The Development of Commerce and Industry
The rail connections that came to Chambers Creek in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought with them massive commerce to the area, much of which stuck around for decades. Some didn’t last long, however, including the Pacific Match Company, plans for which were announced in 1910.
That was the year company president Henry Hewitt announced plans to construct a match-manufacturing plant 500 feet from the mouth of Chambers Bay. The plans included a blacksmith shop, kilns, storage facilities, and docks to accommodate large ships. Sites also were selected for the development of a paper mill and sawmill near the match factory.
“When the plant gets under operation,” the Tacoma Daily Ledger reported, “the company plans on building a number of houses for its operatives and establishing an industrial center of no mean proportion." It was a huge enterprise, but the match factory never was built.
In 1911, a paper mill, however, was built on the land that was cleared for the match factory. The building of West Tacoma Paper Mill involved hydraulic pumps sluicing away at the hillside to create additional room. The mill manufactured book paper from purchased pulp. In 1969, Boise Cascade Corporation bought the mill and expanded it, adding a recycled-ink paper mill. The mill subsequently changed hands a few times, its final owners being Abitibi Consolidated Inc.
This historic West Tacoma Mill ceased operations and was dismantled for redevelopment in the early 2000s.
Concurrent with the paper mill’s era, the Tacoma Alder Lumber Company was constructed on the south spit of Chambers Bay. It was built in 1928, and leased to Phillip Gilbert, who ran the company until 1936. In 1936, two men, named Westbrook and Revelle, took over the lease of the mill and renamed it the Chambers Creek Lumber Company. This mill burned to the ground in 1954 and was rebuilt as the Tacoma Narrows Lumber Company. It was dismantled in 1978.
Today, the Chambers Bay Marina is located on a portion of the former mill site. The remaining portions of the property have been acquired through donation and purchase by Pierce County.
Paper manufacturers West Tacoma Newsprint plant. Steam rises from the Steilacoom plant on May 22, 1970. West Tacoma Newsprint had opened its mill on Chambers Creek Rd. in 1946, the third paper mill at that location. Shareholders had recently approved a merger with Boise Cascade in October of 1969. Photograph series ordered by Armstrong Machine Works to show Armstrong steam traps. Photo courtesy Northwest Room at The Tacoma Public Library Richards Studio D158423-1