JCHS Arcadia Book, Olympic Mountains

JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
JCHS Mission: To actively discover, collect, preserve, and promote the heritage of Jefferson County in the State of Washington.

Images of America: Olympic Mountains
Available in the Museum Shop $21.99

ON THE COVER: (caption) Dungeness River Valley. The 32-mile-long Dungeness River begins high in the Olympic Mountains near Mystery Mountain and flows into Dungeness Bay on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is the second steepest river in the United States, dropping 7,300 feet over its length. In the upper reaches, it drops more than 1,000 feet per mile. The Dungeness River watershed includes 546 miles of streams and tributaries draining 172,517 acres. The Dungeness River supports four species of salmon and ocean-going steelhead trout. Known as a "wild river," it changes course uncontrollably during flooding.

Historical Society Authors
Book on Olympic Mountains

April 19, 2010 - The third book using historic images from the Jefferson County Historical Society collection has been released by Arcadia Publishing in their Images of America series. Olympic Mountains was authored by Marsha Moratti, archivist for the historical society. The book contains over 200 historic images and covers the Olympic Mountains and its watersheds. Moratti said, "In addition to images of the mountains themselves, we included photographs of the people who made this wildly remote place their home." Readers will find chapters on the Native Americans, early pioneers, logging, recreation, and tourism. Moratti is grateful for the early photographers who documented life in the Olympics: "Photographers Paul M. Richardson, George Welch, William H. Wilcox, James G. McCurdy, Sanford Lake, and many others took wonderful photographs documenting the history of the Olympic Peninsula. Without their skill, enthusiasm, and willingness to pack in cumbersome photography equipment we would not have these images."

Bill Tennent, JCHS Executive Director said, "This is more than a picture book. If you removed all of the photos, you would still have a wonderful history text."

Olympic Mountains joins the books Jefferson County and Port Townsend written by JCHS and published by Arcadia Publishing. All three books are widely available throughout the Olympic Peninsula as well as at the JCHS Museum Shop.

FROM THE BACK COVER:

The Olympic Mountains rise up from the sea with moss-draped forests growing right to the water's edge. Glaciers crown steep slopes while alpine meadows and lush valleys teem with elk, deer, cougars, bears, and species known nowhere else on earth. The Olympic National Park was created in 1938 to protect the grandeur of the Olympic Mountains. The rugged coastal area was added in 1953. To further protect this remnant of wild America, Congress designated 95% of the park as the Olympic Wilderness in 1988. Today it is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most popular wilderness destinations in North America. It is a place that changes the people who would conquer it. Farmers gave up; miners found no riches; loggers reforested. Tourism came early and endures.

The Jefferson County Historical Society was founded in 1879 and incorporated in 1951 with a mission "to actively discover, collect, and promote the heritage of Jefferson County in the State of Washington." The society conducts county-wide programs and operates the county museum, the Rothschild House Museum, Fort Worden's Commanding Officer’\'s Quarters Museum, a historical research center, and the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center. The images in this volume are from the Society's collection of over 20,000 historic photographs.