Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

The Encyclopedia Cascadia Catalog indexes mostly non-fiction literature covering the Pacific Northwest coast of North America, with an emphasis on British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State.


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Catalog Title Published

Historical atlas of the North Pacific Ocean maps of discovery and scientific exploration, 1500-2000 by Derek Hayes, North Pacific Marine Science Organization

Map junkies rejoice! Derek Hayes, author of Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest, delivers another stunning atlas filled with stories of explorations and exquisite historical maps. Over five hundred years of maps depicting the North Pacific Ocean and the lands that border it—the United States, Canada, Alaska, Russia, Japan, Korea, and China—have been collected into this new atlas. From antique maps of the sixteenth century to modern satellite images, this volume covers all the major explorations, such as Magellan, Bering, Cook, and Vancouver; Perry’s opening of Japan; and the U.S. North Pacific Exploring Expedition. It also includes modern maps that use the latest technology to show ocean currents, fault lines, and the seabed in astounding detail.

1 atlas (224 pages) : illustrations, color maps ; 33 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

2001

Historical atlas map of Marion & Linn Counties, Oregon by Edgar Williams & Co

1 atlas (104 pages) : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

1981

Historic sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield counties, Washington Territory, and Umatilla County, Oregon by Frank T. Gilbert

Published in 1882, Frank T. Gilbert's expansive regional history chronicles the rapid transformation of the Inland Empire—spanning eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon—from indigenous territory and fur-trade outposts to an agrarian powerhouse. The narrative meticulously details the violent conflicts of the Cayuse and Yakima Indian Wars, the establishment of early pioneer settlements, and the subsequent explosion of the region's lucrative dry-land wheat economy. A keen insight drawn from the text is how it perfectly exemplifies the Gilded Age "subscription history" model, where the grand, often brutal narrative of westward conquest was explicitly monetized by pairing regional chronicles with flattering biographical portraits of the affluent farmers and merchants who financed the publication. Consequently, while the volume remains an indispensable civic and genealogical archive, its historical framing intentionally sanitizes the systematic displacement of Native American tribes to celebrate the inevitable triumph of white, capitalist agriculture in the Columbia Basin.

447, [2], [449]-488, [12], 66 pages, [63] leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 31 cm

ONLINE Circulation [ 1 ]

 

1882

Historic Silver City the story of the Owyhees by Mildretta Adams

Mildretta Adams’s Historic Silver City: The Story of the Owyhees chronicles the brutal pioneer extraction of immense mineral wealth from the stark, unforgiving high-desert topography of southwestern Idaho. The narrative maps how the severe geographic isolation, punishing alpine winters, and precipitous volcanic canyons of the Owyhee Mountains demanded massive logistical feats simply to construct the precarious toll roads and stamp mills necessary to sustain a booming silver metropolis. By detailing the explosive rise and inevitable collapse of this remote mining enclave, the book illustrates how temporarily conquering the extreme environmental realities of the arid inland empire was the absolute prerequisite for exploiting its geological riches, just as those same harsh geographic constraints ultimately dictated its abandonment.

60 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

1960

Historic shipwrecks of the Sunshine Coast by Rick James, Jacques Marc, Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia

This UASBC regional inventory documents 12 of the most important shipwrecks in this easily accessible area north of Vancouver. Extensive archival research produced new details on the construction, operational history and loss of each vessel. Nine major wreck sites were explored and 3 deep water sidescan sonar searches were undertaken. A major accomplishment was the positive identification of the auxiliary schooner Malahat at Powell River. 2002, 8.5" x 11", 66 pages

66 p. : ill., map ; 28 cm.

Desiderata

 

2002

Historic shipwrecks of the central coast of British Columbia by Rick James , Jacques F. Marc , Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia

In this latest UASBC publication a fascinating marine history of BC's Central Coast is reflected in the stories of 13 shipwrecks surveyed by the UASBC over a 10 year period. The latest publication examines the area between Cape Caution and Prince Rupert. Each shipwreck story is illustrated with a site plan and photographs. 8.5" x 11", 76 pages.

76 p. : ill., maps ; 28 cm

Desiderata

 

2010

Historic houses of the Pacific Northwest by Daphne Reece

Historic Houses of the Pacific Northwest by Daphne Reece is a comprehensive 1985 architectural and regional history guide published by Chronicle Books. The volume serves as an expansive directory of preserved pioneer cabins, opulent Victorian mansions, and early commercial estates that are open to the public across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alaska. By meticulously detailing the distinct architectural styles, family genealogies, and localized settlement lore associated with each property, Reece provides a tangible, room-by-room link to the domestic realities and economic ambitions of the region's early frontier leaders. Ultimately, it functions as both an engaging travelogue and a valuable educational resource for preservationists and regional historians seeking to physically explore the diverse, built heritage of the Pacific Northwest.

vii, 170 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

1985

Historic Friday Harbor on foot. Tour one, Historic downtown by San Juan Historical Society

Published by the San Juan Historical Society, Historic Friday Harbor on Foot: Tour One, Historic Downtown serves as an engaging architectural and social walking guide through the core of San Juan Island's primary port town. The booklet outlines a structured route past surviving 19th- and early 20th-century commercial buildings, detailing their original uses as saloons, canneries, and mercantile shops that served the bustling maritime frontier. Through vintage photographs and concise structural histories, the text traces how a modest Coast Salish fishing camp and pioneer trading post evolved into a permanent island hub. A keen insight drawn from the guide is how localized historic walking tours function as physical acts of civic storytelling; by anchoring abstract regional heritage directly to surviving brick-and-mortar storefronts, the narrative transforms everyday streetscapes into tangible archives that invite modern visitors to inhabit the past.

40 unnumbered pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

2006

Historic Boise an introduction to the architecture of Boise, Idaho, 1863-1938 by Arthur A. Hart, Boise City Historic Preservation Commission

This is a brief introduction to the architectural legacy of Idaho's capital city, from its founding in 1863 to the eve of World War II. It is cultural history at its best because it shows that buildings have dimensions beyond descriptions of size or style.

82 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Desiderata

 

1979

Hiking Washington's history by Judith M Bentley , Craig Romano

"For thousands of years people have traveled across Washington's spectacular terrain, establishing footpaths and roads to reach hunting grounds and coal mines high in the mountains, fishing sites and trade emporiums on the rivers, forests of old growth, and homesteads and towns on prairies. These traditional routes have been preserved in national parks, restored by cities and towns, salvaged from old railroad tracks, and opened to hikers by Indigenous communities. In this new, full-color edition of the first-ever hiking guide to650 the state's historic trails, historian and hiker Judy Bentley teams up with veteran guidebook author Craig Romano to lead adventurers of all abilities along trails on the coast, over mountains, through national forests, across plateaus, and on the banks of the Columbia River. Features include: 44 hikes, including 12 new additions Full-color trail maps A trails timeline that connects hikes to key events Updated trail descriptions Accounts from diaries, journals, and archives Historical overviews of 8 regions of the state Contemporary and historical photographs Bentley and Romano offer an essential boots-on-the ground history of some of the state's most fascinating places"-- Provided by publisher

336 pages : illustrations, maps ; 19 cm

Desiderata

 

2021

Hiking Oregon's history by William L. Sullivan, Navillus Press

This guidebook tells the stories behind 56 of the state's most scenic historic sites. Come follow Lewis and Clark's trail across Tillamook Head. Ride with Chief Joseph on his tragic retreat through Hells Canyon. Discover paths to fire lookouts, lighthouses, and abandoned gold mines. Relive legends, discoveries, scandals, and triumphs that rocked the West. Come hike Oregon's history! -- Amazon

319 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

1999

Hiking from Portland to the coast an interpretive guide to 30 trails by James D. Thayer

A guidebook for both experienced and casual hikers, Hiking from Portland to the Coast explores the many trails and logging roads that crisscross the northern portion of Oregon’s Coast Range. While showcasing convenient “looped” routes, it also describes complete throughways connecting Portland to the coastal communities of Seaside and Tillamook. Designed to both inform and entertain, each of the 30 trails described includes a “backstory” highlighting the rich histories of Native Americans, white settlers, loggers, and railroad operators. While suitable for hikers, equestrians, and bikers, many of these trails have never been surveyed for recreational use. All are meticulously surveyed and described here, alongside detailed and annotated maps. Some trails are located on private timber holdings, accessible only by paid permit, while access to others is free. In most cases vehicular traffic is not permitted; neither is camping, littering, or making fires. From time to time, access may be restricted due to fire danger or commercial activity. The maps, notes, and tips provided in Hiking from Portland to the Coast will be invaluable for those adventurers who wish to wander far from the beaten track. Less intrepid explorers will find plenty of short and scenic exploratory hikes in the forests that parallel Highway 26 to Seaside or Highway 6 to Tillamook.

272 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Desiderata

 

2016

Hiking close to home Whidbey, Fidalgo, and Guemes Islands : 2023 edition by Maribeth Crandell

Forests, fields, beaches and bluffs -- our islands provide plenty of options for just about any hiking ability. You don't have to go very far. Explore your own backyard with this handy guide to more than seventy hikes that are Close to Home. Maribeth Crandell has over twenty years of experience as a hiking guide in the Pacific Northwest. For decades she's made Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands her home. Jack Harrt managed Deception Pass State Park for 14 years and now works with trail organizations in Skagit County. Here they share some of their favorite local trails with you."--Page 4 of cover

xii, 160 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 22 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

2022

Highlights of Seattle's history illustrated by James R. Warren, William R. McCoy , Historical Society of Seattle and King County (Publisher)

48 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 23 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

1982

High Desert, Higher Costs bend and the housing crisis in the american west by Jonathan Bach

Nestled against the Cascade Mountains, former lumber town Bend, Oregon, entices residents who long to live in a wonderland of sagebrush and forests. But like so many other communities across the West, Bend has too few homes for everyone clambering for access. In High Desert, Higher Costs, Jonathan Bach takes a closer look at the housing crisis in this mid-sized city that is both the population center for rural Central Oregon and a major recreation area. Bach uses Bend as a lens into the growing housing crisis in the region, where residents and tourists alike prize access to outdoor recreation, and housing issues have been brewing for decades. Like other cities in Montana, Idaho, and Colorado, Bend serves as a gateway to popular natural areas while also experiencing a limited amount of new housing, increasing populations, amenity migrants in the age of remote work, depressed or stagnating wages, and a widening gulf between homeowners and renters. High Desert, Higher Costs introduces us to regular people—from the former political candidate evicted during COVID-19 to the nonprofit worker hoping to build apartments for the houseless—who struggle to call Bend home. Bach explores the causes of these issues and the political, legal, economic, and cultural factors influencing them, and also offers potential solutions for current and future residents to build their lives now, and in the years to come, in Bend and throughout the American West.

6x9 inches, 200 pages, 10 black-and-white photos

Desiderata

 

2025

Hidden history of Yakima by Ellen Allmendinger

"Forgotten events, buildings, businesses and people helped shape Yakima. Vice dominated the city's early landscape when it was called North Yakima. Gambling halls and saloons like the Alfalfa Saloon bustled, while hotels such as the Sydney and Empire offered respite. Primitive circuses, underground tunnels, South Front Street opium dens and the arrival of a crossdresser named Nell Pickerell created further strife. City hall's understaffed police force and overcrowded jail complicated matters. Fires in 1890 and 1907 consumed several of the early structures--sometimes twice--keeping firefighters frayed. The Asian community thrived despite racial tensions until the forced evacuation of Japanese residents in 1942. Author Ellen Allmendinger uncovers what remains overlooked and veiled from sight." -- Amazon.com viewed May 15, 2020

126 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

2018

Heritage of the Wallowas life as it was by Ethel Halsey Scott

Ethel Halsey, daughter of Bill Halsey (born 1873) and Vergie Bell Pinkley (born 1886), was born in the early 1900s. She tells of her life with her husband, Noel Scott, and her children and extended family and friends and neighbors, weaving these with the history of the Wallowa, Oregon area

iii, 153 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Non-circulating [ 1 ]

 

1980

Here there nowhere paintings by Michael Brophy, Jonathan Raban, William L. Lang, Randy Gragg

Michael Brophy has painted the Pacific Northwest landscape for over two decades, from sumptuously rendered panoramas of clearcuts and slag heaps to comic-book-scaled noir tableaus of the characters who reshaped the region 150 years ago. This large-scale monograph brings 15 of his most historically expansive paintings to date together with writings on the artistic and cultural history of the Northwest landscape by essayist Jonathan Raban and historian William L. Lang. The influences on Brophy’s painting stretch from Goya and Velasquez to Robert Colescott and George Baselitz. He has riffed on everything from obscure Wobbly songs to Chinook jargon dictionaries to the writings of Stewart Holbrook. But Here There Nowhere marks a bold new direction in Brophy’s work. More sweeping in scope and minimalist in style, the paintings portray what he calls the "Big Empty," the dramatic, vacant spaces of the Northwest's eastern deserts and western coast but with an eye toward the coming endgame of Manifest Destiny. Raban's essay, Battleground of the Eye, traces two centuries of artistic conflict between the verdant, people-free Northwest most painters chose to portray vs. the fully populated and exploited landscape that actually existed. Lang's essay, An Insatiable Hunger: The Consuming Myth of the Northwest, probes the changing mythology of Pacific Northwest landscape as it has progressed from an apparently infinite resource for extractive industries to a playground for an expanding consumer class. Designer John Laursen has translated the sweeping power of Brophy's work to the scale of a 12-by-12-inch book with the 200-line reproductions imaged direct to plate and printed by Portland’s award-winning Millcross Litho.

49 pages : color illustrations ; 30 x 31 cm

Desiderata

 

2007

Here on the edge how a small group of World War II conscientious objectors took art and peace from the margins to the mainstream by Steve McQuiddy

The fascinating story of one conscientious objector camp located on the rain-soaked Oregon Coast, Civilian Public Service (CPS) Camp #56. As home to the Fine Arts Group at Waldport, the camp became a center of activity where artists and writers from across the country focused their work not so much on the current war, but on what kind of society might be possible when the shooting finally stopped. They worked six days a week planting trees, crushing rock, building roads, and fighting forest fires in exchange for only room and board. At night, they published books under the imprint of the Untide Press. They produced plays, art, and music all during their limited non-work hours, with little money and few resources. After the war, camp members went on to participate in the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance of the 1950s, which heavily influenced the Beat Generation of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder who in turn inspired Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, leading the way to the 1960s upheavals epitomized by San Francisco s Summer of Love. As camp members engaged in creative acts, they were plowing ground for the next generation, when a new set of young people, facing a war of their own in Vietnam, would populate the massive peace movements of the 1960s

viii, 326 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Desiderata

 

2013

Here on the Coast reflections from the Rainbelt by Howard White

"No matter where people live on the BC coast, says Howard White, they have certain shared experiences: frustration with rain and ferries, familiarity with gumboots, bumbershoots, seagull droppings and barnacles in the wrong places. But each little community clings to its own sense of uniqueness and considers itself the true West Coast. As a case in point, White offers fifty funny sketches of life as he has come to know it in sixty-odd years of living along that hundred-mile stretch of monsoon-prone shoreline ironically known as the Sunshine Coast. Included is what must be one of the most admiring testaments ever written about the virtues of the old-time outhouse; fond remembrances of saltwater fishing when a bad day meant you didn't hook something in twenty minutes; and explorers who stooped to naming islands after favourite racehorses. We also meet a bouquet of characters, including a lyrical logger known as Pete the Poet; a diabolical seagoing remittance man; the saintly Quaker philosopher Hubert Evans and White's barrier-busting Aunt Jean who taught him the advantages of 'scientifically enlarging the truth.' Along with accounts of waste disposal wars and wry observations on modern technology, Here On the Coast offers a West Coast counterpart to such favourites as Letters From Wingfield Farm and Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town."-- Provided by publisher

xiv, 205 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Desiderata

 

2021

Her finest hour shipbuilding in the Portland area during World War II (1941-1945) by Robert R. La Du

This work describes the monumental accomplishments of the World War II shipyards in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. Working twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, they built and launched thousands of vessels--Liberty ships, Victory ships, tankers, aircraft carriers, submarine chasers, and many kinds of landing craft--to help defeat the Axis powers and preserve the way of life of the free world. Robert La Du viewed firsthand these activities from his home overlooking shipyards on the Willamette River. His father worked at Albina shipyard, his sister worked at Henry Kaiser's Swan Island shipyard, and he himself, as a high school student, worked nights at Commercial Iron and Steel shipyard. These experiences inform and enhance the pages of Her Finest Hour.

170 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Desiderata

 

2016

Henry M. Jackson a life in politics by Robert Gordon Kaufman

Henry M. Jackson ranks as one of the great legislators in American history. With a Congressional career spanning the tenure of nine Presidents, Jackson had an enormous impact on the most crucial foreign policy and defense issues of the Cold War era, as well as a marked impact on energy policy, civil rights, and other watershed issues in domestic politics. Jackson first arrived in Washington, D.C., in January 1941 as the Democratic representative of the Second District of Washington State, at the age of 28 the youngest member of Congress. “Scoop” Jackson won reelection time and again by wide margins, moving to the Senate in 1953 and serving there until his death in 1983. He became a powerful voice in U.S. foreign policy and a leading influence in major domestic legislation, especially concerning natural resources, energy, and the environment, working effectively with Senator Warren Magnuson to bring considerable federal investment to Washington State. A standard bearer for the New Deal-Fair Deal tradition of Roosevelt and Truman, Jackson advocated a strong role for the federal government in the economy, health care, and civil rights. He was a firm believer in public control of electric and nuclear power, and leveled stern criticism at the oil industry’s “obscene profits” during the energy crisis of the 1970s. He ran for the presidency twice, in 1972 and 1976, but was defeated for the nomination first by George McGovern and then by Jimmy Carter, marking the beginning of a split between dovish and hawkish liberal Democrats that would not be mended until the ascendance of Bill Clinton. Jackson’s vision concerning America’s Cold War objectives owed much to Harry Truman’s approach to world affairs but, ironically, found its best manifestation in the actions taken by the Republican administration of Ronald Reagan. An early and strong supporter of Israel and of Soviet dissidents, he strongly opposed the Nixon/Kissinger policy of detente as well as many of Carter’s methods of dealing with the Soviet Union. Robert Kaufman has immersed himself in the life and times of Jackson, poring over the more than 1,500 boxes of written materials and tapes that make up the Jackson Papers housed at the University of Washington, as well as the collections of every presidential library from Kennedy through Reagan. He interviewed many people who knew Jackson, both friends and rivals, and consulted other archival materials and published sources dealing with Jackson, relevant U.S. political history and commentary, arms negotiation documents, and congressional reports. He uses this wealth of material to present a thoughtful and encompassing picture of the ideas and policies that shaped America’s Cold War philosophy and actions.

x, 548 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : portraits ; 23 cm

Desiderata

 

2015

Henry J. Kaiser builder in the modern American West by Mark S. Foster, William H. Goetzmann

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.

Desiderata

 

1989

Henry & self a British gentlewoman at the edge of empire by Kathryn Bridge

"An intimate portrait of privilege and struggle, scandal and accolade, from the Old World to the new colonies of Vancouver's Island and British Columbia. At the age of 33, Sarah Crease left behind her home in England to travel with her young family to a farflung outpost of the British Empire on the Pacific coast of North America. The detailed journals, letters and artwork she would create over the next half-century as she and her husband, Henry, established themselves in the New World, offer a rich window into the private life and views of an English colonist in British Columbia. In a world where history is still primarily told by men, Henry and Self is a woman's story told in her own words. But it is also a story of the times she lived in, and the ways in which her class, social standing and role as a settler shaped her relationships with the world around her. Henry & Self is the personal story of a remarkable woman who lived through nearly a century of British colonial history, but also a unique first-person perspective on the beliefs and motivations that shaped that history."-- Provided by publisher

234 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Desiderata

 

2019

Hells heroes how an unlikely alliance saved Idaho's Hells Canyon by Chris Carlson , Rick Johnson

There is a story. There is a story of how Hells Canyon was saved. A story about this special place and special people who care about it. Brock Evans has written that real epics, are not about the deeds of gods and goddesses...Epics are what ordinary people do, rising to scary and demanding occasions and stumbling through them no matter what. Hells Canyon has epic written all over it. One of the West's great rivers slices through it. The rising bluffs and mountains create one of the deepest gorges on earth. The Seven Devils look down from a height of 7,000 feet above the Snake River. But the real epic is in the story of the people who love the place, and of those who worked to save it.

208 pages : color illustrations ; 23 cm

Desiderata

 

2018

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