John P. Soule Seattle Fire Collection, 1889

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Soule, John P.
Title
John P. Soule Seattle Fire Collection
Dates
1889 (inclusive)
Quantity
67 photographic prints (1 box) ; 5" x 8"
23 glass plate negatives (1 box) ; 5" x 8"
Collection Number
PH0259
Summary
Photographs of the aftermath of the Seattle Fire of 1889.
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 is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

John P. Soule (October 16, 1828 - November 27, 1904) was born on in Phillips, Maine. He was first listed in the Boston city directory as a "photographist" in 1859. John's younger brother William Stinson Soule (1836-1908) was also a photographer and reported his occupation on his 1861 enlistment in the 13th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. In 1866, John Soule's listing in the Boston city directory changed to "photograph publisher," though he continued making photographs as well, including stereographs of the Boston Fire of 1872. John Soule published some of Will's images sent from his posts as a clerk at Fort Dodge, Kansas, and later as official photographer at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Will returned east in 1875, eventually joining John's business in Boston. In 1882, John sold his part of the Soule Photography Company to Will and left Boston. In 1883, he travelled throughout the West photographing in Colorado and Utah along the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and in Salt Lake City.

In 1888 John Soule moved to Seattle, and the 1889 Polk's Seattle city directory lists his trade as photographer. Soule took photographs of the ruins of the Seattle Fire of 1889 and the rebuilding thereafter, and published and sold them. He continued to live in Seattle and continued to photograph the growing city until his sudden death on November 27, 1904.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

The Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889, began a little after 2 p.m. in Clairmont's woodworking shop at Madison Avenue and Front Street (now First Avenue), and quickly expanded to the adjacent Denny Block building. At the time Seattle's water system had limited capacity, and the volunteer fire department found the water pressure insufficient for fighting the fire. By 4 p.m. a four-block area was in flames. The fire, driven by wind from the northwest, continued to spread. Only Elliott Bay on the west and vacant lots on the north and east contained the fire until a bucket brigade saved the Boston Block at Second and Columbia. About 6:30 p.m. the new Occidental Hotel at Yesler Avenue and James Street caught fire, and it became clear the flames would spread to the wooden frame buildings south of Yesler. On the east, citizens used wet blankets, mops, and buckets to save the King County Courthouse and Henry Yesler's home along Third Avenue. During the evening, however, all of Seattle south of Yesler Avenue and west of Fourth Street burned except for the Oregon Improvement Company dock. The tideflats south of King Street stopped the fire's spread south.

The burned areas were guarded and patrolled by a militia of members of the Washington National Guard from Seattle, Tacoma, and Port Townsend until June 11, 1889. After they dispirsed, however, thousands of scavengers and souvenir hunters began searching the ruins, so one company resumed the 24-hour watch. The commander called for reserves from Vancouver in southern Washington Territory to relieve the exhaused militia, and Company H of the First Regiment arrived on June 15. Martial law was never in effect, and the National Guard turned looters over to the regular civil courts. On June 18, the Seattle police swore in special policemen to take over from the National Guard.

By a month after the fire many businesses had set up shop in temporary locations. Many set up canvas tents where their buildings had stood. Some had time to save equipment and merchandise during the spread of the fire, and others restocked from shipments and relief that poured in from all over. To prevent another fire, the city of Seattle purchased the formerly private water company and improved water pressure and pipes, decreed that all new buildings in the business district had to be made of stone or brick, and established a professional fire department.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of photographs taken by John P. Soule of the aftermath of the Seattle Fire. The photographs document downtown Seattle during the summer of 1889 immediately after the fire, including the ruins of the Occidental Hotel, Yesler-Leary Building, and Dexter Horton Bank; and thirty days after the fire, including temporary businesses along Second Street "Front Street" and "Commercial Street" are now known as First Avenue.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

This collection demonstrates issues in determining the original creator of photographs that exist in multiple places in particular because the event was so important. This finding aid describes three generations of prints of John P. Soule's photographs of the aftermath of the Seattle Fire in 1889. While all the images are the same, they come from various sources and have been attributed to different photographers. The Harry Bringhurst album (also called the Widden album after the donor) includes original prints made by John Soule which were attributed to Harry Bringhurst who became Seattle's fire chief in 1906. This attribution came from an interview with his daughter made by Pam Widden (the donor of the album) when the daughter was elderly. She remembered that her father liked to make photographs and in her interview assumed that these photographs were made by him. However, they are clearly by John Soule and at least one of them is stamped with John Soule's name as the photographer. It is probable that the album was made as a gift for the fire chief at one time by someone who bought copies of the Soule photographs. This album contains five more of Soule's photographs than were included in the souvenir album Soule put together after the fire to sell his photographs.

Another problematic issue for photographs of the Seattle fire is that other photographers such as Thomas Prosch, Asahel Curtis and Lawrence Lindsley copied the work of many original photographers and put their names on them which helps to create confusion as to who the orignal photographer was.

The John Soule Seattle After the Great Fire Album of June 6, 1899 was probably created by Soule to market as a souvenir right after the fire. It is interesting that this album does not have as many views as the Bringhurst album which likely indicates that it was a way to market a selection of his fire photographs quickly. At some point, probably after Soule died in 1904, his original glass plate negatives of the fire were acquired by a Seattle photographer named McManus. McManus altered the negatives by adding text to them including "c. McManus 1912." A Seattle photographer, Lawrence Lindsley, eventually acquired the Soule negatives (which were still in the original negative box) and he attributed them to McManus by writing "negs made by McManus'' on the negative box. Later when the negatives came to Special Collections modern prints were made from Soule's original glass plate negatives which had been altered by McManus. This continued the mistaken attribution of McManus as the photographer. The existence of the albums makes it clear that the glass plate negatives were truly created by Soule, yet the alterations made by McManus would otherwise make this difficult to determine. Because all of these various versions of the Soule photographs were acquired at different times and never examined together, the attribution of three different creators for the same photographs persisted. This along with the fact that since Soule's photographs were popular, copies of his originals also exist in other collections such as the Prosch Seattle Views Album #2 and the Asahel Curtis Collection and are not attributed to Soule. A final set of prints which were made with the negatives altered by McManus were made for the 30th anniversary of the fire on June 6, 1919. They have text on the back which is titled "Vision Plus Spirit" which talks about the "Seattle Spirit."

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions might exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

The Soule Album came in as part of the Conover Collection.

The original glass plate negatives came in as part of the Lawrence Lindsley Collection.

Acquisition Information

Donor of Harry Bringhurst album, Patricia Widden, 1989. Donated in memory of Harriet J. Doheny.

Processing Note

Processed by Joshua Daniel Franklin, 2005, Solveig Ekenes, 2006, Nicolette Bromberg, 2021.

The Soule Album and the original glass plate negatives were originally made into PH25. PH25 was transferred to this collection in 2005.

Bibliography

"John P. Soule Dies Suddenly at Home." Seattle Post-Intelligencer , November 28, 1904.

McDonald, Rober T., "Business District of City Destroyed by Flames in 1889." Seattle Times , June 6, 1948.

Nye, Wilbur Sturtevant, "William S. Soule" in Plains Indian raiders , vii-xiv. (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968).

Warren, James R. The Day Seattle Burned: June 6, 1889 (Seattle, Washington: J. R. Warren, 1989).

Related Materials

The online versions of the Prosch Seattle Views Album and the Asahel Curtis Collection contain many of Soule's photographs in digital format.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Harry Bringhurst Album of John Soule Seattle Fire Photographs, 1889Return to Top

The Harry Bringhurst album (also call the Widden album for the donor) includes what are possibly the earliest original prints by Soule, because most lack the numbers in the lower left corner that appear on the glass plate negatives. John P. Soule is known to be the original photographer from stamps on the back of some prints and from other prints of the same photographs. There is a modern handwritten note (probably by a former Special Collections curator at the time of the donation) on the Bringhurst album which credits the photographer as Harry Bringhurst. Bringhurst was active in the Seattle Fire Department and the album may have been made as a present for him. The attribution of Bringhurst as the photographer is likely came about because of an interview with Bringhurst's daughter in which she remembered that Bringhurst liked to photograph and she assumed that the photos were made by him.

All of the Bringhurst album prints are of the same type and time period, but this album includes 5 more prints than the Soule Album described below. Each page of the album includes one print and a descriptive caption. It is unclear who compiled the album and added captions, though the name Harriet Doheny is inside the front cover and the back of each photograph is initialed "J. J. D." and numbered. The numbering in the Bringhurst album differs slightly from that of the Soule souvenir album and does not reflect Soule's numbering for his photographs starting after photograph 13 when the first image not in Soule's souvenir album appears.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/1 A1
Ruins of Union Block and along Front Street from Columbia Street
Written on album page: West Side Front st. south from Union Block.Same image as B1
June 1889
1/1 A2
Occidental Hotel from Front Street
Written on album page: Ruins of Occidental Hotel just after fire.Same image as B2
June 1889
1/1 A3
Occidental Hotel at the intersection of James Street, Front Street, and Yesler Avenue
Written on album page: West end Occidental.Same image as B3
June 1889
1/1 A4
Ruins of Post Intelligencer Building, Yesler-Leary Building, and Occidental Hotel on Yesler Avenue
Written on album page: View east on Yesler from near water front.Same image as B4
June 1889
1/1 A5
Ruins along Yesler Avenue from Yesler Wharf
Written on album page: View east from Yesler Wharf.Same image as B5.
June 1889
1/1 A6
Dr. T. T. Minor, Jacob Furth, and others viewing ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building near the Front Street Cable Railway
Written on album page: From Yesler-Leary building corner, northerly on Front st.Same image as B6
June 1889
1/1 A7
Ruins of downtown viewed from Jackson Street
Written on album page: Northerly from near Jackson & Commercial.Same image as B7.
June 1889
1/1 A8
People examining ruins on Commercial Street
Written on album page: South on Commercial from between Washington & Yesler.Same image as B8
June 1889
1/1 A9
Ruins on Front Street south of Columbia Street
Written on album page: From Roof of Boston Block, Second & Columbia, southwesterly.Same image as B9
June 1889
1/1 A10
Building platforms for tents in the ruins on Front Street south of Columbia Street
Written on album page: S.W. from Second st. South of Columbia, building platforms for tents.Same image as B10.
June 1889
1/1 A11
Ruins on Front Street and destroyed wharves; view from Second and Columbia
Written on album page: "From Roof of Boston Block, Second & Columbia, west"Same image as B11.
June 1889
1/1 A12
A uniformed guard watching a safe in the ruins of Dexter Horton Bank
Written on album page: N.W. Cor. Commercial & Washington sts. Dexter Horton Bank.Same image as B12.
June 1889
1/1 A13
People examining ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building
Written on album page: Yesler-Leary bldg. from Yesler ave.Same image as B13.
June 1889
1/1 A14
People in front of ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building
Written on album page: Yesler-Leary bldg, from Front & YeslerDoes not appear in Soule Album.
June 1889?
1/1 A15
Workers demolishing ruins of Frye's Opera House
Written on album page: Frye's Opera House from rear, Second & Marion, men working to tear down walls.Does not appear in Soule Album.
June 1889?
1/1 A16
Ruins of the docks along Elliott Bay
Written on album page: A section of the waterfrontSame image as B14
June 1889
1/1 A17
People and guard in front of Dearborn Building on the corner of Commercial Street and Jackson Street
Written on album page: Dearborn Bldg., Commercial st.; Wash. Iron Wks.Does not appear in Soule Album
July 1889?
1/1 A18
A view of the waterfront and businesses in tents along Yesler Avenue from Third Street
Written on album page: Yesler Ave. and the Tents.Same image as B15
July 1889
1/1 A19
A view of the waterfront and businesses in tents in the ruins south of Yesler Avenue from Second Street
Written on album page: From Second st. near James, southwesterly.Same image as B16.
July 1889
1/1 A20
A view of tents and crowds, north on Second Street from Cherry Street, with the Boston Block on the right
Written on album page: Second st. north from CherrySame image as B17.
July 1889
1/1 A21
A view of tents and street traffic, south on Second Street from Columbia, with the Colonial Block and Boston Block on the left
Written on album page: From in front of the Colonial Block, just north of Columbia, south along Second st.Does not appear in Soule Album.
July 1889?
1/1 A22
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Marion Street
Written on album page: Second st. north from Marion st.Same image as B18.
July 1889
1/1 A23
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Madison Street
Written on album page: Second st. north from Madison.Same image as B19
July 1889
1/1 A24
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Spring Street
Written on album page: "Second st. north from above Spring st."Same image as B20.
July 1889
1/1 A25
A view west on Yesler Avenue from Second Street of tents, street traffic, and the waterfront
Written on album page: West on Yesler ave. from above Second.Same image as B21.
July 1889
1/1 A26
A view south of Second Street from the roof of the Boston Block, showing the Wycoff House and tents along Yesler Avenue
Written on album page: From Cherry st. just east of Second st., southerly.Same image as B22.
July 1889
1/1 A27
A view of the ruins of the Occidental Hotel and tents along Yesler Avenue
Written on album page: Southwest from Second st. near James.Does not appear in Soule Album.
July 1889
1/1 A28
A view of Third Avenue showing Henry Yesler's home at the corner of James Street and the King County Courthouse
Written on album page: Temporary buildings in front of Yesler Home, Third ave.Same image as item B23.
July 1889

John Soule "Seattle After the Great Fire of June 6, 1889" Album, 1889Return to Top

The John Soule souvenir album contains 23 photographs and a title page titled "Seattle After the Great Fire of June 6, 1889" which lists and describes the photos in the album. The photographs in the album were made by John Soule, and are identical to the images in the Bringhurst album in size and type, except that each has a number in the lower left corner corresponding to the table of contents. These numbers appear on the glass plate negatives, and were probably added by Soule in the process of preparing the publication of this album. The prints are in two sections, titled "Views of the Ruins" and "Thirty Days After the Fire--The City of Tents." There are no captions on the album pages. The numbering differs slightly than that of the Bringhurst album becasue of the extra images in the Bringhurst album.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/2 B1
Ruins of Union Block and along Front Street from Columbia Street
Same image as A1
June 1889
1/2 B2
Occidental Hotel from Front Street
Same image as A2
June 1889
1/2 B3
Occidental Hotel at the intersection of James Street, Front Street, and Yesler Avenue
Same image as A3
June 1889
1/2 B4
Ruins of Post Intelligencer Building, Yesler-Leary Building, and Occidental Hotel on Yesler Avenue
Same image as B4
June 1889
1/2 B5
Ruins along Yesler Avenue from Yesler Wharf
Same image as A5.
June 1889
1/2 B6
Dr. T. T. Minor, Jacob Furth, and others viewing ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building near the Front Street Cable Railway
Same image as A6
June 1889
1/2 B7
Ruins of downtown viewed from Jackson Street
Same image as A7.
June 1889
1/2 B8
People examining ruins on Commercial Street
Same image as A8
June 1889
1/2 B9
Ruins on Front Street south of Columbia Street
Same image as A9
June 1889
1/2 B10
Building platforms for tents in the ruins on Front Street south of Columbia Street
Same image as A10.
June 1889
1/2 B11
Ruins on Front Street and destroyed wharves; view from Second and Columbia
Same image as A11.
June 1889
1/2 B12
A uniformed guard watching a safe in the ruins of Dexter Horton Bank
Same image as A12.
June 1889
1/2 B13
People examining ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building
Same image as A13.
June 1889
1/2 B14
Ruins of the docks along Elliott Bay
Same image as A16
June 1889
1/2 B15
A view of the waterfront and businesses in tents along Yesler Avenue from Third Street
Same image as A18
July 1889
1/2 B16
A view of the waterfront and businesses in tents in the ruins south of Yesler Avenue from Second Street
Same image as A19.
July 1889
1/2 B17
A view of tents and crowds, north on Second Street from Cherry Street, with the Boston Block on the right
Same image as A20.
July 1889
1/2 B18
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Marion Street
Same image as A22.
July 1889
1/2 B19
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Madison Street
Same image as A23
July 1889
1/2 B20
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Spring Street
Same image as A24.
July 1889
1/2 B21
A view west on Yesler Avenue from Second Street of tents, street traffic, and the waterfront
Same image as A25.
July 1889
1/2 B22
A view south of Second Street from the roof of the Boston Block, showing the Wycoff House and tents along Yesler Avenue
Same image as A26.
July 1889
1/2 B23
A view of Third Avenue showing Henry Yesler's home at the corner of James Street and the King County Courthouse
Same image as item A28.
July 1889

Modern prints made from glass plate negatives of the Seattle Fire by John Soule. , 1889Return to Top

Modern prints made from the glass plate negatives which match the descriptions and numbering for the Soule Album above. Captions, the approximate date the photograph was taken, and "(c) McManus 1912" have been added to some of the negatives. For example, C13 has "Yesler-Leary Block Showing First National Bank, Seattle Wash July 1889, (c) McManus 1912." The name McManus is the photographer who may have purchased the negatives after Soule's death. On some negatives, the McManus inscription is difficult to make out but is present. The negatives in their original negative box came to the archive with the Lawrence Lindsley photograph collection. Lindsley was a Seattle photographer in the early to mid-20th century who acquired and copied many historical photographs by other photographers during his career. Lindsley wrote "McManus negatives of Seattle Fire" on the negative box not realizing that the actual photographs were by John Soule. There are no prints for C5, C7, C8, C10, C11, C15, C18, C19, and C20.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/3 C1
Ruins of Union Block and along Front Street from Columbia Street
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A1, B1
June 1889
1/3 C2
Occidental Hotel from Front Street
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A2, B2
June 1889
1/3 C3
Occidental Hotel at the intersection of James Street, Front Street, and Yesler Avenue
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A3, B3
June 1889
1/3 C4
Ruins of Post Intelligencer Building, Yesler-Leary Building, and Occidental Hotel on Yesler Avenue
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A4, B4
June 1889
1/3 C5
Ruins along Yesler Avenue from Yesler Wharf
No print: Same image as A5, B5
June 1889
1/3 C6
Dr. T. T. Minor, Jacob Furth, and others viewing ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building near the Front Street Cable Railway
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A6, B6
June 1889
1/3 C7
Ruins of downtown viewed from Jackson Street
No print: Same image as A7, B7.
June 1889
1/3 C8
People examining ruins on Commercial Street
No print: Same image as A8, B8.
June 1889
1/3 C9
Ruins on Front Street south of Columbia Street
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A9, B9.
June 1889
1/3 C10
Building platforms for tents in the ruins on Front Street south of Columbia Street
No print: Same image as A10, B10.
June 1889
1/3 C11
Ruins on Front Street and destroyed wharves; view from Second and Columbia
No print: Same image as A11, B11.
June 1889
1/3 C12
A uniformed guard watching a safe in the ruins of Dexter Horton Bank
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A12, B12.
June 1889
1/3 C13
People examining ruins of the Yesler-Leary Building
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A13, B13.The image has a caption put on it by the photographer McManus in 1912.
June 1889
1/3 C14
Ruins of the docks along Elliott Bay
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A16, B14.The image has a caption put on it by the photographer McManus in 1912.
June 1889
1/3 C15
A view of the waterfront and businesses in tents along Yesler Avenue from Third Street
No print: Same image as A18, B15.
July 1889
1/3 C16
A view of the waterfront and businesses in tents in the ruins south of Yesler Avenue from Second Street
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A19, B16.
July 1889
1/3 C17
A view of tents and crowds, north on Second Street from Cherry Street, with the Boston Block on the right
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A20, B17.The image has a caption put on it by the photographer McManus in 1912.
July 1889
1/3 C18
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Marion Street
No print: Same image as A22, B18.
July 1889
1/3 C19
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Madison Street
No print: Same image as A23, B19.
July 1889
1/3 C20
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Spring Street
No print: Same image as A24, B20.
July 1889
1/3 C21
A view west on Yesler Avenue from Second Street of tents, street traffic, and the waterfront
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A25, B21.The image has a caption put on it by the photographer McManus in 1912.
July 1889
1/3 C22
A view south of Second Street from the roof of the Boston Block, showing the Wycoff House and tents along Yesler Avenue
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as A26, B22.The image has a caption put on it by the photographer McManus in 1912.
July 1889
1/3 C23
A view of Third Avenue showing Henry Yesler's home at the corner of James Street and the King County Courthouse
Modern print from glass plate negative: Same image as item A28, B23.The image has a caption put on it by the photographer McManus in 1912.
July 1889

Soule Fire Photographs used for 30th anniversary on June 6, 1919 Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/4 D1
A view of tents and crowds, north on Second Street from Cherry Street, with the Boston Block on the right
Same image as A20, B17Text on verso of photograph: Vision Plus Spirit June 6, 1889 June 6, 1912Go with this photograph to the spot it was taken. There you will see the concerte results of the vision possessed by the men of Seattle on June 6, 1889. Out of the heap of ruins the Seattle Spirit ws born. It still exists. It is moving, building, devemoping a new Seattle before your eyes.Fire could not quench the indomitable energy of the men of '89 as they visulaized the future Seattle. Organized effort to take advantage of Seattle's great opportunities began the day after the fire.Today such spirit and vision dominate the activities of the Civic Bureau, Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Commercial Club--a good medium through which to help mould [sic] a greater Seattle--a better plae in which to live.
July 1889
1/4 D2
A view of tents and street traffic, north on Second Street from Marion Street
Same image as A22, B18Text on verso of photograph: Vision Plus Spirit June 6, 1889 June 6, 1912Go with this photograph to the spot it was taken. There you will see the concerte results of the vision possessed by the men of Seattle on June 6, 1889. Out of the heap of ruins the Seattle Spirit ws born. It still exists. It is moving, building, devemoping a new Seattle before your eyes.Fire could not quench the indomitable energy of the men of '89 as they visulaized the future Seattle. Organized effort to take advantage of Seattle's great opportunities began the day after the fire.Today such spirit and vision dominate the activities of the Civic Bureau, Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Commercial Club--a good medium through which to help mould [sic] a greater Seattle--a better plae in which to live.
July 1889

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Fires--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
  • Great Fire, Seattle, Wash., 1889--Photographs
  • Temporary Buildings--Washington (State)--Seattle--1880-1890--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)