John Goodfellow 128 pages softcover
In the 1880s, Seattle became
a major coal port in the United States. By 1908, Puget Sound was the
third-largest coal port, after New York and Baltimore. For Seattle, the
major coal mines were in Issaquah, New Castle, Renton, and Black
Diamond, with many other smaller mines throughout King County. Until the
petroleum revolution, Seattle exported most of its coal to San
Francisco. Because of coal, Seattle became a center for skilled
engineers, machinists, and miners for the maritime, manufacturing,
mining, and railroad industries, differentiating itself from other
lumber towns on Puget Sound. Seattle's Coal Legacy is the story of a
frontier town going through an industrial revolution in its own time.
The skills and knowledge developed during the coal era--engineering,
finance, transportation, manufacturing, etc.--made Seattle the major
city it is today.
