Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Gig Harbor in Pierce County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)
 

Austin Estuary

 
 
Austin Estuary Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., August 2, 2021
1. Austin Estuary Marker
Inscription.

Austin Mill: Employment to Many in Area

While his wife and children waited in Maltby (Wa), Charles Osgood Austin arrived in Gig Harbor in 1909. He was looking for a good place to build a saw mill.

Austin liked a small, low point of land that jutted into the water near the mouth of Burnham Creek and belonged to the Novaks. In the days when foot, horse and wheel traffic all followed the simplest route (the edge of the beach) and before the sharp northward swerve in Harborview was created by fill, that point of land was a feature on the shoreline. He leased the land and built his mill. It became a sturdy link in the community's economic chain.

Austin's mill offered employment to many men who worked full or part-time to support other local ways of life such as ranching or while attending college. He purchased logs from local contractors and from booms towed over from Tacoma. His ad in a 1918 issue of the Gig Harbor weekly sought alder logs, for which he paid $12 per thousand.

The men who posed during a work break at the mill in 1925 included two kids (back row, left) who chose a job instead of finishing high school (Roger "Chub" Mort and Rollie Owens). Louis (Lukey) Kimball (back row, 4th from left) with his hat pulled to his brows, came down Pioneer Way hill every day from his stump ranch
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
located near the Wollochet Drive overpass now the Park & Ride Lot. His neighbor across the road was Albert (Abbie) Simerson, who sits on a stump (front left). Simerson was yard manager for Austin, but retained his farmland. Second from left (seated on the mill's two-wheeled timber cart) is one of the Theisss [sic] brothers. Center front is Wally Underwood, who came to Gig Harbor from Colville in 1920 and worked as truck driver for Austin until 1935. With him came Jack Northey (fourth from the right) who later in life served as a Pierce County sheriff.

Next, "head sawyer" Frank Allen holds his saw file. Mill owner C.O. Austin stands at the far right rear. He and his parents came to Tacoma from New Hampshire in 1889. C.O. Austin built his life's business in Gig Harbor. His father, William, owned "the other Austin mill" in Vaughn.

Austin was elected to the first city council in June, 1946. On a December afternoon that same year he was killed in an accident at his mill. The Peninsula Gateway reported, "Dr. Harold H. Ryan, mayor of Gig Harbor, issued a proclamation that all Gig Harbor business houses remain closed for two hours Monday afternoon during the funeral services, out of respect for Austin."

C.O. and Bessie Austin had three children: Howard, Nellie and Bessie. Nancy Austin, daughter of Howard and Ruth, grand-daughter to C.O., died in 2004. Nearly
Austin Estuary Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., August 2, 2021
2. Austin Estuary Marker
To right of park sign
every day since then, a fresh bouquet of flowers can be found in the Austin Estuary Park. They are placed in her honor by her husband of over 33 years, Sandy Elken.


 
Erected by City of Gig Harbor.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1909.
 
Location. 47° 20.185′ N, 122° 35.566′ W. Marker is in Gig Harbor, Washington, in Pierce County. Marker is on Harborview Drive, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4021 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor WA 98332, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Community Spirit (within shouting distance of this marker); The Sehmel Family, Pioneers of the Gig Harbor Peninsula (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Peninsula Light Co. (about 500 feet away); Heart of the Harbor (about 500 feet away); A Living History: the S'Homamish (about 500 feet away); The Salmon Life Cycle (about 600 feet away); "Memory Vessel" (approx. 0.2 miles away); Two of Our Best on Mount Everest (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gig Harbor.
 
Also see . . .
1. Logging and Lumber Industry (Frisiano, 2014). (Submitted on August 19, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Gig Harbor — Thumbnail History (Kershner, 2012)
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
. (Submitted on August 19, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 19, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 19, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 174 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on August 19, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=179865

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 29, 2024