In 1892,
the fishing industry expanded its operations by establishing the first modern
cannery in Whatcom County. Fisherman sold a single salmon to the canneries for
$.02. The first commercial cannery was opened in 1894, by Oswald and Wesley
Steele. They leased land in three places, including Sandy Point. They had 150
Chinese, 140 Native Americans, and 130 other local workers in the fisheries.
The farmers used pitch forks to catch salmon, and dumped wagon loads of salmon
on their fields for fertilizer.
The Pacific American Fisheries operated in Fairhaven for fifty years, more or less, and then, like nomads, they folded their tents and silently stole away. This giant operation began with the purchase of a small cannery and was expanded by selling stocks. The downfall of the cannery occurred because a ruling outlawing the stationary fish trap method came too late to save the dwindling fish supply in the area.
This cannery operation became a giant among such buisinesses having branch canneries and traps in Washington and Alaskan waters.The fairhaven headquarters housed canneries, shipyards, box factory, scoow yards, wed yards, wearhousing, and a canfactory