Port Gamble, 1909
Situated in Kitsap County, on an arm of Hood Canal, about thirty-five miles from Seattle, is the little village of Port Gamble, one of the most prosperous and thriving sawmill…
From: 1852 C.E. To: 1909 C.E.
Location: Port Gamble, 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 It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“The Puget” Hotel, Port Gamble. Images by The Coast.
From “Port Gamble, Washington” by R. W. Condon in The Coast, 1909.
Situated in Kitsap County, on an arm of Hood Canal, about thirty-five miles from Seattle, is the little village of Port Gamble, one of the most prosperous and thriving sawmill towns of Puget Sound. It was named for Lieutenant Gamble, an officer of the United States Navy in the War of 1812, by Commodore Wilkes, who visited Puget Sound in 1842.
Its population is about 800. In this place are located two sawmills and a store owned by the Puget Mill Company, also a first-class hotel, “The Puget”: a public school and church go to make up the public buildings of the town.
The principal industry is the manufacture of lumber, which is shipped to all parts of the world. The town is located on a bluff near the mills, from which can be seen the Olympic range and Puget Sound. It is a singularly healthy community, situated as it is on the edge of virgin forest. Its streets are lined with shade trees of maple, ash, and elms, and in the late spring and summer present a beautiful appearance.
“The Puget,” built for a summer resort, is run in a first-class manner and is patronized largely in the outing season by pleasure-seekers. The grounds are beautifully kept and add to the attractive appearance of the hotel.
Port Gamble is connected with the other towns of Kitsap County by first-class county roads.
Puget Mill Company’s plant, Port Gamble
.
It was in the early part of July, 1853, that the schooner Julius Pringle dropped anchor in Port Discovery Bay; she was commanded by Captain W. C. Talbot, who was at the head of an expedition which had come to Puget Sound in the interests of the firm of W. C. Talbot & Co. (now Pope & Talbot of San Francisco) to select a mill site and erect a mill. The firm was composed of W. C. Talbot and A. J. Pope of San Francisco, Cal., and J.P. Keller and Charles Foster of East Machias, Me. In this party was Mr. Cyrus Walker of Skowhegan, Me., who afterward became manager of the mills, and who still holds that position, and is a large stockholder. The cargo of the Pringle consisted of lumber, tools, supplies and merchandise necessary for the beginning of the proposed venture.
After a hasty examination of Port Discovery Bay. It was decided to take possession of the place, and enough lumber was landed to build a small house. After this it was thought best to make up an exploring party to go farther up the Sound in search of a more favorable location. The party was made up and started in a sailboat and canoe under the direction of Captain Talbot.
They followed the western shore of the Sound, touching at Port Townsend, and next at Port Ludlow, where an excellent mill site was found, already occupied by W. P. Sayward and J. R. Thorndyke, who had just located there and began the construction of a mill. Next the party sailed up Hood Canal as far back as Hazel Point, opposite what is now Seabeck, but no suitable place having been found it was thought best to cross the canal and follow the other shore back, which they did until they reached Port Gamble.
Here they found a fine location for a mill, backed up by a large bay, deep water and plenty of most excellent timber handy to the water’s edge. Considerable time was spent there cruising timber and sounding out the channel in and out of the bay. The party hesitated to make a final decision on account of a lack of a suitable supply of fresh water for the mills in the immediate vicinity. They party continued on up the Sound, touching at Apple Tree Cove, Port Madison and on to where Tacoma is now located, but found no more suitable place than Port Gamble. They sailed for Gamble via Seattle. Seattle at that time boasted a sawmill, a few homes and many tents.
After returning to Port Gamble a few more days were spent in cruising timber and making soundings, after which they again started out, this time to return to Port Discovery, intending to locate there.
Before finally, locating there, Captain Talbot thought it best to look at the timber that grew around the bay. It did not compare favorably with that at Port Gamble, which influenced him to weigh anchor and return to this place. Arriving here, they immediately set to work discharging cargo, constructing buildings suitable for cookhouse, lodging house and store. These buildings were rough structures and constructed of eastern lumber from the cargo and cedar splits.
Puget Mill Company Hall, Port Gamble. Built 1907.
The schooner, after being discharged, went to Seattle and loaded a cargo of lumber and piles for San Francisco. This was the first cargo of lumber shipped from Puget Sound.
The full crew at this time left at Gamble was ten men. Among these men were: E. S. Brown, a millwright from Bangor, Me., who later moved to minnesota and became prominent in the lumber business; Cyrus Walker, now general manager of the Puget Mill Company; Nathaniel Harmon of East Machias, who lived at Gamble until his death, in 1885. His descendants still live at Gamble. His widow, Mrs. Almyra Gerrish Harmon, aged 97, still lives in the same home she has occupied for about half a century; Hillman Harmon, a brother of Nathaniel Harmon, who later moved to Steilacoom and lived there for many years; David Foster of East Machias, second mate of the Pringle, and Henry White of Bangor, a machinist and engineer.
The first timbers for the foundation of the mill were hewn from logs cut near the head of Port Gamble Bay from lands now owned by W. S. Jameson.
On September 5, 1853, the schooner L. P. Foster, under command of Captain J. P. Keller, arrived at Port Townsend, 154 days from Boston, Mass., loaded decks to the water with engines, boilers, merchandise supplies and mill machinery. Captain Keller’s wife and daughter were with him and were the first white women to land at this place. The Foster, bound in, met the Pringle, bound out, at Port townsend, and then learned the location of the mill site, to which place she proceeded.
After considerable hard work, the cargo was unloaded and the schooner taken to the head of the bay and the crew went into the woods, cut a full load of piles, loaded the schooner and she sailed for San Francisco under command of Captain Talbot. Captain Keller remained at Port Gamble as resident owner. Captain A. W. Keller, still in the employ of the firm, was a sailor on the schooner Foster. He is as present a resident of San Francisco and is port captain in the employ of the firm.
Log 100 inches in diameter, Port Gamble.
The capacity of the first mill built was about 2,000 feet per day. The cutting machinery consisted of a single sash saw, and later on a live gang and edger was installed capable of making 7,000 to 15,000 feet per day. The cut of the mill in the first year was about 3,000,000 feet.
Improvements and additions in machinery were made from time to time and another mill constructed until today the capacity is about 225,000 per day, or 75,000,000 to 80.000.000 per year. This mill of the Puget Mill Company is the oldest establishment under the original management on the sound. The payroll is about $15,000 per month and has been that amount for years.
R. W. Condon. "Port Gamble, Washington." The Coast. February 1909.
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