Puget Sound and Alaska Steamship Co. - 1890's circa Gorgeous Green Stock Certificate - Part of the Northern Pacific Railroad Archive

Unissued Stock printed by Franklin Bank Note Company, N.Y. Operating from 1889-1904 as a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the company ran a steamship line from Tacoma servicing Puget Sound and Alaska. A number of prominent investors owned shares in the company such as John D. Rockefeller and William Rockefeller.

The Puget Sound and Alaska Steamship Co. (PS&ASC), established in 1889 as a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railroad, played a pivotal role in the railway’s transcontinental operations. Based in Tacoma, Washington, Captain D. B. Jackson founded the company to provide dependable freight and passenger transport between local Puget Sound ports and the rapidly growing destinations in Alaska. Its early fleet included notable vessels like the City of Seattle, the City of Kingston, and the Eliza Anderson, which helped the company secure a prominent position in the region’s shipping industry during the late 19th century.

The company’s significance reached its zenith during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. Its ships were among the first to transport waves of prospectors and essential supplies to the northern territories. However, as the maritime landscape evolved, the company eventually dissolved or was absorbed. By the early 20th century, many of its operations were overtaken by the Alaska Steamship Company and the Puget Sound Navigation Company. The latter, founded by associates like Charles Enoch Peabody, focused on catering to the specialized needs of inland water travel. The PS&ASC remains a significant chapter in Pacific Northwest history, symbolizing the profound financial and logistical connections between 19th-century railroad tycoons like the Rockefeller’s and the maritime expansion into the “Last Frontier”.