A Blip Drifting Off the Radar of Time
For a while now, I’ve wanted to begin an Exit 133 series paying homage to the history of Tacoma. I’ve toyed with various approaches, and wondered what our readers would prefer. The very idea of writing historic profiles is intimidating – this town teems with historians both amateur and professional, and each one of them could make much better use of the platform our readers have given us. And yet the concept still seemed worth pursuing.
So it is with great humility that I submit to you this gentle reminder of the life of Thomas L. Richardson, once of Richardson & Todd Lumber Company. Courtesy of the unavoidable and unparalleled A History of the Puget Sound Country: its Resources, its Commerce and its People, by William Farrand Prosser, I will present this life as a collection of places, illuminated by the intrusive usefulness of Google maps.
Thomas Richardson was born in 1848, in Sullivan County, Missouri. According to the archives of the local newspaper, the Richardsons lived near the east part of Milan, the county seat. This is Milan. You can cipher for yourself which is the east part.
When he was 15, Thomas joined the Union Army. Later that same year, he was gravely wounded and taken prisoner during the pivotal Battle of Franklin, on November 30th, in Tennessee. His last moments of encamped rest before his capture were spent in the wooded area near this quiet cul-de-sac northeast of the city, where still, the same railroad crosses the Harpeth River.
By noon, Thomas would likely be marching south along this road, facing an array of Confederate troops just outside the City.
He was freed a month later by Northern forces at the Battle of Nashville, and spent six long months recovering from his wounds in a hospital. Nine years later, he married Maria Forrer in Edinburg, Indiana.
In 1888, after a string of family business ventures, Thomas Richardson moved to Tacoma. Now nearly 40 years old, he became employed at G.W. Thompson Saw Mill Company. For two and a half years, he oversaw the clear-cutting of this part of Tacoma.
Then came the great undertaking of his life. Mr. Richardson was asked to manage the clearing of right of way for the Northern Pacific Railroad’s South Bend Branch. The route can be seen here, roughly. To complete this work, he left Tacoma for several years.
Upon his return, he struck out on his own – though the exact location of his firm is lost to time. The business failed. In 1899, he tried again, joining forces with J.L. Todd. The firm of Richardson & Todd was located right about where Frost Park now sits. He was also a partner in the Geneva Lumber company in Whatcom.
His home was a mere 1/2 mile from the office, along G Street. His commute would have looked a bit like this. Where the house once stood is now (you guessed it) a parking lot.
Out of hundreds of pages of notable biographies in Prosser’s history, I chose the story of Thomas Richardson at random. There may be more colorful or influential names to choose from, and I certainly can’t pay each the attention they deserve. But it seemed fitting that the man I chose by chance had a life’s worth of lore by the time he was only 16 – and still went on to impact much of our daily life in the Sound region. Richardson may not be an obvious choice for this kind of tribute, but he certainly led a life worth remembering.
6 comments
T Tim Smith September 9, 2010
Great work. I wouldn’t be intimidated by the historical experts in the area. We have a large, yet to be unraveled ball of historic threads which are the empty parts of the tacoma tapestry. Each “pull” provides another piece.
A AR Campbell September 9, 2010
I love the historical direction, I’ve always quietly hoped to see more of that popping up here. You have to love this book too- you can literally flip it open 600 pages in, as it sounds like you did, close your eyes, point and STILL end up with a story interesting enough to read for fun. I think that says a lot about the people who chose to make this area their home and as a result, the kind of history we were left to enjoy because of them, no matter how ordinary.
One of my first thoughts was that there has GOT to be a better and more relevant way to start skimming the surface of Tacoma history than randomly choosing a historic biography by Prosser. However, as I turned to the book and read through it myself, the more I liked the way you did this and the more your method of choosing seemed to sybolize Tacoma itself. This has never been a place where only the top of the totem pole gets to participate and be remembered. Corny, maybe, but Tacoma was raised on the backs of people exactly like this who came for one reason and are remembered for completely another. Fortunately, we have civic-minded bloggers to dig up the names of the ones who DIDN’T get a park named after them. Looking forward to more of these.
P Patricia September 9, 2010
Great story! I, however, got sidetracked by the author of the SOURCE that you were using. That’s because I was born east of the mountains in Prosser! So here’s a bit of the Wikipedia entry about the good Colonel!
“In 1879, Prosser was appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes as special agent of the United States Department of the Interior for Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and moved to Washington in the same year. He married in Seattle in 1880 and settled in the Yakima River valley area in 1882, where he founded the town of Prosser, Washington. He was a delegate at the first Washington State Constitutional Convention in 1889.
Prosser was one of the founders of the Washington State Historical Society, which he served as president for a time. In 1903, he authored a two volume history titled A History of the Puget Sound Country. He also served as chairman of the State harbor line commission, mayor of North Yakima, and city treasurer of Seattle 1908-1910.”
My first and present hometowns are connected!
C captiveyak September 9, 2010
Patricia,
That’s a pretty awesome connection! I found as i researched this story that there were many unexpected layers. I was digging into county recorder records and obituary archives just to fill in the fuzzy portions. Then, I found out one of my friends once lived 15 minutes from Milan, Mo. Crazy.
D David Nicandri September 10, 2010
A Tacoma history series on Exit 133 is a grand idea.
D dolly varden September 11, 2010
David, tear down that fence!