Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division records, 1892-2001
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division
- Title
- Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division records
- Dates
- 1892-2001 (inclusive)18922001
1926-2000 (bulk)19262000 - Quantity
- 21 linear ft.
- Collection Number
- XOE_CPNWS0157gp (collection)
- Summary
- The Georgia-Pacific Corporation (GP), Bellingham Division records date from 1892 to 2001, and consist of administrative records, publications, photographic materials, audio-visual recordings, charts and maps. The Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corporation (GP) acquired a mill site on Bellingham's waterfront in 1963. Operations included pulping and tissue-making, a chemical plant, and a research lab. The mill was a major employer in Bellingham, and produced hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue during its peak years.
- Repository
-
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
In 1925, Washington state businessman Ossian Anderson purchased a mill site on Bellingham's downtown waterfront, which operated as the Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Co. for the next four decades. In 1963, the Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corporation (GP) acquired the site and, in addition to continuing pulping and tissue-making operations, expanded to include a chemical plant and research lab. A great deal of research and innovation took place at the Bellingham mill throughout the twentieth century. For example, the Bellingham Barker was developed, allowing logs to be stripped of their bark through a hydraulic process as opposed to by hand. Furthermore, a number waste by-products created during the pulping process were found useful in other industries like agriculture, mining, and road building. The mill was a major employer in Bellingham, and produced hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue during its peak years.¹
During the 1970s and 1980s, the mill faced significant local pressure to upgrade its environmental safety standards and shut down environmentally harmful operations. In 1999, an explosion at the steam plant raised new concerns about the safety of employees at the mill as well as the surrounding community. Facing increasing pressures regarding environmental and industrial safety, and impacted by the energy crisis of 2000-2001, GP decided to terminate its Bellingham pulp mill operations in March 2001. The closure was accompanied by the loss of approximately 420 jobs.²
In 2005, GP reached agreement with the Port of Bellingham to transfer its waterfront properties to the Port in exchange for the cost and responsibility of site clean-up. In December 2007, GP (by then under the ownership of Koch Industries) terminated its remaining tissue plant operations on Bellingham's waterfront.
Sources: ¹ “Smells Like Money: The Story of Bellingham’s Georgia Pacific Plant,” documentary by David Albright in conjunction with Western Washington University and the Northwest Film School; ² G-P Press Release No. C-1665 (March 30, 2001).
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division records date from 1892 to 2001, and consist of administrative records, publications, photographic materials, audio-visual recordings, charts and maps. The collection includes some records from the Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Co., which preceded Georgia-Pacific in ownership of the Bellingham mill site.
Administrative records date from around 1917 to 2000, and include a small assortment of financial records, older equipment and machinery records, and documents relating to the mill’s history. There are also a few budget manuals, annual reports, and accounting records from the Ketchikan Pulp Company, the Fidalgo Manufacturing Company, the Mitchell Bay Lime Company, and the Puget Sound & Cascade Railway Company.
Publications span the dates 1926-2001, and include the official reports from the Bellingham mill, as well as employee newsletters and promotional items. The collection includes a nearly complete set of Puget Parade issues, which was the Bellingham Division's official publication. There are also a number of public relations materials, including commemorative and educational books, flyers, and posters. Other publications come from a variety of companies and organizations primarily associated with the timber, pulping, and tissue industries.
Photographs, negatives, and slides date from around 1892 to 2000. The collection includes both color and black & white photographs documenting plant employees, machinery, and activities. There are also a few oversized photographs depicting aerial images of the Bellingham mill site and logging operations in the Pacific Northwest. Negatives are generally labeled, and oftentimes correspond with the photographic prints. Slides are also mostly labeled, and document primarily plant machinery and equipment.
Audio-visual materials are comprised of audio cassettes, VHS and non-VHS video tapes, and 16mm film reels dating between 1960 and 1990. Most of these materials relate to pulp and paper-making processes, and logging, forestry, and conservation issues. The collection contains videos that focus on human resource enhancement and training, as well as some advertisements and news clips promoting Georgia-Pacific products and operations.
Charts and maps dated 1938-1952 document Puget Sound waterways including the Swinomish Slough, Guemes Channel, Padilla Bay, and Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The collection is open to the public. Certain audio-visual materials require special equipment, and arrangements to use these items should be made in advance. Contact repository for details.
Preferred Citation
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division records are organized according to the following series arrangement:
- Series I. Administrative records, circa 1917-2000
- Series II. Publications, 1926-2001
- Series III. Photographs, negatives, and slides, circa 1892-2000
- Series IV. Audio-visual materials, circa 1960-1990
- Series V. Charts and maps, 1938-1952
Acquisition Information
The records were donated by the Georgia-Pacific Corporation in 2006.
Processing Note
Four nitrate film reels were removed from the collection and are awaiting transfer to a more stable format.
Processing Note
About Harmful Language and ContentTo learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content
Bibliography
Albright, David Michio Smells Like Money: The Story of Bellingham's Georgia-Pacific Plant. Bellingham, Wash. Northwest Film School 2006
Related Materials
The Waterfront Oral History Project records and the Pulp Friction interviews contain related archival material and are also available at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series I : Administrative records , circa 1917-2000 Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division and Puget
Sound Pulp and Timber Co.
|
1931-2000 | |
Equipment and machinery records |
||
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Alcohol Plant |
1944 |
1/2 | Alcohol Plant |
1945 February 22 - 1945 October 17 |
1/3 | Bleach Plant |
1950 |
2/1 | Office Equipment |
1950-1953 |
2/2 | Screen Room and Steam Plant |
1949 |
Box/Folder | ||
3/1 | History of Puget Sound Pulp & Timber
Co. |
1931 March 1 |
3/2 | Income summaries |
1936-1963 |
3/3 | Registry of Stills (Form 26, Treasury Department,
Internal Revenue Service, Alcohol Tax Unit, Bureau of internal
Revenue |
1942 March 25 |
3/4 | Supplement to amended application for loan from the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation and Public Works Administration, Washington,
D.C. |
1933 Arpil 13 |
3/5 | Visitors' registers |
circa 1990s-2000 |
3/6-3/7 | Waterway remediation materials |
circa 1990-1995 |
Ketchikan Pulp
Company
|
1968-1969 | |
Box/Folder | ||
3/8 | Budget manuals |
1968-1969 |
Other companies
|
1917-1929 | |
Box/Folder | ||
3/9 | Fidalgo Pulp Manufacturing Company report and
accounts |
1928 December 31 - 1929 March 31 |
3/10 | Mitchell Bay Lime Company report |
1929 August 31 |
3/11 | Puget Sound & Cascade Railway accounting
report |
1917 June 30 - 1927 December 31 |
Series II : Publications , 1926-2001 Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division and Puget
Sound Pulp and Timber Co. official publications
|
1939-2000 | |
Box/Folder | ||
4/1-4/6 | Annual reports and reviews |
1939-1962; 1976-1997 |
5/1-5/2 | Annual reports and reviews |
1998-2000 |
5/3-5/4 |
Bellingham Week: Crews, News,
and Views
|
1991-1997 |
5/5 | Correspondence and other materials related to
Georgia-Pacific official publications |
circa 1970s |
6/1 | Correspondence and other materials related to
Georgia-Pacific official publications |
circa 1970s |
6/2-6/5 |
Growth
|
1966-1998 (not inclusive) |
6/6 |
Growth Rings
|
1974 May and November |
7/1-7/2 |
Labor Pains
|
1978 July - 1979 February |
7/3 |
Newsletter
|
1966 December - 1967 January |
7/4-7/10 |
Puget Parade
|
1957 March - 1990 October (not inclusive) |
8/1-8/4 |
Puget Parade
|
1991 Fall - 1996 Fall/Winter (not inclusive) |
Georgia-Pacific Corporation,
Bellingham Division special publications
|
circa 1980-2000 | |
Folder | ||
Folder 1 | "71 Years in Whatcom County" |
1996 Feburary 25 |
Folder 1 | "Memories of 65 Years - Celbrating 65 Years of Pulp
& Paper in Bellingham" |
1991 September 25 |
Folder 1 | Miscellaneous advertisements, education, and
promotional materials |
circa 1980-2000 |
Box/Folder | ||
8/5-8/8 | Miscellaneous advertisements, education, and
promotional materials |
circa 1980-2000 |
Ketchikan
Pulp Company publications
|
circa 1950-1958 | |
Box/Folder | ||
8/9 | Annual reports |
1955-1958 |
8/10 | Miscellaneous informational
publications |
circa 1950s |
Other
publications
|
1926-2000 | |
Box/Folder | ||
9/1 | American Forest Association -
Green America
|
1985 |
9/2 | Evergreen Foundation -
Evergreen
|
1994 |
9/3 |
Fairhaven Gazette
|
1992 Spring |
9/4 |
Lynden
Tribune - "Farm Review" |
1979 January 17 |
9/5 | NC Machinery Co. -
Action
|
1972 Summer - 1980 Spring |
9/6 |
Whatcom
County Business Pulse
|
2000 April |
9/7 | Miscellaneous
publications |
circa 1926-1999 |
10/1 | Miscellaneous
publications |
circa 1989-1999 |
10/2 | Newspaper
clippings |
circa 1978-1983 |
Folder | ||
Folder 1 | Newspaper clippings
(enlarged) |
1950 October 4; 1961 April 30; 1990 July 3 |
Folder 1 | Newspapers special
editions |
1950 October 4; 1953 April 26; 1965 March 26; 1974 March 3; 1978 October 27; 1978 December 31; 1979 January 17 |
Books
|
1952-2001 | |
oversize-box | ||
Oversize Box 1 | Associated Sand & Gravel
Co., Everett, WA - Bison Information Book, Vol. II
(describing a new type of floor and roof "slab" construction |
1952 |
Oversize Box 1 | Bellingham Cold Storage -
BCS: 50 Years, 1946-1996
|
1996 |
Oversize Box 1 | Monroe, Doug -
The Maverick Spirit: Georgia-Pacific at
75
|
2001 |
Oversize Box 1 | Sudia-Skehan, Shawn -
Tappi's First 75 Years: From Distinguished Past to
Dynamic Future, 1915-1990
|
1990 |
Oversize Box 1 | Trillium Corporation -
Portraits of Leadership
|
1999 |
Oversize Box 1 | United States Pulp Producers
Association, Inc. - Wood Pulp, A Basic Fiber: The
Story of the Origin, Development and Economic Status of a Great American
Industry
|
1955 |
Series III : Photographs, negatives, and slides , circa 1892-2000 Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Photographs
|
1892-2000 | |
Box | ||
Box 11 | Employee portraits (A-H) |
1990s |
Box 12 | Employee portraits (J-W) |
1990s |
Box 13 | Color photographs |
circa 1940s-2000s |
Box 14 | Color photographs |
circa 1980s-1990s |
Box/Folder | ||
15/1-15/2 | Color and black & white photographs |
circa 1970s-1980s |
15/3 | Black & white aerial photographs |
1969; 1975 |
15/4 | Black & white photographs |
circa 1960s |
15/5-15/6 | Black & white photographs labeled "construction
pics" |
1972 |
15/7 | Black & white photographs labeled "pics for
museum" |
circa 1940s-1990s |
15/8 | Black & white photographs labeled "WWU
$" |
circa 1990s |
Black & white photographs labeled "Old Logging
Pics" |
circa 1892-1924 | |
Folder | ||
Folder 2 | Seattle |
1892 |
Folder 2 | Band Saw, union Lumber Company's Mill, Fort Bragg,
CA |
circa 1900 |
Folder 2 | Leaving Logging Camp in Model T Ford, Pacific Spruce
Corporation, Toledo, OR |
circa 1924 |
Folder 2 | Donkey Engine & Crew, Silverton, OR; Pond Monkey - posing with Pike Poles, Silver Falls
Timber Co., Silverton, OR |
undated; circa 1915 |
Folder 2 | 3 unidentified photographs |
undated |
Box | ||
Box 16 | Black & white photographs in labeled
envelopes |
1970s-1980s |
Box 17 | Black & white photographs in labeled
envelopes |
1970s-1980s |
Box 18 | Black & white photographs |
circa 1940s-1990s |
Box 19 | Black & white photographs |
circa 1940s-1990s |
Box 20 | Black & white photographs |
circa 1940s-1990s |
Box/Folder | ||
20/7 | Boiler House photographs (and Historic Building Survey) |
circa 1930s, 2008 |
Folder | ||
Folder 2 | Oversize
photographs |
circa 1970s-1980s |
Photograph
albums
|
1944-1970s | |
Box/Folder | ||
21/1 | Alcohol Plant |
1944-1945 |
21/2 | Logging pictures |
circa 1960s |
21/3 | Puget Sound Pulp & Timber mill marquee showing
"Days without a Time Loss Injury;" and other plant activities |
circa 1970s |
Slides
|
1970s-1990s | |
Box/Folder | ||
22/1 | Aerial shots of the mill; Bellingham; Rail and tank car safety training |
1960s; 1996 December; 1970s |
22/2 | Roll pulp tissue; Timber; Visit to G-P Bellingham by CEO Pete Correll |
undated; 1970s-1980s; 1998 |
Box | ||
Box 23 | Unlabeled slides |
circa 1960s-1990s |
Slide Albums
|
circa 1950s-1990s | |
Box/Folder | ||
24/1 | Alcohol-lignin |
circa 1970s |
24/2 | Chlorine Plant |
circa 1970s |
24/3 | Lagoon |
circa 1970s-1980s |
24/4 | Nursery & Seed Cone Orchard |
circa 1980s |
24/5-24/6 | Pulp mill, etc. |
circa 1980s |
25/1-25/2 | Pulp mill, etc. |
circa 1980s |
25/3 | Timber |
circa 1950s; circa 1980s |
25/4 | Tissue |
circa 1990s |
25/5 | Unlabeled slides |
circa 1980s |
Negatives
|
circa 1940s-1990s | |
Box/Folder | ||
26/1 | Acid plant |
|
26/2 | Aerial views |
|
26/3 | Alcohol Plant |
|
26/4 | Bleach plant |
|
26/5 | Blow pits |
|
26/6 | Board mill |
|
26/7 | Boiler house |
|
26/8 | Damage & claims |
|
26/9 | General mill pics |
|
26/10 | Digesters |
|
26/11 | Digester heaters |
|
26/12 | Displays |
|
26/13 | Dredging |
|
26/14 | Inter-tidal negatives |
|
26/15 | Laboratory & pilot plant |
|
26/16 | Machine room |
|
26/17 | Mill "A" |
|
26/18 | Office |
|
26/19 | Oysters |
|
26/20 | Personnel |
|
26/21 | PGN |
|
26/22 | Polio shots |
|
26/23 | Reports & talks |
|
26/24 | Safety |
|
26/25 | Screen Room |
|
26/26 | Sewers |
|
26/27 | Special equipment |
|
26/28 | Squalicum Creek (salmon) |
|
26/29 | Utilities |
|
26/30 | Wood room & chip screens |
|
26/31 | Miscellaneous |
|
27/1 | Alcohol plant |
|
27/2 | Board mill |
|
27/3 | Colby crane |
|
27/4 | Hydraulic barking |
|
27/5 | Machine room |
|
27/6 | Pressure still collapse |
|
27/7 | Saw mill |
|
27/8 | Mill "A" dismantling |
|
27/9 | Miscellaneous |
|
28/1 | Aerial photos |
|
28/2 | NSCM Project |
|
28/3 | Timber ops |
|
28/4-28/8 | Unlabeled negatives |
|
29/1 | Unlabeled negatives |
circa 1960s-1970s |
29/2 | Glass plate negatives |
undated |
Box/Folder | ||
29/3 | Yeast Literature - reference guide of chemical
periodicals |
circa 1940s |
Series IV : Audio-visual material , circa 1960-1990 Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Audio-cassette
tapes
|
undated | |
Box/Folder | ||
30/1 | Edge Learning Institute - "Increasing Human
Effectiveness: Managing the Rapids of Change" |
undated |
VHS tapes
|
circa 1980s-1990s | |
Box/Folder | ||
30/2 | Allied Film & video - "Kaw Valley
Paper" |
undated |
30/3 | Anatone July 13, Pullman May 24 & July
12 |
undated |
30/4 | Arbeit Communications Inc. - "Demo Video" |
undated |
30/5 | Bird Treament & Learning Center - "Understanding
the Need" |
undated |
30/6 | "Building a Better Community: With the Right Chemistry
Anything is Possible" |
undated |
30/7 | DWJ Television |
undated |
30/8-30/9 | Direct Service Industries - "Touching Northwest
Lives" |
undated |
30/10 | Forest Health and Fire Danger in Western Forests
conference - "Highlights" |
circa 1995 |
30/11 | Georgia-Pacific - "Air and Water Quality
Resources" |
undated |
30/12 | Georgia-Pacific - "Forests for the Future:
Georgia-Pacific's Commitment to Sustainable Forestry" |
undated |
30/13 | Georgia-Pacific - "Step into the World of
Papermaking" |
undated |
31/1 | Georgia-Pacific - "Step into the World of
Papermaking" |
undated |
31/2 | Georgia-Pacific - "Tree Wishes" |
undated |
31/3 | Giving Tree, The - Non-Profit Program Benefiting
Homeless Persons |
undated |
31/4 | Governor Locke/Landfill/G-P |
1997 Summer |
31/5 | Howard Petrella, Black Diamond Video Productions -
"Demo Reel" |
undated |
31/6 | Howard Petrella, Black Diamond Video Productions -
"Georgia-Pacific Spot #1" |
1999 March |
31/7 | Howard Petrella, Black Diamond Video Productions -
"Georgia-Pacific Spot #2" |
1999 April |
31/8 | HRIT - "Update" |
1997 September |
31/9 | Impact Video Productions |
undated |
31/10 | Kositsky, Aaron, Matt Loveday, and Cori Alcorn -
"Timber Dreams: The Tar-Heel Migration to the Pacific Northwest" |
undated |
31/11 | KVOS Television - "HG" |
1997 |
31/12 | KVOS Television - "Intalco" |
undated |
31/13-31/14 | KVOS Television - "Kaleidoscope Video News Magazine:
G-P" |
1987 |
32/1 | KVOS Television - "Kaleidoscope III: Bellingham
Division" |
undated |
32/2 | KVOS Television Subsidiary |
undated |
32/3 | KVOS Television - "Waterway Story" |
1995 Fall |
32/4 | Message Delivery Workshop - "Chlorine Chemistry
Champions" |
undated |
32/5 | Rogers State College/The Electronic University
Network |
undated |
32/6-32/7 | "Sharing the Forest" |
undated |
32/8 | "Stream Enhancement" |
undated |
32/9 | Tappi - "Paper: The Video" |
undated |
32/10 | Target Vision - "Multimedia Networks for Employee
Communications" |
undated |
32/11 | "Traditional Chinese Hand Papermaking
Today" |
undated |
32/12 | Washington Forest Protection Association |
undated |
32/13 | Washington Forest Protection Association - "A Look at
Private Forest Management in Washington State Today" |
undated |
32/14 | "Wood" |
1986 March |
Non-VHS tapes
|
undated | |
Box/Folder | ||
33/1 | "Old Time Logging" |
undated |
33/2 | "Paper Making Work Film" |
undated |
16mm film reels
|
circa 1960s | |
Box/Folder | ||
33/3 | "Boxer Machine: Facial-Tissue-Conv. Drop" |
circa 1960s |
33/4 | "Slitter Adjusting & Rethreading Process:
Paperboard Mach." |
1966 October 21 |
33/5 | "L.T. Operation: Tissue Mill" |
circa 1960s |
33/6 | "Work Space Layout - Ann Shore of Secretaries
Desk" |
1963 November |
33/7 | Unidentified |
circa 1960s |
Series V : Charts and maps , 1938-1952 Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Rolled
documents
|
1938-1952 | |
Rolled Document | ||
Rolled Document 1 | Swinomish Slough and Vicinity - showing the barrier
dike as completed by U.S. Engineer Department about Dec., 1938. U.S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey and the U.S. Engineer Department |
1938 December |
Rolled Document 2 | Swinomish Slough and Vicinity - taken from government
charts made before 1938 |
undated |
Rolled Document 3-4 | Guemes Channel flood currents from Anacortes Pulp Mill
- general scheme |
1941 July |
Rolled Document 5 | Range 5.5 chart (showing Guemes Channel flood
currents) |
1940 February 17-18 |
Rolled Document 6 | Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Co. - General Flow
Diagram |
1952 |
Rolled Document 7 | Strait of Juan de Fuca (eastern part) - chart by the
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey |
1947 |
Rolled Document 8 | Chart showing the distribution of waste liquor from
Anacortes Pulp Mill into Guemes Channel, Fidalgo Bay, and Padilla Bay (at an
average of 5/10 completion of ebb tide and an average of 2 hours, 44 minutes
after digester is blown |
1941 |
Rolled Document 9 | Chart showing the distribution of waste liquor from
Anacortes Pulp Mill into Guemes Channel, Fidalgo Bay, and Padilla Bay (at an
average of 6/10 completion of flood tide and an average of 2 hours, 8 minutes
after digester is blown |
1941 |
Rolled Document 10 | Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Co. - map showing
right of way locations of the proposed logging road from the Hartford Eastern
Railway to Ebey Slough |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Paper industry workers--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources
- Paper industry--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources
- Paper mills--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources--Photographs
- Pulp mills--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources--Photographs
- Waterfronts--Washington (State)--Bellingham Bay Region--History--Sources--Photographs
- Wood-pulp industry--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources
Corporate Names
- Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Bellingham Division--Archives (creator)
- Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Co. (creator)
Geographical Names
- Bellingham (Wash.)--Economic conditions--History--Sources
Form or Genre Terms
- Records (Documents)