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The Puget Sound Power & Light Company Collection documents the emergence and early activities of one of the leading private power and transportation operations in Washington State.
Records reflect the incorporation, property and operations of around fifty Stone & Webster, or “Puget Power” companies involved in the provision of utility and transit services in Western Washington and in particular the Puget Sound region. Materials span the period 1888-1990, with the bulk of records dated 1888-1932. The collection is divided into fifty-four series, reflecting activities of specific predecessors or subsidiaries of Puget Sound Power & Light. Company records include administrative and corporate records, financial records, operational records and some property and legal records.
The collection contains a small volume of material documenting the existence and operations of early Seattle-based street railway systems including those of First Avenue Electric Railway Company, Front Street Cable Railway Company, and Madison Street Cable Railway Company. Record and minute books document the gradual acquisition of their interests and property by Stone & Webster – initially through Seattle Traction and Seattle-Everett Traction Companies, and by Seattle Electric Company in 1900. The collection also contains a small number of administrative and financial records relating to early street railway and power companies in the City of Bellingham, including Fairhaven & New Whatcom Railway, Lake Whatcom Electric Railway, Bellingham Bay Gas and Whatcom Fairhaven Gas Companies. Whatcom County Railway and Light Company records contain significant information about street railway and power service in Bellingham after 1902, with the bulk of material dated 1903-1915.
Records for the Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Railway, Bellingham-Skagit Railway Company and Pacific Northwest Traction document the construction and operation of the interurban railway systems in the Puget Sound region, and in particular, the line connecting Bellingham with Sedro-Woolley and Mt. Vernon. Stone and Webster’s interests and operations in the Everett area are reflected in the records of Everett Railway Light and Water Company and Puget Sound International Railway Company. Materials generated by Pacific Traction Company and Tacoma Railway and Power Company pertain to “Puget Power’s” interests and activities in Tacoma, while operations of the Seattle-Tacoma interurban railway are documented in the records of the Puget Sound Electric Railway Company. Puget Sound Electric Railway’s coal-mine holdings are documented in the financial and operational records of the Renton Cooperative Coal Company and Renton Coal Company. Puget Sound Power and Light’s increasing acceptance and use of automobile transportation
is reflected in the records of the Puget Sound Bus Company and
Seattle Tacoma Union Stage Lines. The collection also includes
aerial photographs generated by Puget Sound Power & Light
Company and its real estate department between 1986 and 1990.
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