Jerisich Park

JERISICH, SAM Fisherman-Jerisich Park: Gig Harbour is a small, picturesque maritime community. Nestled in the heart of Puget Sound in the state of Washington, near the major urban centers of Tacoma, Seattle, Bremerton and Olympia, it commands a breathtaking view of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. For much of its century-old history, fishing and boat building have been the lifeblood of this closely-knit coastal community. At one time Gig Harbour had one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the Pacific Northwest. At the foot of Rosedale Street, in this historic part of town, is a small park - the Jerisich Park. It had been named after a Croatian fisherman Sam Jerisich who, along with his family and two fishing partners, rowed down from Vancouver Island some hundred and thirty years ago, to become the first white settlers in Gig Harbour. In 1976, city fathers placed a cairn at the entrance to the park. The text, carved in stone, reads: In 1867 Samuel Jerisich and two Vancouver Island fishing partners arrived in Gig Harbour. They had rowed a flat-bottomed skiff from British Columbia and like men of the Wilkes expedition 26 years before, found shelter from the storm in the Harbour. The bay was to their liking and thus they became the first white settlers. Farragut and Goldsmith later moved on, but Samuel, his wife Anna, and family remained. It was not until 1883 that other pioneers came. The family lived in a cabin on the east side before building on the west side near the bay entrance. Jerisich, a fisherman, also rendered dog fish oil and smoked fish, rowing his products to Steilacoom or Olympia to sell. The fishing industry begun by this Dalmatian native, continues to today through his and the descendants of other pioneers who settled in Gig Harbour. Jerisich's first boat was a long, flat-bottomed skiff, built of well-seasoned cedar boards and powered by sixteen-foot oars. Until his death, in 1905, at age seventy two, the Dalmatian sailor turned fisher never used motors in his boats. He powered them in the old fashioned way - by pure 'muscle' power. He and his two fishing partners Petar Zlatarich (In English, Peter Goldsmith), a Croatian, and John Farragut (also known as John Farrague), a Portuguese, took turns at rowing and pulling in the catch. The nets were drawn in by 'muscle power', too. The trio fished either from the harbour shore, rowing out to corral the fish and returning to the beach to draw the nets in by hand, or by trolling with hook-and-line, a method of fishing which was practiced by native fishermen in virtually all areas of the North Pacific coast. It is known that they often traded with the Indians and were frequent guests at their ceremonies and potlatches. In the Gulf Islands, on Kuper Island, Jerisic met his future wife, Anna (dimin. Annie). She was a full blooded Indian from Kuper Island. Less than six months following the birth of their daughter, the Jerisichs abruptly left Kuper Island for Gig Harbour, in the Washington Territory. They settled on the west side of the bay in a one room split-cedar board cabin. She maintained good and peaceful relations with all her neighbors; a small tribe of Puyallup-NisquaIly Indians, who lived at the head of the bay, in a village complete with a long house, and the two new Slavic arrivals, John Novak and Joe Dorotich, who with their Indian wives settled in the nearby Millville, now a part of Gig Harbour. The Jerisichs prospered and, in time, the family grew. In the Tenth Census of the United States for the Washington Territory, 1880, Samuel and Annie Jeresich are listed as having five children, three boys (John, Michael, and Samuel Jr.), and two girls (Caroline and Melissa). In the next decade, three more children, all girls (Catherine, Julia and Mary), were added to the pioneering Jerisich family. Samuel Jerisich, formerly known as Sime Jerisic, died in Gig Harbour, in 1905. He was seventy-two years old. His wife, Anna, died in 1926, at the age of eighty-two. Both are buried in the Artondale Cemetery, in the city which they helped found. (Juricic 2001)