Picture yourself living in 1740, after the so-called Great Wrath, which had been a period of Russian domination and devastation. The wars and fighting temporarily halted the distilling of pitch on Pikisaari, but a new pitch distillery has now been built. The air is heavy with smoke; the baking smell of pitch and tar is carried by the north wind across Pokkisenväylä canal and into town.

The first pitch factory was established on Pikisaari in the 1640s. It was destroyed by fire on several occasions, the final time being in 1891, after which it was never rebuilt.

Pitch (a form of resin) was manufactured in enormous copper boilers, which had a volume equal to forty or even fifty tar barrels. As one tar barrel held 125 litres of tar, that made the volume of the pitch boilers over 5,000 litres. Much of the content of the boilers was poor-quality, unsellable tar. The best pitch tar was so-called winter tar, which had been stored over the winter, as well as the mixture that was created at the start of the tar burning process. During boiling, the tar turned into thicker, more viscous pitch. The consistency of pitch was tested by tasting: it was ready once it no longer stuck to one’s teeth.

There were many beliefs, supernatural features and rites related to the powerful and capricious element of fire, as well as the pitch and tar that it helped produce. When burning tar, the word tar must not be mentioned; there were many alternative names for it in the Finnish language. Old coins have been found in archaeological digs on Pikisaari, which are believed to have been amulets or magic charms related to pitch distilling.

Many of the boys born into the Pikisaari pitch factory community ended up going to sea or finding other jobs off the island, whereas the girls tended to stay on the island. Known examples include Maria Manninen and sisters Margaretha and Catharina Candelberg, who lived in the 1700s. It was the women who passed the knowledge and skills related to pitch distilling down the generations.

After pitch manufacture stopped on Pikisaari, the island housed Korkeasaari sawmill, as well as enamel, machine and wool works. The buildings of the old wool works and machine works can still be seen at the end of Pikisaarentie, while some ruins of the old sawmill are found on the Korkeasaari side.

Some sections of the pitch factory’s foundations still remain in the soil on the northern shore of Pikisaari (on the Kuusisaari side). On very warm summer’s days, the scent of the centuries-old “black gold” can waft from the earth. Signs of the maritime history of Oulu and Pikisaari can also be found in the surrounding waters, in the form of flintstone that would have been brought from far-off lands as sailing ship ballast.

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Sources:

Hyttinen, Marika 2021: Ajan multaamat muistot: Historiallisen arkeologian tutkimus Oulun

Pikisaaren pikiruukista, ruukkiyhteisöstä ja maailmankuvasta 1640-luvulta 1890-luvulle. Historical Association of Northern Finland. (PhD thesis)

Juvelius, Eric 1989: Tervanvalmistus Pohjanmaalla. (Suomentanut Meri Utrio). Amanita.

Paulaharju, Sakari 1965: Wanha Raahe, WSOY.

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Photo: Finnish Heritage Agency. Photograph from Oulu in 19th century: view from church tower to Pikisaari. Upfront is sea captain Fabritius' house.