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By Tina and Bill Dickson, Mukilteo Historical Society

We take so much for granted.  Today, when we are faced with a fire or a medical emergency, we simply dial 911 and a fire truck or other emergency vehicle should arrive within seven minutes.

Mukilteo history from the early 1900s tells stories of using a bucket brigade to extinguish fires.  Imagine using pails of water to put out a house fire.  With no fire department, it was up to the residents of the city to help with the water buckets.  Before the 1920s, that’s how things were done. 

In the early 1920s water mains were installed in Mukilteo, leading to a significant change for fighting fires.  Some of the men in town organized to volunteer as firefighters.  They obtained two red carts.  Each one had two 5-foot diameter steel wheels.  A hose reel was installed between the wheels for carrying fire hoses.

Now that they had fire-fighting equipment, the volunteers established the Mukilteo Volunteer Fire Department.  The carts were kept in a garage near Third and Park streets.  A siren was installed at the garage as a way of alerting the volunteers that they were needed for a fire.  When notified of a fire, Mrs. Pugh, who lived nearby, would run across the street to the garage to push the siren button.

Marvin Wilson, who was the police chief, fire chief, and head of the street department eventually ran a wire from the garage to Mrs. Pugh’s house so that she wouldn’t have to brave the elements and could sound the siren from her home.

When the siren sounded, it could be heard all over town.  The volunteers went to the garage to get the fire carts.  Two men were needed to pull the cart and two men were behind the cart holding ropes to act as a brake.  The hills of Mukilteo were a challenge for this fire operation.  The volunteers soon began using cars to tow the carts.

With the limited resources of the day, it is no surprise that several early landmarks of Mukilteo were destroyed by fire.  In the era of the bucket brigade, Chandler Drug Store burned in 1915 and the Sherar residence at Third and Loveland was destroyed by fire in 1916.

Even with Mukilteo fire carts and the Volunteer Fire Department, the Klemp Hotel burned to the ground in 1926.  The Everett Fire Department was called to assist the Mukilteo volunteers at the original Rose Hill School fire in 1928, but the building could not be saved.  Another big fire in Mukilteo’s history was that of the Crown Lumber Mill in 1938.

The volunteers built a new fire station on the corner of Third and Park in the 1930s across the street from the old fire garage.  In 1938, Mukilteo purchased a 1933 Chevrolet truck and added a flatbed to it for carrying hoses and ladders to use for firefighting.  The siren was still in use to notify the volunteers.

Mukilteo purchased their first new fire truck in 1943.  Communications continued to improve in the 1940s.  Special phones were installed in the homes of the volunteer firefighters, where their wives could take the emergency calls and activate the siren.

Later, radios were installed in police and fire vehicles so drivers could communicate with each other and headquarters.  In the 1950s, volunteers were given a Plectron for their home, which is a specialized emergency alerting radio receiver, activated by a dispatch center.  When the Plectron was activated, a voice message would give the type of emergency and address to all of the volunteers.

As the firefighting equipment became more sophisticated, so did the communication system.  Also, there was a need for a faster response to fires and other emergencies.  Beginning in 1992, Mukilteo began hiring full-time career firefighters.  Over the years, the volunteer program was phased out.

Mukilteo now has two fully staffed stations housing the fire apparatus and emergency vehicles.  Because of the 9-1-1 system and the digital pagers that the firefighters carry, our citizens receive a very rapid response from the time the 9-1-1 dispatch center is notified until they are on the scene.

There have been many significant changes in the fire service from Mrs. Pugh to the 9-1-1 dispatch system.

Originally published in the 12/4/2019 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.

By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical Society

Mukilteo’s foghorn has a storied past.  The lobby area where you now enter our historic lighthouse was once a fog signal building that was full of machinery needed to operate a large foghorn.

Our light station was originally equipped with a Cunningham eight-foot diaphragm foghorn operated by two air compressors.  Its giant trumpet-style horn protruded from the back wall of the fog signal building, and its deep bass notes could be heard every 16 seconds up to eight miles away.

Later photos show smaller, twin trumpets attached midway up on the tower building. We might speculate that this configuration could produce a dual-tone sound.

The foghorn air compressor originally used two oil-fueled engines.  When electricity arrived at the light station in 1924, one of the engines was changed to an electric motor drive, and the other engine was kept for emergency use in case of interrupted electric service.

Initially, activation of the fog signal was a manual process whenever the Lighthouse Keeper saw dense fog.  Later attempts to automate this process met with mixed results.   In 1969, testing of a rudimentary optical fog detector at the Mukilteo Light Station showed promising results, and a later, modern detector was installed just outside the fog signal building.

The optical fog detector works by shining a beam of light forward and measuring the backscatter from water particles in the air.  A problem occurred when the detector activated the foghorn at all hours of the night on moonlit nights.  It was discovered that these false alarms were due to reflection of moonlight from the light-colored seawall.  A coat of black paint was quickly applied to the seawall, and it seemed to mitigate the problem.

As Mukilteo’s population grew, complaints grew about how loud the foghorn sounded, particularly in residences near the waterfront.  This issue was addressed in 1977, by moving the foghorn to a location below the seawall behind a large concrete and metal sound baffle.  The foghorn unit was changed from the trumpet-style air horns to an electric CG 1000 horn.  The fog signal pattern has also changed over the years – when activated, the current CG 1000 horn sounds a 3-second blast every 30 seconds.

The current foghorn is no longer activated automatically by a fog detector.  Instead, Mukilteo’s foghorn is activated from ships by keying their VHF radio microphone 5 times on a particular VHF-FM Channel.

With the advent of modern navigation systems such as marine radar and GPS, many lighthouses have discontinued use of their foghorns completely.  The proximity of Mukilteo’s lighthouse to the WSDOT ferry terminal is perhaps one reason why our foghorn remains operational as an on-demand navigational aid.

Originally published in the 11/6/2019 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.

By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical Society

Mukilteo’s first resident doctor was Claude E Chandler.  He was born February 19, 1883, in Scopus, Missouri, to parents Harrison S. Chandler and Sarah E. Whitner.  Harrison was a doctor, so it appears Claude chose a profession to follow in his father’s footsteps.  The Chandler family moved to Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1894, when Claude was 11 years old.

Claude attended public schools in Woodward before leaving home to pursue his college education at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and complete his medical degree at the University of Oregon at Portland.  While in college, he often spent summers in Mukilteo, staying with the McNabs.  Here he could also visit with some distant Smith family relatives, who had also come west from Missouri.

The N. J. Smith family had first travelled from Missouri by train to Seattle and then by boat to Everett.  They subsequently settled in Mukilteo in about 1905, where they opened a general store at the corner of Park Avenue and Second Street.  (Their building is still standing at this location as the Empty Shell Restaurant.)  Newton J. Smith and his wife, Mattie (Berry) Smith had seven children: Marvin, Edgar, Edna, Abbey, Carrol, Donnel and Arnold.  Carrol Smith would become Claude Chandler’s wife.

After finishing his MD degree and residency in 1908, Claude Evan Chandler, age 27, married Carrol M. Smith, age 18, on November 27, 1909, in Everett.  She and Claude were half-cousins (they had the same maternal grandmother, Cynthia R. Barks, but different maternal grandfathers).  The couple lived for a short time in West Kittitas, Washington, before moving and opening their drug store and medical office in Mukilteo in 1911.

Before Dr. Chandler’s arrival in Mukilteo, the community’s medical needs were served by a doctor hired by the local lumber mill.  The contract doctor from Everett would visit the mill one day a week to administer first aid and check on patients needing treatment.  The Everett doctor was also on call for emergency treatment.  A nickel a day was withheld per mill employee for the contract doctor’s service.  There was also a midwife, Mrs. Patton, who lived in a large brown house in Mukilteo and delivered babies before Dr. Chandler’s arrival here.

After his arrival in Mukilteo, Dr. Chandler established his office and drug store on Park Avenue.  Due to frequent flooding, the buildings along Park Avenue were built on raised foundations and had raised wooden walkways (see accompanying photo).  Chandler Drugs was located between the Mukilteo Transfer (hauling) Company and a barber shop.  The drug store was destroyed by fire in 1915, and later rebuilt with a separate entrance to Dr. Chandler’s office in the rear of the new building.

The new Chandler Drug and Variety Store had a long room with two bay windows on each side of the door.  There were window seats with an ice cream table in the middle and two ice cream chairs to fill in.  There was also a soda fountain, candy and cigar cases, cosmetics and other sundries.  After Dr. Chandler, Dr. George K. Moore of Everett used the office in the back.  Dr. Moore came here two or three days a week.  After the drug store left, the building became a laundromat in the mid-1960’s.

Trained as a physician and surgeon, Dr. Chandler served the medical needs of Mukilteo citizens for many years before his death in 1938.  This included treating serious injuries such as those caused by the Powder Plant explosion in 1930.  He made regular home visits in Mukilteo and Whidbey Island where he traveled by boat to call on his patients or deliver babies.  He was the company doctor for the Crown Lumber Company as well as doctor for the Rosehill School.  He was on the board of directors for the Rosehill School when it burned down in 1928.

Claude and Carrol Chandler had five children: Monica, Claude (Jr), Patricia, Jo-An and Donna.  Tragedy struck the family when 15-year-old Claude Jr. was accidently run over by a truck and died in 1927.  He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Everett, WA.  Jo-An was Mukilteo’s Pioneer of the Year in 2010.  Dr. Claude E. Chandler died of a heart attack at age 55 on October 12, 1938.  His wife Carrol continued to manage the Chandler Drug Store for many years and later worked at Carter’s Drug Store in Everett.  She died in 1982, in Orange County, CA.

Originally published in the 1/10/2020 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.

By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical Society

When the Mukilteo Lighthouse lamp was first lit on March 1, 1906, keeper Peter N. Christiansen was on site and ready to ensure its steady beacon remained a guiding light for ships entering Possession Sound. Christiansen’s appointment to Mukilteo came as a reward for his long record of faithful services. He had been in the merchant marine for 11 years, in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, and keeper of the Turn Point lighthouse in San Juan county for nearly 12 more years.

Our first keeper was born Peder Nicolaij Kristiansen on December 3, 1858, in Stavanger, Norway, to parents Christian Bentzen and Guri Christine Hansvolden. Located on the southwest coast of Norway, Stavanger is a busy seaport and ranks as the country’s fourth largest city. It is not surprising that emigrants from there continued with life’s activities closely connected to the sea. Peter went to sea at age 14 and joined the merchant marine in about 1873. Records show he immigrated to the United States in 1882, sailing from Glasgow, Scotland.

Peter joined the U.S. Navy about 1884. His previous stints with the merchant marine and later duty with the Navy evidently took him back and forth to Norway, because, on January 12, 1888, he married Theodine Tonnessen in Oslo, Norway. Theodine was the daughter of Hans Tonnessen. Peter and Theodine had a daughter, Anna, born in Oslo on December 13, 1888. Peter established permanent residency in the U.S. in 1892, possibly starting in Oakland, California.

In 1894, Peter relocated from Oakland, California with his pregnant wife, Theodine, and daughter, Anna, to become Assistant Keeper at the Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island in the San Juan Islands. Son Charlie Christiansen, was born in August two months after the couple’s arrival at Turn Point, and was the first white baby born on Stuart Island. There followed a son Perry, born February 1, 1896, and a daughter Clara, born in 1902, both on Stuart Island.

While at Turn Point, during the evening of February 16, 1897, repeated blasts of a ship’s whistle brought Keeper Durgan and Assistant Keeper Christiansen rushing out into the frigid winter night to find that the tug Enterprise had run aground on rocks near the station. Equipped with pike poles, the keepers plunged into the water and managed to free the tug and direct it to a safe moorage. The tug captain appeared to be the only person on board, until several drunken crew members were found to be below deck.

The sober captain told the keepers that other crew members were drifting aboard a barge that he had cut lose before the tug foundered on the rocks. Wet and cold, the keepers pushed off in the station’s boat to find the barge. They found it and used a breeches-buoy to rescue all on board, but their troubles were not over.

One of the intoxicated sailors on the tug brandished a butcher knife and threatened his comrades. With some help, the captain was able to subdue the knife wielder, who was placed in a straight-jacket and locked up in the station’s hen house.

For their rescue efforts, the keepers received a letter from the Lighthouse Board that read, in part, : “Such services to humanity merit the highest commendation, and the Board is glad to number among its employees men of such sterling courage and fidelity to duty, who are willing to jeopardize their own lives in order to save the lives of others.”

Peter Christiansen was promoted to head Keeper at Turn Point in 1898. Like most Keepers of the time, he was a member of the US Lighthouse Establishment, which was funded by the US Treasury Department (and later by the US Department of Commerce). Thus, Peter was a federal employee. He is listed in the 1905 Official Register of the United States Officers and Employees of the Civil, Military, and Naval Service. The listing under the Department of Commerce chapter shows him as Keeper at Turn Point, WA, with a compensation of $800.

Peter and his family must have been delighted by his reassignment to be Mukilteo Lighthouse Keeper in early 1906. Unlike many other lighthouses that are situated in remote locations, the Mukilteo Lighthouse was close to a community with schools and shops. Also, while at Turn Point, each of the keepers and their families lived in one side of a two-story duplex. At Mukilteo, each of the keepers had more spacious accommodations in their own two-story house.

Keeper’s jobs were not easy. In the early days, the lighthouse used a kerosene lamp, and every evening, a half hour before sunset, the keeper climbed the stairs with a lighting flame to light the lamp inside the Fresnel lens at the top of the tower. The keepers had to keep the wick trimmed and the glass in the lens and tower windows free of smoke. They had to climb the stairs again every three to four hours during the night to replenish the lamp oil and adjust the clockwork mechanism that rotated the lens apparatus to produce the proper flashing pattern. They had to maintain the compressor machinery that operated the fog horn. They cared for the grounds around the light station. They maintained the windmill and water pump that provided fresh water for themselves and the surrounding community. Together with their families, they had to keep the lighthouse and their homes in spotless condition for an inspector who could come unannounced at any time.

The heavy workload was split between the Keeper, Assistant Keeper, and their families. Peter Christiansen had a particularly long tenure serving as Mukilteo’s Keeper from 1906 until his death in 1925. Over that period he had worked with eight different Assistant Keepers: David O. Kinyon (1906-07), William S. Denning (1907-09), John Carlson (1909), George Carlson (1909), Andrew Jackson (1909-12), Ernest Edgar Day (1913-17), Chart Pitt (1917-22) and Harry Albert Dusenberry (1922-32).

Mukilteo’s first Assistant Keeper, David O. Kinyon, was born May 22, 1874, in Kansas. His wife, Nora Ethel Pierson, was born in Missouri around 1882. Together they had two sons: Mars Pierson, born 1899, and Norman O, born 1920. The Kinyons came to Mukilteo from the Destruction Island lighthouse. They only stayed at Mulkiteo for a year before moving on to serve elsewhere, including as Second Assistant at the Grays Harbor light from 1909-1910, and later as Keeper at the Umpqua lighthouse in Oregon from 1928-1937. Interestingly, Kinyon’s son Mars served as Second Assistant Keeper at Umpqua from 1935-1939.

Peter Christiansen’s daughter, Anna, married the boy living next door to the lighthouse, George Losvar, on October 23, 1910. They had four children who reached adulthood: Theodine, born 1918, Arthur, born 1925, Albert. born 1928, and Paul, born 1930. They also had a son, Alden, born 1912, who died around age 12.

In March of 1923, Peter Christiansen applied for a U.S. passport with the intention of going to visit relatives in Norway and Denmark. His application gives some personal identification descriptions of the 54 year-old applicant, including: 5 feet 5 inches tall, blue eyes, brown hair, round face, mustached, and “sailor with girl” tattoo on his left forearm. With his passport issued, Peter began his overseas trip leaving from the Port of New York in the latter part of May or early June 1923. He returned as a passenger on the Frederik VIII, sailing from Oslo on July 27, 1923, arriving in New York on August 8, 1923.

Peter died somewhat suddenly from an apparent heart attack on October 5, 1925. His remains were laid to rest at Everett’s Evergreen Cemetery on October 9, 1925. Following Peter’s death, his wife, Theodine, maintained the operation of the light station for a short time until Edward A. Brooks reported for duty as Mukilteo’s second lighthouse Keeper.

Originally published in the 4/3/2019 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.

By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical Society

Between its early trading post days in the early 1860s and its lumber mill days in the early 1900s, Mukilteo had fledging enterprises focused on brewing beer and salting or canning salmon. These enterprises came and went in concert with the “boom and bust” cycles experienced by early Mukilteo.

Mukilteo’s beer brewing industry was probably started around 1864 by Mukilteo’s founders, Morris Frost and Jacob Fowler. It was one of their many enterprises that met with varying degrees of success. They built a brewery in a ravine that became known as Brewery Gulch. The ravine was located at the rear of Fowler’s property, and it had a stream that provided ample pure water used for high quality lager beer. The stream was dammed somewhere near the present 3rd Street fill and supplied water power for the malting mill via a 10-horsepower water wheel.

Although Frost and Fowler were listed as proprietors in early Mukilteo Brewery ads, they leased the actual plant operation to a series of experienced brewers. The first of these was probably Joseph Butterfield who was reported to be Frost and Fowler’s brewer in 1867. Before coming to Mukilteo, Butterfield had partnered with Martin Schmieg in establishing breweries in Steilacom and Seattle.

After Butterfield, Jacob Barth leased the brewery from Frost and Fowler. The 1870 Federal Census for Mukilteo, taken in July 1870, lists Jacob Barth as brewer-in-residence. He was born about 1822 in England. Some other names on the same page of the 1870 Federal Census have also been associated with the brewery in Mukilteo. Jacob Rippstein, age 52, was born in Switzerland. He was later listed in the Washington Territorial Census, taken in April 1871, as the brewer in Mukilteo. Charles Thompson, born about 1835 in Sweden, is listed in the 1870 Federal Census on the line just below Jacob Barth’s name. A report dated May 14, 1867, recorded that “Thompson left for across the Sound early, made arrangements to buy out Butterfield in the brewery, made water boxes and put by brewery.”

Butterfield’s name appears again in 1875, when it was reported that the Mukilteo brewery business had been incorporated as the Eagle Brewery with Joseph Butterfield as proprietor. But, by the following year, Mukilteo’s founders Morris Frost and Jacob Fowler took over the enterprise again, purchasing it from Butterfield for $600. Their ownership did not last long. In 1876, Frost & Fowler’s firm had become financially overextended, and they began mortgaging their properties. Their businesses went into receivership in 1877, and foreclosure descended upon them in 1878. As a result of a Sheriff’s sale on February 3, 1878, George Cantieni & Company became the new owners of Mukilteo’s Eagle Brewery.

The 1880 Federal Census lists George Cantieni living Mukilteo with occupation “Brewer”. George Cantieni was born about 1838 in Switzerland. Before coming to Mukilteo, he had operated a brewery at Black River, partnering with Martin Schmieg. This previous experience made Cantieni a proficient brewer and manager, and the Eagle Brewery flourished for awhile in a completely refitted plant. But, change in ownership was coming again when Cantieni decided to offer his interest in the plant for sale.

In May 1880, Cantieni placed the following notice in the Seattle Daily Intellegencer:

“FOR SALE – The well-known Eagle Brewery situated at Mukilteo, Snohomish County, W.T. The building is 40×60 feet, three stories high, with hydraulic power. A never-failing stream of soft water suitable for brewing purposes. Well supplied with Tubs, Casks and Kegs, and convenient to daily steamboat navigation. Persons wishing to invest in such property will do well to examine the premises before purchasing elsewhere.”

The notice attracted a Seattle investor named Frederick V. Snyder, who purchased a majority interest in the Eagle Brewery in May 1881. Snyder was a grocer and had operated a slaughterhouse in Seattle. Fire had destroyed his slaughterhouse in 1875. Recognizing he had no experience as a brewer himself, Snyder kept Cantieni on as plant manager. An 1881 advertisement for lager beer made at Mukilteo’s Eagle Brewery shows F. V. Snyder & Co. as proprietors.

The final chapter of Mukilteo’s Eagle Brewery tale was written on July 21, 1882, when it was completely destroyed by fire. The manager, George Cantieni, was apparently living at the brewery or close by. Newspaper accounts said the fire was discovered around midnight, and Cantieni barely escaped with his life. The fire burned for several hours. The cause was unknown. The plant, belonging to F. V. Snyder, was valued at $2,000. Snyder initially vowed to rebuild the plant in Mukilteo, but later changed his mind. Instead, he decided to build a new Eagle Brewery on his former slaughterhouse property in Seattle. Built under the guidance of George Cantieni, the Seattle Eagle Brewery began operating in December 1882. Bad luck struck again when the Seattle plant also succumbed to fire in the fall of 1883.

At its peak, the Mukilteo Eagle Brewery produced about 500 barrels (15,000 gallons) of lager beer annually. Sailing ships carried its product to Seattle and other Puget Sound outlets. There do not appear to be any visible vestiges remaining of the operation. The ravine that became known as Brewery Gulch is still there, although portions have been filled and paved over for streets. Fifth and Eighth Street cross over the ravine. Visible flow of the stream that once was large enough to bathe in is now just a trickle. The main flow is now mostly hidden, going underground where the former N. J. Smith store (now a seafood restaurant) still stands at 2nd Street and Park Avenue. The flow reaches Puget Sound next to the NOAA research station.

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Besides the brewery business, Mukilteo’s early boom and bust cycle also contributed to the comings and goings of enterprises related to the fishing industry. As early as 1863, the Seattle Gazette reported that Frost & Fowler’s dry-goods store in Mukilteo included a store house for packing salmon. They already had twenty tons there – packed and ready for the San Francisco market. They were also building a schooner with a fifty-foot beam to enable them to more extensively and profitably pursue the salmon business. A September 3, 1867, entry in Fowler’s diary indicated $200.00 worth of salted salmon were shipped on that day to various destinations.

In 1870, a salmon-salting business began under the directorship of men named Vining & Rheinbruner. In 1873, V. T. Tull, of Olympia, established his salmon fishery at Mukilteo, mainly for putting up fish in barrels. By 1875, Tull’s operation was taken over by H. C. Vining and his partner, M. Rheinbruner. In February 1876, someone returning from a trip east to Philadelphia reported he had seen forty barrels of salmon for sale there bearing the brand “Reinbruner & Vining, Mukilteo, Washington Territory”. The salmon sold in Philadelphia for $12.50 for a halfbarrel.

In 1877, the salmon salting operation became a salmon cannery built by George Myers & Co., one of the earliest of its kind on Puget Sound. Hearing about the great abundance of fish being caught around Mukilteo, Myers had come from his fishing business on the Columbia River. By July, the cannery was already putting up 1,000 fish per day. Native Americans generally caught the fish, and Chinese workers worked in the cannery. The Native Americans were paid “one to two bits” for salmon weighing eight to ten pounds.

The July 24, 1877, issue of the Daily Pacific Tribune (Seattle, Washington Territory) reported that “2,000 fine salmon were taken in the Jackson & Meyers seines three miles this side of Mukilteo, yesterday morning, the weight of which would average not less than six pounds apiece. These fish were caught for canning and were at once dressed and packed. Nine
Chinamen, to work for this firm in the cannery, came down on the Alida last night, and today went on the Nellie to their place of destination. The Nellie, under charter, went to Tacoma and back last night, taking a scow and bringing down thirty tons of salt and seven hundred barrels, for the Puget Sound Salmon Company, (that is, V. E. Tull & Co.) at the same place, which she also took down to Mukilteo today. The operations of this latter concern are confined to catching, salting and putting barrels and kegs, in which they have engaged about thirty men. Another season they will also can salmon.”

The September 18, 1877, issue of the Daily Pacific Tribune (Seattle, WT) reported that “Jackson & Myers, at Mukilteo, put up 8,000 cans of salmon on Sunday. Yesterday 3,000 fish were caught, and the run is simply immense. The fish taken now are what are known as silversides, beautiful in appearance, and of the finest flavor. They are all taken by hook, and none by seine, and the catchers are all Native Americans. Three Natives went out together yesterday forenoon, in three small canoes, and when they returned to Mukilteo, early in the afternoon, they had 400 splendid fish. Chinese do the work on shore. The canning firm is very well suited with the success of their enterprise at Mukilteo, and word will undoubtedly spread out considerably.”

Pleased with their success, Jackson, Myers and Company leased the fishery and ground for the canning establishment for 10 years, beginning January 1, 1879. They planned to improve the wharf and enlarge the cannery. The winter of 1880 upset their plans. A heavy snowfall caused their cannery roof to collapse. Rather than rebuilding in Mukilteo, they decided to move their operation to Seattle in order to be closer to major transportation facilities. That plant was destroyed by fire in 1888, rebuilt, and burned again in 1891.

Back in Mukilteo, a new cannery and wharf were installed in 1887. Frank L. Tuttle was the head of this installation during the 1888 season. He overhauled the plant, added a patent can filler, built several traps and had a large fleet ready for the run, which was at first disappointing, but which later improved. The 1889 run was unusually large, and the Mukilteo cannery was kept busy. By 1891 it was handling from 4,000 to 5,000 fish daily. The great success may have contributed to the cannery’s undoing.

Perhaps it was concern about overfishing, or concern from Columbia River canneries about losing business to northern neighbors, that prompted the Territorial Legislature to enact a new law prohibiting catching salmon along Puget Sound from March 5 to June 1. The combination of the effects of the new law and the general economic hard times of the 1890s led to the Mukilteo cannery going out of business. With no significant industry, the town became almost extinct until the Mukilteo Lumber Company came in 1903.

We lack information on the exact location of the old cannery. It’s probably safe to assume it was somewhere on our waterfront. One source described the cannery being built “on the point”, so it may have been at or near where our iconic lighthouse stands today. If anyone has more detailed location information or photos of the old cannery, or Eagle Brewery, please contact the Mukilteo Historical Society at info@mukilteohistorical.org.

Originally published in the 2/7/2019 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.

By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical Society

Early mail routes were served by canoe, rowboat or sailing vessel. When Snohomish County was formed separately from Island County in 1861, a post office was established at Mukilteo, along with the county seat. Mukilteo’s co-founder, Jacob D. Fowler, became the county’s first postmaster, and the post office was located in Fowler’s store/hotel on Front Street. At that time, the non-native population of the Snohomish-Tulalip-Mukilteo area was about 49 (all men), and the postage rate for domestic letters was 3 cents per ½ ounce.

In the early years, mail came to and from Mukilteo by boat. In 1870, the S. S. Chehalis, owned and operated by Captain Wright, made trips up and down Puget Sound. The Chehalis was not intended to carry mail, but Captain Wright graciously consented to pick up the few letters waiting in Mukilteo’s post office and drop them off at the nearest point to the receiver. The boat stopped at Mukilteo on an irregular schedule about once a week at such times when there was no better cargo destined for another part of the Sound.

In 1871, the Chehalis went to a watery grave in a storm off Edmonds. Being a stern-wheeler, it had difficulty riding out the storm, so the boat was put ashore and passengers disembarked. The crew failed to make the boat fast, and sometime during the night, it floated out to deep water and sank. Captain Wright then chartered the Black Diamond for a short while to make his runs and ordered the construction of a boat to replace the Chehalis. His new boat, the “Zephyr”, was put into service in late 1871, at the same time men in Snohomish built the “Nellie”. For many years, the Zephyr and Nellie ran alternately, the Zephyr coming on Monday and returning on Tuesday, and the Nellie coming Thursday and going back Friday.

Later, mail was transported by rail. The trains carrying the mail had mail cars and clerks who worked the mail as it was picked up along the route of the train. There were “catcher pouches” for trains not scheduled for a stop. They were hung on a frame that enabled the mail clerk to extend an iron catcher and grab the pouch as the train steamed by.

Early post offices were categorized into four classes based on their gross receipts, and Mukilteo began as a fourth-class office. In early years, a fourth-class postmaster was paid solely by cancellation of stamps on letters and packages mailed exclusively at his or her post office. They had to record every letter, package or paper mailed. It was a tedious and frustrating job, especially during the Christmas season when one was rushed. If you forgot to write it down in your ledger, you suffered salary-wise, and the salary was very meager.

The Pendleton Act of March 3, 1883, established the following salary for post offices divided into four classes based on their gross receipts:

CLASS	GROSS RECEIPTS	POSTMASTER SALARY
First	$40,000 or more	$3,000 – $6,000
Second	$8,000 – $40,000	$2,000 – $2,900
Third	$1,900 – $8,000	$1,000 – $1,900
Fourth	under $1,900	under $1,000

Offices were open nine to ten hours a day, six days a week. Each postmaster had to furnish the place to have the post office and provide all needed equipment such as post office boxes, safe to keep funds and stamps, plus any machines needed such as typewriter, etc. At first, the post office kept the post office box rents, and postmasters were not even allowed to count them as part of the postal receipts. This was a very sore spot among postmasters and was later changed so that box rents were included in gross receipts.

Jacob D. Fowler served as Mukilteo’s postmaster from 1861 to 1877, and again from 1881 to 1890. He died in 1892, and his daughter, Louisa Fowler Sinclair served as postmaster from 1898 to 1912. Helen Hadenfeldt was appointed postmaster in 1912. Helen and Henry Hadenfeldt built Mukilteo’s second post office on Park Avenue next to the theater they also owned. They lived on the second floor of the post office, and Helen served as postmaster from 1912 to 1934. Laura Gear, who worked for the post office, would collect the mail from the railway depot and push it up Park Avenue in a wooden wheelbarrow to the post office. There the mail was separated for delivery or pick up.

When David E. Burklund became Mukilteo postmaster in 1934, he contracted to have the third post office built at 724 Second Street. The 1,186 square-foot building featured a case in the front that held official documents, including “wanted” posters. Under Burklund’s leadership, Mukilteo was upgraded to a third-class post office in 1942. Burklund served as postmaster at this office for over 20 years until he retired, and Mayme C. Ross became acting postmaster in 1955. The post office continued with Ross as postmaster at this location until a new building was constructed at the corner of Third and Loveland in 1962. The vacated post office, at 724 Second Street, became the Mukilteo Library in 1963. The building is still standing next to Arnie’s Restaurant and has gone through several ownership and occupant changes since the library moved to larger quarters in 1978. The building was expanded with additions in 2002 and 2012.

Mukilteo’s fourth post office opened in 1962 at the corner of Third Street and Loveland Avenue, next to the Presbyterian Church. The dedication ceremonies featured opening remarks by postmaster Mayme C. Ross, mayoral greetings from Dick Taylor and a short history of the Mukilteo post office by David Burklund. Mukilteo’s first mayor, Alfred E. Tunem, served as master of ceremonies. The postage rate for domestic letters at the time was five cents per ounce. The rate increased by two to four cents every few years until it reached 29 cents in 1991, when the post office moved to its current location on the Speedway.

The old post office building at 832 Third Street is still standing. After the post office moved out, the 760 square-foot concrete block structure was used for a time by the Presbyterian Church for a food bank. The church sold the property in late 2004, and it is now a private single-family residence.

Mukilteo’s post office now occupies a 5,000 square-foot building at 8050 Mukilteo Speedway. Dedication ceremonies for this location took place in 1991. The current postmaster is Tim Laurence, who was appointed in April 2015. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Laurence has worked in several post office locations around the country. He brings a 35-year career with the post office to Mukilteo, and takes pride in the friendly customer service that his staff of three clerks provides. He notes that some customers come from Everett because of this.

The Post Office Department now categorizes individual offices in various levels, numbered from 18 to 25, based on revenue. Mukilteo is a Level 18 office, with an annual revenue of about $800,000. The retail counter is open 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday, although the lobby to access post office boxes and self-service equipment is open 24/7. There are about 1200 post office boxes currently in use at Mukilteo.

Laurence noted the most common misconception about post office operations is probably that they are funded by tax dollars. They are not. Operations are entirely funded by post office revenues. Postmaster Laurence and his staff invite you to stop by and avail yourselves of some friendly service!

Originally published in the 9/4/2019 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.

By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical Society

Today’s Lighthouse Park parking area was once the home ballfield for the Mukilteo baseball team. Besides competing against visiting teams here, the Mukilteo team had to battle frequent flooding of their home field. The area had been a tidal lagoon, and the community built dikes to create a dry space for their beloved team to play. Storms and high tides would sometimes break the dikes, and they frequently needed to be rebuilt or reinforced. Before dikes (and later more permanent seawalls) were built, Mukilteo’s downtown was often flooded as far as Park Avenue. Early buildings in the area were built on raised foundations. Baseball games had to wait for the field to dry out.

The first dike, built in the early 1900’s, extended from Losvar’s Boathouse to the tracks in a line with the north edge of Rousseau’s property (where the Losvar Condominiums are today). The ground was so unstable that poles sank out of sight in the mud. This dike was the forerunner of two more. The next was constructed from the lighthouse sea wall to a group of houses to the south where the ground rose sufficiently. This dike was demolished when a strong southwest gale sent waves and logs battering the gravel and pilings supporting it. The community built another bigger, stronger dike with a larger sluice box that finally kept the field dry for the remaining duration of the baseball team’s existence.

Organized baseball had been played in Mukilteo at least as early as 1916. The home team had a big following of loyal fans, and games were festive occasions drawing big crowds. Donations of cash and materials were made by the Crown Lumber Company and several Everett businesses. The dikes, a grandstand and bleachers were built by Mukilteo volunteers using material donated by Crown Lumber. Everett businesses funded uniforms, and the names of their firms were sewn onto the backs.

Mukilteo’s baseball team played in a City-County League with two Everett teams (the Paper Mill and the Knights of Columbus) and a team from Granite Falls. Those games were held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting at 6:30 and lasting for seven innings. Games with other teams were held on Sunday afternoons.

Most of Mukilteo’s team players were employees of the Crown Lumber Company. Howard Josh, who built the original Ferry Lunchroom (where Ivar’s is now), was Mukilteo’s team manager. It was especially a big event
when the team from Port Angeles came to town for a game with Mukilteo, because they were mostly employees of the big lumber mill there that was also owned by Crown Lumber.

The ballfield was occasionally used for other events (sometimes in connection with a baseball game). Historical Society archives contain several photos of a large clambake party held on the field on August 5, 1914. The photos show a large crowd standing on the field facing a reviewing stand.

Leona Josh Kaiser (Howard Josh’s daughter) recalls another huge “Indian Clambake” held at the field in connection with a game against Monroe on August 23, 1923. Her father, who was the Crown Lumber tugboat captain, took a group of volunteers to Whidbey Island to dig clams and bring them back to Mukilteo. A total of 44 sacks of clams, five sacks of potatoes, and a thousand ears of corn were layered in a heated pit with seaweed. Other picnic fare was prepared while the program of field sports went on. Starting at 10 a.m., a number of field events including men’s and women’s races, baseball throws, a ladies nail driving contest and a fat man’s race resulted in the awarding of first and second prizes in ten categories. The clams and other items were put on the fire pit at 1:30 pm, when the baseball game started, and by 4 p.m., the food was ready to serve. The Everett Herald estimated about two thousand people were entertained that day at Mukilteo’s ballfield.

The tideland area that was formerly Mukilteo’s ballfield was filled in, sturdy seawalls were built, and it became part of Lighthouse Park in the 1950s. Initially a Washington State Park, it was deeded to the City in 2003. The City adopted a Lighthouse Park Master Plan in 2004, and the area now features shoreline walking paths, beach access, picnic facilities, playground, boat launch and parking.

Originally published in the 7/31/2019 issue of the Mukilteo Beacon.