Port Angeles history

A sawmill run by the Filion brothers, who were among a group of Civil War veterans who arrived in 1892, provided one of the few sources of income in town.

The city's growth slowed as a result of the nationwide depression dubbed the Panic of 1893.

But, unfortunately, it slowly deteriorated and went bankrupt in 1894.

The Olympic Power Company was formed in 1911 to construct the Lower Elwha Dam.

Logging and timber have long been important industries, and in 1912 Port Angeles was home to the world’s largest sawmill.

Three more developments celebrated at a February 1914 banquet -- construction of a large sawmill and arrival of a railroad and hydropower -- were key to solidifying Port Angeles's position as the industrial center where products from the surrounding forests were processed.

The county Courthouse was built on Lincoln Street in 1915.

The mill began production in 1918 as the Crescent Boxboard Company and was later named Fibreboard Products.

1919) and contractor C. J. Erickson, toured the immense timber stands west of Port Angeles and came to an agreement: Earles would build a major sawmill at Port Angeles if Erickson would build a railroad from the city to the timber.

In 1920, a large pulp and paper mill was built by Washington Pulp and Paper Company.

Operating first under the name Washington Pulp and Paper Corporation, and later for many years as Crown Zellerbach, the company began production newsprint and paper at the Port Angeles pulp mill in 1921.

In 1922, the Port of Port Angeles was formed.

By 1929, the department had expanded to have six personnel.

A third major Port Angeles pulp mill began production in 1930.

Beginning in 1934, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), working with the Army and Navy, developed an airport just west of downtown.

The first Coast Guard air station on the Pacific Coast was established at Ediz Hook on June 1, 1935.

Congress created Olympic National Park in the mountains south of Port Angeles in 1938, and park headquarters were built on Peabody Heights in Port Angeles, in the first time a national park headquarters was located outside park boundaries.

In 1941, 272 members opened the cooperative Peninsula Plywood Company on the center of the Port Angeles waterfront to help meet the wartime demand for plywood.

In 1953, Port Angeles received the All American City Award, thereby rewarding all her efforts to grow and improve.

And by 1954, there were 15 officers in the department.

The cooperative plywood mill was worker-run for 30 years until the owners sold it to ITT in 1971. It was bought by Klukwan, Inc., an Alaskan Native village corporation in 1989, and is now known as K Ply.

The Rayonier mill closed in 1997.

The School Resource Officer program was started in 1999.12 The School Resource Officer (SRO) performs duties at Port Angeles High School, Choice School, and Stevens Middle School.13 The SRO has specialized training in a variety of areas, including child interviewing.12

Construction stopped shortly after it began in 2003 when it human remains and artifacts were unearthed.

Port Angeles continued to grow at a steady rate, with its 2005 population estimated at 18,640.