Captain William Renton founded the first Port Blakely mill in 1864 on Bainbridge Island's Blakely Harbor. The mill burned down and was rebuilt in 1888. The rebuilt mill was the largest sawmill on the Pacific Coast and was a major employer on Bainbridge Island. The mills boiler house contained three 300-horsepower boilers that converted sawdust and scrap wood into steam. This second mill too burned down and was rebuilt in 1907. The mill finally closed and was demolished in 1924 as a result of a decline in the lumber market.
Shown here are two workmen, one Black and one white, are shown here in second mill's boiler room.
Caption information sources: Price, Andrew Jr. Port Blakely: The Community Captain Renton Built. Seattle: Port Blakely Books, 1989; Yockey, Ross and L. Beth Yocky, Responsible to the Earth: The Remarkable History of the Port Blakely Companies. Seattle: Abecedary Press, 2007
ID Number: 1977.6486.61
Date: Circa 1900
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 5 x 7 in.
Additional Information: View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv61571
Credit: MOHAI, Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Papers, 1977.6486.61
