maintain stability and growth. California then looked to tap into the high abundance of timber and mining in the Oregon Territory. This called for three explorers to set sail up along the Pacific Coast to explore the unknown territory. When William Talbot, Andrew Pope, and Josiah Keller washed up on the sandy shores of the Hood Canal they discovered the fortune of timber along the Olympic Peninsula. Talbot, a lumber merchant from the San Francisco area, partnered with Pope who was an experienced sea captain. The characteristics of the two men drove them through the ups and downs of global economic woes and stiff competition, especially their eventual counterparts in the Oregon Territory. After the founding of Port Gamble, these three men established the longest-working lumber mill on the North American continent. Port Gamble established itself as an industrial power house globally. The Puget Mill Company became a source of lumber all around the world from Shanghai to Cape Town, South Africa. Trees coming straight from the Olympic Peninsula were shipped to 37 other ports around the world. By 1862, the Puget Mill Company owned a fleet of ten vessels and was shipping almost 19 million board feet of lumber to foreign outlets. During the turn of the century, the Puget Mill Company and the Pope and Talbot Lumber Company shipped their lumber from Port Gamble across the Atlantic Ocean to be used in the British, French and Russian navies for their sparring around the world. Captain Keller took hold of the shipment plans for the Pope and Talbot Lumber Company and created routes along the Pacific Coast to help supply the large demands of the California Gold Rush. This transportation of lumber opened the door for shipments to China and Southeast Asia. Because Talbot and Pope hailed from the state of Maine, their connections to the East Coast and constant travels back to their hometown, many of the ports along South America and the West Indies experienced contact from the Port Gamble shipments. Sale of Puget Mill Company In July 1925, the board of directors for the Puget Mill Company, including William H. Talbot, George A. Pope Sr., Talbot C. Walker, John Deahl and A.G. Harms, met to discuss the sale of the company. A little over a year earlier in May 1924, William Talbot had already reached his own decision regarding the future of the Port Gamble mill.