Four Scarce Photographs Of The Alatalo Family And Of A Finnish-American Logging Crew In Camp Near Knappton, Washington That Depicts The Families, The Sawmill And Steam Donkeys In Operation Hauling Logs Near Knappton Cove Next To The Columbia River Across From Astoria, Oregon

FORD, J. F. [PHOTOGRAPHER]

Publication: Photographed by J F Ford, ca 1912,, Knappton, Washington

Four 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" silver gelatin photographs mounted on thick gray studio boards size 9" x 11," nearly all with negative number and photographer's signature in the negative at the lower margin. All four have register marks in pencil at corners for printing.

These four photographs are from the library of Anna Alatalo Huntus (1901-1978), Finnish-American, whose family emigrated into Boston from Finland in 1905, then to Michigan, Washington, and Oregon. Andrew Huntus married Annie (Anna) S. Alatalo on April 21, 1917. They were prominent figures in the local community and raised their family in the area. The Huntus family was heavily involved in preserving Finnish heritage. True to the immigrant experience of Clatsop County, the men of the family worked in the rugged industries that built Astoria ... primarily logging the dense coastal forests and fishing the Columbia River delta.

These four outstanding images offer a view of Finnish-Americans logging along the Columbia River in the decade preceding World War I. These images picture the massive logs being prepared for the sawmill in operation atop a wooden platform; a steam donkey in operation hauling the log as it rolls in motion as the logger spots it. Knappton Cove was the site of the Columbia River Quarantine Station, which after completion in 1900, provided disinfection facilities for incoming ships, and an isolation hospital for passengers suffering with infectious diseases.

J. F. Ford (1862-1914) was an avid photographer and an evangelist who became a pastor in the Pacific Northwest and he conducted revival meetings in Ilwaco, Washington in the early 1890s. Many of his photographs documented logging operations and scenic views along the Columbia River. One photograph has a repaired corner that does not affect the image, and the group is in very good condition.