Blaine Middle School


Dig Deeper

 

Washington State History, Territorial Days and Early Statehood

 
 

PRINT RESOURCES: NON-FICTION

 

          Blaine / Whatcom County History

 
Looking back / Dorothy Koert, Galen Biery

An early history of Whatcom County, from the mid-1850s forward. This coffee table style book has numerous photographs and highly readable text. Useful and fascinating for all age groups. 

 
Remembering the old settlers of Whatcom County / E. Rosamonde Ellis Van Miert
Contains profiles and letters of early settlers in Whatcom County.
 
Whatcom memories : A photo album presented by the Whatcom Historical Society and The Bellingham Herald. A book of black and white early photographs. I don't know how far back they go, but it is worth a look.
 
A Symbol of Our Heritage, The Old Fir Tree: Blaine Centennial History 1884-1984 / by Marie Arbuckle
Written for the Blaine Centennial, this short book covers the history of Blaine.
 

The last diary of Andrew Jackson Loomis : Blaine, Washington, 1912-1915 / Richard Clark, editor

Andrew Jackson Loomis was one of Blaine's early founders. The diary itself may not be readable enough for 7th graders, but the introduction is interesting as well. The full text is also available online from WhatcomHistory.net.

 

History of Whatcom County / by Lottie Roth, Volumes I and II.

May be a bit advanced for 7th graders, but well worth a look. Volume I covers the territorial days and early statehood.

 

Noisy waters : an historical story of Whatcom Creek / Bess McMillan, Dolores Morey, and Mary Irvin ; illustrations by Dolores Morey

This is a 25 page pamphlet about the history of Whatcom Creek. Shelved in both the juvenile and adult section, so the reading level should be appropriate. I am unsure of the time period covered.

 

The Fourth Courner : highlights from the early Northwest / Edson, Lelah Jackson

This is shelved in both the children's and adult section of the library. It is a classic collection of historical stories from our area.  

 

The Coast Salish peoples / Frank W. Porter III

From the Indians of North America series. Pacific Northwest history from the perspective of the Coast Salish, who lived in the Blaine / Birch Bay area at the time of first contact. 

 

     Washington State / Pacific Northwest History and Geography

 

Washington State / Charles P. LeWarne

This revised, updated, and improved edition of the leading high school textbook on Washington State history brings the reader from the earliest known accounts of the region up to the present. Incorporating the newest data from the 2000 census, LeWarne presents a vivid and up-to-date portrait of the cultures and trends that continue to shape Washington State. From the role of Native American tribal governments to the administration of Governor Gary Locke, he examines changes in the political arena including the pivotal events of the 2000 elections. The book addresses a range of ongoing social and economic issues, such as environmental controversies, multiculturalism, and changes in the computer and biotechnology industries.

 

Review (Pacific Northwest Quarterly):

"This work, the third edition of Washington State, continues to fill an important gap in the historiography of Washington in that it remains one of the few sources written about the region specifically for students in grades six through twelve. LeWarne's coverage of the state is well-balanced, demonstrating both the ways that Washington State history follows the larger contours of American history and the ways that it occasionally departs from them. [V]ery worthy of adoption by school districts and secondary-school libraries" [emphasis mine]."

 

Pacific Northwest : past, present and future / Dale A. Lambert

A widely read publication describing the unique geographical, rich historical, and contrasting socio-economical aspects of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Readers of all ages benefit from its effective structure of seven units and twenty- four chapters discussing the region’s past, present, and future. Each reader’s appreciation and understanding of the Pacific Northwest is enhanced by detailed maps, pertinent vignettes, charts, graphs, timelines, an interactive CD, and archival and color photographs. 

 

Washington's history : the people, land, and events of the Far Northwest / Harry Ritter

Although this book is written for adults, I included it in the list because it looks particularly interesting:

"An anything-but-dry history textbook in a pocket-sized package, WASHINGTON'S HISTORY is a fascinating walk through the lengthy story of a place and its people. Historian Harry Ritter introduces the Native American peoples who lived in the region's coastal rainforests and inland plateau, the European and U.S. seafarers who explored and mapped the complicated shores and islands, and the leaders involved in conflicts over boundaries, resources, and religion. There's the story of The Pig War, which began with an assassinated pig in 1859 and escalated into an international skirmish. Read about the construction of the massive Grand Coulee Dam in 1933, and the creation and aftermath of Hanford, and the hopefulness surrounding the World's Fair. And then there's the land itself: vast, stirring in its stark beauty, and fearsome when natural disaster strikes, as it has in every century."  It is written by a WWU professor.

 

         Not available from WCLS 

 
The Washington Journey/ Gibbs Smith, Publisher (this item was specifically requested by the teacher)
The Washington Journey is a 7th grade history textbook. The outline for this book is based on Washington's NEW Essential Academic Learning Requirements for social studies and teaches civics, history, geography, and economics. The student edition places the state's historical events in the larger context of our nation's history and has many features such as local images, primary sources, Washington Portraits, timelines, and skill pages based on the EARLs.  Note: The Web site indicates that this item is on backorder, and I cannot find it anywhere else for sale or loan. It may be ordered for the next printing. 
 

           Newspapers  

 
The Blaine Journal (on CD-ROM).
The Whatcom Genealogical Society has been digitizing issues of this weekly journal; so far they have completed from April 1886 - December 1901 on 5 CD-ROMs. Whatcom County Library System has the first two CDs, which cover from April 1886 - January 1891. If the other three were requested from WCLS, they would certainly be purchased for the system, or you can order them directly from the Whatcom Genealogical Society using this order form.
 
Newspaper Search from the Washington History site, Washington Secretary of State (online).
Search early issues of the Lynden Pioneer Press, The Washington Gazette, and others. Time period ranges from 1852-1890.
 
 

ONLINE RESOURCES

 
HistoryLink: The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History

HistoryLink.org provides a free, authoritative, and easily accessible history reference for the benefit of students, teachers, journalists, scholars, researchers, and the general public. With a few noted exceptions, all essays and features on the site are original works prepared exclusively for HistoryLink.org by staff, contract writers, volunteers, and consulting experts. The encyclopedia contains more than 5,000 essays as of September 2008. It is constantly expanding, with new essays added every week. Here is an example:

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle celebrates Bellingham Day, Whatcom County Day, and Newberg Day on July 13, 1909

 

Whatcom County -- Thumbnail History from HistoryLink.

Provides a concise, clearly written overview of the history of Whatcom County, beginning in the mid-1800s. Includes several pictures of early Whatcom County in the sidebar (and at the bottom of the printer-friendly version).

 
Pacific Northwest Historical Documents Databasefrom University of Washington Libraries

The Pacific Northwest Historical Documents database is a collection of original, diaries, letters, reminiscences and political documents drawn from various sources within the Special Collections Division. These documents recount the early settlement of Washington and the establishment of homesteads and towns and describe the hardships faced by many of the early pioneers. Some writings also focus on political and societal issues that challenged the settlers of the Pacific Northwest, such as, the women's suffrage movement. A number of the handwritten documents have been transcribed, as well as scanned at a higher resolution to enable the user to view them in more detail.

 

Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western Washington University.

The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies seeks to enhance public and scholarly understanding of the region’s past and present through expansion of its archival holdings, public programming, and publications. The Center’s collections include private papers, organizational and institutional records documenting economic, social, cultural and political trends significant to the Pacific Northwest.  There is some interesting material on this site. In particular, there are lesson plans, materials and resource lists about the history of Bellingham, designed for primary, middle and high school. Also of interest is the Digital Collections section.

 

Profile of Blaine, WA from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (PDF File)

This short profile of Blaine contains a brief but thorough overview of the history of Blaine, including a description of the native tribes and their lifestyle before the settlers came.

 

The Washington State Historical Society has lesson plans specifically related to Washington State CBAs. Topics Include Native American Cultures & Early Washington Explorers; U.S.-Indian Treaties & Westward Migration; Environmental History; Transportation & Transformation; Civil Rights; and Women's Rights.  Lesson plans include printable materials.

 

The West the Railroads Made; from the Washington State Historical Society 

An online history of railroads in the West. Includes images, photographs and compelling text.

     Three lesson plans related to the railroads in Washington State are also available:

The Time Machine for elementary grades (it appears suitable for 7th graders),

The Chinese Expulsion Act of 1880 for middle or high school, and

Ride the Rails for all grades (this is an interactive "game" where the participant rides the rails with a guest from history).

 

Washington State History site from the Office of the Secretary of State

There is a lot of useful information on this site. The most relevant things I found were the Washington Territorial Timeline, an interactive timeline with pictures and short, readable descriptions of historical events from 1540-1889, and the Washington State Constitution: History and Full Text.

 

The History of Peace Park from the United States Canada Peace Anniversary Association