Pacific Northwest Historians Guild

10/14/2025

Thank you to all of the presenters, moderators, panelists, and attendees who made our 32nd Regional History Conference last Saturday a fantastic event!

10/09/2025

There is still time to register to attend the pre-conference reception and Annual Meeting tomorrow evening.

2025 Pre-Conference Reception JOIN US FOR THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST HISTORIAN GUILD’S HISTORY CONFERENCE RECEPTION, ANNUAL MEETING AND SALUTE TO LEONARD GARFIELD RECIPIENT OF THE GUILD’S 2025 PACIFIC NORTHWEST HISTORY AWARD. Friday October 10, 2025 7:00-9:00 pm The Mountaineers Seattle Program Cente...

09/05/2025

The Guild's Monthly Meeting and Presentation from Coll Thrush,
Thursday, September 25th at 7 PM

Free and open to the public

Join us as we welcome author Coll Thrush to present his latest book, Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific. The Northwest Coast of North America is a treacherous place. Unforgiving coastlines, powerful currents, unpredictable weather, and features such as the notorious Columbia River bar have resulted in more than two thousand shipwrecks, earning the coastal areas of Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island the moniker “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Beginning with a Spanish galleon that came ashore in northern Oregon in 1693 and continuing into the recent past, Wrecked includes stories of many vessels that met their fate along the rugged coast and the meanings made of these events by both Indigenous and settler survivors and observers.

Commemorated in museums, historical markers, folklore, place-names, and the remains of the ships themselves, the shipwrecks have created a rich archive. Whether in the form of a fur-trading schooner that was destroyed in 1811, a passenger liner lost in 1906, or an almost-empty tanker broken on the shore in 1999, shipwrecks on the Northwest Coast opens up conversations about colonialism and Indigenous persistence. Thrush’s retelling of shipwreck tales highlights the ways in which the three central myths of settler colonialism—the disappearance of Indigenous people, the control of an endlessly abundant nature, and the idea that the past would stay past—proved to be untrue. As a critical cultural history of this iconic element of the region, Wrecked demonstrates how the history of shipwrecks reveals the fraught and unfinished business of colonization on the Northwest Coast.

Coll Thrush is professor of history, faculty associate in critical Indigenous studies, and Killam teaching laureate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, in unceded Musqueam territory. He is the author of 2007’s Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place, a second edition of which was released in 2017; co-editor of Phantom Past, Indigenous Presence: Native Ghosts in North American History & Culture (2011); and author of Indigenous London: Native Travelers at the Heart of Empire (2016). Coll is also a founding co-editor of the Indigenous Confluences book series at the University of Washington Press.

This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday, September 25
Registration is required at this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XfXYuYz7RSyTOxmrzNdOjA

05/08/2025

MAY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

The Guild's Monthly Meeting and Presentation from John W. Lundin,

Thursday, May 22nd at 7 PM

Free and open to the public



Join Guild member John W. Lundin, co-author with his brother Steve, of From Cheechako to Sourdough, Two Ivy Leaguers’ Quest for Yukon Gold, a recently published book that recounts their grandfather Mark Odell’s adventures in the Klondike Gold rush in 1898. The book is based on original materials, including Odell’s diary containing daily entries of his experiences; newspaper articles written by Odell, and his friend Ellis Aldrich, for their hometown New York newspapers; and letters to their families.

From Cheechako to Sourdough describes the arduous struggles of Odell and Aldrich, both young ivy leaguers from New York, to reach the Klondike; everyday life in the gold fields; and the grueling work required to find gold in the remote region of Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Lundin will share some of the over 100 photos that Odell’s party took of their experiences, using one of the first Kodak cameras available to the public.



This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday, May 22

Registration is required at this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VU3zlUK1TRGjTICGP2IRLw

04/09/2025

April 24 GUILD MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

The Guild's Monthly Meeting and Presentation from Linda Ziedrich,
Thursday, April 24th at 7 PM
Free and open to the public
The Pacific Northwest Historians Guild is proud to welcome author Linda Ziedrich as our guest for April. She will discuss her new Oregon State University Press book, First Fruits. First Fruits offers a fascinating look at the lives of Pacific Coast horticulturists Henderson, Jonathan, and Seth Lewelling. Traveling across the Overland Trail—Henderson to Oregon in 1847, with a wagonload of fruit trees, and Seth and John to California three years later—the brothers would establish themselves as pioneers in the West’s growing fruit industry. By recounting how Henderson planted the first orchard of grafted fruit trees in Oregon, how Seth originated the Black Republican and Bing cherries, and how John led the development of the Napa Valley wine industry, First Fruits preserves the Lewellings’ place in history.
However, the Lewellings were not simply planters, grafters, and breeders. They were also adventurers, colonists, gold seekers, reformists, and explorers—experiencing firsthand the westward expansion of the nation. Their stories provide a unique glimpse into the social, economic, and political history of the day. From their Quaker upbringing in North Carolina and Indiana to Henderson’s attempt to start a utopian colony in Honduras, John’s efforts to grow the Grange in California, and Seth’s contribution to democratic reforms in Oregon, the Lewellings’ legacy extends far beyond their agricultural endeavors.
In the first biography to reclaim the brothers’ histories, Linda Ziedrich splendidly captures their dedicated support of one another and their communities, their contributions to the development of the modern fruit industry, and their lasting influence on the cultivation of fruits synonymous with the Pacific Coast region.

Linda Ziedrich writes about food from garden to table, culinary history, and the cuisines of the world. Her books include The Curious Kitchen Gardener: Uncommon Plants and How to Eat Them and The Joy of Pickling, now in its third edition. She lives in Lebanon, Oregon.

This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday, April 24
Registration is required at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ggyFKOTDSAGkT8mokwisQg

03/26/2025

Please join us tomorrow for our March meeting! We hope to see you online!

MARCH 27 GUILD MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
Free and open to the public

Join us for the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild’s March 27 evening Zoom meeting and hear Seattle filmmaker Stephen Sadis deliver his talk, James J. Hill: The (Largely Unknown) Empire Builder of the Northwest.
When the railroad transformed the American landscape, few figures played a greater role than James J. Hill—yet his name is often forgotten today. As the driving force behind the Great Northern Railway, Hill built the only privately funded transcontinental railroad, extending his reach to the Pacific Northwest and shaping the region’s economic future. His vision went beyond rails—he fueled the timber and agricultural industries, developed Seattle as a global trade hub, and even foresaw the need for conservation. This presentation explores Hill’s lasting impact on the Northwest and why his story deserves to be remembered.

A Seattle native, Stephen Sadis’s filmmaking experience spans 38 years, working in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. A multifaceted director, producer, editor and writer, he has produced twelve documentaries that have earned a number of awards, critical praise and have been broadcast throughout the country on PBS and cable. His four-part documentary, The Empire Builder. James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway, premiered in September 2024.
This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday March 27
Registration is required, at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/iG3JC5z1R7ak_XVDrclJDw

03/13/2025

MARCH 27 GUILD MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
Free and open to the public

Join us for the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild’s March 27 evening Zoom meeting and hear Seattle filmmaker Stephen Sadis deliver his talk, James J. Hill: The (Largely Unknown) Empire Builder of the Northwest.
When the railroad transformed the American landscape, few figures played a greater role than James J. Hill—yet his name is often forgotten today. As the driving force behind the Great Northern Railway, Hill built the only privately funded transcontinental railroad, extending his reach to the Pacific Northwest and shaping the region’s economic future. His vision went beyond rails—he fueled the timber and agricultural industries, developed Seattle as a global trade hub, and even foresaw the need for conservation. This presentation explores Hill’s lasting impact on the Northwest and why his story deserves to be remembered.

A Seattle native, Stephen Sadis’s filmmaking experience spans 38 years, working in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. A multifaceted director, producer, editor and writer, he has produced twelve documentaries that have earned a number of awards, critical praise and have been broadcast throughout the country on PBS and cable. His four-part documentary, The Empire Builder. James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway, premiered in September 2024.
This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday March 27
Registration is required, at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/iG3JC5z1R7ak_XVDrclJDw

02/27/2025

Please join us today for our February meeting!

The Guild's Monthly Meeting and Presentation from Johanna Ogden, Thursday, February 27th at 7 PM

FEBRUARY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Join us for the Guild’s February 27 evening Zoom meeting and hear author Johanna Ogden speak about her new book Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River, recently published by the Oregon State University Press.

Oregon is commonly perceived to have little, let alone notable, South Asian history. Yet in the early 1900s Oregon’s small Indian settlement became a center of resistance that entwined quests for Indian independence and civic belonging that rocked the world. Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River traces the stories of the radical Indian independence organization known as Ghadar, and Bhagat Singh Thind’s era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case, United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923). Ghadar sought the overthrow of India’s British colonizers while Thind utilized sanctioned legal channels to do so. Despite widely differing strategies, both the movement and the man were targeted, often in coordination, by the highest levels of the US and British governments.

This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday February 27

Registration is required, at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VU3zlUK1TRGjTICGP2IRLw

02/19/2025

The Guild's Monthly Meeting and Presentation from Johanna Ogden, Thursday, February 27th at 7 PM

FEBRUARY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Join us for the Guild’s February 27 evening Zoom meeting and hear author Johanna Ogden speak about her new book Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River, recently published by the Oregon State University Press.

Oregon is commonly perceived to have little, let alone notable, South Asian history. Yet in the early 1900s Oregon’s small Indian settlement became a center of resistance that entwined quests for Indian independence and civic belonging that rocked the world. Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River traces the stories of the radical Indian independence organization known as Ghadar, and Bhagat Singh Thind’s era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case, United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923). Ghadar sought the overthrow of India’s British colonizers while Thind utilized sanctioned legal channels to do so. Despite widely differing strategies, both the movement and the man were targeted, often in coordination, by the highest levels of the US and British governments.

This FREE Zoom meeting will start at 7 pm, Thursday February 27

Registration is required, at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VU3zlUK1TRGjTICGP2IRLw

01/11/2025

JANUARY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Join us for the Guild’s January 23, 2025 meeting and hear Dr. Kimberly Jensen, Professor of History and Gender Studies at Western Oregon University, talk about her new book, Oregon's Others: Gender, Civil Liberties, and the Surveillance State in the Early Twentieth Century. Oregon’s Others explores the era of the First World War and efforts to identify and restrict “alien enemies,” implement eugenic policies and curtail the rights of women, and examines the collision of civil liberties and persecution through the lens of gender, gender identity and presentation, ability, race, ethnicity, and class.

Via Zoom starting at 7 pm, Thursday January 23

Registration is required for this event. Please reserve your spot at this link:


https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqcu2rrD4jHdBAfCYwVD2-tXun5f2aYkLn