A Brief History

The Port Blakely story spans more than 150 years, and reflects the spirit and vision of the early settlers in the Pacific Northwest.

1852-Arriving in Puget Sound

In 1852, Nova Scotia sea captain William Renton arrived in Puget Sound with some of the first settlers. Seeing the region's calm waters, he realized the area's potential for marketing wood products from the surrounding forests.

In his first attempt, he built a small sawmill on Alki Point, but the point's exposure to wind and waves forced him to try a more sheltered location at Enetai, near Bremerton. This location failed as well, because it was too difficult for sailing ships to get through the tidal currents of Rich Passage.

1864 - The Port Blakely Mill Company

In 1864, Captain Renton purchased land around Port Blakely Harbor on the southeast side of Bainbridge Island. Here sailing ships could easily come and go, and the sheltered waters were perfect for storing large log rafts to supply the mill.

During the next four decades, The Port Blakely Mill Company flourished, at one point becoming the world's largest sawmill under one roof. Its lumber was shipped all over the world, to California, Australia, England, Germany, France, South America and the Eastern United States.

1874 - Branching out

Despite an economic downturn, the Port Blakely Mill had sales of $1.5 million in 1874. During the 1870s, Renton re-organized his company, brought in new partners, built the 75-room Bainbridge Hotel, established a daily stage between Port Blakely and Port Madison, and experimented with ways to improve heating and lighting at the mill (dogfish oil lamps had been the traditional source of light; electric lights were installed in 1882).

1882 - New timber sources

In 1882, the Port Blakely mill could turn out 200,000 board feet a day, the largest of any sawmill on the Pacific Coast. But keeping the sawmill supplied with logs was a challenge. To take advantage of the huge trees growing far to the southeast in Mason County, the company built a railroad in the county known as the Blakely Line to haul logs from the forest to salt water at Kamilche Point on southern Puget Sound. There the logs were assembled into rafts and towed to Port Blakely by the mill company's steam tugs.

1888 - Fire

On February 4, 1888, a devastating fire burned the Port Blakely mill to the ground. Because the winds were blowing onshore, rescuers were able to save shipping in the harbor by hauling the vessels out into the Sound.

Captain Renton built a new mill on the carcass of the old using less combustible materials such as heavy timbers and corrugated iron roofing. In addition, he installed a system of water pipes and 850 sprinkler heads.