Hallquist-West Photographs

This collection contains photographs originally belonging to Lillian and Ivar Hallquist-West. Though few of the photographs have marked dates on them, it is most likely that some of the photographs are from as early as the 1880’s. The photographs include baby and family photos, photos of a Hoquiam logging camp sometime in the 1890’s, navy photos, sports and classroom photos from what appears to be the public school in Parkland, and travel postcards.

Historical Note (About the Polson Logging Company):

From 1880 to the 1980’s and 1990’s, Hoquiam’s economic growth was mainly dependent on the lumber industry. Hoquiam became the center for mill operations such as the Hoquiam Lumber and Shingle Company and the Grays Harbor Lumber Company. The Polson family was one of the many families in the Hoquiam area that were barons in the lumber industry. Their holdings included two sawmills, a shingle mill, two mansions, twelve logging and construction camps, one hundred miles of logging railroad, and a large quantity of logging equipment, all of which produced 300 million feet of logs annually. In 1882, Alex Polson settled permanently in Hoquiam, and in 1891 he and his brother Robert combined their logging interests into the Polson Brothers Logging Company, which was renamed the Polson Logging Company twelve years later.