Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

Washingtonians: A Biographical Portrait of the State, edited by David Brewster and David M. Buerge in partnership with the Washington Centennial Commission, is a 1988 historical anthology published to commemorate the state's 1989 centennial. The comprehensive book explores the rich history of Washington by profiling the diverse lives, struggles, and achievements of the notable residents who shaped its development. Ultimately, it serves as a deeply humanizing tribute to the Pacific Northwest, framing the region's cultural and political evolution through the personal stories of the people who built it.

vii, 520 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 23 x 25 cm

People, Politics & Public Power by Ken Billington is a 1988 historical and semi-autobiographical account of the public power movement and hydroelectric development in the Pacific Northwest. Sponsored by the Washington Public Utility Districts' Association, the book chronicles Billington’s three-decade career as a lobbyist advocating for public utility districts in both Olympia and Washington, D.C., between 1951 and 1981. Ultimately, it provides an insider’s perspective on the complex legislative battles and grassroots political efforts that shaped the region's municipal energy infrastructure.

x, 475 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Christine Barrett and the Laurelhurst Community Club's A history of Laurelhurst chronicles the suburban transformation of a densely wooded peninsula extending into the deep waters of Lake Washington and Union Bay in northeast Seattle. Set against these defining shorelines and the distant backdrop of the Cascade Range, the narrative details how early developers and pioneering families transitioned a rugged, logged-over landscape into a highly structured residential enclave. By tracing the active civic engagement of the neighborhood's foundational kinship networks, the text reveals how residents cooperatively built robust local institutions and shared social traditions to anchor their new lakeside homesteads. Ultimately, this local history documents how the deliberate planning and tight-knit family bonds of these early settlers successfully transformed an isolated waterfront frontier into one of the city's most enduring and cohesive communities.

75 pages : illustrations ; 21 x 28 cm

Juan Pérez on the Northwest Coast: Six Documents of His Expedition in 1774, translated and annotated by Herbert K. Beals, presents the first English translations of primary records from the earliest European voyage to reach the Pacific Northwest coast. The book compiles diaries and firsthand accounts from Pérez, his second-in-command Estéban José Martínez, and the Catholic priests aboard the Spanish frigate Santiago during their seven-month expedition. These translated documents offer vivid details of the crew's navigation along the British Columbia coastline and their unprecedented early encounters and trade with Indigenous peoples, including the Haida and Nuu-chah-nulth. By reviving these long-ignored archival materials from Mexico City and Madrid, the book restores a crucial chapter of Spanish maritime history that was largely overshadowed by later British exploration.

xxvii, 270 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 27 cm.

In 1889 Washington's then governor, Elisha Ferry, called on men of adventure to cross the Olympic Mountains, a range shrouded in mystery. The Seattle Press, the state's primary newspaper, stepped up to the challenge, sponsoring the Press Expedition.And soon departed a band of men into the mountains during one of the worst winters in recorded history.

220 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Christine Barrett and the Laurelhurst Community Club's A history of Laurelhurst chronicles the suburban transformation of a densely wooded peninsula extending into the deep waters of Lake Washington and Union Bay in northeast Seattle. Set against these defining shorelines and the distant backdrop of the Cascade Range, the narrative details how early developers and pioneering families transitioned a rugged, logged-over landscape into a highly structured residential enclave. By tracing the active civic engagement of the neighborhood's foundational kinship networks, the text reveals how residents cooperatively built robust local institutions and shared social traditions to anchor their new lakeside homesteads. Ultimately, this local history documents how the deliberate planning and tight-knit family bonds of these early settlers successfully transformed an isolated waterfront frontier into one of the city's most enduring and cohesive communities.

76 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

Eugene E. Snyder’s We claimed this land: Portland's pioneer settlers examines the rapid urban and agricultural development at the strategic confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the shadow of the Tualatin Mountains. Set against the dense timberlands and fertile floodplains of the lower Willamette Valley, the narrative details how early land claimants and pioneering families navigated geographic isolation by forming tight-knit merchant and agrarian networks. By chronicling the clearing of the rugged West Hills and the establishment of early riverside commerce, the text reveals how these initially scattered homesteads cooperatively transitioned into a thriving deep-water port through shared labor and enduring family alliances. Ultimately, this historical account demonstrates how collaboratively taming this vital river corridor successfully transformed a remote forested frontier into a cohesive, enduring urban community that anchored the pioneer expansion of the Pacific Northwest.

A collection of biographical sketches profiling the 212 pioneers who settled the land that is now Portland, Oregon

xxv, 289 pages : maps, portraits ; 23 cm

Dorothy Neil and Lee Brainard’s By canoe and sailing ship they came: a history of Whidbey's Island explores the maritime settlement and agricultural development of the expansive landmass situated between Admiralty Inlet and Saratoga Passage in Puget Sound. Set against the fertile prairies of Penn Cove and the rugged coastlines near Deception Pass, the narrative details how early seafaring pioneers and immigrant homesteaders navigated strict geographical isolation to establish viable land claims. By examining the collaborative construction of community blockhouses and tight-knit agrarian cooperatives, the text reveals how these early residents relied on deeply rooted family networks to survive the demanding coastal environment. Ultimately, this historical account demonstrates how cooperative labor and shared maritime traditions successfully transformed a remote island frontier into a cohesive, enduring community defined by lasting Pacific Northwest lineages.

283 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Richard T. Kennedy and Grechen F. Schmidt’s One hundred years of the "waterland" community: a history of Des Moines, Washington chronicles the maritime and civic evolution of the forested bluffs and sheltered shorelines along the eastern edge of Puget Sound. Set strategically midway between the rapidly expanding urban centers of Seattle and Tacoma, the narrative details how early homesteaders, loggers, and fishermen relied on the region's vital "mosquito fleet" steamers to overcome profound geographic isolation and establish viable coastal claims. By tracing the collaborative development of the town's defining waterfront, from primitive docks to a bustling recreational marina, the text reveals how these dispersed early residents forged tight-knit kinship networks through shared maritime labor and civic engagement. Ultimately, this local history documents how the cooperative stewardship of this dynamic shoreline successfully transformed a rugged, remote logging frontier into a resilient, highly connected residential enclave bound by its enduring identity as a "waterland" community.

316 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

Delmar H. Caryl’s With angels to the rear: an informal portrait of early Meadowdale chronicles the rugged pioneer settlement of a heavily forested enclave situated along the Puget Sound coastline in Snohomish County. Set against the steep, glacier-carved topography of Lunds Gulch and the dense timberlands north of Edmonds, the narrative details how early homesteaders and logging crews cleared the challenging terrain to establish isolated rural claims. By tracing the shared physical labor required to transition from transient timber operations to permanent agricultural and residential plots, the text reveals how these geographically secluded residents relied on tight-knit neighborly alliances and enduring kinship networks to survive the demanding Pacific Northwest environment. Ultimately, this informal historical portrait demonstrates how cooperative frontier resilience and deeply rooted local friendships successfully transformed a logged-over coastal wilderness into a cohesive, enduring hamlet.

163 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

Roy F. Mayo’s Give me Liberty examines the rugged prospector settlement and subsequent community evolution of Liberty, one of Washington’s oldest surviving gold-mining towns, nestled in the Swauk Creek basin on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range. Set against the steep, pine-forested terrain of the Blewett Pass corridor, the narrative details how early prospectors and pioneer families converged on the isolated valley during the late nineteenth-century gold rushes. By tracing the shared physical labor of placer mining and the establishment of cooperative mining districts, the text reveals how these geographically secluded camps forged tight-knit kinship networks to survive the demanding, boom-and-bust frontier environment. Ultimately, this local history documents how the collaborative extraction of the region's unique wire gold and deeply rooted family alliances successfully transformed a transient tent camp into a cohesive, enduring civic community that outlasted the initial mineral rush.

45 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Edith E. Erickson and Eddy Ng’s From sojourner to citizen: Chinese of the Inland Empire examines the profound demographic integration of Chinese immigrants across the arid plains of the Columbia Plateau and the rugged mining districts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Set against the burgeoning railway hubs of Spokane and the dispersed agricultural settlements of the Palouse, the narrative details how early laborers utilized tight-knit family associations and merchant networks to survive severe social isolation and physical hardship. By tracing their deliberate transition from transient frontier workers to established local residents, the text demonstrates how these resilient immigrant kinship bonds successfully forged lasting neighborhoods and enduring civic roots within the demanding geography of the Inland Pacific Northwest.

xi, 200 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

Gary Fuller Reese’s Origins of Pierce County place names traces the expansive geographic and cultural history embedded in the landscape stretching from the deep waters of Commencement Bay to the alpine slopes of Mount Rainier. By cataloging the origins of towns, waterways, and valleys along the Puyallup and Nisqually river corridors, the reference work reveals how early indigenous groups and subsequent waves of Euro-American homesteaders inscribed their family legacies directly onto the Pacific Northwest terrain. The text demonstrates how scattered frontier logging camps and agricultural claims coalesced into permanent civic districts, bound together by the shared namesakes of pioneering kinship networks and local leaders. Ultimately, this toponymic history provides a vital roadmap of the region's settlement.

ix, 142 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

Louis J. Clements's folklore collection, Campfire tales of eastern Idaho Volume I, captures the vibrant pioneer oral traditions that echoed across the high desert plains of the upper Snake River Valley and the rugged foothills of the Teton Range. Set against this severe and expansive geography, the narrative reveals how early ranchers, trappers, and homesteading families relied on shared storytelling to cope with the profound isolation of dispersed frontier claims. By gathering around literal and metaphorical campfires, these scattered settlers forged tight-knit kinship networks and neighborly bonds, passing down local histories that laid the cultural foundation for the region. Ultimately, these collected historical yarns document how collaborative survival and deeply rooted regional folklore transformed the demanding wilderness of eastern Idaho into a resilient, interconnected agrarian community.

117 leaves ; 28 cm

Keith C. Petersen’s University of Idaho--then, now, tomorrow the heart of a hundred chronicles the establishment and century-long evolution of the state's flagship land-grant institution amidst the rolling agricultural hills of the Palouse region in northern Idaho. Set against the historically isolated frontier town of Moscow, the narrative details how dispersed farming families and pioneer settlers from across the sprawling territory coalesced to build a centralized academic community out of a rural wilderness. By tracing the collaborative construction of early campus infrastructure and the emergence of tight-knit student and alumni networks, the text reveals how this pioneering collegiate environment functioned as a vital cultural anchor for the Inland Northwest. Ultimately, this institutional history demonstrates how the shared pursuit of higher education and cooperative civic engagement successfully transformed a remote agrarian landscape into an enduring intellectual hub bound by deeply rooted regional lineages.

47 pages : illustrations ; 34 cm

David M. Buerge, Cynthia Barker, and Nada Oakley’s Renton, where the water took wing: an illustrated history chronicles the profound industrial and civic transformation of the fertile lowlands at the southern shores of Lake Washington. Set against the coal-rich Cascade foothills and a historically dynamic hydrological landscape, the narrative details how early homesteaders, immigrant miners, and indigenous communities navigated a terrain fundamentally altered by massive civic engineering—most notably the 1916 lowering of Lake Washington, which permanently dried up the vital Black River and redirected the Cedar River. By tracing the transition from rugged, resource-extraction frontier towns and river-dependent settlements into a pioneering aviation manufacturing hub built on the newly exposed lakeshores, the text reveals how tight-knit ethnic neighborhoods and industrial workforces coalesced through shared labor and rapid environmental adaptation. Ultimately, this illustrated history demonstrates how collaboratively harnessing both the region's natural waterways and its radically re-engineered geography successfully transformed a scattered mining settlement into a cohesive, enduring modern city whose legacy of flight reshaped the Pacific Northwest.

135 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 29 cm

"The great fire of 1889 devoured the business heart of Seattle. The story of how it began, who actually started it, how the fire department reacted, and why the fire roared out of control make fascinating reading."--Amazon.com viewed Oct. 3, 2022

69 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm

Ken Favrholdt and Lynne Schuyler Bracewell’s Kamloops meeting of the waters: an illustrated history chronicles the rich civic and commercial evolution at the strategic confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers in the arid interior plateau of British Columbia. Set against the sprawling sagebrush hills and vital river corridors traditionally stewarded by the Secwepemc people, the narrative details how early fur traders, gold prospectors, and overland ranching families navigated profound geographic isolation by establishing cooperative agrarian and mercantile networks. By tracing the collaborative labor required to transition from a transient Hudson's Bay Company trading post into a major Canadian Pacific Railway and agricultural hub, the text reveals how these dispersed inland residents forged tight-knit civic alliances to survive the extreme seasonal demands of the high desert environment. Ultimately, this illustrated history documents how the shared utilization of the region's defining waterways successfully transformed a remote frontier crossroads into a resilient, highly connected urban community that continues to anchor the British Columbia interior.

111 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.

Dennis Minaker’s The Gorge of summers gone: a history of Victoria's inland waterway chronicles the vibrant recreational and residential evolution of the narrow, winding tidal inlet that extends inland from Victoria Harbour on southern Vancouver Island. Set against the sheltered shorelines and deep channels of this unique marine corridor, the narrative details how early pioneer families and indigenous groups navigated the transition from scattered waterside encampments to tightly knit neighborhoods of summer cottages and permanent homesteads. By chronicling the shared local traditions of community regattas, swimming clubs, and social gatherings along the water, the text reveals how residents forged enduring kinship networks through collaborative maritime recreation. Ultimately, this local history documents how the cooperative stewardship of this dynamic tidal basin transformed a seasonal waterfront retreat into a deeply rooted, cohesive suburban community that shaped the civic identity of early Victoria.

vi, 148 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 26 cm.

In the 1940s Henry J. Kaiser was a household name, as familiar then as Lee Iacocca and Donald Trump are now. Like a Horatio Alger hero, Kaiser rose from lower-middle-class origins to become an enormously wealthy entrepreneur, building roads, bridges, dams, and housing. He established giant businesses in cement, aluminum, chemicals, steel, health care, and tourism. During World War II, his companies built cargo planes and Liberty ships. After the war, he manufactured the Kaiser-Frazer automobiles. Along the way, he also became a major force in the development of the western United States, including Hawaii. Henry J. Kaiser: Builder in the Modern American West is the first biography of this remarkable man. Drawing on a wealth of archival material never before utilized, Mark Foster paints an evenhanded portrait of a man of driving ambition and integrity, perhaps the ultimate "can-do" capitalist. He covers Kaiser's entire life (1882-1967), emphasizing many business ventures. He demonstrates that Kaiser was the prototypical "frontier" entrepreneur who often used government and union support to tame the "wilderness."

xiv, 358 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm.

The Ghostland People was the name given by the Haida to the early white settlers. This book is a gathering of firsthand accounts of exploration and discovery in the Queen Charlotte Islands during the little-known period bordered on one side by the maritime fur traders, and on the other by the farmers and the fishermen, and the loggers and the miners. William Downie visited the islands in 1859 and filed his report with Governor James Douglas. Robert Brown made his way there aboard the Goldstream in 1866, and Judge James G. Swan made his first trip to the Charlottes in 1883/and left a fascinating yet forgotten account. In 1878 George Dawson, the “little giant,” wrote his classic study (here reproduced for the first time in 110 years) of the Islands and the Haida. Lord Dufferin and his wife, the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, toured the Queen Charlottes in 1876 and both left detailed accounts. So did Charles Horetzky, who was there two years earlier. The next visitor to leave important views of the Islands was George A. Dorsey, who, with James Deans, cruised the area in 1898 on the behalf of the Field Museum in Chicago. Just after the turn of the century, Charles Seldon, a professional hunter from the United States, visited the Islands to observe the long-fabled Queen Charlotte Island caribou. This is the fourth volume in the West Coast Heritage Series. In it, editor Charles Lillard has also provided the first detailed chronology of Island history, the first major bibliography, and chapters on the Islands’ mystique and prehistory. As was the case with the previous books, Lillard gathers together material which has not been accessible to the general reader for over eighty years.

318 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 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

Larry J. Weathers’s Place names of Pacific County, published by the local historical society, serves as a vital geographic and cultural record of southwestern Washington's coastal evolution, stretching from the mouth of the Columbia River to the tidal flats of Willapa Bay. Rather than a standard chronological history, this toponymic catalog traces how the physical landscape was incrementally layered with the historical footprints of its diverse inhabitants. The text reveals how early pioneer settlements, immigrant logging camps, and oyster towns—such as Oysterville, Ilwaco, and South Bend—were frequently built directly atop pre-existing indigenous encampments and seasonal trading grounds. Weathers documents how American homesteaders and maritime laborers navigated the region's isolated peninsulas and dense rainforests by relying heavily on ancient Chinook, Chehalis, and Willapa portages and overland trails, subsequently mapping their own civic ambition onto this established indigenous geography. Ultimately, this comprehensive index of local place names demonstrates how the collaborative adaptation of indigenous pathways and the cooperative endurance of early maritime workers successfully transformed a rugged, water-bound frontier into an interconnected network of enduring Pacific coast communities.

pages 19-70 : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Doug Cardle’s About Those King County Place-Names: An Informal History provides an accessible yet granular toponymic chronicle documenting the origins, evolution, and spatial distribution of geographic names across Washington’s central Puget Sound region. The text traces how nineteenth- and twentieth-century Euro-American monikers—commemorating pioneer homesteaders, timber barons, and corporate surveyors—were systematically superimposed over the ancestral Lushootseed place-names, riverine networks, and overland foot trails of the Duwamish, Snoqualmie, Muckleshoot, and Suquamish peoples. Cardle details the logistical mechanics of frontier expansion, illustrating how civic and geographic designations coalesced around early timber mills, coal mining encampments in Newcastle and Black Diamond, and railroad junctions that engineered the drainage basins of the Green, Cedar, and Snoqualmie rivers. Ultimately, the volume captures the cartographic and linguistic transformation of the landscape, illustrating how industrial resource extraction and municipal settlement codified a new administrative geography across King County while obscuring its foundational Indigenous domain.

v, 118 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

226 pages : illustrations, maps ; 29 cm