Port Gamble, WA: On arrival in the waterfront town of Port Gamble I had the distinct feeling of being in a village in my native New England. The architecture and feeling of the town are reflective of the founders of the nineteenth century settlement, who hailed from East Machias, Maine.

The story of Port Gamble is the story of the logging and lumber industry in the Pacific Northwest. Although the native peoples occupied the area from 2000 BC the contemporary settlement began in the mid-1800s. It remains an unincorporated community on the north western shore of the Kitsap peninsula and is a wonderful window on the early history of the lumber industry. Campbell Bay was named such by the Wilkes expedition in 1841. The community was originally known as Teekalet. Gamble Bay lies near the entrance to the Hood Canal and was an ideal location for the shipping in lumber entity established in 1849, by William Talbot and Andrew Pope. The proximity to the Oregon Territory and its vast lumber holdings and the ability to ship directly from this location made it the perfect spot for them to establish their fledgling business. Workers were brought from Maine and to make them more comfortable in their new surroundings the town grew up around the mill in a style and vernacular of Downeast Maine.

The rise and fall of the lumber industry dictated the fortunes of the town. When the economic downturn came after the Gold Rush died down the mill was sold and the new owner Charles McCormick went into deep debt in the 1920s. Wartime production brought back the industry and the mill ran at full capacity during the war time effort. Various permutations of the original families have owned not only the mill but all of the residences and other structures in town. Inhabitants are able to lease the homes from the company. In the 1960s preservation became popular and the entire town became part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The mill itself shut down in 1995 after 142 years of operation. Today tourism is an important economic component for the livelihood of Port Gamble.

Share this Story

Ancient Rome in Morocco

Seasides and Ghost Stories

The Roosevelt Estate

Monkeying Around

A Bainbridge Island Gem

November 21st, 2022

November 21^st, 2022