Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society

The Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society (PSMHS) promotes the collection, preservation, and display of objects, artifacts, and data of maritime interest, with special emphasis on the history of Pacific Northwest maritime activities. As the only and longest-standing organization in the Puget Sound area whose exclusive purpose is the care and interpretation of this history, the Society is dedicated to ensuring that the rich legacy of this history, traditions, and cultures is not lost.

A group of volunteers care for the collection, which includes 4,500 volumes on maritime subjects, over 100 different maritime periodicals, and more than 60,000 historic maritime images, all located on the lower floor of the Museum of History & Industry and available for use by appointment on Thursday and Saturday mornings.

The images selected and scanned for this Web site depict a sampling of their collection and include photographs of ocean-going vessels, sailing ships, tugs, pleasure yachts, shipyards, and characters and trades relating to the maritime heritage of King County, Washington, from the 1890s through the 1970s.

Browse images in Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society collection