Mosquito Fleet Photos. « The Yukon Harbor Historical Society.

Mosquito Fleet Photos.

Here are a few photographs of the so-called “Mosquito Fleet” steamers that plied the route of Puget Sound from 1857 to 1925.

Steamer Doncella, probably at Colby.

The steamer Perdita, arriving at Harper in the 1920's or before.

The sidewheeler Yosemite mysteriously went aground in Rich Passage in 1906, breaking her keel. Photo from the Grant Family collection, provided by Shirlee Toman.

The GRACE (two photos, above) was one of several owned by Captain Creswell, working the Manchester-Colby-Southworth-Olalla-Seattle run. This photo and the one below were provided by the Grant Family.

Yukon Harbor: Fragments of History.

A small group of history buffs who reside in the Eastern branches of Port Orchard established this historical society in January of 2008 to learn and record the details of the region’s past. The group's goal is to research and record the history of Colby, South Colby, Annapolis, Manchester, Harper, Southworth, and Blake Island then post it here for public consumption.

Yukon Harbor is located in the Southwestern edge of Puget Sound, approximately ten miles from Seattle. Other communities nearby are Port Orchard, Bremerton, Gig Harbor, and Southworth. While the unincorporated waterfront town of Colby is the focus of our current efforts, we hope to enlist residents of other historical communities. Colby was established in the 1880’s and was once a triving lumber and mining town but now is a low-key bedroom community composed of residences of mixed vintage with almost no commercial development.

The YHHS is actively seeking input from past and present residents. All notes and subjects are welcome, including photographs, archival documents, news clippings, and legal material dating back to the origins of the community. Post any comments or questions within the “comments” section of this page.

JB Hall, Colby's "unofficial historian," has done a good amount of research into old plot plans and the history of some of the key buildings that remain. Russell Neyman, the society's editor and primary writer, is new to the area but has written a book and several articles dealing with historical subjects, including Naval History. Other active participants include residents of Harper and South Colby, as well as decendents of the Grant Family, who were among the original inhabitants.

Recent "posted" articles are shown in chronological order at the left, with links to additional articles and features included, below.

Help us find Yukon Harbor’s past!

Do you have any photos, news clippings, or other relevant items tucked away in a family scrapbook or, even, laying loose in an old shoebox? Do you remember spending the summer with Aunt Jane who lived in Colby, when you picked blueberries and canoed over to Blake Island? Or do you live in one of the old houses in Harper or Manchester?

The Yukon Harbor Historical Society welcomes any and all contributions that might be of interest, no matter how small or ancedotal and from any era. We'd like to post your tidbits of information here, and record them for generations to come.

You can send emails to us via Russell.Neyman@Yahoo.com or simply add your message to the "comments" section at the bottom of various articles.

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The Yukon Harbor Historical Society.