"Kitsap County, Washington." The Coast. 1909.
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