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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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707 results for: Labor and Labor Unions

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Image of Men with large cedar log at Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Co. yard, circa 1920
Photograph

Men with large cedar log at Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Co. yard, circa 1920

The Seattle Cedar mill, located just west of the north end of the Ballard Bridge, opened in 1890. This and other Ballard mills turned out millions of shingles and board feet of lumber until the shrinking supply of cedar logs brought about the end of the industry. The mill was rebuilt after a huge fire in 1958, but closed for…
ID Number:1980.6877.119
Date:Circa 1920
Image of Locomotive at Ballard Beach, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Locomotive at Ballard Beach, Seattle, circa 1910

Here, workers are putting in track for the railroad at Ballard Beach. The photo was taken by Carl Henry Moen, who was born in Seattle in 1892 to Norwegian immigrant parents. His family moved several times as he was growing up, but settled in Ballard when he was nine years old. He helped harvest and sell the produce, milk, and…
ID Number:1980.6880.127
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Workers at the Bemis Bag Company, Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Workers at the Bemis Bag Company, Seattle, circa 1910

The Bemis Bag Company was founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1858. By the early 20th century, the company operated eight bag factories in various parts of the United States, including Seattle, making burlap and cotton bags for grain, flour, feed and many other products. The company is still in the packaging business as of 2025. The Bemis Bag Company…
ID Number:1980.6880.287
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Two men in front of ship hull holding flag, probably in Seattle, circa 1910
Photograph

Two men in front of ship hull holding flag, probably in Seattle, circa 1910

Carl Henry Moen was born in Seattle in 1892 to Norwegian immigrant parents. His family moved several times as he was growing up, but settled in Ballard when he was nine years old. He helped harvest and sell the produce, milk, and poultry his family raised, and also was a messenger for Western Union, dug clams, and worked for Bemis…
ID Number:1980.6880.928
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Men with horse team on First Avenue, Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

Men with horse team on First Avenue, Seattle, circa 1890

In this image, a group of men pose with a horse-drawn wagon on the boardwalk along First Avenue just past Cherry Street. The wagon appears to be carrying a large slab of marble or other stone, perhaps part of the reconstruction efforts after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, when rebuilding efforts favored steel, stone, and brick construction over the…
ID Number:1980.6923.41
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Workmen posing with stone slab, Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

Workmen posing with stone slab, Seattle, circa 1890

In this image stone carvers, with their wooden mallets and chisels, pose with a large slab; notes on the image indicate the slab's size but not its function. Perhaps the slab was an element of a new building under construction in the aftermath of the 1889 Great Fire, when the rebuilding effort favored steel, stone, and brick construction over the…
ID Number:1980.6923.65
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Chinese Crew Making Horse Slings, Seattle, August 1899
Photograph

Chinese Crew Making Horse Slings, Seattle, August 1899

This photo shows Chinese crew members makes horse slings to lift horses onto ship headed for Philippine American War. Handwritten on photo: 500 Wilse Handwritten by photographer under photo in album: Chinese crew making horse slings
ID Number:1980.6967.40
Date:1899
Image of Tunnel construction camp at Stevens Pass, February 22, 1927
Photograph

Tunnel construction camp at Stevens Pass, February 22, 1927

In 1925, the Great Northern Railway Company began work on its new Cascade Tunnel near Stevens Pass, Washington. Workers dug from the east and the west portals of the tunnel. They also sank a vertical shaft at Mill Creek, just east of the summit, and dug their way towards the portals. Between Mill Creek and the West Portal at Scenic,…
ID Number:1981.7265.6
Date:1927
Image of Schwabacher Bros. & Co. employees posing outside store, Seattle, 1889
Photograph

Schwabacher Bros. & Co. employees posing outside store, Seattle, 1889

The Schwabacher Brothers, Louis Schwabacher (1837-1900), Abraham Schwabacher (1838-1909), and Sigmund (Sig) Schwabacher (1841-1917), were pioneering Bavarian-born Jewish merchants, important in the economic development of the Pacific Northwest. They owned several businesses bearing their family name, and opened an branch in Seattle in 1869. Within a short time, the firm became Puget Sound's major wholesaler of canned goods, dry goods,…
ID Number:1981.7279.1
Date:1889
Image of Workers at Ames Drydock, Seattle, circa 1920
Photograph

Workers at Ames Drydock, Seattle, circa 1920

St. Louis native Edgar Ames (1868-1944) moved to Seattle from Chicago in 1895 and in 1916 founded the Ames Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Seattle. The modern plant he built on Harbor Island covered 20 acres and included a floating drydock. During World War I the yard produced 25 steel tankers and cargo steamships for the U.S. Shipping Board, and…
ID Number:1981.7286.1
Date:Circa 1920
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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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