Puget Sound and Alaska Steamship Co. signed by Colgate Hoyt - 1890 Autographed Stock Certificate

Stock signed by Colgate Hoyt as president. Nice bold signature!

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 Rockefellers and the maritime expansion into the “Last Frontier”.

Colgate Hoyt (1849–1922) was a prominent American financier and businessman who significantly contributed to the expansion of the American railroad system during the late 19th century. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, into a distinguished family, he was the son of James M. Hoyt, a successful lawyer and real estate developer. After starting his career in his father’s law office, Hoyt relocated to New York City in 1881 to become a partner in the banking house of James B. Colgate & Company. His financial acumen swiftly propelled him to prominence on Wall Street, where he specialized in the reorganization and capitalization of major industrial and transportation enterprises.

Hoyt’s professional legacy is marked by his leadership in several pivotal ventures, including serving as a director and vice-president of the Northern Pacific Railway and the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. He played a crucial role in the development of the Pacific Northwest, co-founding Everett, Washington, which honored him by naming a main street in his memory. Beyond his business endeavors, Hoyt was an avid yachtsman and a dedicated member of the Baptist church. Notably, he collaborated with his brother, Reverend Wayland Hoyt, to fund the first “chapel cars” used for missionary work along railroad lines. Hoyt resided at his Eastover estate in Oyster Bay until his passing in 1922.

Read More

Read Less