Who were the first people who were called "bootleggers?"

One would assume that the term originated in the Prohibition-era South or Appalachian regions.

One would be wrong.

In the 1850s the fledgling northwest nether lands of the USA needed a Port of Entry for sailing ships brought goods from the North Pacific and for goods from anywhere but bound for the Northwest. Siting the official operations was not easy:

• Portland (OR) had a inland harbor along the Columbia River - and easy access to the nation's growing railroad infrastructure. The bad news was that ingress and egress for ocean ships involved crossing the treacherous "bar" where the Columbia River meets the ocean.
  
• Seattle had an OK harbor, but it was a long way from the ocean (relatively speaking).
  
• Port Angeles (WA) had an excellent harbor and was close to the ocean (relatively speaking) - but had an lousy PR agency.
  
• Port Townsend was close to the ocean (relatively speaking) and had a superior PR program (and an unimpressive harbor).

Port Townsend won (temporarily), and became home to the US Customs service. The local economy soared.

As was typical of wild west boom towns, PT became a rather sleazy place. The locals (the pre-European locals) fell into the local (post-European) debauchery. As one of the town's matrons observed, "I have heard of Sodom and I have heard of Gomorrah. Port Townsend beats the pair."

Even in the town with its wicked ways, being white and drunk was considered to be a character flaw. Being non-white and drunk was a crime - AND a source of fear for the late-arriving, but dominant, Europeans. The ruling parties (white) made it a crime to furnish alcohol to "Indians."

This interference in the Free Market provided business opportunities. (White) entreprenuers figured out a way smuggle illegal alcohol to the Prohibees (non-white): they wore high-top boots in which they could carry "flat" bottles of booze. Those who thusly transported illegal alcohol became known as..... bootleggers.

Epilogues:

1. The citizens of PA resolved the problem of crappy PR. They raided the Customs House in PT and took everything they needed to establish the offices in Port Angeles. To this day, US Customs (or whatever it's now called) is housed in Port Angeles, WA.
2. The railroad terminus - vital to port operations - wound up in Tacoma (WA), thus diminishing the importance of PA. Tacoma's PR efforts trumped everyone's.
   

Go figure.

Labels: bootleg, Port Angeles, Port Townsend