The mill buildings are on elevated ground in image left above the waterfront. Log are scattered on the beach in lower right foreground, and are in a logpond by image right center edge. A wharf, with probably stacks of lumber, is in image right behind a point of land, and the top of a sailing ship is visible behind the wharf. Two sheds are near the beach, one in lower foreground, and one in image center. A pile of wood is burning beyond the shed in the lower foreground. Miles Hatch did not arrive in Tacoma until 1877, generally too late for this style of carte-de-visite.
The photograph was probably taken about 1869 and is most likely the Hanson & Ackerson Mill in Old Town Tacoma. The “Hatch Mill” identification appears to be a fairly recent inscription.
