A new exhibit at the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum exhibit focuses on what the curators describe as the Island’s one-time “bustling maritime industrial complex”: the Port Blakely Mill.
Port Blakely: Portrait of a Mill Town examines what about a century ago was “the largest, highest producing, sawmill in the world,” employing workers from around the globe. The exhibit relies heavily on the photographs of William Hester, Carleton Watkins, Asahel Curtis, Tamegoro Takayoshi, and Charles J. Lincoln.
Mignon Plate with Hat by Charles Lincoln
The curators explain that Lincoln (a distant relative of the President) left a legacy of some 950 glass plate negatives housed at the museum. The negatives, which have been digitized, capture landscapes, buildings, boats, industrial scenes, pets, and people including elaborately dressed models, dancers, friends, and relatives in the “Lincoln’s Ladies Collection.”
The exhibit also features a diorama model of the mill, which burned to the ground and was rebuilt twice, and details of the Yama mill worker village archaeological site, which the Museum is nominating to the Federal Register of Historic Places.
There will be an opening reception for “Port Blakely: Portrait of a Mill Town” from 4-6 p.m. today, October 11, at the BI Historical Museum at 215 Ericksen Avenue.
Related Stories
- Photo of the Day: Military + Brass + Museums + Quilts
- Historic ‘Virginia V’ Cruising the Rock Sunday to Raise Funds for History Museum
- Secrets of Lives Lived on Bainbridge’s Soon-to-Be-Gone Government Way
- Ordway History Project Puts Bainbridge Past in the Present
The featured photo of early transportation on the Port Blakely boardwalk is courtesy of BIHM.