Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

Offers a comprehensive archaeological study of a single-house floor and roof deposit dated to approximately 1835-1858 C.E. Although the Fur Trade period of the nineteenth century was a time of significant change for aboriginal peoples in the Pacific Northwest, it is a period that is poorly understood. These studies offer new insights.

xiv, 267 pages : illustrations, maps ; 27 cm

As stated, "When the first group of pioneers explored the rugged Olympic mountain range during the harsh winter of 1889, they encountered both breathtaking beauty and cruel acts of nature. In subsesuent years, numeruous expeditions followed, and with the gripping tales of these trailblazers, collected here for the first time". This book includes never-before published historical photos and features detailed maps of explorers' routes.

175 pages : illustrations, maps ; 16 x 23 cm

The land that kept its promise: a history of South Lincoln County chronicles the grueling pioneer settlement and precarious resource extraction along the rugged, storm-battered coastline and dense temperate rainforests of central Oregon. Hays details how the region's formidable physical barriers—specifically the steep, impenetrable western slopes of the Coast Range and the treacherous, unforgiving surf of the Pacific Ocean—strictly dictated the margins of human survival, overland travel, and economic expansion. By mapping the arduous daily labor of isolated homesteaders carving narrow agricultural footholds within the deeply incised valleys of the Alsea River and the dangerous extraction of massive old-growth timber, the narrative highlights the immense physical endurance required to anchor permanent communities in this demanding maritime environment. The utter lack of viable overland routes to the fertile Willamette Valley initially forced these remote coastal enclaves into an absolute reliance on the perilous marine highway and treacherous tidal bay entrances, completely anchoring their commercial existence to the severe coastal climate and the rugged marine topography. Ultimately, this historical record serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the extreme physical isolation, dense coastal forests, and relentless maritime environment of this Pacific Northwest frontier fundamentally shaped the fiercely resilient, strictly resource-dependent character of South Lincoln County.

157 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm.

Cloah Sebastian Cowling’s The Land of Sunrise Mountains: Memoirs of Idaho chronicles the grueling pioneer settlement and agrarian transformation of the Snake River Plain, a massive, high-desert basin defined by its rugged volcanic topography and profound continental isolation. The narrative maps how the severe environmental realities of this arid inland steppe—characterized by unpredictable alpine climates, sheer basalt river gorges, and cavernous lava tubes—initially restricted early homesteaders to a highly precarious existence, forcing them to endure a vast landscape largely devoid of easily accessible surface water. By detailing the arduous regional transition from isolated high-desert livestock grazing to cooperative community building, the text illustrates how physical survival was strictly dictated by the necessity of mastering localized irrigation networks and erecting robust communal infrastructure to withstand the stark, forbidding environment. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that artificially adapting to this rain-starved geography and conquering the profound natural extremes of Idaho's volcanic plains were the absolute prerequisites for transforming a harsh, unyielding frontier into a permanent, self-sustaining agrarian settlement.

201 pages illustrations 21 cm

"Just how, and why, did Vancouver Island get onto the map? How was knowledge of our immediate geography acquired and recorded? With 130 maps, dating between 1593 and 1915, this cartographic history tells the story of how Vancouver Island and the surrounding area came to be mapped. The book shows local cartographic milestones, marking progress in our knowledge through the island's rich--although comparatively short--recorded history. However, the maps, by themselves and without context, cannot tell the whole story. The accompanying text reveals the motives, constraints, agendas, and intrigues that underpin their making."--Publisher's description

232 pages : maps (chiefly color) ; 25 cm

An excellent and comprehensive historical account of Lewis County history, from the first tribes to the closing of the Trans Alta coal mine in 2006. Wonderful historical photographs and fantastic research. A true Lewis County treasure.

204 pages : illustrations, maps ; 29 cm

The Lake Washington Story offers a rich visual and historical account of the expansive freshwater lake that serves as the geographic heart of the Seattle metropolitan area in Washington State. The narrative meticulously traces the early development along the lake's shores, highlighting the nascent logging and shipbuilding hubs of Kirkland and Renton, as well as the densely forested, isolated enclaves of Mercer Island prior to the modern era of floating bridges. McDonald places special emphasis on the dramatic topographical engineering of the region, particularly detailing the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Montlake Cut, which permanently lowered the lake's water level and physically connected it to the saltwater of Puget Sound. Through its extensive photographic archive, the book captures the physical transformation of this vital aquatic corridor from a remote pioneer waterway navigated by steamboats into the defining geographic boundary separating Seattle from the Eastside suburbs.

160 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

The Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia examines the complex indigenous social structures, intensive maritime subsistence, and rich material culture situated along the deeply indented, fjord-riven coastline of northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent British Columbia mainland. Rohner and Rohner detail how the region's formidable coastal macro-geography—specifically the labyrinthine, tide-ripped channels of the Queen Charlotte and Johnstone straits, the towering, impenetrable temperate cedar rainforests that strictly precluded inland migration, and the highly productive, localized marine estuaries—strictly dictated the margins of indigenous winter village placement, specialized maritime foraging, and extensive inter-tribal canoe networks. By mapping the Kwakiutl's profound adaptation to this littoral edge—where the dense old-growth forests provided the massive timber essential for monumental plank houses and ocean-going dugouts, and the immense seasonal marine surpluses of salmon and eulachon fueled the complex, wealth-redistributing potlatch economy—the narrative highlights how this specific resource-rich coastal geography anchored a profoundly stratified, socially dynamic maritime society. Ultimately, this ethnographic record serves as a localized spatial history, demonstrating how the severe overland isolation, immense botanical scale, and incredibly abundant marine ecology of this Pacific Northwest coastline fundamentally shaped the highly resilient, ocean-bound character of the Kwakiutl people.

xv, 111 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Grace Edgington Jordan’s The King's Pines of Idaho: A Story of the Browns of McCall chronicles the grueling pioneer expansion and the establishment of an enduring timber empire in the rugged, high-elevation wilderness of west-central Idaho. The narrative meticulously maps the formidable alpine topography of the Payette River basin, detailing a deeply isolated geographic bowl dominated by vast, ancient stands of ponderosa pine surrounding the deep, glacial waters of Payette Lake.

By detailing the industrial ascent of the Brown family's logging operations, the book illustrates how early resource extraction was strictly dictated by the severe environmental realities of the inland mountains. The text highlights how the dense, impenetrable timber and punishing, snow-choked winters initially strangled standard overland transit, forcing early lumbermen to leverage the region's dynamic hydrology—utilizing the frozen lake and volatile spring river swells to execute massive, highly dangerous log drives. Ultimately, the account captures the defining physical severity of Idaho’s mountainous interior, demonstrating how mastering this volatile aquatic network and conquering the extreme geographic isolation of the Payette watershed were the absolute prerequisites for transforming a forbidding alpine frontier into a highly mechanized and prosperous timber economy.

295 pages illustrations 23 cm

The story of Moby Doll, the first publicly exhibited captive killer whale, and how he changed the way people saw killer whales and sparked the movement to save them. The fascinating and heartbreaking account of the first publicly exhibited captive killer whale a story that forever changed the way we see orcas and sparked the movement to save them. Killer whales had always been seen as bloodthirsty sea monsters. That all changed when a young killer whale was captured off the west coast of North America and displayed to the public in 1964. Moby Doll as the whale became known — was an instant celebrity, drawing 20,000 visitors on the one and only day he was exhibited. He died within a few months, but his famous gentleness sparked a worldwide crusade that transformed how people understood and appreciated orcas. Because of Moby Doll, we stopped fearing killers” and grew to love and respect orcas.”

x, 188 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm

Donald A. Davis’s The Kerry Line: The Columbia & Nehalem River Railroad documents the engineering and operation of one of the Pacific Northwest’s most famous heavy-tonnage logging common carriers. Davis chronicles how lumberman A.S. Kerry constructed a 27-mile standard-gauge railroad beginning in 1913, driving track from the deep-water log dumps at Kerry on the Columbia River, over the Coast Range summit via a timber tunnel, and down into the Nehalem Valley. The text details the transportation of billions of board feet of virgin old-growth fir logs hauled by massive Mallet and geared locomotives from remote logging spurs at Keasey, Neverstill, Treharne, and Kyser. Davis illustrates the hazardous engineering challenges of maintaining steep trestles, managing runaway log trains, and sustaining isolated worker camps that operated until the timber was cut out in the late 1930s.

120 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

The Kelowna Story is a comprehensive full-length history of the largest metropolitan centre outside BC's Lower Mainland, a labour of love by a leading local historian whose family roots have been entwined with Kelowna's for five generations. It embraces the full sweep of central Okanagan history, starting with the days of the S-Ookanhkchinx, who enjoyed a largely peaceful existence along the shores of the lakes and rivers before the earliest explorers came to trade, followed by Father Pandosy and his Okanagan Mission in 1859. It was the mission that attracted Kelowna's first homesteaders, soon followed by cattle ranchers and orchardists, and much later by the empire-builders like the Bennett family who paved the way for today's budding metropolis. Author Sharron J. Simpson believes "history is best told through the stories of ordinary people," while allowing today's readers may not think it 'ordinary' to walk over mountain ranges to collect mail, or consider it 'ordinary' to climb into a narrow irrigation pipe to scrape the rust off the inside as it runs up and down the hillsides, or to row freight from one end of Okanagan Lake to the other. "In their time," she writes, "those who did extraordinary things were simply doing what needed to be done to get ahead. Their stories are fascinating and tell of the remarkable investment early settlers made in this community."

320 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 28 cm.

James Teit’s The Kaska Indians: An Ethnographic Reconstruction provides a baseline anthropological and geographic study of the Dene-speaking Kaska communities inhabiting the upper Liard and Dease river drainages of the Stikine region. Teit documents traditional social structure, material technology, seasonal hunting territories, and overland trail corridors spanning Lower Post, McDame, Dease Lake, Good Hope Lake, Hyland Ranch, and Hyland Post. The volume records oral histories, language vocabularies, and spiritual traditions, analyzing the severe disruptions brought by nineteenth-century fur posts, placer gold migrations, and expanding trade routes across the Cassiar plateau.

65 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

In 1803, when the United States purchased Louisiana from France, the great expanse of this new American territory was a blank-not only on the map but in our knowledge. President Thomas Jefferson keenly understood that the course of the nation's destiny lay westward and that a national "Voyage of Discovery" must be mounted to determine the nature and accessibility of the frontier. He commissioned his young secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead an intelligence-gathering expedition from the Missouri River to the northern Pacific coast and back. From 1804 to 1806, Lewis, accompanied by co-captain William Clark, the Shoshone guide Sacajawea, and thirty-two men, made the first trek across the Louisiana Purchase, mapping the rivers as he went, tracing the principal waterways to the sea, and establishing the American claim to the territories of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Together the captains kept a journal, a richly detailed record of the flora and fauna they sighted, the Indian tribes they encountered, and the awe-inspiring landscape they traversed, from their base camp near present-day St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River. In keeping this record they made an incomparable contribution to the literature of exploration and the writing of natural history. With 2003 marking the beginning of the Lewis and Clark expedition bicentennial celebration, this journal is now reissued in a beautiful new Penguin Classics package

xlvi, 505 pages : illustrations, maps ; 20 cm

The journal of John Work, a chief-trader of the Hudson's Bay Co. during his expedition from Vancouver to the Flatheads and Blackfeet of the Pacific Northwest, edited, and with an account of the fur trade in the Northwest, and life of Work

209 pages including plates, map frontispiece (portrait) 25 cm

"The Jewish Oregon Story traces the history of diverse Jewish Oregonians and their communities during a period of dramatic change. Drawing on archival sources, including a collection of over five hundred oral histories, the book explores how Jewish Oregonians both contributed to and were shaped by the "Oregon Story," a political shift that fueled Oregon's--and particularly Portland's--emerging reputation for progressivism and sustainability. Six chapters examine a community grappling with, and increasingly embracing, change--from the dramatic national shifts in women's roles and inter-group relations to local issues such as the razing of the historic South Portland Jewish neighborhood. An original community musical, Whatever Happened to Old South Portland?, frames the creation of a new Portland Jewish identity, emerging out of the ashes of South Portland and tapping ethnic expression as an antidote to suburbanization and assimilation. A peek behind the scenes exposes the crucial role of women's voluntarism and traces the impact of women entering the workforce and winning acceptance as equals in organizational and ritual life. Chapters on involvement in liberal politics and advocacy for Israel explore communal engagement that reflected national trends, but, beginning in the 1980s, were increasingly shaped by emerging local progressivism. A final chapter charts recent shifts in Oregon Jewish geography, demographics, and organizational life, exploring the rebirth of smaller communities and the embrace of post-denominational Jewry, spirituality, and an ethos of environmentalism and inclusion. The Jewish Oregon Story will be of great interest to the Jewish community in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and will appeal broadly to all readers of American, Western, and Oregon history, particularly those interested in questions of ethnicity and identity. Published in Cooperation with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education"-- Provided by publisher

xviii, 316 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

The Jesuits and the Indian Wars of the Northwest by Robert Ignatius Burns is a definitive 1966 scholarly monograph (later reprinted in 1986 by the University of Idaho Press) that explores the complex intersection of Catholic missionary work, Indigenous resistance, and U.S. military expansion. The book meticulously details the pivotal diplomatic and peacemaking roles played by Jesuit priests among the Native American tribes of the Inland Empire, particularly during mid-19th-century frontier conflicts such as the Yakima, Coeur d'Alene, and Nez Perce wars. Ultimately, it serves as a highly acclaimed, extensively researched resource for historians seeking a nuanced understanding of the religious, cultural, and political dynamics that shaped the violent transformation of the interior Pacific Northwest.

xii, 512 pages : maps ; 23 cm

A fascinating, humorous and sometimes sad account of the life and times of the Tullochs, one of the San Juan Islands' pioneer families who lived on Washington State's Orcas Island at the turn of the century. Tulloch writes about his 35 years spent on Orcas Island with a candor and vigor seldom encountered in such a diary. Photos. Map.

vii, 124 pages, 1 unnumbered leaf of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm

"The Jackson County Rebellion explores a dramatic if little-known populist insurgency in the American West. Author Jeff LaLande takes a deep dive into a tumultuous uprising that captured national attention as it played out in rural Oregon. First tracing its roots back to the area's tradition of protest, including the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s, he focuses on Jackson County's politics of upheaval during the worst days of the Great Depression. The broad strokes of the episode may be familiar to contemporary readers: Demagogues fanning rage - relentlessly accusing an elite of corruption and conspiracy. The strife-torn episode featured nativist and anti-Semitic elements. The local press played a key role in the events. Two inflammatory newspapers, one owned by wealthy orchardist Llewellyn Banks and the other by politician Earl Fehl, became the vehicles by which these men won the loyalty of rural and working-class residents. Partners in demagoguery, Banks and Fehl created a movement - dubbed the "Good Government Congress" that very nearly took over county government through direct action, ballot theft, and threats of violence. Among those opposing the two men was Harvard-educated Robert Ruhl, owner/editor of the Medford Mail-Tribune, who faced off against Banks and Fehl. Despite boycotts and threats of sabotage. Ruhl ran a resolute editorial campaign against the populist threat in his Mail-Tribune, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the uprising. The rebellion blazed hotly but not for long. Its end was marked by the arrest of its leaders after the fiercely contested 1932 election and by Banks's murder of the police officer sent to arrest him. Placing the Jackson County Rebellion squarely within America's long tradition of populist uprisings against the perceived sins of an allegedly corrupt, affluent local elite, LaLande argues that this little-remembered episode is part of a long history of violent conflict in the West that continues today."-- Provided by publisher

xiv, 206 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 23 cm

The Island Remembers compiles local pioneer histories detailing the settlement of Harstine Island, a heavily forested, tide-swept landmass situated deep within the sheltered marine waterways of South Puget Sound in Washington State. The narratives emphasize the profound physical isolation of this remote enclave—bordered by the deepwater channels of Pickering Passage and Case Inlet—where early residents relied entirely on local ferries and mosquito fleet steamers to navigate to the nearby mainland hubs of Shelton and Olympia. Contributors vividly recount the arduous labor required to clear dense stands of old-growth timber, slowly transforming the island's secluded, stump-ridden acreage into viable orchards and homestead farms. By grounding these personal anecdotes in specific remote coves, historic ferry landings, and isolated logging camps, the book preserves a deeply localized geographic record of early island life prior to the modern bridge construction that eventually linked this rugged community to the mainland.

160 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

The Vancouver Voyage exemplifies the extraordinary upsurge in optimism and adventure in the last two decades of the 18th century. Four men were the lynch-pins of that enterprise and this volume examines their achievements and sufferings. It particularly examines the interplay and stress between the men, both physical and psychological, during the voyage. Evidence as to the nature of Vancouver's own chronic disease (which killed him in his 41st year) is presented, and his psychological state is analysed. The achievement of both Vancouver and Menzies in defeating scurvy during the voyage is described. Menzies' largely unpublished and voluminous journal provides the major source of information on the lands explored and the peoples encountered, and the work also contains original material about Whidbey's later life and relationships. Although unusual in format, this work seeks to illuminate the history of those times by applying a physician's eye to four outstanding representatives of an age of optimism. With nineteen photos and eight maps.

537 pages ; 24 cm.

The Indians of western Oregon: this land was theirs examines the deep ecological integration and subsequent tragic dispossession of Indigenous populations across the diverse, resource-rich landscapes situated between the Pacific Ocean and the towering Cascade Range. Beckham details how the region’s complex topography—ranging from the storm-battered, deeply indented estuaries of the Pacific coastline to the fertile, sweeping oak savannas of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue river valleys—strictly dictated Native settlement patterns and intricate seasonal subsistence cycles. By mapping the sophisticated use of controlled inland burns to manage camas prairies and the absolute reliance on dense cedar forests and turbulent aquatic networks for plank-house architecture and maritime travel, the narrative highlights how these communities masterfully engineered their lifeways to fit the specific contours of the environment. Furthermore, the book illustrates how the sudden influx of overland pioneers systematically shattered this ancient spatial relationship, forcibly stripping tribes of these critical geographic hubs and confining them to isolated, marginal reservations. Ultimately, this vital ethnohistorical record serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the rich hydrography and profound natural abundance of the Pacific Northwest inherently shaped the enduring cultures of Western Oregon's first peoples prior to their severe geographic displacement.

vii, 236 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

The Indians of Puget sound examines the indigenous settlement and complex marine-oriented culture situated within the sheltered inland waterways and dense cedar forests of western Washington's coastal basin. Haeberlin and Gunther detail how the region's dynamic marine and riparian topography—specifically the extensive tidal mudflats, the sprawling river deltas, and the navigable, glacially carved fjords of the Salish Sea—strictly dictated the margins of seasonal migration, resource gathering, and inter-tribal commerce. By mapping the network of large cedar-plank winter villages anchored securely at strategic river mouths and protected coves, the narrative highlights how this specific estuarine geography tethered the tribes' profound reliance on abundant salmon runs and massive timber. Ultimately, this anthropological record serves as a localized spatial history, demonstrating how the rich marine abundance, intricate waterborne transit corridors, and towering botanical scale of this Pacific Northwest basin fundamentally shaped the deeply rooted, maritime and riverine-dependent character of the Coast Salish peoples.

83 pages : illustrations (including map) 2 plates ; 25 cm.

The Indians of Puget Sound: The Notebooks of Myron Eells by late 19th-century missionary Myron Eells, edited and contextualized by anthropologist George Pierre Castile, is a major 1985 ethnographic and historical volume published by the University of Washington Press in cooperation with Whitman College. The book rescues from obscurity the massive, previously unpublished manuscripts compiled by Eells during his three decades (1874–1907) living and working on the Skokomish Reservation. It provides an exhaustive record of the material culture, social organization, folklore, and daily realities of the Coast Salish peoples, particularly the Twana (Skokomish) and Klallam tribes. While the original observations are inevitably colored by Eells's paternalistic and assimilationist worldview, Castile's careful editing frames the work as a vital historical artifact. Ultimately, it serves as an indispensable, primary-source resource for anthropologists, regional historians, and tribal descendants seeking a deeply detailed window into Puget Sound Indigenous life during an era of profound cultural disruption and transition.

xix, 470 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 27 cm

The first collection of writings and images focused on an off-reservation Indian boarding school, The Indian School on Magnolia Avenue shares the fascinating story of this flagship institution, featuring the voices of American Indian students. In 1902, the federal government opened Sherman Institute in Riverside, California, to transform American Indian students into productive farmers, carpenters, homemakers, nurses, cooks, and seamstresses. Indian students helped build the school and worked daily at Sherman; administrators provided vocational education and placed them in employment through the Outing Program. Contributors to The Indian School on Magnolia Avenue have drawn on documents held at the Sherman Indian Museum to explore topics such as the building of Sherman, the school’s Mission architecture, the nursing program, the Special Five-Year Navajo Program, the Sherman cemetery, and a photo essay depicting life at the school. Despite the fact that Indian boarding schools—with their agenda of cultural genocide— often prevented students from speaking their languages, singing their songs, and practicing their religions, most students learned to read, write, and speak English, and most survived to benefit themselves and contribute to the well-being of Indian people. The Indian School on Magnolia Avenue will be of interest to scholars and general readers in the fields of Native American studies, history, education, public policy, and historical photography.

viii, 224 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.