Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

"'My name is Sam George. In spite of everything that happened to me, by the grace of the Creator, I have lived to be an Elder.' The crimes carried out at St. Paul's Indian Residential School in North Vancouver scarred untold numbers of Indigenous children and families across generations. Sam George was one of these children. This candid account follows Sam from his idyllic childhood growing up on the Eslhá7an (Mission) reserve to St. Paul's, where he weathered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. He spent much of his life navigating the effects of this trauma - prison, addiction, and challenging relationships - until he found the strength to face his past. Now an Elder and educator with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, this is Sam's harrowing story, in his own words. An ember of Sam's spirit always burned within him, and even in the darkest of places he retained his humour and dignity. The Fire Still Burns is an unflinching look at the horrors of a childhood in the Indian Residential School system and the long-term effects on survivors. It illustrates the healing power of one's culture and the resilience that allows an individual to rebuild a life and a future."-- Provided by publisher

xii, 133 pages : illustration ; 21 cm

"A dynamic retelling of the deadly 1906 sinking of the SS Valencia off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, one of the worst maritime disasters in Canadian history. There are few places on earth that have such a high record of marine casualties as the short yet treacherous stretch of coastline known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the fifty-six kilometres between Port Renfrew and Cape Beale off Vancouver Island saw dozens of shipwrecks and claimed hundreds of lives. On a blustery night in late January 1906, the steamship SS Valencia, heading from San Francisco to Seattle and Victoria, met its tragic fate on the rocks near Pachena Point. With over one hundred passengers and sixty-five crew members on board, only thirty-seven people survived the wreck. All of the women and children perished. With journalistic precision, compassion for the victims, and condemnation for those who neglected to prevent the tragedy, author Michael C. Neitzel recounts the Valencia's ill-fated final voyage, drawing heavily on first-hand accounts of the survivors and witnesses. The Final Voyage of the Valencia is a must-read for anyone interested in the maritime history of Canada's west coast."-- Provided by publisher

139 pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm

"Before Forks, a small town on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, became famous as the location for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight book series, it was the self-proclaimed "Logging Capital of the World" and ground zero in a regional conflict over the fate of old-growth forests. Since Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Dietrich first published The Final Forest in 1992, logging in Forks has given way to tourism, but even with its new fame, Forks is still a home to loggers and others who make their living from the surrounding forests. The new edition recounts how forest policy and practices have changed since the early 1990s and also tells us what has happened in Forks and where the actors who were so important to the timber wars are now."--Pub. desc

336 pages : maps ; 23 cm

Gordon Keith’s The Ferryboat islands: a practical guide to Washington States's San Juan Islands navigates the complex marine geography and rocky archipelagos scattered between the Rosario and Haro Straits in the northern Salish Sea. Set against the isolated, deep-water harbors of Lopez, Orcas, San Juan and Shaw, the text details how early homesteading families and maritime laborers relied on the evolving ferry systems to bridge the formidable aquatic distances between their remote agricultural and fishing claims. By tracing the transition from dispersed pioneer anchorages to highly interconnected island neighborhoods, the narrative illustrates how a shared reliance on these vital marine transit routes fostered tight-knit regional kinship and cooperative commerce. Ultimately, this maritime history demonstrates how collaboratively navigating the seasonal tides and rugged coastlines of the archipelago was essential to forging the resilient, cohesive community identity that unites the modern island networks.

xx, 204 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm

The Fernwood Files by John J. Ellis and Charles Lillard is a 1989 local history that traces the evolution of Victoria's vibrant Fernwood neighborhood from the 1840s through the late 20th century. Through a blend of personal recollections and detailed historical records, the book explores the area's original landowners, residential growth, and foundational institutions like its early schools and hospitals. Ultimately, it serves as a rich community archive that preserves the unique character and historical development of one of the oldest urban districts in British Columbia's capital.

125 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

A biography of the storyteller Daniel Jefferson Harris (1826-1890) of the Puget Sound area of Washington State, USA.

74 pages : illustrations ; 14 x 22 cm

The Fair Land: Saanich by Betty Bell is a 1982 memoir and historical account capturing the author's fond childhood memories of growing up on the Saanich Peninsula of Vancouver Island during the Edwardian era. The book offers an evocative glimpse into a prosperous rural farming community, detailing everyday life, local families, and early transportation like the Victoria & Sydney Railway. Through a mix of charming personal anecdotes and archival photographs, Bell preserves the history of a slower, simpler time before modern development transformed the region.

132 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, portraits ; 23 cm

Authored by local historian Stan DeHart, The Faces of History: Portraits of the Men and Women Who Shaped Life in Boundary County, Idaho compiles a rich photographic and biographical archive of the pioneers, homesteaders, and laborers who carved a community out of the remote panhandle of northern Idaho. The book uses vintage portrait photography and detailed oral histories to resurrect the individual stories of those who braved isolation, harsh winters, and demanding resource industries near the Canadian border. Through these personal profiles, the text honors the human grit that transformed an untamed river valley into a permanent, functioning society. A keen insight drawn from the work is how frontier portraiture functioned as a deliberate act of civilizing permanence; by meticulously dressing up and sitting for traveling photographers, isolated homesteaders used visual self-representation to project dignity and social order onto an unforgiving wilderness that constantly threatened to swallow their hard-won achievements.

Oversized paperback

xv, 319 pages, 28 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm.

The Evergreen Islands: A History of the Islands of the Inside Passage by Doris Andersen is a comprehensive 1984 regional history that surveys the rugged, heavily forested archipelagos stretching along the British Columbia coast from the Strait of Georgia up toward Prince Rupert. The book chronicles the deep ancestral heritage of the region's First Nations peoples, the dramatic era of late-18th-century European maritime exploration, and the subsequent waves of coastal settlement driven by the fur trade, commercial fishing, and timber industries. By detailing the unique logistical challenges and fierce self-reliance required to inhabit these remote outposts, Andersen captures the distinct maritime culture of the communities dotting this famous waterway. Ultimately, it serves as an engaging and valuable resource for maritime historians and regional enthusiasts seeking to understand the economic forces and frontier resilience that shaped Canada's spectacular Pacific coastline.

224 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm

This book has more than 270 illustrations including maps and timetables. The complete history of the Washington State Ferry system with each route outlined and descriptions of each vessel

136 pages illustrations, maps 29 cm

"While working for Washington State Magazine, eleven journalists traveled throughout the region to interview farmers, chefs, wine tasters, mountain climbers, scientists, and more. The resulting stories highlight the Evergreen State's captivating people, industries, and history, describing influential programs, cities from Aberdeen to Zillah, as well as a wide variety of trends, research, and innovative solutions"--

xiii, 273 pages : color illustrations ; 23 cm

From the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, American conservation politics underwent a transformation — and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was at the heart of this shift toward modern environmentalism. The Environmental Justice explores how Douglas, inspired by his youthful experiences hiking in the Pacific Northwest, eventually used his influence to reshape American conservation thought, politics, and law. One of the nation’s most passionate conservationists, Douglas wrote eloquent testimonies to the value of wilderness and society’s increasing need for it, both in his popular books and in his heartfelt judicial opinions celebrating nature and condemning those who would destroy it. He led public protests in favor of wilderness. He worked tirelessly to secure stronger legal protections for the environment, coordinating with a national network of conservationists and policymakers. As a sitting Supreme Court Justice, Douglas brought both prestige and the enormous symbolic power of legal authority to conservation crusades at a time when the nation's laws did not favor environmental protection. He understood the need for national solutions that included public involvement and protections of minority interests; the issues were nationally important and the forces against preservation were strong. In myriad situations Douglas promoted democratic action for conservation, public monitoring of government and business activities, and stronger laws to insure environmental and political integrity.

x, 198 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

"Although the Pacific Northwest was the area furthest removed from the actual battles of the Civil War, it was nonetheless profoundly affected by the war. The Enemy Never Came examines the everyday lives of the volunteer soldiers who battled Native American renegades of the region and of the settlers who were deeply affected by the war yet unable to do much about it." - Back cover

xviii, 268 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

In 1909 Captain John T. Walbran published one of the most beloved and enduring of all BC books, British Columbia Coast Names. Harbour Publishing celebrates the hundredth anniversary of that landmark work by presenting the first book to update Walbran's classic, Andrew Scott's Raincoast Place Names. Like its progenitor, Raincoast Place Names is much more than simply a catalogue of name origins because it tells the often fascinating stories behind the names and in so doing serves as a history of the region in capsule form. It is also a monumental work, twice the size of Walbran's and including more than three times as many places. Four thousand entries consider, in intriguing detail, the stories behind over five thousand place names: how they were discovered, who named them and why, and what the names reveal. It describes the original First Nations cultures, the heroics of the 18th-century explorers and fur traders, the gruelling survey and settlement efforts of the 19th century, the lives of colonial officials, missionaries, gold seekers and homesteaders, and the histories of nearly every important vessel to sail or cruise the coast.

661 pages : illustrations (some color), maps, portraits ; 26 cm

A notorious bit of historical esoterica, this 1845 handbook for travelers heading westward from the civilized United States for the freedom of the wild, unsettled frontier is remembered today mainly for its small role in one of the most horrific stories of the American West: it suggested the untried "shortcut," now known as the Hastings Cutoff, through Utah that led the Donner Party to its dreadful end. Absent the book's footnote position in the history of the West, this would still be a remarkable document of mid-19th-century America and the machinations and politicking that went into the American expansion across the continent. Written and published by Ohio-born lawyer Lansford Warren Hastings (1819-1870), it sets out glowing, idyllic descriptions of the bountiful landscapes of California and Oregon, offering almost irresistible enticements to settlers looking to make a new start. Hastings' motives were less than noble, however: he hoped to establish an independent Republic of California ... with himself as its ruler. He failed in his efforts, but the evidence of his ambition, in the form of this fascinating work, remains must reading for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of what drove the settling of the frontier

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is known to schoolchildren as a great Canadian explorer who gave his name to the country’s longest river, but hardly anyone could name the man who mentored Mackenzie and mapped much of northwestern Canada before him. Soldier, fur trader and explorer Peter Pond, the subject of this long overdue book, is a man whose legend has been forgotten in favor of those who came after him. Much of Pond’s life is shadowed in mystery. Historian Barry Gough uses Pond’s surviving memoirs, explorers’ journals, letters written by acquaintances of Pond, publications in London magazines and many other sources to track and reconstruct the life of one of the last of the tough, old-style explorers who ventured into the wilderness with little more than a strong instinct for survival and helped shape the modern world.

xxv, 230 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

183 pages ; 23 cm

"For those armchair historians interested in the initial nautical exploration of inland Washington waters, this text is an addition to Northwest maritime history. Beginning in 1786 and continuing through 1792, The Early Exploration of Inland Washington Waters includes annotated transcriptions of all the logs and journals of the area's earliest explorers. This text follows the initial journey of John Meares, four intervening expeditions by the Spanish, and culminates with George Vancouver's voyage in 1792."

vii, 214 pages ; 23 cm

This book compiles a project originally started by a laboratory writing class of Cleveland High School in 1947. It collects an amazing amount of history from books, pamphlets, newspapers, and word-of-mouth stories about Seattle's earliest pioneers: John Holgate, Luther Collins, Henry Van Asselt, and Jacob and Samuel Maple, as well a lot of other history. If you supersize the contents pages, you should be able to read all of the entries. Generously illustrated with b/w photos and a fold-out map of the Duwamish River before and after straightening in the rear

xiv, 119 pages : illustrations, maps (1 folded) ; 23 cm

pages 39-43 ; 24 cm

An American farmer shoots an English pig, sparking a war over an international boundary. Explore the disputed islands through the ordinary lives of the multi-ethnic, polyglot communities that lived in the San Juans during this conflict: how these islanders make their homes, work and socialize, and resolve their differences. (from the back cover)

475 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

The Snake War is one of the least known of the many clashes of culture that occurred in the American West during the 19th Century. Most Americans have heard of famous chiefs like Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Geronimo, Cochise, and Crazy Horse. Few have heard of Paulina, Weahwewa, Howluck, or Ocheho. To most people, Winnemucca is simply the name of a lonely stop on the Nevada Interstate. These were the men who led their people in a fight for survival in the Great Basin between the Rockies and the Sierras. The author gives readers the first comprehensive look at the natives, soldiers, and settlers who clashed on the high desert of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and Northern California in a struggle that, over a 4-year period, claimed more lives than any other Western Indian war

xviii, 380 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

The title, The Days of the Hercules, is an obvious play on words. It can mean the story of the Day family or the days of the Hercules mine. This book is about both family and mine and about the first forty years of the Coeur d'Alene mining district in northern Idaho. -- adapted from jacket

viii, 324 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

The days of potatoes 'n gravy: History of Potatoes and Its People in the Klamath Basin chronicles the intensive agricultural transformation of the sprawling, high-elevation wetlands situated along the rugged border of southern Oregon and northern California. Enman details how the region's complex topography—a semi-arid high desert basin originally dominated by massive shallow lakes, dense tule marshes, and rich volcanic pumice—initially presented a formidable aquatic barrier to traditional pioneer settlement. The narrative highlights the immense physical labor and massive federal reclamation efforts required to drain these remote wetlands, forcibly converting the impenetrable watershed into a highly controlled, irrigated grid perfectly adapted for large-scale commercial potato cultivation. By mapping the deep relationship between the farming communities and the area's unforgiving microclimates, the book illustrates how the basin's profound geographic isolation and unique soil composition strictly dictated its economic survival and crop selection. Ultimately, this text serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the dramatic hydrological engineering of this extreme Pacific Northwest basin fundamentally transformed a wild aquatic landscape into a highly specialized agrarian frontier.

iii, 67 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm