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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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592 results for: Maritime

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Image of Sailing ship
Photograph

Sailing ship "Lucile" loading at Seattle pier, 1898

In 1897 and 1898 so many people wanted to go north to the Klondike gold fields that all kinds of ships were pressed into service. Some were sailing ships which had carried passengers, coal, lumber, or salmon up and down the west coast of the United States.This 1898 photo shows the wooden sailing ship "Lucile" loaded with gold miners and…
ID Number:SHS2551
Date:1898
Image of Indigenous canoes docked at the Seattle waterfront, circa 1892
Photograph

Indigenous canoes docked at the Seattle waterfront, circa 1892

In 1865 the Board of Trustees of Seattle passed Ordinance No. 5 banning Indigenous people from living in the city unless they worked for a non-Indigenous resident and lived on their employer’s property. Despite this attempt to enforce separation between Indigenous people and the settlers, Seattle depended on Indigenous people. Settlers relied on Native people for domestic work and for…
ID Number:SHS5118
Date:Circa 1892
Image of Jensen Motor Boat Company, Seattle, circa 1935
Photograph

Jensen Motor Boat Company, Seattle, circa 1935

Jensen Motor Boat Company was founded in 1922 by Tony Jensen (1889-1963), a Danish immigrant who came from a family of boat builders. In 1927, Tony, his wife Bessie (1892-1968), and two partners moved the company to 1417 NE Boat Street on Portage Bay. The company specialized in building boats with experimental designs. Sons George (1915-1977) and Anchor (1918-2000) continued…
ID Number:SHS5521
Date:Circa 1935
Image of Derelict ship Bering on Shilshole Bay, Seattle, January, 1957
Photograph

Derelict ship Bering on Shilshole Bay, Seattle, January, 1957

The steamer Bering was badly damaged following a stranding in southeastern Alaska waters. The ship was towed to Seattle, where it was condemned and sold for $1.00 to the Tregoning Boat Company, located on Seaview Avenue in Ballard. The Tregoning Co. moored her as a breakwater for a proposed small boat mooring at the entrance to the Lake Washington Ship…
ID Number:SHS6717
Date:1957
Image of Quileutes landing provisions at La Push, circa 1900
Photograph

Quileutes landing provisions at La Push, circa 1900

The Quileute are an Indigenous people whose historic lands are on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula, in the valleys of the Quillayute and Hoh Rivers. The Quileute are not related to either the Makah to the north or the Coast Salish peoples of western Washington, and the Quileute language is unrelated to any other in the world. Quileute…
ID Number:SHS7914
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Medina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914
Photograph

Medina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914

Medina, Washington, a suburb of Bellevue on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, was platted as Medina Heights in February 1914. The community was served by ferries and steamers from Leschi, four miles across the lake to the southwest. On May 30, 1914, a photographer snapped this peaceful scene of the Medina lakeshore and ferry dock. Lee number 2372.Caption on…
ID Number:SHS8776
Date:1914
Image of Loading passengers for steamer
Photograph

Loading passengers for steamer "St. Paul," circa 1903

There is no harbor at Nome, Alaska, and when the Nome gold rush started in 1899, there wasn't even a city. Even as the settlement grew, it was challenging for passengers to arrive or leave by sea. Vessels anchored in deep water and barges carried the passengers between the ship and the shore. The Sesnon Lighterage Company provided ferry service…
ID Number:SHS9545
Date:Circa 1903
Image of Landing sheep at Nome for Carstens Brothers & Dashley, circa 1900
Photograph

Landing sheep at Nome for Carstens Brothers & Dashley, circa 1900

There is no harbor at Nome, Alaska, and when the Nome gold rush started in 1899, there wasn't even a city. It was a challenge for ships to bring in passengers and supply the new town with food and fuel. Vessels anchored in deep water and barges brought freight and passengers to the shore through the shallows. Each year, supplies…
ID Number:SHS9552
Date:1900
Image of St. Michael, Alaska, circa 1900
Photograph

St. Michael, Alaska, circa 1900

The town of St. Michael, Alaska, is 124 miles southeast of Nome and around 85 miles from the mouth of the Yukon River. It was settled by Russian fur traders in 1835. In 1898 and 1899, Klondike gold seekers who could afford it sailed to St. Michael and rode a steamboat over 400 miles up the Yukon to the gold…
ID Number:SHS9554
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Nome wharf from Barrack Square, 1905
Photograph

Nome wharf from Barrack Square, 1905

Around 1905, the city of Nome built a wharf for loading and unloading passengers and freight. In this 1905 photo by B.B. Dobbs, the wharf (background) appears to be under construction. The beach is filled with small boats which ferry freight and passengers between the city and ships anchored offshore. SHS category: Alaska - Waterfront
ID Number:SHS9562
Date:1905
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Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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