Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

History about the sawmill industry in the Pacific Northwest is rich in memories. Here is the vital and true story of the triumphant growth and its undying promise, shown with superb photography and told with exciting text. The utilitarian waterwheel, the great days of the steam sawmill, and the epic courage of the schooner masters are told in all their glory. Ralph Andrews augments his careful and thorough research with anecdotes of the men who transformed logs into the building materials of a nation. The reader takes a step back in time, as the history of the industry which has gone on continuously since 1825 is brought to life.

176 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

An Historical Collection of Rare Photos and True Stories about the Tracks, Trains and Trainmen of the Pacific Northwest including Northern California. 1958 First Edition.

192 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

Lola Hopkins, the "Grandma Moses" of Wallowa County, and now historian of Wallowa Valley advises. "Don't start writing a history when you're seventy-seven." Perhaps others shouldn't, but we are grateful that she did. She probably said something similar at sixty-five when she taught herself ink drawing. An accurate account of the history of one of Oregon's most beautiful areas. Surrounds the pioneer beginnings in this county.

174 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

"This Place Is Who We Are profiles Indigenous communities in central and northern coastal BC that are reconnecting to their lands and waters--and growing and thriving through this reconnection. Indigenous peoples and cultures are integrally connected to the land. Well-being in every sense--physical, social, environmental, economic, spiritual and cultural--depends on that relationship, which is based on a fundamental concept: when the land is well, so are the people. With increasing strength, Indigenous peoples in this vast region of BC--which spans the homelands of more than two dozen First Nations and one of the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforests in the world--are restoring what has been lost through environmental depredation and healing what has been devastated by colonization. This volume is a collection of ten of these inspiring stories. X̱aayda voices explain how their Rediscovery camps are healing and empowering their youth; Dzawada̱'enuxw Hereditary Chief Maxwiyalidizi K'odi Nelson shares the story of building a healing centre and ecolodge; Wei Wai Kum Chief Christopher Roberts describes the challenges and opportunities for an urban First Nation looking to prosper while protecting the environment and ancient Ligʷiłdaxʷ history and living cultural values; and many more Indigenous leaders share their own experiences of growth, strength and reconnection. Thoughtful and inspiring, This Place Is Who We Are illustrates what can be accomplished when conservation and stewardship are inextricably intertwined with the prosperity and well-being of communities."-- Provided by publisher

245 pages : color illustrations, color map, color portraits ; 26 cm

This Old Town: City of Victoria Central Area Heritage Conservation Report by the City of Victoria, Les D. Mazer, Martin Segger, and Brian Murray Sikstrom is a comprehensive 1983 urban planning and heritage inventory focused on preserving the city's historic downtown core. The report catalogs the architectural and historical significance of buildings in Victoria's "Old Town," providing a foundational framework for municipal conservation policies. Ultimately, it served as a critical guide for city planners working to protect the area's rich late 19th- and early 20th-century built environment from modern redevelopment.

95 p. : ill., maps ; 22 x 28 cm.

This isle of Guemes examines the isolated insular settlement and tight-knit community development situated within the narrow marine channels and heavily wooded shorelines of the eastern Salish Sea. Elmore and the Community Club detail how the region's distinct archipelagic topography—specifically the steep coastal bluffs, the protected, gravel-strewn coves, and the swift tidal currents of Guemes Channel separating it from Fidalgo Island—strictly dictated the margins of early homesteading, transportation, and civic organization. By mapping the evolution of scattered pioneer farms and early mosquito fleet transit into a resilient, ferry-dependent enclave, the narrative highlights how this specific insular geography anchored the islanders' profound reliance on localized cooperation and marine connectivity. Ultimately, this community record serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the pervasive marine isolation and defining tidal boundaries of this Pacific Northwest island fundamentally shaped the highly cohesive, geography-dependent character of Guemes Island.

139 pages 23 cm

Bob Spring, Ira Spring, and Byron Fish’s This is Washington chronicles the comprehensive industrial and pioneer subjugation of a massively diverse territorial expanse defined by deeply fractured, jarring geographical extremes. The visual and textual narrative maps how the severe environmental realities of the state—ranging from the rain-choked, impenetrable coastal timberlands of the Olympic Peninsula and the volatile marine labyrinth of Puget Sound to the formidable alpine barricade of the Cascade Range and the arid, sun-baked scablands of the Columbia Basin—strictly dictated the distinct survival strategies and localized economic engines of early regional settlements. By detailing the monumental, varied engineering efforts required across these isolated zones—whether deploying heavy maritime fleets to navigate inland waterways, forcing logging infrastructure into sheer coastal mountainsides, or constructing colossal hydroelectric dams to artificially irrigate and reclaim the eastern deserts—the text illustrates how large-scale prosperity was entirely governed by the necessity of mastering these localized topographies. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that systematically conquering this collection of distinctly hostile environments with heavy mechanical, hydrological, and transit infrastructure was the absolute prerequisite for binding a geographically segmented, untamed wilderness into a unified, modern industrial state.

157 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

A firsthand look at one of the world’s most livable cities, this fun take on the guidebook genre explores the atmosphere of Portland, Oregon, versus detailing its landmarks and restaurants. It both explains and embraces how beautiful and ridiculous Portland life can be, and includes essays on everything from the rain and bicycling to beards and tater tots. With its approachable and often hilarious tone, this book is perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about the city that is earning its way onto more and more top cities lists each year.

62 pages : illustrations, map

"This is Not For You: An Activist's Journey of Resistance and Resilience is the memoir of activist and photographer Richard Brown, an eighty-year-old Black Portlander who has worked to bridge the divide between police and the Black community. Originally from Harlem, Brown served in the Air Force for twenty years before landing in Portland. As he recalls his childhood in the 1940s, his radicalization in the newly desegregated Air Force, and his decades of activism in one of America's whitest cities, he questions whether he's got the strength to continue doing this work, and he wonders who, if anyone, will take his place"-- Provided by publisher

1 online resource (258 pages) : illustrations, portraits

Authored by regional historian Carolyn M. Buan, This Far-Off Sunset Land: A Pictorial History of Washington County, Oregon offers a richly illustrated chronicle of one of the Pacific Northwest’s oldest agricultural and settlement regions west of Portland. The book compiles rare historic photographs, maps, and archival documents to trace the area's evolution from Donation Land Claim homesteads and early pioneer trails into a bustling network of farming communities and suburban outposts. Through its curated visual narrative, the text highlights the enduring legacy of the Tualatin Valley’s farming families, immigrant laborers, and small-town merchants. A keen insight drawn from the work is how pictorial histories of the Willamette Valley reveal the rapid spatial erasure of agrarian landscapes; the stark transition captured across the photo spreads from open orchards and wooden barns to sprawling paved infrastructure underscores how swiftly post-war modernization consumed the physical markers of pioneer settlement.

192 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm

[128] pages : illustrations ; 19 x 22 cm

This Crested Hill: An Illustrated History of the University of Idaho by Keith Petersen is a comprehensive, visually rich chronicle published in 1987 to commemorate the upcoming centennial of the state's flagship university in Moscow, Idaho. The book traces the institution's evolution from a single, uncompleted building in 1889 into a modern, thriving research university, highlighting key academic milestones, student life, and campus architecture. Through a compelling blend of historical narrative and archival photographs, it serves as an enduring tribute to the legacy and development of higher education in the Gem State.

245 pages : illustrations ; 31 cm

The infamous murder and robbery of Lewiston merchant Lloyd Magruder and his companions during the 1860s gold rush is legendary in Idaho, Montana, and Washington. Ladd Hamilton constructs a compelling account of the destruction of Magruder’s pack train while traveling on the Southern Nez Perce Trail in the Bitterroot Mountains, and the subsequent quest by Magruder’s friend Hill Beachey to track his killers to San Francisco, escort them back to Lewiston, and then protect them from mob justice until they could be tried in court. By appraising written evidence and community lore, Hamilton has created an intriguing account based on fact and documentation. But he also blends in historical fiction when required to complement the narrative in those places where events are known to have occurred but the historical sources are sparse or virtually nonexistent. Underlying Hamilton’s work is his exact and familiar knowledge of early Idaho Territory, which in 1863 stretched hundreds of miles from Lewiston at the Snake-Clearwater confluence to the gold camps of Virginia City, Bannack, and beyond in what is now Montana. Hamilton’s imaginative characterizations of Magruder, Beachey, outlaw sheriff Henry Plummer, and large cast of other historical figures in Idaho, Montana, and California is based on his years of knowing the many and varied peoples of the West. Also underlying Hamilton's work is his insightful knowledge of the early gold camps in Idaho and Montana territories.

xviii, 253 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portrait ; 23 cm

"The twenty-five years between 1821 and 1846 were turbulent but important years in the history of the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest: 1821 saw the merger of the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, and 1846 saw the signing of the Oregon Treaty, which established the Canada-US border." "Archibald McDonald was a man who experienced these changes first-hand. As a senior HBC officer, he was sent to the Columbia District headquarters at Fort George in 1821 to oversee the recently absorbed NWC posts and assets. After the merger, McDonald went on to direct operations at Thompson River (1826-28), Fort Langley (1829-33), and Fort Colvile (1834-44)." "During his tenure in the Pacific Northwest, letters were McDonald's only link with the outside world. Collected here for the first time by Jean Murray Cole, these public and private letters to friends, business colleagues, missionaries, botanists, and many others provide a fascinating narrative of the expansion of the fur trade at a critical time in its history."--Jacket

ix, 297 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Irene Kellar Mueller’s This & that. Part II explores the intimate, everyday community history and enduring civic identity forged within the island landscapes of the northern Puget Sound. The narrative illustrates how the unique environmental realities of this maritime topography—defined by the windswept bluffs of Whidbey Island, its fertile coastal prairies, and the dynamic tidal rhythms of the Salish Sea—required continuous adaptation and profound interdependence from its residents. By detailing the gradual transition from isolated island homesteading to the cohesive, cooperative establishment of enduring civic centers like Coupeville, the text highlights how shared daily experiences and local journalism served as vital threads connecting the society. Ultimately, the collection demonstrates that patiently fostering these everyday neighborly connections and collaboratively adapting to the geographic isolation of island life were essential steps in cultivating a deeply rooted, vibrant cultural heritage in the maritime Pacific Northwest.

A collection of Irene Mueller's first 80 columns published in the Coupeville examiner

173 pages ; 21 cm

Published in 1893, Isaac Hiatt’s regional history chronicles the first three decades of pioneer settlement in Baker County, Oregon, beginning with the foundational 1861 gold strike at Griffin's Gulch. The narrative documents the rapid influx of prospectors, the establishment of the explosive boomtown of Auburn, and the region's subsequent economic transition toward permanent agriculture and civic development centered in Baker City. Hiatt provides valuable firsthand perspectives on frontier justice, early political organization, and the inevitable, often violent conflicts with indigenous populations as white settlers claimed the eastern Oregon landscape. A keen insight drawn from the text is how its granular account of Auburn's meteoric rise and subsequent total collapse vividly illustrates the fragile, transient nature of frontier mining booms, demonstrating that long-term regional stability relied entirely on the less glamorous pivot to agrarian permanence.

208 pages 22 cm

xxxiv, 375 pages, 3 unnumbered pages of plates : portraits ; 24 cm

In 1942, after Executive Order 9066 was issued, Japanese families were removed from their homes in Oregon and the Yakima Valley and sent to the Portland International Livestock Exposition Center, where they were housed in converted animal stalls. The Wartime Civil Control Administration forcibly held these Japanese Americans at the Portland Assembly Center until September 1942, when they were transferred to newly built permanent incarceration camps at Minidoka, Heart Mountain, and Tule Lake. The Japanese American communities in Oregon and southern Washington were relatively small and many of the detainees knew each other; they drew on existing family and community networks to help each other through the long summer, living in inhumane conditions under the constant threat of violence. Several members of Bara Ginsha, a Portland poetry group, decided to continue their work while imprisoned at the center, primarily by writing senryū, a type of Japanese poetry related to haiku. They Never Asked is a collection of work produced by Bara Ginsha members in the WCCA camp, based on a journal kept by Masaki Kinoshita. The senryū collected here were written by a group of twenty-two poets, who produced hundreds of poems. Individually, the poems reflect the thoughts and feelings the authors experienced while being detained in the center; collectively, they reflect the resilience and resistance of a community denied freedom. Editors Shelley Baker-Gard, Michael Freiling, and Satsuki Takikawa present translations of the poems alongside the originals, supplemented by historical and literary context and a foreword by Duane Watari, Masaki Kinoshita’s grandson.

xiv, 185 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 23 cm

They named it Deer Harbor covering the period of 1852 to 1912 examines the insular pioneer settlement and nascent agrarian-maritime economy situated within the deep, sheltered inlets of western Orcas Island. McLachlan details how the region's distinct archipelagic topography—specifically the deeply incised, naturally protected marine basin of Deer Harbor, the steep, heavily timbered slopes of the island's interior, and the complex tidal currents of the surrounding Salish Sea—strictly dictated the margins of early homesteading, localized logging operations, and extensive fruit orchard cultivation. By mapping the transformation of this secluded marine refuge from a remote frontier anchorage into a thriving, self-reliant community entirely dependent on the regional steamboat "mosquito fleet" for external commerce and transport, the narrative highlights how this specific sheltered geography anchored a profound reliance on sustained maritime connectivity. Ultimately, this historical record serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the severe overland isolation, protective deep-water access, and fertile island microclimates of this Pacific Northwest archipelago fundamentally shaped the highly resilient, water-bound character of early Deer Harbor.

48 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm

They knew our valley chronicles the grueling agricultural reclamation and isolated pioneer settlement situated within the vast, arid rain-shadow basins and sagebrush steppes of the Yakima Valley in central Washington. Helland details how the region's formidable physical barriers—specifically the towering, rain-blocking spine of the Cascade Range to the west, the vast, sun-baked expanses of the arid plateau, and the unpredictable, seasonal fluctuations of the Yakima River—strictly dictated the margins of early human survival and agrarian expansion. By mapping the immense physical labor required to carve extensive irrigation canals through the unyielding, sun-baked earth, clear endless tracts of stubborn deep-rooted sagebrush, and forcibly divert glacial meltwater to cultivate the parched soil, the narrative highlights the monumental cooperative effort necessary to forcibly convert this harsh desert environment into highly productive agricultural tracts. The profound geographic isolation from the heavily populated coastal ports initially forced these remote homesteaders and early orchardists into a strict reliance on the precise topography of the river basin and complex, gravity-fed irrigation networks, completely anchoring their physical survival and early commercial existence to the severe hydrological realities of the interior watershed. Ultimately, this local historical record serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the extreme arid geography, severe climatic isolation, and immense physical labor of this Pacific Northwest frontier fundamentally shaped the fiercely resilient, highly cooperative, and strictly agriculturally dependent character of the Yakima Valley communities.

182 pages, 1 leaf of plates : illustrations, folded map ; 24 cm

Written as a curriculum aid for students in the Bainbridge Island, Washington school district, this collection of stories about the Japanese, the Chinese, the Hawaiians, the Filipinos, the Vietnamese, and the American and Canadian Indians is an attempt to explain "what life is like for people who look different". The stories all relate the history of each of these ethnic groups on Bainbridge Island, an agricultural community, from the time of their arrival through the present. Accounts of individual's experiences from each group and black and white photographs are used to illustrate the stories. (PR)

122

Though Cowlitz County is one of the smallest counties in Washington state, its past has been richly textured by the six rivers that flow through it: The Columbia, Kalama, Lewis, Coweeman, Toutle and Cowlitz rivers. Rivers throughout history have given rise to civilizations, so it is not surprising that Cowlitz County's rivers have lured settlers and industries. But each of these rivers had its own appeal, its own convenience or difficulty of settlement, its own methods of logging or fishing, its own vessels and bridges, and even its own scenery; each thus offered its own unique possibilities to the people who came here. Virginia Urrutia has taken these six strands and deftly woven them together with narratives of families, communities, governments, agriculture, industries, and events, creating a colorful and entertaining tapestry that will reward the attention of any reader, from the most casual tourist to the most knowledgeable citizen of the region. Book contains map of region and is illustrated with 100 photographs

223 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 29 cm

This history was written with the hope that the pioneers of our area be remembered, and that the simple duties and pleasures of the pioneer people may be interesting to those who read it. The true pioneers of American and Driscoll Ridges are those who came here to establish their families and make a home in this new land. The period of the true pioneer to this area extends from when Frank May came in 1876 until about 1900. In my research I have carefully refrained from elaborating on the material so as to write it with as much authenticity as possible. -The Author

96 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 23 cm

Like most Native children forced by law to attend schools across Canada and the United States, Sellars and other students of St. Joseph's Mission were allowed home only for two months in the summer and for two weeks at Christmas. The rest of the year they lived, worked, and studied at the school. St. Joseph's Mission is the site of the controversial and well-publicized sex-related offenses of Bishop Hubert O'Connor, which took place during Sellars's student days, between 1962 and 1967, when O'Connor was the school principal. After the school's closure, those who had been forced to attend came from surrounding reserves and smashed windows, tore doors and cabinets from the wall, and broke anything that could be broken. Overnight their anger turned a site of shameful memory into a pile of rubble. In this frank and poignant memoir, Sellars breaks her silence about the institution's lasting effects, and eloquently articulates her own path to healing

xx, 227 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 22 cm.

"Peter "Pete" Maloff was born in Saskatchewan in 1900, the year after the first Doukhobors, including his parents, immigrated to Canada. Living through the eras of WWI and WWII in a Doukhobor community strengthened his deep-rooted belief in pacifism and, at a young age, he dedicated himself completely to the idea that there must be another way to solve conflicts. This quest, as well as Maloff's status as an 'outsider,' was not always welcomed--judges and wardens considered him a radical and his influence a threat, and his outspokenness and peaceful protests resulted in house arrest and years in Canadian jails. Maloff was not deterred, and his perseverance garnered him many followers, including some who had formerly worked against him or had helped to incarcerate him. Today, his granddaughter Vera Maloff remembers Pete as a tall, strong, charismatic man. Growing up, she worked beside him in the family's gardens, and at the local markets where they sold produce, she recalls that he would be regularly surrounded by people wanting to hear him speak. He was a kind, caring man, and the time spent incarcerated, forced away from his family, did not seem to have dulled his spirit. He was an avid reader, who taught his family to consider all aspects and perspectives, instilling an awareness of other people and cultures and an eagerness to learn. In They Called Him a Radical: The Memoirs of Pete Maloff and The Making of a Doukhobor Pacifist, Vera revisits her grandfather's memoirs, written while under house arrest and covering the formative years from his birth to his late twenties, during which Pete's resolve to live as a pacifist was cemented. Here, Pete writes of growing up in the new Canadian Doukhobor community at the turn of the century, meeting influential figures in the pacifist movement in California, his time in a cooperative freedom colony in Oregon, and his turning to writing, as he truly believed that the pen could be mightier than the sword."-- Provided by publisher

226 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm