Puget Sound ferries from canoe to catamaran, an illustrated history


Title Cover Image: Puget Sound ferries

Authored by Carolyn Neal and Thomas Kilday Janus, Puget Sound Ferries: From Canoe to Catamaran, an Illustrated History presents a visual and narrative chronicle of the vessels that have spanned Washington’s inland sea across generations. The book traces the technological evolution of water transit from indigenous dugout canoes and early steam-powered "mosquito fleet" boats to modern automobile ferries and high-speed catamarans. Richly illustrated with historical photographs and detailed vessel logs, the text highlights how changing ship designs directly reflected the growing mobility needs of a decentralized coastal population. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the ferry system functioned as the original democratic equalizer of the region; by stitching together disparate islands and mainland shorelines before bridges were feasible, these vessels created a unified regional community out of a fragmented marine geography.

Author(s): Carolyn Neal, Thomas Kilday Janus
Document: Book · Hardcover · CIRC [ 1 ]
Edition: 1st Edition
Published: 2001
Physical Description: 224 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm
Genre: History
Contents:

From Canoe to Steamboat The Mosquito Fleet The Black Ball Line: A Ferry System Emerges Kalakala: A Class of Her Own Washington State Takes Over The Evergreen Fleet Art and the Ferry A Commuter's Diary Ferries and the Future Patrons of the Ferries

Subjects:

Ferries, Ferries Washington (State) Puget Sound History, History, Pacific Ocean Puget Sound

 

Circulation

Here are a list of places where this title can be found and the various formats it can be found in.

Collection Resource Available Edition Published Publisher
The Cascade District: Encyclopedia Library Book Hardcover 1st Edition 2001 American Historical Press, Sun Valley, Calif., 2001

 

Last updated: 2026-09-13