we're closed for the season!
We'll be back with the warm weather!
We'll be back with the warm weather!
find us
On South Lake Union, 1001 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle Wa 98109
206-588-2680
a little history
Hans Bugge began operating the clam cannery at Washington Harbor in 1905 as a one-man operation that soon became a thriving enterprise of 40 workers at peak times. The Bugge Cannery also had four boats, including the J.R. McDonald, the Phoenix, and the Lincoln, for clam transportation.
By 1914, the cannery was lucratively producing 10,000 cases of Tureen brand littleneck clams that were shipped north to Alaska and as far south as San Francisco.
The cannery provided seasonal employment to women, Jamestown S'Klallam tribal members, and local farmers. Some of our local residents recall their working experiences:
Tom Taylor remembers harvesting clams at night using hats with lamps to light the way.
Mayme (Messenger) Faulk was a teenager in 1944 when she worked at Washington Harbor cracking crabs. She recalls her first day's pay being $1.25 an hour. Thereafter, she was paid by the pound.
The late Mrs. Laura Bugge was once asked how she opened the clams, and she replied, "With a can opener."