Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Fred A. Fletcher photographs, 1921
Overview of the Collection
- Photographer
- Fletcher, Fred A
- Title
- Fred A. Fletcher photographs
- Dates
- 1921 (inclusive)19211921
- Quantity
- 21 photographs (1 folder) ; 3" x 5.5"
- Collection Number
- PH1430
- Summary
- Photographs of Hoh-Bogachiel River trail & surrounding area before and after a hurricane struck the Washington Coast on January 29, 1921, Mt. Olympus, band of elk, and the Hoh River.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Fred Allen Fletcher was a member of a pioneer Hoh River family. Fletcher married Lena Huelsdonk, daughter of well-known Hoh pioneer John Huelsdonk, "Iron Man of the Hoh." Huelsdonk and his wife, Dora, were the first settlers on the Hoh River and the Olympic Peninsula's most famous pioneers.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
On January 29, 1921, a hurricane-force windstorm with gusts of more than 100 miles per hour struck the Washington coast. The storm destroyed billions of board feet of timber and came to be called "The Great Blowdown." The Forest Service indicated that total loss of standing timber was the greatest on record for the country at that time. One person was killed, and at LaPush 16 homes belonging to Native Americans were ruined. Hundreds of elk and farm animals were killed in the storm. The loss of so many trees was a great blow to the timber industry. Destruction was heaviest in the west end of Clallam County where the highway between Crescent Lake and Forks was blocked by downed trees.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Photographs of Hoh-Bogachiel River trail & surrounding area before and after a hurricane struck the Washington Coast on January 29, 1921, Mt. Olympus, band of elk, and the Hoh River.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View the digital version of the collection
Restrictions on Use
Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
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Hurricane Aftermath in Olympic Mountains, January 29, 1921Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folder | item | ||
| 1 | 1 |
Hemlock forest on the trail between the Hoh and
Bogachiel Rivers Written on verso: This shows a typical portion of the trail
between Hoh and Bogachiel Rivers before the storm. The opening visible behind
the trees is a cedar swamp. The woods is typical of the hemlock forests which
covered the entire distance between the rivers and from mountains to beach, an
area of several hundred square miles. Note the little down timber visible. Sent
to offer a means of comparison with post-storm pictures.
|
January 1921 |
| 1 | 2 |
Fred Fletcher (left) and Duke McNichols attempting to
clear Hoh-Bogachiel trail Written on verso: Several crews of 3 or 4 men each are working
sometimes 7 days of the week in the effort to open the trails and establish
regular communications with Forks and outside points.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 3a | February 1921 | |
| 1 | 3b |
Hand-written map of Hoh-Bogachiel trail on verso of
3a Written on verso of 3a: All these storm pictures taken on
route indicated by dotted road (trail).
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 4 |
Wrecked bridge on the Hoh-Bogachiel trail Written on verso: This is what happened to the bridges. Most
(many) of the dozen or so bridges between the rivers and on the trail up and
down the rivers are completely ruined - this is a fair sample.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 5 |
Destruction of the trail bridge near the Hoh
River Written on verso: Note the general confusion of everything.
Nobody can safely travel alone in woods like these as it would be the easiest
thing in the world to slip off and break a leg when climbing the innumerable
logs and sticks and upturned roots.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 6 |
House on lower Hoh River dislodged by great
storm Written on verso: This is near the ocean beach 2 or 3 miles
west of Hoh P.O. While the storm was not so severe in the river valleys the
higher lands and river divides are mowed as if by a giant scythe even this far
west.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 7 |
Storm debris covering Hoh River trail Written on verso: Looking toward the mail box from the Upper
Hoh trail. Here you could not see 50 feet into the woods on either side of the
trail. The hound offers a means of comparison for size.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 8 |
Fallen timber covering Hoh River trail Written on verson: Trail marked with x.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 9 |
Fallen timber obstructing Hoh-Bogachiel
trail Written on verso: The trail is covered up for miles. It is
over territory like this that mail and in some instances supplies was brought
just after the storm.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 10 |
Trail with tree uprooted by the storm, near the Hoh
River Written on verso: When roots turned up they often took whole
pieces of the trail up with them. Note the neat puncheon still lying on the
root in the picture. This is one of the reasons nobody can hkeep on the trails,
obstructions like this are numerous.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 11 |
Fallen Western Red cedar tree on Hoh-Bogachiel
trail Written on verso: A huge cedar tipped down off the hillside -
note its size in comparison with the trail (x). Cedar did not suffer much and
fallen cedar will remain sound for years.
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 12 |
Sawed timber from the effort to clear the Hoh-Bogachiel
trail Written on verso: Part of the foot trail between the mail box
and the x on trail toward Spruce. Note the lack of trees in the background. At
one time this was a forest so dense that the flickering sunlight seldom reached
the ground. Note how the ends of the cut lots are split the strain on the wood
that causes this splitting makes the logs very hard to saw occasioning what
woodsmen call "pinching of the saw".
|
February 1921 |
| 1 | 13 |
Timber cut by homesteader John Dengate in the effort to
clear the Hoh-Bogachiel trail Written on verso: Where John Dengate began to cut out the
trail toward Forks about 2 miles above where the trail toward Hoh leaves the
uplands and enters the river valleys.
|
February 1921 |
Elk, River, and Mountain PhotographsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folder | item | ||
| 1 | 14 |
Young Roosevelt elk on the Hoh River Written on verso: This is Dewey the elk buck now in Woodland
Park of Seattle, photo taken by F. Fletcher when the elk was 6 mos or so of
age. Raised at Spruce Wash. Sold when 1 1/2 years of age to Seattle Park
Boards.
|
1921 |
| 1 | 15 | 1921 | |
| 1 | 16 |
Band of elk on the upper Hoh River Written on verso: A band on the North Fork of the Hoh River -
2 bucks, 2 calves, 1 yearling, 9 mature cows.
|
1921 |
| 1 | 17 | 1921 | |
| 1 | 18 |
Indians in a dugout canoe on the Clearwater
River Written on verso: Note the Indian dugout canoe. They are
almost universally used in crossing the swift rivers of the Olympic
Peninsula.
|
1921 |
| 1 | 19 | 1921 | |
| 1 | 20 | 1921 | |
| 1 | 21 |
Packers with their luggage and horses on the Hoh
River Written on verso: Settlers of the Upper Hoh bring in most of
their supplies on horseback, those on the lower Hoh get theirs by boat from
Hoquiam. A large part of the cargo of a boat sent this spring for Queets and
Hoh was spoiled with gasoline and seawater when she ran aground in the river's
mouth. The boat was saved almost unhurt.
|
1921 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Roosevelt elk--Washington (State)--Photographs
- Wind damage--Washington (State)--Olympic Mountains--Photographs
- Windfall (Forestry)--Washington (State)--Olympic Mountains--Photographs
Personal Names
- Fletcher, Fred A.--Archives
- Fletcher, Fred A.--Photographers
Geographical Names
- Hoh River (Wash.)--Photographs
Form or Genre Terms
- Maps
- Photographic prints
- Photographs
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
