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closevintage vignettes: Roll out the barrels in East Pierce
Ruth Anderson / guest columnist
Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part column series. The second half will be printed Aug. 28.
On Sept. 1, 1877, Alexander S. Farquharson blew a whistle signaling the opening day of the first industry in a community recently incorporated under the improbable name “Puyallup.” How a scrappy Scot came to be in the valley provides insight on the commerce of the day, and the personalities of our first settlers.
Farquharson was born circa 1840 in Boston to a former British army officer and a southern belle. When the Civil War erupted, Farquharson promptly volunteered and saw action throughout the South. By the time he mustered out in October 1865, he had been promoted to sergeant of the 43rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
At loose ends after the war, Farquharson eventually journeyed to Kansas City, where he became involved in a lucrative barrel-making venture. When he moved to San Francisco circa 1875, he met “Sugar King,” Claus Spreckels, who controlled the nation’s sugar market. Spreckels had a big problem. The barrels used for sugar transport lacked the quality needed to ship the contents all over the globe. Farquharson knew he could build good barrels and signed on with a company that sent him to Washington Territory to manage the supplies being haphazardly produced here.
The Territory’s raw materials — hazel bushes and cottonwood — made excellent barrels, and numerous farm families living in the Territory contributed to their livelihood by cutting hazel hoops or preparing staves, which they then sold to wholesalers who shipped them to California. When Farquharson arrived, he negotiated with the Northern Pacific Railroad to position sheds in strategic locations where the producers could bring their hoops for direct shipment. To improve the quality of the barrels, Farquharson decided to build a stave factory. Hoops and staves could then be shipped separately and united in San Francisco.
Where better to locate a stave factory than in the midst of immense cottonwood forests like those found near the Puyallup River? When the Northern Pacific Railroad failed to provide land in Tacoma, Farquharson turned to an offer from Ezra Meeker, preeminent land claim owner. Farquharson purchased a two-block strip from Meeker that encompassed the area between the current streets of Main and Pioneer, Meridian and Second. There Farquharson built a long frame building, imported equipment and a few unmarried workers, and gained access to transportation via a new railroad line.
Young mill workers and local farm families needed some entertainment so the mill boys organized a dancing club featuring a string band from Seattle. In May 1878, the club held a “calico ball” in Ezra Meeker’s hop warehouse. The ladies’ dresses and men’s suits were all fashioned from the fabric, which also decorated the walls.
The townspeople had good reasons to step lively to the dance tunes. The barrel factory was going strong, hops were flourishing and the community had been platted and named. In his memoirs, Farquharson alleged that when he was establishing the mill, he encouraged Ezra to name the settlement Meekerville, but Ezra demurred and together they agreed to name it after the local Indian tribe.
Whether Farquharson had any role in naming the town, both he and Meeker get credit for launching the first industry. But barrels full of trouble between the two men would forever define their relationship.