Natural Resources

Gill Net Float

Description

This simple object packs a lot of meaning for certain residents of the lower Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. It is a cedar net float, made about 1955, for use on a gill net, the preferred gear of commercial salmon fishermen in the area. While this float was never used for that purpose, it remained in Astoria where, some fifty years later, it was fashioned into this object commemorating the fishery’s former significance.

The original float was made at the Columbia Net Floats Mill, which operated in Astoria from 1952 to 1959. According to mill worker and fisherman Cecil Moberg, “There were three steps in the process to make floats. The bolts of cedar were cut into six inch blocks by a twenty-four inch cutoff saw. The next machine was a ram device, which pushed the blocks through a round die. A hole was drilled through the center of the block by a belt driven wood lathe. The blocks were then put on a high speed lathe and were hand turned in three motions: one sweep to the right, one to the left and one finishing sweep over the whole float, giving them a smooth finish.”

Moberg estimated the mill produced about three million floats in seven years of operation. Considering that an average Columbia River gillnet was about 1500 feet long and had about 500 floats, it is not hard to imagine a need for millions of floats among local gill netters.

By the time the mill closed, fishermen had begun using plastic floats. The surplus cedar floats were eventually given to the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Auxiliary. Members of that group, including donor Frankye D. Thompson, were inspired to create souvenir items to call attention to Astoria’s past. They cut the floats in half and affixed the flat side with images from the fishery’s heyday. The photo on this float shows the fleet of sailing gill net boats around the turn of the 20th century. Called the “Butterfly Fleet” by Astorians, the small, sprit-rigged vessels are emblematic of the town’s fishing heritage. A piece of lead and lead line decorate the float, and historical information provided by Cecil Moberg is provided on a piece of paper rolled to fit inside the hole where the float would have been strung on the float line.

Date made

ca 1955

mill worker and fisherman

Moberg, Cecil

display surplus cedar floats donated by Columbia Net Floats Mill

Columbia River Maritime Museum

maker

Columbia Net Floats Mill

ID Number

2005.0150.01

accession number

2005.0150

catalog number

2005.0150.01

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Ship Model, Columbia River Salmon Boat

Description

This model represents the type of small boat used for gill-netting salmon on the lower Columbia River around 1876. Known as sailing gillnetters, these vessels were well suited to the tasks of fishermen working drift nets, which were walls of netting set across the path of salmon swimming upstream. The round-bottom hull is sharp on both ends, a feature that allowed the boat to ride more easily while the net was adrift. Its sprit rig was used for sailing to and from the fishing grounds and was easily stowed while fishing. The boats ranged between 23 and 28 feet in length. This model represents a vessel of 25 feet 6 inches in length, 6 feet 3 inches abeam, and 2 feet 3 inches in depth.

The sailing gillnetter type was introduced to the Columbia River region between 1869 and 1872 and quickly replaced the smaller skiffs then in use. The early gillnetters were shipped north from boat builders in San Francisco, but by 1875 the type was being built locally. While a few fishermen purchased their own boats, the vast majority were owned by salmon canneries, which rented the vessels to local fishermen. When this model was made in 1876, there were about 500 sailing gillnetters on the river. By 1905 there were some 2,700.

This model was donated by Livingston Stone, an early advocate of fish hatcheries, who served as Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries for the Pacific coast from 1872 to 1898, and senior fish culturist of the U.S. Fish Commission from 1898 to 1903.

Date made

before 1876

ID Number

TR.22216

accession number

5201

catalog number

22216

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Button, Fisher Poets Gathering

Description

Each February since 1998, poets, musicians, and tellers of tall tales descend upon Astoria, Oregon, for the Fisher Poets Gathering, a weekend filled with stories, songs, camaraderie, and reverence for the fishing way of life. Inspired by the National Cowboy Poetry Festival in Elko, Nevada, a group of poets and teachers, all tied in some way to the commercial fishing industry, founded the event. The gathering has grown every year, attracting fisher poets from California to Cape Cod, and Alaska to Florida. It has also been designated as a Local Legacies Project by the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center. This button is from the 2005 Fisher Poets Gathering, held at the Wet Dog Café on the Astoria waterfront.

People have created stories, songs, and poems about their working lives for millennia, and American folklore is awash in tales of people working the water. Fishermen’s narratives often reveal a profound sensory awareness, reflecting their close relationship with the natural world. Likewise, the inherent dangers of fishing typically inspire stories and poems featuring strong spiritual elements. Although the aesthetic and spiritual sophistication of fishermen’s narratives often come as a surprise to outsiders, they are celebrated during performances at the Fisher Poets Gathering.

Astoria, established near the mouth of the Columbia River, was the hub of commercial salmon fishing in the 19th and early 20th centuries. With thousands of resident fishermen and scores of canneries lining the river, the town’s identity was wrapped up in the salmon industry. As salmon populations in the river declined, many in the industry relocated, at least seasonally, to Alaska. The Fisher Poets Gathering honors the history of Pacific Coast fishing, as well as the men and women who still live the fishing life. With odes to herring scales, dirges about those lost at sea, and tales of fishers remarkably attuned to nature, the tradition of fisher poets continues to thrive in Astoria.

Date made

2005

American Folklife Center designated the Fisher Poets Gathering as a Local Legacies Project

Library of Congress

ID Number

2005.0149.03

catalog number

2005.0149.03

accession number

2005.0149

Data Source

National Museum of American History