By Ida Wilcox Howell

March 7, 2025 - Black Diamond, as the name indicates, was named because of the coal mining industry which established it. It is situated in south[eastern] King County.

The discovery and exploitation of coal deposits preceded the history of American settlement in what has become Washington State. In 1833, Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, recorded finding coal outcroppings in the Cowlitz River vicinity, and a few years later the company mined small amounts in that area for their own use.

In 1849, Samuel Hancock came from San Francisco to explore around Puget Sound. He had in mind the possible discovery of coal and brought samples as a means of explaining his purpose to the native Indians.

He employed seven Sound Indians as guides and boatmen, using a large canoe in his journeys. At each stopping place he exhibited his coal samples, inquiring where a deposit might be found.

The Indians were astonished to know it would burn and was useful for fuel, and promised to search the country all around and let Hancock know if they found coal. After a prolonged stay in the Puget Sound country Hancock returned to San Francisco without having located a deposit.

Important coal discoveries were made near Renton in 1852. Mines along Bellingham Bay made the first commercial shipment to San Francisco in 1860 and for 10 years were the only active suppliers. In 1880 coal production in the Territory rose to better than 145,000 tons, when additional mines were put into production.

In 1890 considerable coal deposits were discovered in the vicinity of Black Diamond.