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The Filson Journal

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard: The Origins of Ballard’s Oldest Working Shipyard

Pacific Fishermen Inc., or “PacFish,” as it is known to the many boat builders, ship crews, employees, family members and stakeholders in the Ballard community, can be traced directly back to the year 1871. It was in this year that a 47-year-old Norwegian immigrant, ship carpenter, and operator named Thomas William Lake settled on the north side of the Salmon Bay waterfront in unincorporated Seattle and opened his own shipyard.

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You Take What You Can Get: Or Suffer the Consequences

The stampede for gold into the Klondike of the Yukon territory reached a peak in 1898. In that same year, 1,200 other miners set out for other regions of the far north, including to the Koyukuk and Chandalar river drainages in the remote Alaska Territory interior, in a desperate search for similar riches. This region is situated in the northwestern part of Alaska, with the Koyukuk River flowing through it from the borders of the Arctic Ocean to where it enters the Yukon at Nulato.

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Journey to the Yukon: Passage Aboard the Steamships from Puget Sound to the Far North

The month of July 1897 was an exciting time to be living on the West Coast. Steamships with names like Excelsior and Portland were docking in the ports of San Francisco and Seattle, respectively, loaded down with tons of gold mined from the Klondike region of the Yukon territory of Canada. Alaska was the gateway by which anyone with a desire to strike it rich could make the journey northward and, if well prepared and lucky, eventually return to civilization a millionaire.

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Western Flyer: The Vessel of John Steinbeck

On the morning of Monday, March 11, 1940, writer John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts boarded the sardine seiner Western Flyer at a wharf in Monterey, California. Both men were moving slowly because a fiesta to celebrate the end of fishing season had gone on late into the night after a boat parade, a barbecue, and seine skiff races. Steinbeck and Ricketts were well-known on the waterfront—and elsewhere—so their departure on a six-week expedition drew a raucous crowd. They didn’t get away until that afternoon, and as the Flyer eased from her berth, Steinbeck noticed that the whiskey they’d loaded for medicinal purposes was gone. “Good,” he thought. “A lot of people I know won’t be getting sick for awhile if the booze does its job.”

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The SS Bering

The story of the SS Bering begins with her launching under another name, the Annette Rolph, on July 4, 1918, in Fairhaven, California. The ship was a wood-hulled “tramp” freighter built for the trans-Pacific trade and joined the fleet of the Rolph Navigation and Coal Company. At 245 feet in length, she was one of hundreds of wood-hulled vessels produced for the maritime industry in World War I.

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Coldfoot: More than just another gold camp – a place that defined those who lived in it

The history of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 promised fortune to many who made the journey north to the gold fields of the Yukon Territory, with many of those headed to Dawson City and Circle City in Alaska as jumping off points. By 1898, the search for riches had expanded to other regions of Alaska, including the remote Northwest interior and its network of rivers and tributaries. History has recorded the efforts of those brave souls, and how their search for gold helped to create new settlements and trade routes.

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a black and white image of the bow of the SS Clallam with passengers prior to its sinking

The Sinking of the SS Clallam

Hazardous weather conditions. Small craft advisory. Strong wind warning in effect. These are common warnings to mariners who may be considering the Strait of Juan de Fuca—the passage running between the south end of Vancouver Island, BC and the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State—during the fall storm season of 2019.

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Seattle Maritime Academy – 50 Years of Training Seaworthy Mariners

Long before Seattle was a tech town, or even an aviation town, it was a maritime town. In fact, it still is. And although some brag that Seattle has more pleasure boats per capita than any other city in the country, it’s the working vessels—and the men and women who serve on them—that make Seattle a maritime powerhouse. For the past 50 years, Seattle Maritime Academy has played a key role in training the professional mariners that keep this powerhouse running.

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a straight on view of the work in progress build of the ballard bridge as an old car drives towards the cameraman

The History of Ballard: The First 100 Years

Today, the neighborhood of Ballard is well known for its restaurants and atmosphere. However, the history of this Seattle hamlet is a story of industry, community, and entrepeneurship.

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a black and white image of six men wearing a variety of jackets, hats and pants holding a flag reading the mountaineers

The Evolution of Mountaineering Gear

Humans have climbed mountains since they first crossed the Alps or left religious offerings in the highest heights. But it wasn’t until the mid-18th century that Europeans turned their gaze to the tops of mountains.

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two Air Force men wearing green snowsuits, one sitting up, while the other lays down resting on a bag as a helicopter takes off in the snowy mountains in Alaska

The 210th Air Rescue Squadron

The 210th Air Rescue Squadron, nicknamed “The Second 10th,” is an elite peacetime and combat search and rescue (CSAR) unit based in Alaska that’s on call for its citizens 24/7/365. Regarded as “the Guardians of the North,” the unit has saved thousands of natives stranded in remote terrain, brutal snowstorms, and icy waters along the coast.

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close up image from the top down of over a dozen wild horses in varying hues of brown and black running towards something

A Brief History of America’s Wild Horses

The wild horses of the West have occupied the minds of people here since they were reintroduced to the North American continent by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. These first mustangs (from the Spanish mestengo, which means “ownerless beast” or “stray horse”) were the predecessors of the wild horses that roam the desert and grassland ecosystems of the Midwest and Western United States today.

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a brunette woman with a long braid down her left shoulder wearing a grey scarf, red jacket and black cowboy hat against a wood barn

The History of the Cowboy Hat

If there is one piece of Western wear that has become the ultimate symbol of the American Cowboy, it’s the cowboy hat. Like all Western wear, hats were made to be as tough as the trail and started off as accessories purchased based purely on function rather than fashion. A hat provided shade, protection from the elements, and warmth for the wearer, but could also be used to fan a fire, as a vessel for drinking water, or waved from horseback to catch the attention of a fellow rider in the distance. There were as many styles of cowboy hats as there were people wearing cowboy hats.

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snowy white covered landscape with a dozen snowy bison walking towards you

Rebisoning America’s West

As we bounce across the prairie, small groups of bison close to the dirt track watch us roll by, while two bands of elk stare at us from a distance. Meandering along in search of the two bison cows, Austin talks of seeing the landscape restored to its pre-nineteenth-century vigor.

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The O’Hair Ranch

Before there were O’Hairs, there were Armstrongs. And like most homesteaders, the Armstrongs arrived at Paradise Valley, Montana, by way of misfortune looking for fortune. In 1878, Owen T. Armstrong (“O.T.”), aged 27 years old, and Mrs. O.T., aged 26 years old, decided it was time to up and leave Missouri, where they had hewn out a meager existence.

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wild goose jack setting a goose free, the goose is taking off from his arms into the air

Wild Goose Jack

At the turn of the 20th century, sportsman John (Jack) Miner found himself amidst an unregulated commercial market, and local grassroots hunting. In the small town of Kingsville, Ontario, along the northern shore of Lake Erie, young Jack and his brother Ted spent their minimal free time carving and painting decoys in preparation for when the ducks would return.

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double barrel shot gun open with both shells hovering above chamber

History of the Shotgun for Upland Hunting

The earliest shotguns, or “Haile Shotte peics,” as they were called, date back to the 16th century in England, where they were used for hunting by the aristocracy, chief among them Henry VIII. These were multiple shot firearms and were used primarily for hunting birds.

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vintage green United States Forest Service and Filson jacket with department patch on brown canvas backdrop

Filson and The Forest Service

Because of our shared history in the wildlands of America and mutual need for tough gear in remote places, Filson and the U.S. Forest Service have been likely partners since we were both founded (1897 and 1905, respectively). As the Klondike Gold Rush ended, Filson found new customers in the loggers and workers of the Pacific Northwest, many of whom would become or were members of the Forest Service.

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warehouse of white maple syrup barrels stacked to the ceiling on the right and left

The Heist: Canada’s Sticky Situation

Together they discovered that someone had tampered with over 1,000 barrels. Nearly 540,000 gallons (10,000 barrels worth) of thick, golden liquid sunshine had been stolen; 12.5 percent of the Reserve, with a street value of anywhere from $13.4 to $18 million, was unaccounted for.

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historic image of men sitting down to eat lunch in field among burned trees

THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS.

THE Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a depression-era work-relief program that put millions of America’s young men to work on important conservation projects. Established in 1933 by executive order, the CCC was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s most popular New Deal programs

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THE CHAINSAW

The single most important invention affecting logging was the chainsaw of 1935. Although it was not invented in Oregon, it was perfected there in 1947 by lumberjack Joseph Cox. While chopping firewood one chilly autumn day in 1946, Cox paused for a moment to examine the curious activity of a timber beetle larva in a tree stump.

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man sitting in saw mill for group photo

The Oldest Continuously Running Sawmill in North America

Port Gamble was a gamble that paid off for 142 years as the longest continuously running sawmill on the North American continent. Like many logging towns, it faced boom years and bust years but was far more successful than most. New England influenced the creation and construction of the town. The merchants Andrew Pope and William Talbot sailed west from Maine to San Francisco seeking large resources of timber to supply the growing demand of an ever-growing American West.

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bartender pouring beer from tap

The Lantern Tavern Announces No New Improvements

The Lantern opened its doors back when gasoline cost 32 cents a gallon and shiny ‘66 Mustangs cruised Chicago Avenue. Every day since, their philosophy of good, simple food and enjoyable times has not wavered.

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man moving metal in foundry

Mike Blais of Auburn Stove Foundry Company

Some of Mike Blais’ earliest memories are from the inside of his grandfather’s foundry in Maine. He spent his youth shadowing the older man, learning to mix sand and clay, ram patterns, heat metal, and pour it, creating something from nothing in a series of precise steps. He cast his first piece on his own, under his grandfather’s watchful eye, before he reached the age of ten: a grate for a small coal stove.

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old farmer with tan flat billed hat in grassland on farm vehicle and mountain backdrop

Ranchlands: Six Generations of Stewardship

Conservation isn’t abstract and ranching doesn’t reward those who disconnect themselves from nature. I learned these truths from Duke Phillips, or Big Duke, to his friends. For Big Duke and his family, ranching is a way of life.

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whid isle inn nestled among old growth firs on shore of whidby island

Captain Whidbey Inn

The Captain Whidbey was built in 1907 from logs and stone found on site by Chris Fisher and his son Edward. In the years since, it has served as a private residence, a boarding house, post office, girl’s school, and a general store. It has recently been restored and is now open to the public as an inn that features a Filson cabin.

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filson watch factory diagram

History of the Field Watch

Nearly every casual wrist watch has evolved from the classic military field watch. The history of these watches began with WWI pocket watches. During WWI, many countries issued their officers pocket watches, but many of them complained about the inconvenience of having to operate the watch with two hands during combat. This led to officers innovating a way to strap their pocket watches onto their wrists.

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Wind River bends through canyon with sheer white rocks

What Is The Land and Water Conservation Fund

For more than 50 years, LWCF has been called America’s most important tool in conservation. But all that was subject to change last September when authorization for the fund faced the legislative chopping block

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Keya portrait in white wool hooded jacket falling snow

In Print: Keya Clairmont

Earlier this winter, we traveled to the snowcovered Canadian Rockies to develop our latest print catalog. We invited fancy shawl dancer, Keya Clairmont, to join. The 24 year old is grounded in the mountains, yet spends a lot of her time in the air; fancy shawl is an energetic style of dance full of jumps

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A Day of Celebration: History of the Chittenden Locks

Started on September 1, 1911 and completed in 1916, the Hiram Chittenden Locks, alternatively called Seattle’s “Big Ditch,” or “Ballard Locks,” as they are commonly referred to today, helped make possible a new era in maritime commerce and shipping business for Salmon Bay, Lake Washington and all points in between.

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