This is a highly revised, painstakingly researched major update to the 1987 seminal work on Newcastle, WA's history, "The Coals of Newcastle" that hits it out of the park!
This 2020 edition is one of the most professional books I have seen published by a community organization, it comes close to being an academic work, but retains the readability and informality of popular non-fiction. Much appreciated 2020 additions not included in the 1887 version are a bibliography of sources, glossary of mining terms and an index in addition to several well drawn, very helpful maps by Carla Trsek. It is well bound and printed on lustrous, premium paper with sharp, clear photos--both color and B/W--and unlike the saddle stitched 1987 edition this one is perfect bound, making it more durable.
Lead editors Dr. Eva Lundahl, Margaret Laliberte and Diane Lewis did an incredible job of overseeing the efforts of the Newcastle Historical Society's writing and research groups, anyone who has tried team writing knows how challenging that can be, but they meshed everything together flawlessly. The voice and writing style remain consistent throughout the volume, it is an easy and enjoyable read.
The 1987 version was really great for the time, but obviously today volunteer local history researchers have access to primary source materials that the 1987 group did not. We see a lot more detail about the economic side of the fledgling and later market for Seattle coal and learn considerably more about its primary market, San Francisco, a city from which in the 1870s financiers bought out the interests of the Seattle pioneers who were never able to generate the capital to fully develop the mines. The book is punctuated with compelling feature articles on topics such as family stories, mining work, life in a company town, etc. The above mentioned Carla Trsek drawings really help understand coal geology and the different tunnels and levels of a Newcastle coal mine. Tresk created a particularly helpful chart that helps the reader follow the different routes used over time to get the coal to Seattle before the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad reached Newcastle in 1878. This was much more clear than in the 1987 edition.
Finally, the book introduces us to some of the long time resident families who helped keep Newcastle's past alive, in particular the late Milt Swanson, who was likely the last Newcastle miner. The gentle, kind man lived most of his life in the small, tidy house his parents purchased in the 1920s from the Pacific Coast Company, located across from the Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park's Redtown Trailhead, with his iconic coal car located out front. He had a veritable museum in his outbuilding and would spend hours showing it to anyone who asked (photo with me during a 2012 visit, in season he'd always give me flowers from his garden).
Milt would have been very proud of this book!
If you have any interest in Seattle's early effort to become a coal port and by so doing the premiere Puget Sound town and/or Newcastle's past--it is by a large margin the oldest community near Lake Washington--then this edition is a must have.
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This is a highly revised, painstakingly researched major update to the 1987 seminal work on Newcastle, WA's history, "The Coals of Newcastle" that hits it out of the park!This 2020 edition is one of the most professional books I have seen published by a community organization, it comes close to being an academic work, but retains the readability and informality of popular non-fiction. Much appreciated 2020 additions not included in the 1887 version are a bibliography of sources, glossary of mining terms and an index in addition to several well drawn, very helpful maps by Carla Trsek. It is well bound and printed on lustrous, premium paper with sharp, clear photos--both color and B/W--and unlike the saddle stitched 1987 edition this one is perfect bound, making it more durable. Lead editors Dr. Eva Lundahl, Margaret Laliberte and Diane Lewis did an incredible job of overseeing the efforts of the Newcastle Historical Society's writing and research groups, anyone who has tried team writing knows how challenging that can be, but they meshed everything together flawlessly. The voice and writing style remain consistent throughout the volume, it is an easy and enjoyable read. The 1987 version was really great for the time, but obviously today volunteer local history researchers have access to primary source materials that the 1987 group did not. We see a lot more detail about the economic side of the fledgling and later market for Seattle coal and learn considerably more about its primary market, San Francisco, a city from which in the 1870s financiers bought out the interests of the Seattle pioneers who were never able to generate the capital to fully develop the mines. The book is punctuated with compelling feature articles on topics such as family stories, mining work, life in a company town, etc. The above mentioned Carla Trsek drawings really help understand coal geology and the different tunnels and levels of a Newcastle coal mine. Tresk created a particularly helpful chart that helps the reader follow the different routes used over time to get the coal to Seattle before the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad reached Newcastle in 1878. This was much more clear than in the 1987 edition.Finally, the book introduces us to some of the long time resident families who helped keep Newcastle's past alive, in particular the late Milt Swanson, who was likely the last Newcastle miner. The gentle, kind man lived most of his life in the small, tidy house his parents purchased in the 1920s from the Pacific Coast Company, located across from the Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park's Redtown Trailhead, with his iconic coal car located out front. He had a veritable museum in his outbuilding and would spend hours showing it to anyone who asked (photo with me during a 2012 visit, in season he'd always give me flowers from his garden).Milt would have been very proud of this book! If you have any interest in Seattle's early effort to become a coal port and by so doing the premiere Puget Sound town and/or Newcastle's past--it is by a large margin the oldest community near Lake Washington--then this edition is a must have.
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 25, 2020
This is a highly revised, painstakingly researched major update to the 1987 seminal work on Newcastle, WA's history, "The Coals of Newcastle" that hits it out of the park!
This 2020 edition is one of the most professional books I have seen published by a community organization, it comes close to being an academic work, but retains the readability and informality of popular non-fiction. Much appreciated 2020 additions not included in the 1887 version are a bibliography of sources, glossary of mining terms and an index in addition to several well drawn, very helpful maps by Carla Trsek. It is well bound and printed on lustrous, premium paper with sharp, clear photos--both color and B/W--and unlike the saddle stitched 1987 edition this one is perfect bound, making it more durable.
Lead editors Dr. Eva Lundahl, Margaret Laliberte and Diane Lewis did an incredible job of overseeing the efforts of the Newcastle Historical Society's writing and research groups, anyone who has tried team writing knows how challenging that can be, but they meshed everything together flawlessly. The voice and writing style remain consistent throughout the volume, it is an easy and enjoyable read.
The 1987 version was really great for the time, but obviously today volunteer local history researchers have access to primary source materials that the 1987 group did not. We see a lot more detail about the economic side of the fledgling and later market for Seattle coal and learn considerably more about its primary market, San Francisco, a city from which in the 1870s financiers bought out the interests of the Seattle pioneers who were never able to generate the capital to fully develop the mines. The book is punctuated with compelling feature articles on topics such as family stories, mining work, life in a company town, etc. The above mentioned Carla Trsek drawings really help understand coal geology and the different tunnels and levels of a Newcastle coal mine. Tresk created a particularly helpful chart that helps the reader follow the different routes used over time to get the coal to Seattle before the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad reached Newcastle in 1878. This was much more clear than in the 1987 edition.
Finally, the book introduces us to some of the long time resident families who helped keep Newcastle's past alive, in particular the late Milt Swanson, who was likely the last Newcastle miner. The gentle, kind man lived most of his life in the small, tidy house his parents purchased in the 1920s from the Pacific Coast Company, located across from the Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park's Redtown Trailhead, with his iconic coal car located out front. He had a veritable museum in his outbuilding and would spend hours showing it to anyone who asked (photo with me during a 2012 visit, in season he'd always give me flowers from his garden).
Milt would have been very proud of this book!
If you have any interest in Seattle's early effort to become a coal port and by so doing the premiere Puget Sound town and/or Newcastle's past--it is by a large margin the oldest community near Lake Washington--then this edition is a must have.
This 2020 edition is one of the most professional books I have seen published by a community organization, it comes close to being an academic work, but retains the readability and informality of popular non-fiction. Much appreciated 2020 additions not included in the 1887 version are a bibliography of sources, glossary of mining terms and an index in addition to several well drawn, very helpful maps by Carla Trsek. It is well bound and printed on lustrous, premium paper with sharp, clear photos--both color and B/W--and unlike the saddle stitched 1987 edition this one is perfect bound, making it more durable.
Lead editors Dr. Eva Lundahl, Margaret Laliberte and Diane Lewis did an incredible job of overseeing the efforts of the Newcastle Historical Society's writing and research groups, anyone who has tried team writing knows how challenging that can be, but they meshed everything together flawlessly. The voice and writing style remain consistent throughout the volume, it is an easy and enjoyable read.
The 1987 version was really great for the time, but obviously today volunteer local history researchers have access to primary source materials that the 1987 group did not. We see a lot more detail about the economic side of the fledgling and later market for Seattle coal and learn considerably more about its primary market, San Francisco, a city from which in the 1870s financiers bought out the interests of the Seattle pioneers who were never able to generate the capital to fully develop the mines. The book is punctuated with compelling feature articles on topics such as family stories, mining work, life in a company town, etc. The above mentioned Carla Trsek drawings really help understand coal geology and the different tunnels and levels of a Newcastle coal mine. Tresk created a particularly helpful chart that helps the reader follow the different routes used over time to get the coal to Seattle before the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad reached Newcastle in 1878. This was much more clear than in the 1987 edition.
Finally, the book introduces us to some of the long time resident families who helped keep Newcastle's past alive, in particular the late Milt Swanson, who was likely the last Newcastle miner. The gentle, kind man lived most of his life in the small, tidy house his parents purchased in the 1920s from the Pacific Coast Company, located across from the Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park's Redtown Trailhead, with his iconic coal car located out front. He had a veritable museum in his outbuilding and would spend hours showing it to anyone who asked (photo with me during a 2012 visit, in season he'd always give me flowers from his garden).
Milt would have been very proud of this book!
If you have any interest in Seattle's early effort to become a coal port and by so doing the premiere Puget Sound town and/or Newcastle's past--it is by a large margin the oldest community near Lake Washington--then this edition is a must have.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 20, 2020
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