Seattle Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collection

Seattle Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collection, Sept. 22-27, 1908; Oct. 16-23, 1920

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Title: Seattle Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collection
Dates: Sept. 22-27, 1908; Oct. 16-23, 1920 (inclusive)
19081920
Quantity: 2 albums containing 55 photographic prints (1 box) ; sizes vary
Collection Number: PH0020
Summary: Photographs taken of Eastern Washington during trade relations tours sponsored by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. 1920 tour photographed by Asahel Curtis
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: Collection is open to the public.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Seattle Chamber of Commerce was established on April 17, 1882, by 23 businessmen, including Henry L. Yesler, Judge Thomas Burke, H.B. Bagley, and others, with J.R. Lewis serving as the first president. By 1890 the Chamber was incorporated and had grown to three hundred members. The Chamber's earliest endeavors included establishing railroad termini in Seattle and developing the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the Pasco-Kennewick Bridge, and the commerce of the Columbia River Basin. By 1893 both the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific Railroads had located their termini in Seattle.

In 1912 the Chamber's membership directory stated: "The objects of this Association are to foster, protect, and advance the commercial, industrial, mercantile, and other public interests of the City of Seattle; to promote the growth and development of the State of Washington, the Territory of Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest." The Chamber addressed these goals through committees that focused on areas such as Alaska, city affairs, county affairs, foreign and domestic affairs, logged-off lands and irrigation, mercantile issues, rivers and harbors, state affairs and legislation, and transportation.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

During the first decades of the twentieth century, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce organized tours of various parts of Washington State to encourage the commercial development of agriculture and natural resources such as mining, forestry, and hydroelectric power. The two trips depicted in this collection reflect railroad tours of Eastern Washington. Typically the excursionists were greeted at the depots with gifts of local fruit. The towns' commercial clubs treated their guests to luncheons or dinners, complete with speeches by both hosts and visitors. The excursion of Sept. 22-27, 1908, traveling on the North Bank Railroad's "1909 Special," began in Portland and followed the Columbia River inland to White Salmon and Kennewick. The visit to Walla Walla included a tour of the Washington State Penitentiary hosted by Supt. Reed, former chief of police of Seattle. In Spokane, the businessmen were treated to a motorcade and banquet in the Doges Hall of the Davenport Hotel. Throughout the tour, major topics of discussion between the visiting and local businessmen included the benefit to agricultural trade brought by the expanding railroad system, as well as the promotion of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition which was planned for the following year, 1909.

The Chamber discontinued the regional trade relations tours during the World War I years due to increased transportation costs and shortage of cars, but returned to the tradition for the tour of Oct. 1920. In that year, 122 Seattle businessmen traveled over 1,200 miles in a Great Northern train, complete with observation, baggage, and dining cars as well as five sleeper cars. The tour crossed the Cascades, with its first stop in Leavenworth, continuing through Wenatchee, Chelan, and the Okanogan region, traveling east to Spokane, then southward to Pasco and Walla Walla, through the Yakima Valley, and finally through Ellensburg and the Kittitas Valley on the way home. Many of the stops were related to regional agriculture, and each location featured banquets, speeches, and entertainment. Discussions focused on the need for irrigation and land reclamation projects to increase agricultural production.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of two albums depicting two separate trips organized by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. The earlier album, titled Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Business Men's Excursion to Inland Empire , Sept. 22-27, 1908, contains 23 photos taken along the route of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad in Washington State. The photographs include captions. The final page of the album lists the towns visited under "Itinerary," and the names of attendees, alphabetically by last name, under "Personnel."

The later album is titled Trade Relations Tour, Seattle Chamber of Commerce , Oct. 16 to 23, 1920. These 32 images were taken as the tour traveled through the Wenatchee Valley, the Columbia Valley, Okanogan, White Stone Irrigation Project between Oroville and Tonasket, a power plant near Pasco, a factory at Toppenish, and the Yakima Valley, all in Eastern Washington. Most of the images are credited to Asahel Curtis; however, as the official photographer for the Chamber at this time, it is probable that he took all the photographs. The final page of the album lists "Personnel" alphabetically by last name.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

The 1908 album, Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Business Men's Excursion to Inland Empire , was donated by N. W. Fillipi, December 3, 1945.

The 1920 album, Trade Relations Tour, Seattle Chamber of Commerce , was donated by Mrs. Margaret McCune, September 1980.

Processing Note

Two separate photograph collections, Seattle Chamber of Commerce Collections 20 and 36, were combined to create this collection.

The 1908 album, Business Men's Excursion to Inland Empire , has been dismantled due to fragile bindings; the pages have been put in folders, and the page order has been maintained. The second album remains intact and is housed in a single folder.

Related Materials

Records of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce are housed at the Seattle Public Library.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Business Men's Excursion to Inland Empire Album, Sept. 22-27, 1908Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Folder	item
1	1a	Businessmen's excursion gathered at Stevenson train station
1	1b	Businessmen's excursion with fruit basket gifts at Stevenson train platform
1	1c	Senator Piles giving speech on Stevenson train platform
2	2 a-c	Railroad track along the Columbia River, and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (North Bank), through mountainous, forested terrain
3	3a-c	Tracks of North Bank Railroad along Columbia River Photo "c" includes steamboat in river.
3	3d	Businessmen's excursion gathered in front of train at Roosevelt station
4	4a	Man seated on caboose with banner reading: "Chamber of Commerce Special"
4	4b	Railroad tracks entering tunnel in mountainside
4	4c	Businessmen's excursion gathered outside hotel, Kennewick
4	4d	Businessmen's excursion gathered in front of train at Kennewick depot
5	5	Businessmen's excursion seated for presentation or meeting at Commercial Club Rooms, Walla Walla
6	6	Businessmen at Warden Reed's residence, Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla
7	7a	Businessmen's excursion in front of building at Whitman College, Walla Walla
7	7b	People, horses, and buggies at Pullman train station
7	7c	Panoramic view of penitentiary grounds at Walla Walla
8	8	Businessmen's excursion seated for banquet in grand hall at Davenport Hotel in Spokane
9	9	Men seated for lunch in dining car of train
10	10	Businessmen seated in dining car of train, African American waitstaff standing against walls
11	11	Businessmen's excursion gathered in front of caboose at North Yakima train station for presentation of chest of silver to Secretary Yandell
12	12	Final page of album with itinerary and list of personnel

Trade Relations Tour Album, Oct. 16-23, 1920Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Folder	item
13	13-1	Orchard in Wenatchee Valley (A. Curtis 25041)
13	13-2a	Tour members at Brewster Flats (A. Curtis 41017)
13	13-2b	Businessmen's tour being led in a chant "Seattle!-Seattle!-S-E-A-T-T-L-E."
13	13-3a	Woman tossing apple from fruit packing crate to tour group at Boston-Okanogan Orchard
13	13-3b	Railroad through Columbia River Valley near Pateros (A. Curtis 41103)
13	13-4a	Panoramic view of Okanogan (A. Curtis 30135)
13	13-4b	Businessmen's tour group in front of train at Tonasket train station (A. Curtis 41019)
13	13-5a	Men marching down the center of street (A. Curtis 41122)
13	13-5b	Three women, two engineers on train engine (A. Curtis 41107)
13	13-6a	Shepherd with sheep grazing in field on the White Stone Irrigation Project between Tonasket and Oroville (A. Curtis 30187)
13	13-7a	Businessmen's tour members and children on and around caboose displaying "Seattle Trade Relations Tour" sign (A. Curtis 41020) UW 23497z.
13	13-7b	Man on pillar leading tour members in chant (A. Curtis 41110)
13	13-8a	Businessmen's tour group seated for banquet given by the Spokane Chamber of Commerce (A. Curtis 40990)
13	13-8b	Vista of Spokane
13	13-9a	Businessmen's tour group seated for presentation or meeting at the Walla Walla Commercial Club (A. Curtis 41022)
13	13-9b	Wheat field with harvested bundles near Walla Walla (A. Curtis 33077)
13	13-10a	Power plant near Pasco with large water pipe built on side of hill, figures standing on structure (A. Curtis 41025)
13	13-10b	Hay field, cut and gathered, on the Burbank Project near Pasco (A. Curtis 40548)
13	13-11a, b	Man with bucket of cider dispensing samples in center of group of men and women, Kennewick (A. Curtis 41115, 41116)
13	13-11c	Close-up of apple tree branches heavy with fruit
13	13-12a	Six "railroad representatives" standing by tracks (A. Curtis 41117)
13	13-12b	Two women pouring cider from pitchers and two newspaper reporters taking notes, with men in background (A. Curtis 41120)
13	13-13a	Man holding bucket, posing with cow at trough (A. Curtis 41116)
13	13-13b	Two women, four men with glasses of cider in front of Prosser depot (A. Curtis 41118)
13	13-14a	Field and beet sugar factory with tall smoke stack, Toppenish (A. Curtis 40890)
13	13-14b	Two young men on bikes, two men standing, near train tracks
13	13-15a	People, mostly businessmen seated in armchairs, gathered for a meeting or presentation (A. Curtis 39934)
13	13-15b	Panoramic view of orchards, fields, farmhouses inYakima Valley UW 4641.
13	13-16a	Businessmen's tour being led in a chant outside State Normal School, Ellensburg
13	13-16b	R.S. Boyns (president of Seattle Chamber of Commerce) outside State Normal School, Ellensburg
13	13-16c	Businessmen's tour group and women gathered for photo on campus of State Normal School, Ellensburg (A. Curtis 41028)

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Agriculture--Washington (State)
Businessmen--Washington (State)--Photographs
Cider--Washington (State)--Photographs
Orchards--Washington (State)--Photographs
Railroad travel--Washington (State)--Photographs
Railroads--Trains--Photographs
Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Corporate Names

Davenport Hotel (Spokane, Wash.)--Photographs
Seattle Chamber of Commerce
State Normal School (Ellensburg, Wash.)--Photographs
Washington State Penitentiary--Photographs

Geographical Names

Columbia River (Wash.)--Photographs
Spokane (Wash.)--Photographs
Wenatchee River Valley (Wash.)--Photographs
Yakima (Wash.)--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

Photograph albums

Other Creators

Personal Names
- Curtis, Asahel, 1874-1941 (photographer)

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