Local Resident LLyn De Danaan’s Book Chronicles Salish Woman’s Life on Oyster Bay

katiegale

Click to purchase the book.

Long time resident of Oyster Bay, author and anthropologist LLyn De Danaan, has a new book available on October 1. The title is Katie Gale: A Coast Salish Woman’s Life on Oyster Bay. It is a comprehensive history of Oyster Bay, with many references to Mud Bay, from about 1870 to 1900.

A gravestone, a mention in local archives, stories still handed down around Oyster Bay: the outline of a woman begins to emerge and with her the world she inhabited, so rich in tradition, so shaken by violent change. Katie Kettle Gale was born into a Salish community in Puget Sound in the 1850s, just as settlers were migrating into what would become Washington State. With her people forced out of their accustomed hunting and fishing grounds into ill-provisioned island camps and reservations, Katie Gale sought her fortune in Oyster Bay. In that early outpost of multiculturalism – where Native Americans and immigrants from the eastern United States, Europe, and Asia vied for economic, social, political, and legal power – a woman like Gale could make her way.

Llyn De Danaan’s new book, Katie Gale: a Coast Salish Woman’s Life on Oyster Bay, is a must read for anyone interested in local history, the shellfish industry, and our local Native American heritage. The book tells the story of Katie Kettle, a Native American woman, who married Joseph Gale, a white settler, in the late 1800s and lived on Oyster Bay. The Gales were major personalities in the oyster growing business.

This memoir is suitable for general audiences. Follow De Danaan’s intellectual and spiritual journey discovering the historically significant Katie Gale.

LLyn_De_Danaan

Author LLyn De Danaan

As LLyn De Danaan mines the historical record, we begin to see Gale, a strong-willed Native woman who co-founded a successful oyster business, then wrested it away from her Euro-American husband, a man with whom she raised children and who ultimately made her life unbearable. Steeped in sadness – with a lost home and a broken marriage, children dying in their teens, and tuberculosis claiming her at forty-three – Katie Gale’s story is also one of remarkable pluck, a tale of hard work and ingenuity, gritty initiative and bad luck that is, ultimately, essentially American.

LLyn De Danaan is a writer and an anthropologist. She contributed to the book Vashon Island Archaeology: A View from Burton Acres Shell Midden, and her articles have appeared in Women’s Studies Quarterly, Columbia: The Magazine of Northwest History, and Oregon Historical Quarterly.

“Katie Gale’s story is unique in its scale; few accounts of the nineteenth-century Northwest focus on the life of a single Native woman and her family. LLyn De Danaan’s writing is big history made deeply human, offering insights not just into Native American history but also into the arrival of industrial capitalism on Puget Sound, the politics of statehood and race in Washington, and the profound transformation of local landscapes.”
— Coll Thrush, author of Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place

“I have followed LLyn De Danaan’s writing path for years now. She is talented and bold, and this new book puts her firmly where she belongs – at the heart of the American voice. Good stuff, highly recommended.”
— Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil’s Highway and Into the Beautiful North

 

Local Authors Tell the History of Schafer State Park Through Vintage Photos

Click to purchase the book.

The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Schafer State Park from local authors Peter Schafer Reid and Barbara Seal Ogle. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

Schafer State Park, a US National Historic Site located to the north of Elma, not only represents a unique example of 1930s craftsmanship from the Works Progress Administration and other emergency programs but is also a window into the settlement of the Satsop River Valley. In the last quarter of the 19th century, this included the vast logging and lumber operations undertaken at the park and in the surrounding forest, as well as the bounty available from the river stretching far back into the history of Native Americans in the Northwest.

The park also memorializes an early example of philanthropy by private citizens and corporations in Washington State. It is an effort that has continued over the years and has been crucial to the expansion of the state park system. The authors are pleased to provide this book as the Washington State Parks System celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Highlights of Schafer State Park include:
  • Pioneer Days in the Satsop River Vallery
  • Life and Logging Before and During World War I
  • The 1920’s Boom and Establishment of Schafer State Park
  • The Depression Years of the 1930’s
  • World War II to the Present

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665. Peter Reid was born and raised in Aberdeen, Washington. He is a graduate of Stanford University, New York University School of Law and the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University. Peter is the great grandson of John and Anna Schafer who settled with their family in the Satsop River Valley in 1872 and the grandson of Peter Schafer, one of the three brothers who donated Schafer State Park to Washington State in 1924.

Peter Reid

Reid served two years in the Peace Corps in Tanzania and was the Executive Director of a Public Interest Law Firm in the San Francisco Bay Area for 30 years before joining the faculty of Stanford Law School. He retired from Stanford in 2006 when he and his wife, Barbara Ogle, moved to Olympia. Reid currently is serving as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Washington State Parks Foundation, Co-chair of the Steamboat Conservation Partnership and is a Board member and former President of the Olympia World Affairs Council.

Barbara Seal Ogle

Barbara Seal Ogle is a graduate of St. Olaf College with a major in History. As a child her family vacations included camping and visiting National and State Parks. Her love of history continues with her current interest in local history such as the settlement of the Satsop River Valley. Ogle grew up in the Midwest and moved with her family around the area before settling in California. Her strong interest in travel has included living and studying in Thailand while in college and extensive visits to Europe and to other states in the US.

Ogle is an accomplished, prize-winning knitter and enjoys working in textile arts and photography; chronicling the beautiful flora, fauna and landscapes found in the state, national and international parks she has visited. She recently retired from the Palo Alto Unified School District and from the Office of International Programs and Development at Saint Martin’s University. Ogle currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Olympia World Affairs Council.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Their mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places. Have they done a book on your town? Visit http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/

Much of the text in this article was provided by Arcadia Publishing.

Our Potlatch Culture

Countless Potlatch gatherings were held for millennia by the Native Peoples of the coastal Northwest. The Paddle to Squaxin 2012 was the most recent Potlatch held on south Puget Sound.

Historical Potlatches

A Potlatch is an important gathering or festival of Native Peoples celebrating a major event of the host. Guests from far and near attended a Potlatch. Feasts were held, music performed, dances were performed, stories were told, and spiritual ceremonies were conducted, but most importantly, the hosts gave away most of their wealth to the honored guests.

The term “Potlatch” is a Coastal Salish Lushootseed word meaning “throw through the air” or “throw at”, relating to the practice of hosts giving gifts away at the Potlatch to visitors. This term is also part of the Chinook trade jargon, a language used by Native Peoples from Oregon to Alaska. Much of this jargon came from the language of the Chinook Tribe that lived at the mouth of the Columbia River. Other words came from languages of other Native Peoples, English and French.

Normally, a high-status person hosted a Potlatch. However, Potlatches were also held celebrating major events of the host family, such as the marriage of children, the erection of a house, a funeral, or the birth of a child. The entire village assisted in preparations for a Potlatch. Traditionally, the most important Potlatches were held during the winter, after food had been harvested and preserved.

A Potlatch could be held in a Potlatch House, erected in most larger villages, or in the host family’s long house. Both types of houses were constructed of cedar planks and were often quite large. The largest Potlatch House built by the Snohomish Tribe at Tulalip was 150 feet long and 43 feet wide. Most other Potlatch Houses were smaller. At least one traditional Potlatch house was located on Eld Inlet, and presumably all other inlets of Puget Sound.

The essential Potlatch practice of hosts giving away most of their wealth offended white settlers. Accordingly, white authorities attempted to ban Potlatches as part of their efforts to drive traditional practices from Native Peoples and “civilize” them into the ways of the white man. However, the Potlatch tradition continued.

Southern Puget Sound Native Peoples

In south Puget Sound, separate bands of closely related Native Peoples lived along the shores of each major inlet. The Clam Legend of the Puget Sound Native Peoples teaches that very long ago, the Raven stuck people into clamshells and dropped them all around Puget Sound. This started the various small bands of Native Peoples up and down Puget Sound.

A winter village was constructed at the closed or protected end of the inlet. Each winter village contained from one to three long houses of roughly 100 feet in length. The winter village of the T’Peeksin peoples of Totten Inlet was located at the southern end of the Inlet on Oyster Bay where Schneider Creek enters the bay. The winter village of the Squi-Aitl band of Eld Inlet was located at the southern end of the Inlet on Mud Bay, south of today’s Highway 101. This winter village had three long houses, each housing about 100 people.

Members of the band congregated in their winter villages during the cold months. This is where children learned much of their traditional stories and culture. During warmer months, members of the village moved out along both sides of the inlet, living in family units in temporary housing, and harvested food.

The Squaxin Island Tribe was created by administrative fiat of Isaac I. Stevens, the first Governor of Washington Territory, as part of the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854. Seven bands of southern Puget Sound, including the T’Peeksin and Squi-Aitl, were combined into the Tribe.

Squaxin peoples continued holding Potlatches after contact with whites. This includes Potlatches held along both shores of Steamboat Island peninsula.

Tobin Potlatches

At least two major Potlatches were hosted by the James Tobin family along the north shore of Young Cove, off of Eld Inlet, on the Steamboat Island peninsula. James and Louisa Tobin were very prominent residents of this area who owned most of the land north Young Cove, as well as oyster lands stretching from the mouth of Young Cove, around Flapjack Point, and past Frye Cove county park. Mrs. Tobin was the only surviving child of Sitkum Kettle or Kettle Labatim, one of the last chiefs of the Squaxin Island Tribe.

The Tobins hosted a Potlatch in 1900 celebrating the marriage of their daughter Katie Tobin to Edward J. Smith. Smith was the son of the last chief of the Chahalis Tribe. The Potlatch celebration of the wedding lasted three days. It is estimated that as many as 300 Indians attended the affair. The Morning Olympian reported that attendees included “many Indians of Puget Sound, some of them famous chiefs in pioneer days, whose names and deeds were in those time [sic.], household words. There were representatives from the Squaxin, Nisqually, Chahalis, Neah Bay, Puyallup, Skokomish, Oyster Bay and Mud Bay. Many whites also attended the multi-day affair.” The bride’s grandfather Chief Kettle was in attendance, but would not allow his photo to be taken. Most guests arrived by canoe.

The Tobins fed all of the guests. Food was served in a 35 foot long shed behind the Tobin house and under nearby fruit trees. The Tobin house was located just north or across the street from the modern-day boat launch on Gravelly Beach Loop. The fare included beef, bread, potatoes, oysters, clams, and side dishes. A dancing pavilion was erected near the house. The guests camped along the shoreline, which was the north side of Young Cove. The Potlatch continued for three days. The Morning Olympian reported that “it is most unusual now days to see so many Indian celebrities gathering at one place, and the wedding will have a resting place in the minds of the Olympia visitors who attended.” It referred to wedding as “great doings of a society nature”.

The Tobins hosted another Potlatch on their property in 1910, celebrating the double wedding of two sets of brothers and sisters – Angeline Tobin married Steve Frederick and Benjamin Franklin Tobin married Jessie Frederick. The Frederick brother and sister were the children of Joe and Mamie Frederick, prominent members of the Puyallup Tribe. Joe Frederick was know as one of the most prosperous Native Americans on Puget Sound. Again, more than 300 Native American guests attended the wedding which lasted for several days. Dinners were eaten on tables set out in the Tobin orchard. Again, most guests arrived by canoe.

Paddle to Squaxin 2012

The most recent Potlatch on south Puget Sound was the Paddle to Squaxin 2012, held this summer. Native Americans paddled almost 100 canoes into Olympia, arriving on the afternoon of Sunday, July 29, 2012. Canoes held members of many different Pacific coast and inland water tribes celebrating this year’s Native Canoe Journey for 2012. The Squaxin Island Tribe hosted this year’s event. Some paddlers paddled for weeks traveling many hundreds of miles from as far as the Queen Charlotte Islands and Bella Bella.

Elaborate landing ceremonies for the canoes were held at North Point, the northern end of the Port of Olympia’s facilities. Prior to landing, the crew of on each canoe, or group of canoes, raised their paddles into the air as a sign of friendship and requested permission to land. Members of the Squaxin Island responded and invited the paddlers ashore. Thousands of Native Peoples, and other people, viewed the landing, including Governor Chris Gregoire and Olympia Mayor Steve Buxbaum.

Canoes landed continuously from 1 PM until 6 PM. Crews of from 7 to 15 paddlers were aboard each canoe. Most canoes were cedar, dug out canoes. Many were 40 feet long. Canoes traveling the furthest landed first. Canoes from the Quinault Tribe, that will host the annual event in 2013, landed second to the last. Canoes from the Squaxin Island Tribe, representing this year’s host tribe, landed last.

The festivities continued through the week on Squaxin properties at Kamilche. Members of each participating tribe danced and sang their songs. The order was similar to the order of canoes landing – tribes from the furthest away performed first, with Quinaults, next year’s host performing second to the last, and the host Squaxin Tribe performing last. Great emphasis was made to instill pride, mixed with being humble, and emphasizing native languages and staying sober. Tribal youth were a real focus of the event. Elders were celebrated, including William Peters, a World War II veteran and one of the most venerated Squaxin Elders.

Guests at Kamilche were greeted by two huge tents, both about 100 yards long. The intricate ceremonies were performed in one tent, with bleachers along the sides. Food and beverages were severed at no charge in the second tent for all attendees, Native American or otherwise. It was a real treat to observe these ceremonies and partake in the friendship at Kamilche. A strong spirit of friendship and hospitality was evident.

Native Canoe Journeys are modern Potlatches where Native Peoples tell stories, dance, sing, and celebrate. The Squaxin Island Tribe presented gifts to the paddlers, reminiscent of Potlatches from many years ago.

— STEVE LUNDIN
Copyright 2012 by Steve Lundin

Steve Lundin is a long-time resident of the Griffin community located in northwest Thurston County. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School and retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives after nearly 30 years.

He is recognized as the local historian of the Griffin area and has written a number of articles on local history and a book entitled Griffin Area Schools, available from the Griffin Neighborhood Association at a cost of $10.

Click here to read more of Steve’s articles on the local history of the Griffin area.

Hips Aweigh

“Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!” — Read a 1968 proclamation announcing the formal organization of the Sisters of Hips Aweigh (H.A.W.). H.A.W. was more informally known as the Fat Ladies Group.

This sisterhood of some of the Griffin area’s finest was organized to address a weighty problem. Boldly declaring that misery loves company and problems shared are lighter in weight, these women attacked their problem with mirth and weekly meetings. A sister could call on any other sister for any help she may need.

H.A.W. assembled for weekly meetings every Friday morning at 10 A.M. The weekly meeting site moved from home to home. Each member parked her feelings at home when the group assembled. Snide remarks and irreverent humor were in order. Humorous readings were given. No kids or men were allowed.

It was said that the husbands liked the Sisterhood because the women were better natured when they came home after the weekly meetings.

The original charter limited the sisterhood to twenty, but this restriction was lowered to sixteen in 1988. Charter members included Toddy Schmidt, Clara Keyes, Ada LeMay, Claire Peterson, and Kathy Keyes (Cowan). Rose Eason was the first new initiate. By 1969, Mary Juhl, Dorothy Reed, Ella Reigel, Eula Biggerly, and Velma Anderson had joined. Other sisters included, Ruth Baker, Lois Camus, Rheba Christopher, Pat Dunkelberger, Thora Flock, Irene Froboes, Yvonne Heffner, Imogen Leonard, Edith Leo, Alice Mack, Eleanor Perrire, Leona Peterson, and Eva Tobin.

Minutes were kept for each meeting. Officers were elected, including the President, Secretary, Under Secretary, and Flip Flap Officer, who was also known as she who guards the treasury. Other officers included the Record Keeper, Crowner of the Queen, Security Officer, Entertainment Committee Officer, Horn Blower, and Slip Writer. Each officer served until such time as the group felt like holding another election – “like in England.”

The sisters weighed and had their weights recorded at each meeting. Then they ate and enjoyed a program. Summaries of any weight changes were calculated at the annual Pounders’ Day meeting. Each member received one of three awards at this meeting, based upon these calculations. The Hippo award was presented to each member with a net weight gain for the year. The Turtle award was presented to each member with no weight gain. The Queen for a Day crown was awarded to each member who lost weight.

A big party was held whenever a member turned 75. Each sister turning 75 received a special telephone call from Ella Reigel who read a Western Union telegram announcing her Birthday and tickled her piano’s ivory keys with a classical rendition. Other special events included Christmas parties and Halloween parties.

Formal meetings ended after 25 years of frivolity, but Hips Aweigh still lives in many memories.

— STEVE LUNDIN
Copyright 2011 by Steve Lundin

Steve Lundin is a long-time resident of the Griffin community located in northwest Thurston County. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School and retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives after nearly 30 years.

He is recognized as the local historian of the Griffin area and has written a number of articles on local history and a book entitled Griffin Area Schools, available from the Griffin Neighborhood Association at a cost of $10.

Click here to read more of Steve’s articles on the local history of the Griffin area.

Local Native American Heritage

SquaxinIslandLogoIndigenous peoples have inhabited the southern Puget Sound area for many centuries.

Prior to the arrival of Euro-Americans, indigenous peoples inhabiting Puget Sound had a vibrant culture and relatively dense populations. They were maritime peoples who called themselves “People of the Water”. Puget Sound was sacred. It also served as their basic means of transportation and a source of food.

Prior to the Medicine Creek Treaty of 1855, native peoples living in southern Puget Sound were known by the inlet on which they lived. A separate band of native peoples occupied each inlet. They were known by the name of their inlet. People living along both shores of what is now called Eld Inlet were known as the Squi-Ailt. People living along both shores of what is now called Totten Inlet were known as the T’Peeksin. The Squaxin Tribe was formed after the Medicine Creek Treaty from seven separate, but closely related, bands of native peoples living on seven separate inlets in southern Puget Sound.

During the cold weather season, members of each band lived in a large cedar long house in a more or less permanent village located at the sheltered end of their inlet. These were the times when members of the band lived communally, repeated their legions and stories, and instructed their children in tribal ways. During the warm weather season, families units from each band fanned out along both sides of their inlet and lived in less permanent dwellings. They harvested the bounty of the inlet and prepared for the next cold weather season. Proximity to fresh water was a prerequisite for locating a permanent cold weather village and the more numerous, transitory warm weather sites.

One of these winter village sites for the Squi-Ailt was at the archeological dig on former Secretary of State Ralph Munro’s property located on the eastern shore of Mud Bay near the southern end of Eld Inlet.

T. T. Waterman was a noted anthropologist at the University of Washington during the early years of the 20th century. He met with tribal elders in southern Puget Sound in 1910 and recorded important sites. More than 33 of these sites were noted on the Steamboat peninsula or Griffin area.

Waterman noted the abandoned site of a “large and thriving” village at the southern end of Mud Bay, a little north of the modern-day intersection of Delphi Road and MacKenzie Road. He failed to note the site of the archeological dig at Ralph Munro’s as being the site of a village, although he mentioned the three creeks on Ralph Munro’s property. Apparently, the village site mentioned by Waterman had succeeded the earlier village site at Munro’s property, although both sites were abandoned by 1910.

Perry Creek was known as “Balablts” or on the side toward the spring. It is noted as being a “large creek flowing into a cover”.

Rocky Point is also called Maple Point and was called “TsEbtsEdid” which suggests dancing place or “elderberry place”.

Young Cove was called “q!abt!o” or “abounding in food”.

Flapjack Point was noted as being prominent and was known as “qwet qs” or down-stream promontory.

Fry Cove was noted as being a very narrow cove that was known as “Tu caix” signifying an edible root that was dug by Native peoples. This may have been Camus.

Sanderson Cove was described as being a very narrow cove known as “Tu qwa’lot sid” or “fish trap at its mouth”. A weir was built across the mouth of the inlet that would trap fish when the tide receded.

Hunter Point was known as “Djie’ kclL” which means “foot”. Presumably this meant wet foot describing waves that rush up to the foot of the cliff, fall back, and then rush up again.

Sandy Point, near where the bridge to Steamboat Island is located, was known as “CxwE’ tsugEL” which suggested sharp breath.

Steamboat Island was known as “SxetElp” or “pushing off from shore”, presumably referring to the appearance of the island as though a canoe was leaving the mainland. It is fitting that one of the modern rationales for naming the island Steamboat Island is that the island resembles a steamboat.

Gallagher Cove was known as “Bicola’lala” or “a place with many cattail rushes”. Cattails were very important for weaving baskets.

The promontory at northern point at the northwest end of Gallagher Cove was known as “hwEts – toi’q – stEb” which means “sharp prodding”. This relates to the belief that a storm will be caused if anyone pokes the bottom of the inlet there with a pole or paddle.

Burns Point was known as “T!EbE’ x” which means “gooseberries”.

— STEVE LUNDIN
Copyright 2011 by Steve Lundin

Steve Lundin is a long-time resident of the Griffin community located in northwest Thurston County.  He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School and is now retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives after nearly 30 years.

He is recognized as the local historian of the Griffin area and has written a number of articles on local history and a book entitled Griffin Area Schools, available from the Griffin Neighborhood Association at a cost of $10. 

Lundin also wrote a comprehensive reference book on local governments in Washington State entitled The Closest Governments to the People – A Complete Reference Guide to Local Government in Washington State.  The book costs $85, plus shipping and handling.  It is available on the web from the Division of Governmental Studies and Services, Washington State University, at http://dgss.wsu.edu/ or from WSU Extension at www.pubs.wsu.edu

Click here for more articles of interest, regarding local history.

Dick Durward, Area Resident since 1920, Has Passed Away

Dick Durward

Long-time area resident Richard “Dick” Durward passed away this last Saturday, at his home in Tumwater. Local historian, author, and Griffin Neighborhood Association Board member Steve Lundin brought this to our attention. Writes Steve, “The Durwards moved to the Griffin area in the early 1920s when Dick was about two.  They lived on Fredricks’ hill, which is the steep hill you drive down before you get to [the 2300 block of  Gravelly Beach Loop].  Dick was the first fire chief of the newly formed Griffin fire district in the 1960s, as well as the Grand Master of the Prosperity Grange.  He operated a saw shop out here in the 1960s — it where the used furniture store is on Sexton Road.” Dick attended the Griffin School.

The Olympian has published an obituary of some respectable length. Click here for that page. And, KOMO4 has an obituary, on their web site. Click here to browse that page.

Service Information:

Friday November 19th 2010 12:00pm
Mills and Mills Funeral Home and Memorial Park
Tumwater, WA

Steve Lundin has authored a number of articles for this blog, regarding the history of the Griffin area.

Local Author Deborah Jane Ross Pens Book on Konrad and Albertina Schneider

Click to buy the book

Local author Deborah Jane Ross has published a book, just in time for the holidays, about Konrad and Albertina Schneider, entitled Konrad and Albertina.

This is the true story of a German stonemason and his Swedish bride, Konrad and Albertina Schneider, who make their way from Burlington, Iowa to Puget Sound on the Oregon Trail. When Konrad is hired as chief mason for the New Dungeness Lighthouse, he sends for his teenaged nephew, John. The triumphant completion of the lighthouse is overshadowed by tragedy when Konrad and John are arrested for theft.

It is from Konrad and Albertina that we get the name for Schneider Prairie.

Topurchase a copy of Konrad and Albertina, can click on this link and purchase it through Amazon.com (with a portion of Amazon’s profits coming to the Griffin Neighborhood Association).

This Saturday, December 5, from 5 to 7 PM, there will be a book launching party, Smyth Landing, 1801 West Bay Drive, Olympia, Washington. Public is invited and refreshments will be served.

Steve Lundin, who periodically contributes material to this blog, has also written about Konrad and Albertina Schneider. Click here to read his piece regarding Schneider Prairie History.

Griffin Area Logging Railroads

Three different logging railroads served the greater Griffin area many years ago.

These railroads are discussed in Gone But Not Forgotten – Abandoned Railroads of Thurston County, Washington, written by Dr. James Hannum, a resident of our community.

The Puget Sound and Chehalis Railroad was the first railroad. It was also known as the Mosher and McDonald Railroad and then the McCleary Timber Company Railroad. The railroad had 12 miles of track terminating on Mud Bay at the current address of 2144 Madrona Beach Road NW. This site is about 1.4 miles up Madrona Beach Road northwest of the park and ride lot on Mud Bay.

The railroad was constructed shortly after 1888. Soon after Henry McCleary purchased the railroad in 1906, the link to Mud Bay was abandoned after a connection was made from McCleary to the Northern Pacific Railroad. Logs were rolled into Mud Bay from a log rollway running parallel with the shoreline and then rafted to saw mills located on Puget Sound. Two switchbacks took the railroad up the hill around the Indian Shaker Church before the railroad began running westward to McCleary, generally south of what is now Highway 8.

The most remembered railroad serving the greater Griffin area was the Mud Bay Logging Company Railroad. Initially the railroad was called the Thurston County Central Railroad. It was constructed around 1906 and abandoned in 1941.

The Mud Bay Logging Company Railroad eventually had two mainlines totaling 35 miles. An extensive facility was located on Mud Bay where the park and ride lot is now located just east of where Perry Creek enters Mud Bay. Logs were hauled from the company’s logging operations, dumped into Mud Bay, and then rafted to sawmills on Puget Sound. Remnants of several piers may still be seen extending into the Bay north or the park and ride lot. A marker commemorating the facility is located at the northwest end of the park and ride lot.

The initial railroad ran southward from the terminus on Mud Bay, across the county right of way on what is now Madrona Beach Road, and up Delphi Valley on the west side of McLane Creek down to Waddell Creek. Short spurs snaked out from the mainline to serve areas where logging occurred. A branch line was built westward from its original line to serve the company’s operations in the north portion of the Black Hills. Again, a large number of short spur lines were connected to this new mainline.

Dr. Hannum indicates that a third railroad (the Jameson Logging Company Railroad) also served the greater Griffin area running into Summit Lake from the south. Not many records of this railroad remain. It appears to have been built around 1905. This railroad may actually have been a short section of the old McClearly Timber Railroad. A short history of Summit Lake includes a hand drawn map that shows the McClearly Railroad running westward from the northwest shore of Summit Lake and then parallel with Highway 8 toward McCleary.

Bill Durward recalls helping his father take the annual school census for Schneider’s Prairie School District in 1922 or 1923. They traveled by automobile up what is now Highway 8, parked on the side of the road, and walked up railroad tracks leading to company houses on Summit Lake. Presumably there was no auto road leading to the Lake at that time. The northern portion of Summit Lake was located in Schneider’s Prairie School District and remains part of the Griffin School District. Bill recalls the railroad as being called the McCleary Timber Company Railroad. The short connection to Summit Lake probably was soon abandoned as a 1929 Metsker map of Thurston County shows the McCleary Railroad ending several miles west of Summit Lake.

STEVE LUNDIN

Steve Lundin is a long-time resident of the Griffin community located in northwest Thurston County. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School and recently retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives after nearly 30 years.

He is recognized as the local historian of the Griffin area and has written a number of articles on local history and a book entitled Griffin Area Schools, available from the Griffin Neighborhood Association at a cost of $10.

Lundin also wrote a comprehensive reference book on local governments in Washington State entitled The Closest Governments to the People – A Complete Reference Guide to Local Government in Washington State. The book costs $85, plus shipping and handling. It is available on the web from the Division of Governmental Studies and Services, Washington State University, at http://dgss.wsu.edu/ or from WSU Extension at www.pubs.wsu.edu .

Journal of Peter Puget Describes Our Area in 1792

As any area student will tell you, the Puget Sound is named after Peter Puget, who sailed on the HMS Discovery, with Captain George Vancouver. Below is a portion of Puget’s journal, transcribed by local historian and author Steve Lundin. This portion of the journal describes his trip down Totten, Eld, and Budd Inlets. Incidentally, Vancouver anchored Discovery near present day Seattle and sent Puget in command of two rowing craft to survey south, in May and into June, 1792. So, you see, Puget wasn’t in our area with a ship like that depicted in the photo here. The portion of the journal here starts part way down page 197.

[Puget refers to “Friendly Indians” who followed his boats near Nisqually Flats.] They did not leave us to after we had passed the SSW Channel and still conducted themselves in the most inoffensive and peaceable Manner — by Noon we had reached the Continental Shore that now trended about West and pursued it for Ten Miles to an Island where we were glad to stop and erect our Tents to avoid a threatening Squall from the SE about two it came on with Thunder Lightning and a heavy Gust which continued without Intermission all the Afternoon The Rain fell in perfect torrents; we therefore were obliged to remain in our Quarters Till Next Morning Thursday May 24th.

We again set out Early and pursuing the Continent which now trended to the Northward of West by 8 we had determined the termination of this Branch about 12 Miles from Wednesday Island [probably Herron Island in Case Inlet], here we tryed the Seine and caught only one Salmon trout. from this termination we entered another Branch trending in a SW and Southerly and in various Directions [Pickering Passage, between Harstine Island and the Olympic Peninsula] but not more than 1/4 or 1/2 a Mile Broad we continued on till 6 in the Evening when we brought too for the Night and dinner, from this Situation we could see a Channel to the SE [either Peales Passage or Squaxin Passage] by which we hoped to return into the Main Branch through an Opening in the Opposite Shore where the last Canoes had left us.

Early Next Morning Friday May 25th we had a Survey on the Provisions which we found would last till Wednesday next. I therefore thought it best to determine this alternative Navigation and save the trouble of a Second Expedition to this Extent [page 198] We had likewise been successful in procuring a good Quantity of Clams which with Nettle tops Fat Hen and gooseberry Tops greatly assisted the customary allowance of Provisions and Yesterday during a hard Shower of Rain we were particularly fortunate in that Respect — — for the Boats could have loaded with the former, and the People were not averse to eating Crows of which we could always procure plenty. Therefore, as our continuance out could not be attended with any Inconvenience, but would be saving time, We pursued our Examination of the Southern narrow Inlet [Totten Inlet] the termination of which we sounded out by Noon — In this Branch were many beautiful Spots the Low Surrounding country though thickly covered with Wood had a very pleasant Appearance, now in the height of Spring. We had already passed during this Expedition several Small deserted Villages which were supposed to be only the temporary Habitations of Fishermen, we took advantage of the Remaining part of the Tide to come down as far as possible and about five Miles from the termination stopped to Dine

In the Evening we were fortunate in reaching the SE passage seen from last Nights Sleeping Place where we pitched out Tents in a very pleasant Situation; Early next morning Saturday May 26th with a continuance of favorable Weather we pursued another Small Branch [Eld Inlet] that nearly ran parallel to the one we had determined yesterday. About an Hour after we had set out, An Indian Village made it Appearance from whence some Canoes came off perfectly unarmed He pointed that we were near the Termination of this Arm, which Intelligence we found true; In our Way down we landed for a Short time and were received by the Inhabitants with all the Friendship and Hospitality we could have expected — These people I should suppose were about Sixty in Number of all Ages and Descriptions they lived under a Kind of Shed open at the Front and Sides. The Women appeared employed in the Domestic Duties such as curing Clams and fish, making Baskets of various Colours and as nearly woven that they are perfectly watertight. The Occupations of the Men I believe consists chiefly in Fishing, constructing Canoes and performing all the Labourious Work of the Village; Though it was perfectly Curiosity which had induced us to land, yet that was the sooner satisfied by the horrid Stench which came from all parts of these Habitations, with which they were delighted.

The Natives had but Two Sea Otter Skins which were purchased and a variety of Marmot, Rabbit Raccoon Deer and Bear skins were also procured The Men had a War Garment on, it consisted of a very thick Hide supposedly made from the Moose Deer, and well prepared — I have no doubt but it [page 199] is a Sufficient Shield against Arrows, though not against Fire Arms The Garment reaches from the Shoulders down to the Knees, this however was got in exchange for a Small piece of Copper, from which we may suppose they were not of much Value, they likewise disposed of some well constructed Bows and Arrows, in Short it was only to ask, and have your Wish gratified, the only Difference, I perceived between our present Companions and former Visitors, were the Extravagance with Which their Faces were Ornamented. Streaks of Red Ochre and Black Glimmer, were on some, others entirely with the Former, and a few that gave the Preference to the Latter — ever Person had a fashion of his own, and to us who were Strangers to Indians, this Sight conveyed a Stronger Force of the Savageness of the Native Inhabitants, then any other Circumstance we had hitherto met with; not but their Conduct, friendly and inoffensive, had already merited our warmest Approbation, but their Appearance was absolutely terrific. And it will frequently occur, that the Imagination receives a much greater Shock by such unusual Objects, than it would otherwise would, was that Object divested of its Exterior Ornaments or Dress, or the Sight was more familiarized to People in a State of Nature and Though we could not behold these Ornaments with the same satisfactory Eye as themselves, yet in receiving the looking Glasses, each appeared well Satisfied with his own Fashion, at least the Paint was not at all altered. — They likewise had the Hair covered with the Down of Birds; which certainly was a good substitute for Powder, and the Paint only differed in the Colours and not the Quantity used by our own Fair Country women — In those two Instances we meet with some Resemblance to our Customs and I believe the above mentioned Ornaments were of a Ceremonious Nature for our Reception at the Village — —

From Friendly Inlet we pulled up another [Budd Inlet] in the same Direction and landed not far from its termination to Breakfast whither the Indians from the last Arm had followed us. here they made Signs, that this Branch was the Same as their own, which after a Quarter of an hours Row we found to be the case.

Steve Lundin is a long-time resident of the Griffin community located in northwest Thurston County. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School and recently retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives after nearly 30 years.

He is recognized as the local historian of the Griffin area and has written a number of articles on local history and a book entitled Griffin Area Schools, available from the Griffin Neighborhood Association at a cost of $10.

Lundin also wrote a comprehensive reference book on local governments in Washington State entitled The Closest Governments to the People – A Complete Reference Guide to Local Government in Washington State. The book costs $85, plus shipping and handling. It is available on the web from the Division of Governmental Studies and Services, Washington State University, or from WSU Extension.

If you have old historic photos of the Griffin area, or family stories of the old days in the Griffin area, please contact Steve Lundin at s.lundin@comcast.net. Steve is most interested in photos of the old two-story Grange Hall in the Griffin area and the old Schneider’s Prairie schoolhouse that burned to the ground in 1926.

Schneider Prairie History

Konrad Schneider is the namesake of Schneider Prairie. Although Schneider was a early settler in the Griffin area, he was not the first white settler of what became known as Schneider Prairie.

Schneider Prairie is one of several oak prairies that existed in Thurston County. Oak prairies were very important to Native Americans. They periodically burned the underbrush on these prairies to keep them open, which attracted deer that were hunted. Native Americans also harvested camas, berries, and acorns on the prairies.

Early white settlers sought these prairie areas for their land claims. Prairies were desirable since they were already cleared to a substantial extent and had relatively good soils.

Puffer and Cross

Two early white settlers filed separate donation claims for the same 160 acres of land on Schneider Prairie. Griffin School, the old Haller mink farm, the Grange Hall, the golf driving range, and the Island Market are located on this claim.

The northern boundary of the claim was about where the Prosperity Grange Hall is located, and where Sunrise Beach Road enters Steamboat Island Road. The eastern boundary was approximately where Mink Street first meets Sunrise Beach Road. The southern boundary was located on about 33rd Street. The claim had about 150 feet of frontage on Eld Inlet. The western boundary was west of the freeway overpass over Highway 101.

William W. Puffer may have been the earliest white settler on Schneider Prairie. He filed a donation land claim for this acreage on April 17, 1855. Field notes from the original survey of the Griffin area on August 4, 1855 noted Puffer’s land claim, with 10 acres under cultivation, and a house. The house was located at about the corner of Sexton Road and Steamboat Island Road. The cultivated area was west of the cabin. However, the Puffer claim was not successful.

Benjamin Franklin Cross filed a claim for the same land on August 26, 1855. Interestingly, Puffer attested on April 17, 1856, that Benjamin Cross had resided on the claim since August 24, 1854. Cross was born in New Hampshire in 1832. He was a resident of Sawamish (Mason) County at the time of filing his claim. An affidavit by Cross indicated that he was single, had arrived in Washington Territory on November 3, 1853, and had first settled on the land claim on August 26, 1854. A 1858 survey of the area noted that Cross resided in the former Puffer cabin.

The original 1855 survey of the Griffin area noted two white (Gerry or Oregon) oaks, 18 inches in diameter, to locate a section boundary line cutting across the property. These markers are called “bearing trees”. One, known as the historical Schneider Prairie Oak Tree, still stands, and currently has a diameter of 60 inches. It is located west of the old barn on Schneider Prairie. Only a stump remains of the second bearing tree.

Cross sold his donation land claim to Eli Montgomery in 1862. Previously, Montgomery acquired a donation land claim for property located on the southeast portion of Mud Bay. He also acquired 33 acres of waterfront land west of the Cross donation land claim on the dead-end portion of what is now Madrona Beach Road. Montgomery sold the Cross donation land claim, and the 33 acre parcel, to Konrad Schneider in 1866.

Schneider and Solbeck

Konrad Schneider was born in 1818 in Hessen, which is now part of Germany. His wife (Albertina) was born in Sweden in 1830. They met and were married in Burlington, Iowa, in 1852, and soon left for Puget Sound in a covered wagon.

Schneider was a stone mason and had been awarded a contract to build a lighthouse at Dungeness near Port Townsend. They arrived in Tumwater in the fall of 1852. Schneider acquired a donation land claim for land located on what is now Case Road, south of the Olympia Airport and north of Millersylvannia State Park.

Konrad and Albertina had nine children — Henry (born in 1853), August (born 1855), Catherine (born 1857), Molkina (born 1859), Frederick (born 1862), Konrad (born 1864), Matilda (born 1867), William (born 1871), and Albert (born 1874). Many of their descendants still live in Thurston County.

Konrad Schneider built the first bridge across the Deschutes River in Tumwater. He also “built or cut” a trail from McLane Crossing on the west bank of Mud Bay out to his property on what became known as Schneider Prairie. Presumably, much of this trail followed the northern portion of an old Indian trail from Black Lake to the southwest shores of Mud Bay. McLane Crossing is near the junction of MacKenzie Road and Delphi Road.

Konrad Schneider acquired additional acreage south and west of the Cross donation land claim, including a homestead of 107 acres in 1882, up what is now called Whittaker Road. The family referred to this valley as Schneider’s valley. A short poem about this land was often recited at family gatherings — “I’ll rally, rally. Everybody’s happy in Schneider’s Valley.”

August Schneider purchased property in 1878 located south of the Cross donation land claim along Eld Inlet, extending south to where the old Ellison Oyster Company was located. A few months later, August sold this property to his sister Molkina, who was married to Swan Solbeck. Swan Solbeck was enumerated as being a farmer on this property in the 1880 Territorial census. A rock quarry was operated on the Solbeck property, beginning in at least 1889. Rock was taken down to Eld Inlet where it was hauled away by barge. This quarry operation lasted for decades. Remnants of the quarry can be seen on the tall rock bluff that is located west of Highway 101, just south of the entry to the highway from the Griffin community, off what is called Old Highway 101.

The Schneider family was enumerated in the 1871 and 1873 Territorial censuses in the Griffin area. However, his sons Henry and August are enumerated separately in the 1880 Territorial census as living in the Griffin area. Konrad is listed with his son Henry. This may mean that Albertina was residing on property located on the west side of Budd Inlet, near the old lumber mill, on what is now Westbay Drive. These holdings included considerable acreage on the top of the hill to the west where the family had an orchard.

Konrad Schneider sold two acres of land to Schneider Prairie School District in 1885. This land was located about where what is now Whittaker Road meets Highway 101, south of the overpass across Highway 101. A schoolhouse was constructed at this site to accommodate an increased number of students attending school in the Griffin area. Originally, school was held in the John Olson cabin, located in what is now Holiday Valley Estates. The children of John and Elizabeth Zandell, and Thomas and Mary Kearney, attended school in the Olson cabin. The Zandells and Kearneys owned land claims on Oyster Bay, west of the Olson land claim. A larger school facility was needed when the children of Swan and Molkina Solbeck became of school age.

Konrad Schneider died in 1903. His heirs sold their interests in his Griffin-area property to his son-in-law and daughter, Swan and Molkina Solbeck. The Solbecks sold their Griffin-area holdings to Judge Arthur E. Griffin and Gabrielle Griffin in 1918.

The Schneider Prairie schoolhouse burned to the ground in the summer of 1926. Children in grades 5 through 8 attended school in the old, two-story Prosperity Grange Hall located on the site of the current Grange hall. Children in grades 1 through 4 attended school in the old Frye Cove School District schoolhouse, which was reopened. This abandoned schoolhouse was located near what now is Gravelly Beach Road, at the top of the hill, west of the Griffin fire station at the corner of Gravelly Beach Loop and Young’s Road. The Griffins essentially gave the school district a new five acre school site, where Griffin School is now located, by exchanging this property for the two acre lot where the old schoolhouse was located. Schneider Prairie School District was renamed the Griffin School District in honor of this generous act. A new, brick schoolhouse was build on the new school district property. The new facility opened in the spring of 1927.

— STEVE LUNDIN
Copyright 2008 by Steve Lundin

Steve Lundin is a long-time resident of the Griffin community located in northwest Thurston County. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School and recently retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives after nearly 30 years.

He is recognized as the local historian of the Griffin area and has written a number of articles on local history and a book entitled Griffin Area Schools, available from the Griffin Neighborhood Association at a cost of $10.

Lundin also wrote a comprehensive reference book on local governments in Washington State entitled The Closest Governments to the People – A Complete Reference Guide to Local Government in Washington State. The book costs $85, plus shipping and handling. It is available on the web from the Division of Governmental Studies and Services, Washington State University, or from WSU Extension.

This is part of a short series of papers on local history. The first of this series was published last month. Click here to read “Griffin Historical Sketch.”

If you have old historic photos of the Griffin area, or family stories of the old days in the Griffin area, please contact Steve Lundin at s.lundin@comcast.net. Steve is most interested in photos of the old two-story Grange Hall in the Griffin area and the old Schneider’s Prairie schoolhouse that burned to the ground in 1926.