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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

This Week Then

7/3/2025

Forest and flowers

News Then, History Now

River Not Found

In the summer of 1788, English fur trader John Meares sailed along the Washington coast searching in vain for the San Roque River, so named years earlier by Bruno de Hezeta. He gave up on July 6 near the towering basalt column that served as Hezeta's landmark and named it Cape Disappointment unaware that he was in the river's mouth. Today we know the river as the Columbia, and more than disappointment awaits any mariner who ignores nearby lighthouses.

Sturdy and Sound

On July 5, 1858, workers in Bellingham began erecting the T. G. Richards Building, Washington Territory's first brick edifice, helped along by a shipment of building materials from San Francisco. The building still stands.

Common Ground

On July 6, 1909, Pauline Steinem spoke at the National American Woman Suffrage Association Convention in Seattle and pressed mothers to set pro-suffrage examples for their daughters. Decades later, in 1972, her granddaughter, Gloria Steinem, spent two days in Seattle to advocate for "Women's Lib" and the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was ratified by the state senate the following year.

Today in
Washington History

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Image of the Week

Fireboat <i>Duwamish</i>

The fireboat Duwamish was launched on July 3, 1909.

Quote of the Week

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees."
―Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

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Forest History Curriculum & Timeline
Fire in the Woods: Images of Tribal Forestry in Eastern Washington
Fire in the Woods: Images of Tribal Forestry in Western Washington
Logging, Lumbering, and Forestry in Northeast Washington
Logging, Lumbering, and Forestry in Southwest Washington
Logging, Lumbering, and Forestry in the North Cascades
Fire Lookouts in Washington
Timber Industry Company Towns in Washington
Tree Farming in Washington
Experimental Forestry in Washington
Washington Icon: The Douglas Fir
Wheeler Osgood Company (Tacoma)
Kinsey, Darius (1869-1945)
The Mineral Tree, a 393-foot Douglas fir in Lewis County, falls in 1930.
Environmentalists launch Ancient Forest Rescue Expedition from Seattle to educate and mobilize public about old-growth logging on April 22, 1989.
Northwest Forest Plan goes into effect on December 21, 1994.
Washington Forest History Interviews: Brian Boyle, Former Commissioner of Public Lands
Washington Forest History Interviews: Sally Jewell, Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Washington Forest History Interviews: Cindy Mitchell, Washington Forest Protection Association
Washington Forest History Interviews: Cody Desautel, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Washington Forest History Interviews: Guy Capoeman, Quinault Indian Nation
Washington Forest History Interviews: Gary Morishima, Quinault Management Center
Washington Forest History Interviews: Finn Wilcox, Olympic Reforestation Incorporated
Washington Forest History Interviews: Gene Duvernoy, Forterra
Washington Forest History Interviews: Lynn Miner, Casa Becca del Norte
Washington Forest History Interviews: Margaret
Washington Forest History Interviews: Mitch Friedman, Conservation Northwest
Washington Forest History Interviews: Tim McNulty, Writer and Conservation Activist
Washington Forest History Interviews: John Hughes and Doug Barker, Daily World of Aberdeen
Washington Forest History Interviews: Toby Murray, Murray Pacific Corp.
Washington Forest History Interviews: Vicki Christiansen, Washington State Forester
Continental Congress of the 13 British colonies (future United States of America) passes the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Wilkes Expedition holds Puget Sound's first Fourth of July celebration on July 5, 1841.
Charles Wilkes begins first American survey of Puget Sound on May 11, 1841.
First U.S. flag made in Washington Territory is flown on July 4, 1853.
Joseph Pearsall stakes the first mining claim in Snohomish County's Monte Cristo area on July 4, 1889.
Monte Cristo -- Thumbnail History
The Monte Cristo Mining Company files a plat to begin developing a community on February 24, 1893.
Boeing, William Edward (1881-1956)
William Boeing reportedly takes his first airplane ride on July 4, 1915.
Hill, Samuel (1857-1931)
Samuel Hill celebrates international peace and dedicates the Pacific Highway at Blaine on July 4, 1915.
Blaine incorporates on May 20, 1890.
Altar stone of Stonehenge replica built to memorialize World War I soldiers is dedicated at Maryhill on July 4, 1918.
Maryhill Museum of Art
Seattle residents celebrate Independence Day on July 4, 1854, and adopt names for Lake Union and Lake Washington.
Smith Tower officially opens in Seattle on July 4, 1914.
Smith Tower (Seattle)
Lake Washington Ship Canal (Seattle)
SS Roosevelt leads a marine parade through the Ballard Locks to dedicate the Lake Washington Ship Canal on July 4, 1917.
Ellensburg fire destroys 200 homes and 10 business blocks on July 4, 1889.
Ellensburg -- Thumbnail History
Forty-three passengers die in a trolley car accident in Tacoma on July 4, 1900.
German saboteur Emil Marksz takes his own life in a Seattle hotel room on July 4, 1915.
Scow explodes in Elliott Bay on May 30, 1915.
During a fireworks show at the Seattle Center, an errant skyrocket lands in a crowd and explodes, injuring 18, on July 4, 1972.
Seattle Neighborhoods: Seattle Center -- Thumbnail History
A fireworks malfunction sets part of Jetty Island ablaze on July 4, 1985.
Spanish Exploration: Hezeta (Heceta) and Bodega y Quadra Expedition of 1775 to Formally Claim the Pacific Northwest for Spain
English fur trader John Meares names Cape Disappointment on July 6, 1788.
Cape Disappointment State Park
Captain Robert Gray becomes the first non-Indian navigator to enter the Columbia River, which he later names, on May 11, 1792.
Lighthouses on Cape Disappointment
Bellingham -- Thumbnail History
Thomas G. Richards & Co. begins building the first brick building in Washington Territory in Whatcom on July 5, 1858.
Vessel Ann Parry (often miscalled Ann Perry) arrives in Bellingham Bay with bricks for the T. G. Richards Building on July 16, 1858.
Pauline Steinem delivers the report of the Committee on Education at the National American Woman Suffrage Association Convention in Seattle on July 6, 1909.
Gloria Steinem advocates in Seattle for
Washington ratifies the federal Equal Rights Amendment on March 22, 1973.
Wapato -- Its History and Hispanic Heritage -- Thumbnail History
White residents of Wapato instigate a "miniature race war" on July 9, 1938.
Police raid triggers two-day riot at Pasco
Governor Arthur Langlie dedicates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on July 9, 1949.
Sea-Tac International Airport (Part 1)
Boeing Field, Seattle
City of Mercer Island incorporates on July 5, 1960.
Fireboat Duwamish is launched on July 3, 1909.