HomeMy WebLinkAbout1853-10-20 - Duwamish Coal Company Established Near Black RiverDuwamish Coal Company is established near Black River on October 20, 1853.
By Eleanor oba
Posted 3/11/2024
HistoryLink.org Essay 1958
Black River, near Renton, ca. 1889
Courtesy UW Special Collections (UW18561)
Elliott Bay, Pike Street coal pier and bathing beach,
Seattle bird's eye map, ca. 1878
Courtesy U.S. Library of Congress (75696660)
On October 20, 1853, the Duwamish Coal Company is formed
to mine coal near the Black River just south of Lake
Washington. This is the first coat mined and shipped from King
County.
Bigelow's Find
White settler Dr. R. M. (or R.H. or just M.) Bigelow discovered a
coal seam during the summer of 1853 near the site where later
Renton coat mines would be established. On October 20,
1853, Bigelow, along with two or more other men, formed the
Duwamish Coal Company to mine the claim. Early historian
Thomas W. Prosch identifies the location of the mine as the
Clymer farm, land claimed by Christian Clymer on the west
side of the Black River and across that stream from a
Duwamish village.
Early sources differ on the names of the men involved. Prosch,
who meticulously documented the early history of Seattle,
refers to them as Leonard M. Felker and L. M. Collins. Clarence
Bagley names them as Obediah Eaton and Joseph
Fanjoy. Luther M. Collins was one of the very first white
ern to settle in the greater Seattle area. Felker was a ship
captain. The firm hired William Webster, captain of the
steamboat Water Lily, to transport the coal down the Black and
Duwamish rivers to Elliott Bay fronting Seattle. According to
Bagley, Webster was also an investor in the short-lived
enterprise. Henry Tobin, another newcomer and neighbor who
built a sawmill on the Black River, was likely also involved.
The early venture in coal mining lasted only a short time. In
August 1854, 300 tons of coat were shipped to San Francisco
on the Water Lily and sold for $30 a ton. During the winter of
1854-1855, the bark Sarah McFarland attempted to get a cargo
of coat. The Duwamish Coal Company was beset by numerous
delays in loading the coat and the ship left Seattle with her
hold only one-third full. In the meantime, the Water Lily had
been lost at sea. Things went downhill from there. Partner
Henry Tobin took sick and died in 1855. Eaton and Fanjoy,
hearing of a gold strike east of the Cascades, headed into Indian territory and were kilted. This incident
was one tipping point in what came to be called the Indian War of 1855-1856. Bigelow, seemingly left
alone with his mine claim, disappeared from the historical record as did the exact location of the mine.
The Duwamish Coal Company went out of business.
The Duwamish Coal Company is notable as the first coat mining enterprise in King County. Twenty years
later, in 1873, coat was re -discovered in the Black River district leading to a ooml coal
reining throughout East King County and the official founding of the town of _., Renton.
This essay made possible by:
Rivers In Time Project
King County
Seattle Public Utilities
Seattle City Light
Sources:
Morda C. Slauson, Renton: From Coal to Jets (Renton: Renton Historical Society, 1976), 1; David Buerge, Renton:
Where the Water Took Wing (Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publishing Co., 1991), 22; Thomas W. Prosch, "A
Chronological History of Seattle From 1850 to 1897,' Typescript dated 1900-1901, Northwest Collection, University
of Washington Library, Seattle, 54-55; Clarence Bagley, History of Seattle from the EarliestSettlementto the
Present Time, Vol. 1 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916), 26, 29, 123-24, 210. Note: This entry replaces an
earlier item on the same subject.
Related Topics
Industry Rivers
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