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The first pioneers arrived in the White
River Valley around the mid-1800s. By 1878, hops
had become a major crop. As a result, hop farming
became a major agricultural factor in Pacific as it had
in other areas of both King and Pierce Counties.
However, a disastrous epidemic of hop lice further
augmented by the depression of the 1890s and the
American Panic of 1893 brought the end of hop
farming. To survive, farmers turned to dairies,
berries, vegetables, and bulbs.
With the advent of the railroad, a huge
migration of immigrants brought an economic boom.
People came to the valley to work on the farms and the
growing factories. Thus, the railroad was a key
factor in the early growth of Pacific.
Construction began on the Interurban Railway running
from Seattle to Tacoma. The Railway opened in 1902
and ran from Georgetown in south Seattle to downtown
Tacoma--passing through the White River Valley and the
towns of Renton, Kent, Auburn, and Pacific. The
system was extremely successful. However, by 1920,
hard-surfaced roads were developed which helped auto,
truck, and bus service. The Interurban's last run
was in 1928.
In 1906 when the White River was
diverted into the Stuck River, the flooding in Puyallup
and Sumner was disastrous. A concrete diversion
dam built on the site of the more natural logjam in the
White River was constructed in 1913. However, the
annual threat of floods did not disappear
completely. Two major floods in the 1930s
threatened to overpower the dam and invade the
valley. The Mud Mountain Dam, completed in 1950,
and the Howard Hanson Dam at Eagle Gorge in 1962,
brought an end to the flooding that had threatened
farmers for more than 100 years.
Clarence Dayton Hillman, an early land
developer from California, founded Pacific City.
Pacific City was platted into two town lots and
advertised as "an addition to Seattle." Hillman
and his wife, Bessie Olive, platted "Division No.1" on
August 10, 1906. Earlier that year H.T. Bredes
and his wife, Ella M. platted "Division No. 2."
Pacific City was incorporated on August 10, 1909.
In the early days, the city was centered
about the vicinity of Third Avenue and what is now known
as the West Valley Highway. Arnold's Hotel, Cook's
Grocery, a barbershop, Luthburrow's Bakery, a blacksmith
shop and livery barn, Cox's Store, later known as
Waddell's Store were early business
establishments. A Baptist church, sawmill,
roller-skating rink, grocery-feed store, and a saloon
also were established in these early years. In
1929, the year of the Great Depression, Pacific's
population was estimated at 632. Many of the early
business had disappeared due to fire and the popularity
of new modes of transportation which brought the demise
of the railroad. However, new businesses opened to
replace those that had gone.
The installation of sewage systems
throughout the valley by the Municipality of
Metropolitan Seattle hastened the conversion of the
farmland to industrial uses in the 1970s. Land
became more valuable, with resulting increased
taxes. Farmers were unable to grow and sell enough
crops to pay these assessments and found it hard to
compete for the business of major supermarkets.
Most of the small businesses that once served Pacific
are gone, as are most of the family farms in the
immediate area.
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