Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

This remarkable account of Washington’s Twana Indians contains the most complete body of information compiled on any Native American group in the southern coast Salish region.

576 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

One of the world's most fertile agricultural regions, the Fraser Valley is in the midst of explosive change from the pressures of technology and urbanization. The author follows the Valley's history from the eighteenth century when Stalo natives were constantly on guard against visits from raiding Yacultas, through the Victorian era, when waves of settlers fought harsh winters, floods and mosquitoes to build a new community in the Valley, to the twentieth century, when the depredations of two world wars and the impact of the automobile changed the Valley forever. Throughout, Cherrington reminds us that beneath the serene, increasingly urbanized surface of the Fraser Valley, there is a turbulent past of Sasquatches and steamships, fur traders and fishermen, priests and prospectors - a recent past that, in an era of freeways and microchips, seems increasingly remote.

391 pages : illustrations, maps ; 29 cm

An introduction to the T'Sou-ke people and the people of Sooke, a small community on the western coast of Vancouver Island.

156 pages : illustrations (some color), maps, portraits ; 22 x 29 cm

Qualicum Beach: A History of Vancouver Island's Best Kept Secrets is a non-fiction historical work by Brad Wylie, first published in 1992. The book offers a detailed look at the history of the Qualicum Beach region, highlighting its cultural heritage and place within Canadian history. Across its 222 pages, Wylie traces the area's early stories, first settlements, and key regional milestones that helped shape this beautiful coastal community on Vancouver Island. It provides an engaging and informative resource for readers interested in local lore, heritage, and the fascinating historical development of one of British Columbia's unique communities.

219 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

In this unique collection of writing and photography, nineteen skilled individuals have explored various facets of Kamloops' colorful past, present and future. Through their eyes, we see the landscapes, the city scenes and the people who made life in this southwestern B.C. community interesting and exciting. Kamloops: One Hundred Years of Community has an historic hand-tinted 1937 photograph as a four-color wrap-around cover. It also contains 87 black and white photographs, many previously unpublished. Soft cover, 8 1/2" x 11" horizontal format.

148 p. : ill. ; 22 x 28 cm.

Published by historians James R. Evans and Bert Webber, Flagstaff Hill on the National Historic Oregon Trail, Baker City, Oregon: An interpretive guide serves as an informative companion to one of the most prominent overland trail sites in the American West. The book explores the dramatic geography and historic significance of Flagstaff Hill, which overlooks the historic ruts carved by thousands of covered wagons descending toward the Snake River valley. Utilizing archival photographs, maps, and trail diaries, the guide details the grueling final stretches of the Oregon Trail where pioneers faced exhaustion, disease, and the daunting transition from wilderness trekkers to exhausted settlers. A keen insight drawn from the work is how interpretive monuments freeze a complex historical tragedy into a romanticized pioneer narrative; by elevating Flagstaff Hill as a scenic monument to manifest destiny, the site risks reducing a violent process of indigenous displacement into a sanitized spectacle of rugged perseverance.

143 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Authored by local historian Monty Hormel, Old West in Grant County Country chronicles the rugged frontier heritage and colorful historical legacy of eastern Oregon's high desert mining and ranching country. The book details the turbulent late-19th-century era defined by gold rushes, cattle drives, vigilante justice, and the sheer tenacity of homesteaders who carved out lives in an arid, isolated landscape. Through vintage photographs and local archives, the text preserves the vanishing oral histories and dramatic episodes that shaped communities like John Day and Canyon City. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the popular mythology of the "Old West" masks the mundane economic desperation of frontier extraction; by examining the boom-and-bust cycles driven by mineral exhaustion and grazing limits, the narrative reveals that legendary tales of outlaw lawlessness often served to distract from the grinding precariousness of living on depleted land.

vii, 95 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

John A. Hemphill and Robert C. Cumbow’s West Pointers and early Washington: the contributions of U.S. Military Academy graduates to the development of the Washington Territory, from the Oregon Trail to the Civil War, 1834-1862 chronicles the foundational military engineering and civic administration across the expansive landscapes of the early Pacific Northwest. Set against the vast distances of the territorial frontier, the narrative details how formally trained Army officers were tasked with surveying critical wagon roads and mapping seemingly uncharted topography.

Crucially, the text reveals that these West Point engineers—such as Captain George B. McClellan during his 1853 railroad surveys of the Naches and Snoqualmie passes, and Lieutenant John Mullan during the construction of the 624-mile Mullan Road linking Fort Walla Walla to the Missouri River—did not forge new paths through untouched wilderness. Instead, they relied heavily on local indigenous guides to expand a continent-spanning, pre-existing network of Native American trade and migration routes. By documenting the complex collaborative dynamic between military detachments, civilian pioneers, and indigenous geographic intelligence, the text highlights how the territory's earliest organized infrastructure was physically layered directly on top of the ancient, established highways of the Yakama, Coeur d'Alene, and other regional nations.

Ultimately, this historical account demonstrates how the application of military engineering and the vital appropriation of deep-rooted indigenous geographic knowledge successfully laid the physical groundwork that anchored the early American settlement of Washington Territory.

The contributions of U.S. Military Academy Graduates to the Development of the Washington Territory, from the Oregon Trail to the Civil War 1934-1862.

iv, 235 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

Authored by Wallace Louis Exum, Murder at Hogans Corner, Washington: An American Destiny investigates a dark, sensationalized 1930s homicide that sent shockwaves through a rural Grays Harbor County crossroads community. The book reconstructs the chilling details of the crime, the subsequent manhunt, and the local judicial proceedings that riveted the Pacific Northwest during the height of the Great Depression. Through meticulous archival research, the author uses the lens of a single sensational murder to expose the raw underbelly of an isolated frontier region wrestling with sudden economic despair. A keen insight drawn from the work is how true-crime narratives function as mirrors for societal anxiety; by probing a localized act of violence against the backdrop of economic collapse, the text reveals that the true horror of the era was not merely an isolated murder, but the pervasive social unraveling of a forgotten rural populace pushed to the brink by structural poverty.

xiii, 227 pages : portrait ; 21 cm

"The Northwest Coast was irrevocably changed the day that Captain James Cook sailed into Nootka Sound in 1778. Cook's discovery of the sea otter population along the coast initiated the maritime fur trade, which in turn led to feverish competition among several nations, especially Britain, Russia, and the United States, as well as the celebrated rivalry between Spain and Britain for control of Nootka. By 1812, a toehold of British empire was established, and the aboriginal way of life was shattered." "The Northwest Coast documents Britain's rise to pre-eminence in this far-flung corner of empire. It shows how the relentless activities of its commercial interests, the adroit use of its naval power, and the steely resolve of its diplomats secured British claims to dominion and rights to trade along the Northwest Coast. Written by a leading maritime scholar and based on fresh research into all known manuscripts and printed works on Pacific trade and exploration, this book incorporates new interpretations on exploration and commercial activity in this area, significantly updating and expanding the author's award-winning book, Distant Dominion. The Northwest Coast documents the interaction, often violent, between British sailors and aboriginal people; depicts many of the rivalries among British mariners; and examines various claims to the discovery of the Northwest Passage. Gough's compelling narrative combined with his extensive use of quotations from the journals and correspondence of explorers and merchant traders provide insights into the motives and attitudes of these early pioneers of empire."--Jacket

1 online resource (xiv, 265 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, maps

Wander off the beaten path with artist Earl Thollander and discover some of the most picturesque areas of the state. In hand-written text and vivid illustrations, Back Roads of Washington guides readers through 6,000 miles of scenic beauty. This regional classic captures the memorable details of back roads that can be enjoyed on the way to a destination, on a Sunday drive, or sitting in a comfortable armchair. -- Amazon

200 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

Authored by local historian Jack R. Evans, Levant F. Thompson: Hop King, Banker, Senator, Pierce County, Washington Pioneer chronicles the extraordinary life and rapid rise of a defining 19th-century Pacific Northwest entrepreneur. The book traces Thompson’s multifaceted career from an ambitious agrarian settler into a dominant agricultural baron controlling vast hop-growing empires, before pivoting into banking and state politics. Through extensive archival records and biographical details, the text illuminates the volatile economic forces and speculative fortunes that built the infrastructure of early Pierce County. A keen insight drawn from the work is how regional agricultural monopolies served as the foundational launchpad for political power; by converting massive windfalls from the speculative hop boom into banking capital and legislative influence, pioneers like Thompson demonstrated that early Washington state politics were directly engineered by those who could successfully weather the boom-and-bust cycles of single-crop commodity markets.

ii, i, 49 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.

Originally published in 1960 and long out of print, Mercer's Belles is a classic of Northwest history and even inspired a television series, "Here Come the Brides." Roger Conant's 1866 report of his shipboard travels with the "Mercer Girls" on their three-month voyage from New York to San Francisco and Seattle is here republished in its entirety, including Lenna Deutsch's invaluable reference material and the original photographs. A new foreword by Northwest historian Susan Armitage places the journal in historical perspective. Civil War losses had created a surplus of unattached women on the eastern seaboard. In the new western territories, women were sought as wives and teachers. Asa Mercer, president of the territorial university in Seattle, organized a project for female emigration. To a group of men in the West he promised, for a fee, to bring a suitable wife of good moral character and reputation. To the women of the East he offered free passage to Washington Territory. People greeted Mercer's plans with mixed feelings, and he never recruited the number of women he originally anticipated would make the long journey west. The story of "Mercer's Belles" came to occupy an important and interesting niche in regional history. Never has the story been told as thoroughly, as entertainingly, or as well as in Roger Conant's journal, accompanied by Lenna Deutsch's insightful reference material. It is fitting that Mercer's Belles now be made available for a new generation of readers.

1 online resource (xvii, 147 pages) : illustrations

Herbert A. Pfiffner’s More than a thousand points of light, documenting the history of Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, explores the profound social adaptation and vital urban resilience within the rapidly industrializing and economically volatile landscape of twentieth-century Seattle. The narrative illustrates how the harsh environmental realities of this modern urban topography—defined by the dense, unforgiving streets of the city core, the profound economic devastation of the Great Depression, and the severe social isolation of its most vulnerable populations—required immense institutional resilience and shared, structured adaptation from faith-based and civic communities. By detailing the gradual transition from disjointed, emergency relief efforts to the cooperative establishment of enduring civic and spiritual lifelines, the text highlights how the city's broader social cohesion relied heavily on community-driven responses to urban poverty. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that patiently cultivating shared spaces of refuge and collaboratively building robust social safety nets were essential steps in transforming a fractured urban frontier into a more deeply rooted, compassionate civic society in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.

Celebrates and commemorates sixty years of Seattle's Union Gospel Mission

90 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

The largest, most detailed collection of Yakima lore ever. Introductory notes and numerous photographs provide historical and cultural context. Tribal Myths and Legends explain the origin of the tribes, of fire, or the origins of landmarks, also mysterious, haunted lakes. Humorous Tales relate the ridiculous, often earthy antics of Coyote. Hunting Stories reveal the techniques, the terrors of the hunt for the ferocious grizzly, treacherous black bear, or deer, and more.

435 pages, 26 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm

Stewart Holbrook was a high school dropout who emerged from logging camps to become the author of three dozen books, the Pacific Northwest’s foremost storyteller, one of the nation’s most popular historians, and a satirical painter known as “Mr. Otis.” Today readers are rediscovering Holbrook’s colorful and irreverent accounts of Pacific Northwest history. Wildmen, Wobblies, and Whistle Punks collects twenty-six of Holbrook’s best writings about the region. Combining solid scholarship with humor and a gift for celebrating the offbeat, Holbrook’s stories record a vibrant, often overlooked side of Northwest history. Here are forgotten scandals and murders; stories of forest fires, floods, and other calamities; tales of loggers and life in the logging camps; and profiles of various lowbrow characters—radicals, do-gooders, dreamers, schemers, and zealots.

vi, 313 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm.

From the river valleys of interior British Columbia south to the hills of northern Oregon and east to the continental divide in western Montana, hundreds of cliffs and boulders display carved and painted designs created by ancient artists who inhabited this area, the Columbia Plateau, as long as seven thousand years ago. Expressing a vital social and spiritual dimension in the lives of these hunter-gatherers, rock art captivates us with its evocative power and mystery. At once an irreplaceable yet fragile cultural resource, it documents Native histories, customs, and visions through thousands of years. This valuable reference and guidebook addresses basic questions of what petroglyphs and pictographs are, how they were produced, and how archaeologists classify and date them. The author, James Keyser, identifies five regions on the Columbia Plateau, each with its own variant of the rock art style identifiable as belonging exclusively to the region. He describes for each region the setting and scope of the rock art along with its design characteristics and possible meaning. Through line drawings, photographs, and detailed maps he provides a guide to the sites where rock art can be viewed. In western Montana, rock art motifs express the ritualistic seeking of a spirit helper from the natural world. In interior British Columbia, rayed arcs above the heads of human figures demonstrate the possession of a guardian spirit. Twin figures on the central Columbia Plateau reveal another belief - the special power of twins - and hunting scenes celebrate successes of the chase. The grimacing, evocative face of Tsagiglalal, in lower Columbia pictographs, testifies to the Plateau Indians' "death cult" response to the European diseases that decimated their villages between 1700 and 1840. On the southeastern Plateau, images of horseback riders mark the adoption, after 1700, of the equestrian and cultural habits of the northwestern Great Plains Indians. Despite geographic differences in emphasis, similarities in design and technique link the drawings of all five regions. Human figures, animals depicting the numerous species known on the Plateau, geometric motifs, mysterious beings, and tally marks, whether painted or carved, appear throughout the Columbia Plateau

139 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

John L. Acton’s Spallumcheen: The First Century provides an authoritative centenary administrative and spatial history of British Columbia's oldest rural district municipality. Acton analyzes the institutional and legal development of the Spallumcheen Valley, documenting how nineteenth-century surveyor grids, drainage ditches, and agrarian settlements were superimposed over ancient Indigenous hunting corridors and salmon-harvesting rivers. The text traces the economic transition from open-range cattle empires to mechanized wheat farming and intensive dairy production, detailing the municipal secession of the commercial core of Armstrong in 1913. Through council minutes, taxation ledgers, and cadastral maps, the work illustrates the civic challenges of managing road maintenance, rural schools, and agricultural zoning across the farming benches of Hullcar and the surrounding valley basin.

viii, 184 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 29 cm

Published by Kenneth Campbell, North Coast Odyssey: The Inside Passage from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert captures the dramatic geography and rich maritime heritage of British Columbia's isolated northern marine highway. The book chronicles a coastal voyage through labyrinthine fjords, treacherous narrows, and wind-swept archipelagos, blending nautical adventure with local history, Indigenous lore, and observations of the region's abundant marine wildlife. Through vivid descriptive prose, the author details the weathered cannery towns, lighthouses, and remote settlements that cling to a magnificent yet unforgiving coastline. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the Inside Passage functions as a liquid highway that simultaneously isolates and connects; by relying entirely on maritime transit through a maze of stone and water, coastal inhabitants experience a profound sense of remoteness that can only be bridged by a deep, respectful attunement to the fickle rhythms of the Pacific tides.

202 pages : illustrations, maps, portrait ; 23 cm

Published in local editions by Kay Frances Reinartz, Queen Anne: Community on the Hill chronicles the rich neighborhood history and architectural evolution of one of Seattle’s most prominent geographic landmarks. The book traces the area's transformation from a dense evergreen forest and native camp into an affluent residential streetcar suburb offering sweeping vistas of Elliott Bay and the Cascade Mountains. Through archival photographs, diaries, and municipal records, the text captures the daily lives of early residents who shaped the hill's distinct community identity amidst rapid urban growth below. A keen insight drawn from the work is how topographical isolation can preserve a distinct community consciousness within an expanding metropolis; by literally rising above the industrial grit and commercial clamor of downtown Seattle, Queen Anne Hill allowed its residents to curate an architectural enclave that visually and socially equated geographic elevation with civic prestige.

viii, 231 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

History of Seabeck, Washington (state) covers the early Native American history, exploration by British and American navigators, and continues on to the development of the harbor as the site of a lumber mill and shipbuilding center. Topics include water transportation, hotels, saloons, store, post office, schools, cemetery, Seabeck Christian Conference Center, and surrounding communities. Included are census and cemetery records, maps, legends, and an extensive index. This is the second printing.--

242 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

A ground-breaking study of the relations between the fur traders of Fort Nez Perce's and the Indians of the region, primarily Cayuse, Wallawalla, Umatilla, and Nez Perce. Existing literature on this region has focused on the white explorers, the fur traders, and the settlers; Chiefs and Chief Traders offers a new perspective, exploring both white and Indian cultures and their interactions. Chiefs and Chief Taders represents the culmination of 25 years of research, utilizing an extensive variety of primary sources - some used here for the first time - as well as oral interviews conducted in the course of ethnographic research on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Stern weaves together anthropology and history in a way that few are qualified to do. He brings important new information to the story of the relations between Indians and whites in the Pacific Northwest

xii, 272 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Published by the Southern Oregon Historical Society and authored by Joy B. Dunn, Land in Common: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Oregon chronicles the complex and vibrant heritage of the Rogue River Valley. The book traces the region's transformation from ancestral indigenous homelands and a turbulent 1850s gold rush frontier into a thriving agricultural and timber-producing community. Through an extensive collection of historical photographs and archival records, the text highlights the diverse waves of settlers, miners, and entrepreneurs who shaped the physical and social landscape of southern Oregon. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the book's title operates as a poignant irony; by documenting how a land once held in common by native nations was rapidly parceled out into private claims, the history reveals that the foundational wealth of the frontier was built entirely upon the systematic legal enclosure of indigenous geography.

xiv, 178 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Published by the Island County Historical Society, Sails, Steamships & Sea Captains: Settlement, Trade, and Transportation of Island County Between 1850-1900 chronicles the maritime foundation of Washington’s Whidbey and Camano islands during the late nineteenth century. The book details the pivotal role played by mosquito fleet steamers, schooners, and daring sea captains in binding together isolated homesteads, timber camps, and agricultural outposts across Puget Sound long before the era of bridges and highways. Through archival photographs and pioneer accounts, the text captures a watery frontier where daily commerce, mail delivery, and social survival depended entirely on wind, tide, and vessel navigation. A keen insight drawn from the work is how insular geography in the Pacific Northwest inverted modern transportation logic; rather than land acting as the primary territory and water as the barrier, the interconnected waterways of Puget Sound served as the region's true main street, dictating the economic rise and fall of early island communities based entirely on their access to passing steamship docks.

vii, 137 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm

Published by local historians David and Alma English, Arch Cape Chronicles: A Bit of Oregon Coast's Past explores the intimate, isolated history of a windswept coastal community nestled between Cannon Beach and Nehalem. The book traces Arch Cape’s evolution from an untamed wilderness of dense old-growth timber and rocky headlands into a quiet haven for pioneering homesteaders, loggers, and vacationers. Drawing on historical documents, oral histories, and vintage photographs, the authors document how early travelers navigated the treacherous coastline before the construction of modern highways and tunnels carved open the rugged terrain. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the very geographic barriers that delayed Arch Cape's development—such as towering sea cliffs and impassable tides—ultimately preserved its secluded character, transforming what was once an existential travel hazard into an exclusive sanctuary for those seeking refuge from the modern world.

357 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm