Tacoma Community College Library: Pacific Northwest History: Transportation & Exploration

Transportation & Exploration

Race of "Tacoma to the Mountain" 1915

"On April 27, 1915, the Tacoma Publicity Committee sponsored a race from Tacoma to the Mountain, pitting a train against four automobiles. The race was then captured in motion pictures by B.B. Dobbs (bottom right) to be displayed at the 1915 World's Fair in San Francisco. Thousands lined the race course from Tacoma to Ashford, the terminus of the Tacoma Eastern railroad."

- From the Northwest Room at The Tacoma Public Library, (TPL-1039)
(click on image to enlarge, cited below)

Online Collections

Locate primary from the online collections and websites such as diaries, letters, images, articles, objects, etc. that were created at the time of the specific event. Search for secondary and tertiary information in the articles (both from some of the library's websites, as well as from the web), using the links found in the tabs in this box. *For more info on primary versus secondary info, see the sub-tab under "Articles in TCC Databases."

Klondike Gold Rush: The Perilous Journey North
Articles and a collection of primary source material at the digital collection of UW Libraries
Researching the Roadside: Travel & Tourism is the Pacific Northwest
An online version of an exhibit presenting "posters, postcards, advertisements, road maps, travel guides, photographs, etc."
Exploring the Lewis and Clark Trail
Find info, images, maps, and additional resources about their expedition in the PNW
Ships & Shipping Index - Tacoma Public Library
"The Ships & Shipping Index contains more than 13,000 individual records with indexed information on ships built on the Pacific Coast, and ships with a connection to the Pacific Northwest. It includes the names (and former names) of vessels, their builders, careers and dispositions."

General Online Collections

Try searching for specific jobs, companies, or industries in any of these online collections, as well as searching for terms like exploration, travel, tourism, settlers, and more.

Tacoma Public Library: Northwest Room
Collection includes photographs, obituary information, historical building indexes, and northwest people databases.
HistoryLink
A free, authoritative, Washington State history encyclopedia.
UW Digital Archives
Find information, documents, and photographs on an array of Pacific Northwest related topics in the UW Digital archives.
Tacoma Historical Society
The Tacoma Historical Society has many exhibits and Tacoma-centric artifacts, as well as some online exhibits and information about the city's past.
UW Digital Archives: Alaska, Western Canada and United States Collection
This website houses the following photograph collections: Alaska, Western Canada and United States, Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Photographs, American Indians of the Pacific Northwest , and American Indians of the Pacific Northwest.
Digital Public Library of America - Primary Source Sets
“Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop critical thinking skills by exploring topics in history, literature, and culture through primary sources. Drawing online materials from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States, the sets use letters, photographs, posters, oral histories, video clips, sheet music, and more. Each set includes a topic overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.” CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.
Washington State History Research Center
Research Washington is the gateway to learning about Washington’s past by exploring objects, publications, ephemera and more. The Washington State Historical Society is home to many unique collections and includes over 70,000 artifacts and half a million images.
European Exploration, Imperial Rivalry, and the Maritime Fur Trade, 1741-1806
From the PNW history curriculum from Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, this unit focuses on European exploration

Background & Popular Source Articles

Linked below are articles found freely online, as well as in the library's collection.

Astor Expedition (1810-1813)
From the Oregon Encyclopedia
A Century by Sea and Land: Explorers and Traders in Oregon Country, 1741-1830
From the online collections at the Oregon Historical Society - find information about early exploration, including videos and other resources
Cities and Towns - Topic search
From HistoryLink.org - search a list of articles about various cities in Washington state and the pioneers and natives who lived there.
Employing Racism: Black Miners, the Knights of Labor, and Company Tactics in the Coal Towns of Washington
An article from the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project
Exploration and Explorers
Search through a list of notable people and explorations at the Oregon Encyclopedia
Exploring the Lewis and Clark Trail
Find info, images, maps, and additional resources about their expedition in the PNW
Gary Emmons, Telegrapher for the Northern Pacific Railroad
From the Tacoma Community History Project, a part of UW
George Vancouver Charts the Pacific Coast of North America from California to Alaska
From "Science and it's Times" in Gale Ebooks
Hudson's Bay Company
From the Oregon Encyclopedia
Lewis and Clark Expedition
From the Oregon Encyclopedia
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
From the Oregon History Project
Northern Pacific Railroad and Seattle Development
Article from HistoryLink.org
Northern Pacific Railroad and Seattle Development
Article from HistoryLink.org
Please Pause & Admire W. W. Pickerill’s Mighty Fine Automobile
A 2019 article from Grit City Magazine
Tacoma Trolleys, 1890-1930 - HistoryLink
Read about the historic trolley system, starting in 1890, in Tacoma
Tacoma Trolleys, 1890-1930 - HistoryLink
Read about the historic trolley system, starting in 1890, in Tacoma
Trackside Landscape 1929
From Tacoma History Live

Scholarly sources

Navigating Transpacific Passages: Steamship Companies, State Regulators, and Transshipment of Japanese in the Early-Twentieth-Century Pacific Northwest
An article from the Journal of American Ethnic History.
A 1914 Nightmare
From "Tales of Tacoma" with the Tacoma Historical Society - read this short story about a 1914 train crash

Featured Videos & Podcasts

Historic Washington: A Story of West Coast Lumber Operations (video)
"A story of West Coast Lumber, the principal industry of the pacific northwest in first half of the 1900s, presented by Schafer Brothers Logging of Montesano, Washington."
Video Oral Histories - Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project
A part of the LGBTQ Activism in Seattle History Project
Move to Tacoma [Podcast]
The Move to Tacoma Podcast is hosted by Marguerite Martin "Tacoma Neighborhoods, Real Tacomans Tell Their Stories"
Illuminating Tacoma’s History in the Northwest Room with Anna Trammell
"In this episode of the Move to Tacoma podcast, Marguerite Martin interviews Local History Librarian Anna Trammell. Anne is a librarian at the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room. The Northwest Room features archives of Tacoma’s local history, genealogy, and special collections, and this treasure trove of information is constantly evolving. "

Sources used on this page:

[On April 27, 1915, the Tacoma Publicity Committee sponsored a race from Tacoma to the Mountain, pitting a train against four automobiles]. (1915). Richards Studio (TPL-1039). Northwest Room at The Tacoma Public Library, Tacoma, WA, United States.