Tacoma - free ebook by Louis W. Pratt

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Tacoma

Louis W. Pratt

41 chapters

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41 chapters

TACOMA ELECTRIC CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST

TACOMA ELECTRIC CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST

1904 J. S. WHITEHOUSE, Secretary . This pamphlet is issued by the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade. Its object is to present reliable information concerning Tacoma and to interest in this city those who desire a location on the Pacific Slope in which to engage in business, manufacturing or shipping, or a desirable place in which to live. The information herein contained is reliable and the statistics are official and up-to-date. Further or special information of any character will b

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Officers and Trustees 1903-4

Officers and Trustees 1903-4

By Louis W. Pratt. Tacoma, the Electric City of the Pacific Coast, and the chief seaport of the North Pacific, is situated at the head of ocean navigation on Puget Sound in latitude 47° 15´ north and longitude 122° 25´ west from Greenwich. Being further north than Duluth or Quebec, Tacoma is supposed by many to be bleak and cold. A popular misapprehension among Eastern people seems to be that Puget Sound is somewhere near Alaska and that for half of the year the people contend with snow and ice.

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Climate and Health.

Climate and Health.

The climate of the Pacific Slope west of the Cascade Mountains is tempered by the Pacific Ocean, the “Japan current” and the equable southwesterly winds. The climate resembles that of Western Europe rather than that of the American Continent east of the Rocky Mountains. Tacoma is four degrees further south than London, in about the same latitude as Nantes, the chief city of Brittany, near the mouth of the Loire. The climate of Puget Sound is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than that of Sou

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Distinctive Characteristics.

Distinctive Characteristics.

Tacoma is the youngest of the maritime cities of the United States. It is situated on one of the finest harbors in the world. It is the leading seaport of Puget Sound, the gateway to the Orient and Alaska. It is second only to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast in the volume and value of its foreign commerce. It is the chief Pacific Coast port for steamship lines maintaining regular sailings between Tacoma and Japan, Asiatic Russia, China and Manila; between Tacoma and London, Liverpool and Glas

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Tacoma’s Origin and Name.

Tacoma’s Origin and Name.

Tacoma dates its birth from July 14, 1873. On that day the commissioners appointed to locate the Puget Sound terminal of the Northern Pacific railway decided to recommend as such a point on the south side of Commencement Bay, in township twenty-one, range three east of the Willamette meridian. Commencement Bay was the largest and best sheltered harbor to be found on Puget Sound and was accessible by easy grades for railways from the north, south and east, and by several easy passes over the grea

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Growth in Population.

Growth in Population.

Tacoma’s population, according to the federal census, the annual school census, the directory lists, and other accepted bases of calculation, has increased as follows: Mount Tacoma from Point Defiance. The figures for 1870, 1880 and 1900 above quoted are from the federal census. The number of names of individuals, exclusive of all names of firms, corporations, buildings and the like, in the city directory for 1900, published by R. L. Polk &amp; Co., was 16,951. The district canvassed for the

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Causes Contributing to Growth.

Causes Contributing to Growth.

Tacoma’s rapid growth is attributable to two principal causes. First, the industrial, and second, the commercial development of the city. There are abundant grounds for the prediction that Tacoma will not only continue to hold her position as the leading manufacturing city in the State of Washington, but will rapidly become one of the greatest industrial centers in the world. Tacoma possesses unequalled facilities for manufacturing in several important fields of industry. The first superior adva

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Abundance of Coal and Coke.

Abundance of Coal and Coke.

Mr. E. W. Parker, of the United States Geological Survey, who served by appointment of President Roosevelt as one of the anthracite strike arbitrators, recently called the attention of the Washington State Press Association to the fact that Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado and Washington are the chief coal-producing States in the four longitudinal sections or belts of the United States from east to west and that each of these States takes the lead in manufacturing among all the States in its sec

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Inexhaustible Supply of Power.

Inexhaustible Supply of Power.

Of even greater value than her coal as a factor in the industrial development of Tacoma is the utilization of the enormous water power which has its origin and source in the snow-capped and glacier-buttressed dome of Mount Tacoma. The mountain from which Tacoma takes her name is an inexhaustible reservoir of power whose efficiency is immeasurable. Tacoma lies at its feet and is the natural outlet and market for its harnessed energies. Science has discovered the means for the conversion of water

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Power Plant at Electron.

Power Plant at Electron.

The largest plant in the world for the generation of electric current by water power, with the single exception of the power plant at Niagara Falls, has been installed during the last eighteen months by the Puget Sound Power Company, of Tacoma , at Electron, twenty-eight miles southeast of Tacoma , near Lake Kapowsin, on the Tacoma Eastern railroad. The work of installing the power plant at Electron was commenced early in 1903. The first unit of 5,000-horse power was ready for trial on April 14,

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Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant.

Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant.

Snoqualmie Falls, 270 Feet High. The colossal power plant at Electron is not the only enterprise of its kind that is contributing to the industrial growth of Tacoma . The Cascade Mountains are the source of many rivers which have filed out deep canyons and here and there plunge over lofty precipices seeking ocean level in Puget Sound not many miles away. The first of the waterfalls in the foothills of the Cascades to be harnessed to generate electric power for transmission to the Puget Sound cit

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White River Power Company.

White River Power Company.

The inadequacy of the Snoqualmie Falls power plant to meet the demand for power for municipal and industrial purposes at Tacoma , prompted its owners to undertake a much larger enterprise, which will result in the construction of still another mammoth power plant within ten miles of the city of Tacoma . The plan which is being carried out by what is known as the White River Power Company, is to divert the White River about half a mile above the town of Buckley into a canal, beginning at this poi

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Undeveloped Power Resources.

Undeveloped Power Resources.

There are many other rivers or streams fed by the glaciers and snows of Mount Tacoma which may and will be utilized for generating electrical power as rapidly as required. The Tacoma Industrial Company has recently bought a continuous strip four miles in length, including the White River, and is making preparations to install a 15,000-horse power plant twelve miles from Tacoma . The Nisqually River, which flows into the Sound south of Tacoma , has enormous undeveloped power resources. Within thi

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Access to Raw Materials.

Access to Raw Materials.

Another important factor in Tacoma’s industrial development, past, present and future, is its proximity and convenient access to the natural products or raw materials employed in manufacturing. Tacoma is the point at which the leading staple products of Washington are chiefly assembled for manufacture and distribution. The resources of “Wonderful Washington” are manifold. The products of the mines, the forests, the farms and ranches, and of the waters are of untold value to the world. Tacoma’s g

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Available Manufacturing Sites.

Available Manufacturing Sites.

A resume of Tacoma’s superior advantages for manufacturing would be incomplete without reference to its abundant supply of manufacturing sites. There are twelve square miles of tide and river flats immediately east of the city which, owing to a combination of circumstances, were until recently incapable of private ownership and occupation. At the south end or head of Commencement Bay there is a level plain traversed near its westerly side by the Puyallup River. The lands on the easterly side of

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Lumber Industry at Tacoma.

Lumber Industry at Tacoma.

Tacoma is the largest lumber manufacturing point on the Pacific Coast. The manufacture of lumber is the most important industry in the Pacific Northwest. In 1900 there were twelve lumber and shingle mills in operation in Tacoma . In 1903 there were twenty-two in operation, employing an average of 2,682 wage-earners. The increase in the lumber and shingle output since 1900 may be shown by the following figures, based upon reports from the local mills. Cut of Tacoma Lumber Mills. St. Paul &amp

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Largest Lumber Plant in the World.

Largest Lumber Plant in the World.

The St. Paul &amp; Tacoma Lumber Company’s plant on the flats between the City Waterway and the Puyallup River, is the largest saw mill plant in the United States and probably in the world. It was established in 1888. Its original capacity of 300,000 feet per diem has been increased to 500,000 feet by the erection of a second mill since 1900, and during the year 1903 the company cut 122,348,562 feet of fir, spruce, hemlock and cedar and sawed, dried and packed 63,822,000 shingles, its output

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Other Manufactures of Wood.

Other Manufactures of Wood.

A large share of the product of the Tacoma lumber mills is supplied to manufacturers in this city. A long list of industries has developed at Tacoma in consequence of its pre-eminence as the lumber mart of the State. There are many planing mills and sash, door and blind factories. The largest plant of this description in the State is that of the Wheeler-Osgood Company, on the flats, enlarged and rebuilt since its destruction by fire in September, 1902. Tacoma has large ship yards and builds the

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Railway Construction and Repair Plants.

Railway Construction and Repair Plants.

The second largest manufacturing plant in Tacoma which is also the largest plant of its description in the Pacific Northwest, is the railway construction and repair plant of the Northern Pacific Railway at South Tacoma . This enormous plant furnishes employment for 800 men and manufactures and repairs everything in the line of motive power or rolling stock for railroad use. A $60,000 building for an additional boiler shop is now being erected to enlarge the facilities for locomotive work. The sh

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Largest Smelter on the Coast.

Largest Smelter on the Coast.

Still another line of industry in which Tacoma takes the lead, is in the reduction of ores of gold, silver, lead, copper and other metals. The Tacoma Smelting Company’s plant on the waterfront at the north end of the city is the largest smelter on the Pacific Coast. In 1902 the plant was enlarged by the addition of huge copper reduction works which began operations in September, 1902, and a copper refinery, the only plant of its kind west of Great Falls, Montana, is now in course of construction

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Flour Mills and Cereal Plants.

Flour Mills and Cereal Plants.

Tacoma is the chief flour milling city of the Pacific Northwest. The product of its flour mills in 1903 was valued at $4,075,000. The Puget Sound Flouring Mills Company operate the largest flour mill in the State at Tacoma . The Tacoma Grain Company’s mill adjoining Elevator A was erected in 1902. The Sperry Milling Company, the largest millers in California, in connection with the Tacoma Warehouse &amp; Elevator Company, are erecting a large mill on the waterfront adjoining Elevator B. The

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Brewing and Malting Establishments.

Brewing and Malting Establishments.

Tacoma has two large breweries. The plant of the Pacific Brewing &amp; Malting Company has been enlarged by the erection of three large cellars, increasing the capacity of the plant to 150,000 barrels a year. Malt is manufactured at Tacoma , not only by local brewers for their own use, but also for the trade. The Puget Sound Malting Company is the only plant on the Coast north of San Francisco engaged exclusively in the manufacture of malt, and supplies the trade in Eastern Washington, Orego

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Railway Facilities and Traffic.

Railway Facilities and Traffic.

TACOMA HAS THE MOST EXTENSIVE RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES AND HANDLES MORE FREIGHT THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. The Northern Pacific railway has expended many millions in improvements on the Tacoma waterfront. The official figures furnished by the railroads showing the number of cars of pay freight consigned to each of the three leading cities of the Pacific Northwest during the year 1903 are as follows: The Northern Pacific railway operates several distinct lines which radiate

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Electric Railway Systems.

Electric Railway Systems.

The general offices of the Puget Sound Electric Railway, operating fifty-three miles of standard gauge electric railway, are at Tacoma . The main line extends from Tacoma to Seattle, with a branch to Renton, twelve miles from Seattle, and an extensive logging road from Edgewood, near Tacoma , through the timber country towards Brown’s Point. This is pronounced to be one of the finest equipped, best constructed and operated electric railways in the country. Thirty-four trains arrive or leave Taco

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Tacoma’s Ocean Commerce.

Tacoma’s Ocean Commerce.

Train on Tacoma-Seattle Interurban Railway. Tacoma’s ocean commerce exceeds in magnitude and value that of every other port on the Pacific Coast with the exception of San Francisco. President James J. Hill, of the Great Northern Railway, explained the fact with the epigrammatic remark: “ Tacoma has the facilities.” Tacoma possesses one of the finest harbors in the world and has the most extensive wharves and warehouses for handling ocean traffic on the Pacific Coast. City Waterway from Eleventh

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Mistress of the Oriental Trade.

Mistress of the Oriental Trade.

The Oriental trade of the Pacific Coast now centers at Tacoma . In June, 1892, the first steamship for the Orient from Puget Sound was dispatched from Tacoma . In 1903, forty-four regular liners sailed from Tacoma for the Orient, carrying cargoes valued at $8,149,906 from Tacoma , and cargo from Seattle valued at $946,318. Tacoma is the home port of the Boston Steamship Company, which operates a line of five large steamships of American build and registry between Puget Sound and the Orient. This

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Wholesale and Jobbing Trade.

Wholesale and Jobbing Trade.

Tacoma has a large and steadily increasing jobbing trade. Seventeen individual firms and corporations are engaged in the export trade in grain. There are sixty-three concerns engaged in the manufacture or sale of lumber, many of the number being large wholesalers. There are a number of importing houses which handle Oriental goods, fire-brick, cement, grain bags and other foreign products for which there is a local demand. Wholesale houses are established at Tacoma which supply the trade in groce

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Banks and Banking.

Banks and Banking.

Tacoma has three national banks, two state banks and one foreign banking corporation, the London &amp; San Francisco Bank, Ltd. There are also various institutions for savings and building loans. The deposits in the banks of discount and deposit aggregate $8,000,000 and are constantly increasing....

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Increase in Bank Clearings.

Increase in Bank Clearings.

Tacoma’s bank clearings reflect the marvelous growth of business transacted in this city. The total bank clearings for twelve months ending June 30, 1904, amounted to $102,301,642, as compared with $93,348,272 during the previous fiscal year, $51,838,768 during twelve months ending June 30, 1900, and $24,550,442 during twelve months ending June 30, 1897. TACOMA’S BANK CLEARINGS HAVE INCREASED AT THE RATE OF 97.3 PER CENT. IN FOUR YEARS AND AT THE RATE OF 316.7 PER CENT. IN SEVEN YEARS....

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Realty Transfers and Improvements.

Realty Transfers and Improvements.

The number of real estate conveyances file for record during twelve months ended June 30, 1904, was 6,513, and the amount of expressed consideration was $6,302,837. This is an increase over the previous year of $1,096,206, or at the rate of 21.1 per cent., and in two years of $2,781,428, or at the rate of 79.0 per cent....

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Activity in Building Operations.

Activity in Building Operations.

There has been a phenomenal increase in building operations at Tacoma amounting to no less than 855.8 per cent. in five years last past. The following is the official record of the building inspector, showing the number and estimated cost of dwellings and total building operations for which permits were issued during the last six years. The building inspector’s record does not cover a large amount of building in the immediate suburbs of Tacoma , for industrial and residence purposes. Notwithstan

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Federal Building and Collections.

Federal Building and Collections.

The federal government has purchased a site for a much needed public building at Tacoma , which will shortly be erected. Tacoma is the headquarters of the new Internal Revenue Collection District of Washington and Alaska. Federal collections at Tacoma for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1903, were as follows: Internal revenue, $688,696.50; customs, $301,039.32; postoffice receipts, $113,598.66; total, $1,103,334.48. Postoffice receipts have increased at the rate of 132.1 per cent. in seven years

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Municipal Improvements and Utilities.

Municipal Improvements and Utilities.

Extensive municipal improvements are in progress. Among the more important are several miles of asphalt and brick paving; fifty miles of new sidewalks, principally of cement; sewers, water mains and bridges. Tacoma owns and operates its own water and electric lighting plants, supplying both water and light to private consumers. The city procures current from the power companies at the lowest rates paid in the United States and receives a large and increasing revenue from operation, notwithstandi

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Assessment and Bonded Debt.

Assessment and Bonded Debt.

The assessed valuation of taxable property in Tacoma in 1903 was $22,468,988. The bonded indebtedness, exclusive of the water and light debt, is $1,743,000. The city has no floating indebtedness and has a sinking fund amounting to $135,734.52, largely invested in Tacoma city bonds bought in the market at 110. The city owns property valued at $3,250,000. The light and water debt of $2,080,000 represents the capital invested in a profitable business which produces a revenue to the city....

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Schools, Colleges and Churches.

Schools, Colleges and Churches.

Tacoma has twenty-one public schools of the primary and grammar school grades and a high school. A magnificent building with accommodations for 1,200 pupils is being erected for the high school. The enrollment in the public schools for the year 1903-04 was 8,939 and the average daily attendance 7,066. The value of school property in the district is $988,040, while the total liabilities, including bond and warrant indebtedness amounted to $492,523.02 on June 30, 1904, with a cash balance on hand

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Ferry Museum and New Public Library.

Ferry Museum and New Public Library.

The Ferry Museum occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the County Court House. It has extensive collections of natural history, art, sculpture, Indian baskets and relics, Oriental curios and the like. The Tozier exhibit is the most extensive Indian collection in the world. Tacoma has a new public library building completed and opened in 1903, the gift to the city of Andrew Carnegie, who gave $75,000 for the building, the city providing the site. The library contains 30,000 volumes....

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Hospitals and Asylums.

Hospitals and Asylums.

There are two large and well-equipped general hospitals at Tacoma , St. Joseph’s Hospital, and the Fannie C. Paddock Memorial Hospital, also a large new Pierce County Hospital. A $100,000 hospital for the employes of the Northern Pacific railway is now building. At Steilacoom is the Western Washington State Hospital for the Insane. There are three children’s homes for orphans or friendless children, and numerous benevolent and charitable institutions....

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800 Acres of Public Parks.

800 Acres of Public Parks.

Tacoma has 800 acres of beautiful parks. Point Defiance Park occupies the northerly extremity of the peninsula on which Tacoma is built. It has about three miles of shore line on the Sound and most of it is covered with giant fir. It is a park of unusual natural beauties and attractions. Wright Park is a garden, twenty-eight acres in extent in the heart of the city, with a great variety of shrubs, trees and flowers....

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Opportunities.

Opportunities.

Tacoma , the industrial and commercial center of the Empire State of the Coast, is an inviting field for enterprise and effort and offers boundless opportunities for the profitable employment of capital in manufactures, trade, commerce and transportation, and rich rewards for the exercise of brains and well-directed energies. Decorated for Tacoma’s Rose Carnival....

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POST OFFICE RECEIPTS.

POST OFFICE RECEIPTS.

(Compiled from latest obtainable statistics. “1903-4” refers to the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904.) Population of Tacoma and environs, July 1, 1904; 67,405 . Increase in four years— 25,094 , or at the rate of 59.3 per cent. Post Office Receipts , 1903-4, $113,598.66 . Increase—14.7 per cent. in one year; 28.2 per cent. in two years; 53.7 per cent. in three years; 77.4 per cent. in four years; 132.1 per cent. in seven years. Bank Clearings , 1903-4, $102,301,272.42 . Increase—9.6 per cent. in

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HOW TACOMA GROWS

HOW TACOMA GROWS

Output of Tacoma Smelter , 1903, $7,059,397.30 . Increase—188.7 per cent. in three years. Daily Capacity of Flouring Mills , 1904, 5,550 barrels . Increase—146.7 per cent. in four years. Number of Telephones in use , July 1, 1904, 6,192 . Increase—250.4 per cent. since Jan. 1, 1900. Miles of Electric Railway —Urban, Suburban and Interurban—in operation, 1904, 138¼ . Increase—100 per cent. in three years....

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