A Complete Chain of Custody

Peter and Wygerdina Best

Peter and Wygerdina Best purchased The Point from the estate of Mary Curry in January 1940. Originally from the Netherlands, the Bests had arrived in the United States in 1912 and, at the time of the 1920 census, were living in Long Beach, California, with Peter employed as a real estate agent. But evidently they moved to Canada sometime thereafter, for another immigration record from 1923 indicates that their permanent residence was Vancouver, BC (and that Peter was then employed as a farmer).

In subsequent border crossing records from Canada to various parts of the United States, the Bests listed their permanent residence as Victoria or Vancouver. Then, in 1938, a border crossing record indicates that they wanted to establish US residency in San Diego. It's unclear if they ever made it back to California for that purpose; the deed of sale for the Lake Samish property in 1940 indicated the Bests were "of Bellingham," so perhaps that's as far as they went during that period.

The 1940 purchase of The Point at Lake Samish may have been part of their residency and retirement plan, for by then Peter was 64 and Wygerdina was 53. But evidently it was a short-lived one, for in August of that same year, the Bests sold the Lake Samish property to J.E. McGinnis for "one dollar and other good and valuable consideration."

John and Harriett McGinnis

A treasurer from Bellingham, John E. McGinnis and his wife, Harriett, owned The Point for the next five years. The small house that currently stands on the East Parcel (the Lots 12-15 side) of the property is believed to have been built in 1940, so perhaps it was the McGinnises who built it (or perhaps it was the Bests). During their ownership of the Lake Samish property, however, the McGinnises continued to appear in the Bellingham city directories as living in town, indicating that Lake Samish was never more than a recreational property for them.

Einar and Muriel Erickson

A previous post erroneously concluded from a 1940 census that Einar and Muriel Erickson were the owners of The Point at that time, since the census shows them as living in Crescent Township. In fact, Einar and Muriel first bought property at Lake Samish in 1939, but at the other end of the lake. That year, they purchased Lots 7 and 8 in the "First Addition to Summerland." This area, just to the west of the original Summerland plat in which Roy Road is located, is shown on the following map.

1942 map of Lake Samish, detail of First Addition to Summerland (Metsker's Atlas of Whatcom County)

It actually wasn't until 1945 that the Ericksons purchased The Point from John and Harriett McGinnis for $10 and other valuable consideration, as shown in this deed:

1945 deed from John and Harriett McGinnis to Einar and Muriel Erickson (Washington State Archives)

The Full Chain of Custody, At Last!

West Parcel
Thomas McTighe: August 1899 to April 1910
E.E. Scott: April 1910 to May 1910
George and Amanda Loggie: May 1910 to August 1917
Ernest and Marcella Purdy: August 1917 to January 1921
George and Harriett Griffith: January 1921 to January 1921
John and Lillian Griffith: January 1921 to May 1924
William and Ida Jenkins: May 1924 to July 1935
Milton and Agnes McMillin: July 1935 to September 1935

East Parcel
School Land: (approx.) 1893 to before 1916
Lake Whatcom Realty Co. / Lake Whatcom Logging Co. / Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills: before 1916 to September 1935

Joined West and East Parcels
Harry and Mary Curry: September 1935 to January 1940
Peter and Wygerdina Best: January 1940 to August 1940
John and Harriett McGinnis: August 1940 to August 1945
Einar and Muriel Erickson: August 1945 to April 1951
Maynard and M. Patricia Parks: April 1951 to April 1981
Western Foundation: April 1981 to May 1987
Herbert and Chara Messer: May 1987 to September 1989
Gordon and Carol Iverson: September 1989 to June 2012
Washington Federal Bank: June 2012 to November 2013
Graham Robins: November 2013 to Present

The Joining of The Point

The last post introduced Milton and E. Agnes McMillin as the next owners of the West Parcel of The Point, which at that time was just the lakeside tip of a larger property described as Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4 of Township 37, Section 35. According to the deed records, the McMillins purchased the property from William and Ida Jenkins on July 13, 1935 for one dollar "and other considerations":

Deed from William and Ida Jenkins to Milton and Agnes McMillin, July 1935 (Washington State Archives)

(Note that the deed records seem to conflict with the 1934 map posted here, which indicated that E. Erickson owned the West Parcel of The Point at that time. Deed records show that Erickson did not purchase the land until 1945.)

Originally from Oklahoma, Milton McMillin's occupation is given as mill labourer in the 1940 census, in which he, Agnes (originally from England), and their seventeen-year-old son, Robert, are enumerated as residing on a farm in Crescent Township, then the name for the Lake Samish area. The McMillin farm is seen on this 1942 map:

Lake Samish, 1942 (Metsker's Atlas of Whatcom County)

What this map also shows, though, is that Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4 is no longer whole by 1942. The McMillins began subdividing Lot 3 within a few months of purchasing it, selling pieces to various individuals named Curry, Hunt, Davis, and Russell. And it was the Curry sale that carved off the exact property boundaries that now comprise the West Parcel of The Point and joined it with the East Parcel.

H.C. Curry: The First Owner of the Whole Point

In September 1935, Harry C. Curry, a salesman in a power and light company in Burlington, Skagit County, Washington, purchased the West Parcel from the McMillins -- once again for that infamous "one dollar and other good and valuable consideration." At the same time, he purchased Lots 12 through 15 (i.e., the East Parcel) of Bloedel Donovan's recently divided Shallow Shores plat, making him the first owner of the whole Point property as it exists today.

At some point in the next few years, Curry must have transferred the property into his wife Mary's name, because after Mary died in 1939 in Skagit County, her estate included the Lake Samish property. As her executor, Harry sold the property in January 1940 to Peter and Wygerdina (or Wyendena) Best for $3,000. The next post will pick up the story with the Bests.

The West Parcel: Owners, Owners, and Yet More Owners

In a previous post about the West Parcel, I wondered if George Loggie was the party who sold the land to J.H. Jenkins (who appeared in a 1929 map of Lake Samish). Well, further research at the Washington State Archives has revealed that three other owners followed Loggie before the property came into the possession of Jenkins -- and that it was a William Jenkins, not a J.H., that bought it.

First, it helps to know that the original homestead claim by Thomas McTighe was divided into three lots by the time George Loggie owned it. Its legal description was "Lots 1, 2, and 3 and the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter (or SE4 of the SE4) of Section 35, Township 37, North, Range 3 East, W.M."

What is now The Point is at the top end of Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4.

George Loggie to Ernest W. Purdy

In August 1917, Loggie sold all three lots (1, 2, and 3) and the SE4 of the SE4 to E.W. Purdy "for one dollar and other valuable considerations," as shown in the entries from the deed book depicted below:

Page 1 of the deed transferring the property from George Loggie to E.W. Purdy in 1917 (Washington State Archives)

Page 2 of the Loggie to Purdy deed (Washington State Archives)

Interestingly, the deed (see page 2) is subject to "that certain agreement of sale...between the Grantors herein" (i.e., Loggie) and "George E. Griffith and Harriette B. Griffith, his wife, bearing date the 21st day of July, 1917." The deed then clearly gives Purdy all of Loggie's rights to the proceeds of this future sale to Griffith should it go through. In other words, it appears Purdy was no more than a middleman for what was actually an intended sale to George and Harriette Griffith.

This makes more sense once we find out that Ernest W. Purdy was president of the First National Bank of Bellingham, as described in his biography (scroll down the linked page for Purdy's entry). Purdy was also president of the Bay Improvement Company and the Bellingham Securities Syndicate, and he and Loggie likely moved in the same business and social circles in Bellingham.

Ernest W. Purdy to George E. and Harriett Griffith to John Griffith

In 1921, Purdy did indeed sell Loggie's former land to George E. and Harriett B. Griffith, but in two separate deeds. In January, he sold Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4 (i.e., the section that includes part of The Point) to the Griffiths. Less than two weeks later, George and Harriett sold it to their son, John.

Deed transferring Lot 3 (which includes what is now the West Parcel of The Point) from E.W. Purdy to George E. and Harriett B. Griffith in January 1921 (Washington State Archives)

Deed for Lot 3 from George and Harriett Griffith to John Griffith in January 1921 (Washington State Archives)

In July 1921, George and Harriett Griffith also purchased Lots 1 and 2 from Ernest Purdy. Whether they had the intention of platting Lots 1 and 2, but not Lot 3, before or after this sale is not known, but in 1925, they, their son John and daughter-in-law Lillian, and Frank and Lillian Lowyles did indeed plat Lots 1 and 2 into "El Reposa Place."

Incidentally, George and John Griffith, along with John's father-in-law, Joseph Houghton, also were the developers behind Rainbow Beach on the north shore of Lake Samish, which opened in 1928. A clipping from the Bellingham Herald on May 5 read:

"New Lake Samish Pavilion Opens: Representing an expenditure of $7,000, the new Rainbow Beach dance pavilion at Lake Samish erected by G.E. Griffith, John G. Griffith, and Joseph S. Houghton will be opened tonight. Features of the hall include a dance floor 60 x 100 feet, a cafeteria capable of seating sixty persons, a soda fountain, a specially constructed stage for the orchestra with shell sounding board, retiring rooms and special lighting effects."

John and Lillian Griffith to William and Ida Jenkins

In May 1924, as shown in the deed below, John and Lillian Griffith sold Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4 to William and Ida Jenkins -- and again the recorded purchase price is vague: "one dollar and other good and valuable consideration."  

Deed of sale from John and Lillian Griffith to William and Ida Jenkins, May 1924 (Washington State Archives)

William Jenkins was a drygoods salesman originally from Cornwall, England. Ida was born in Nebraska, and at the time they purchased Lot 3 from John and Lillian Griffith, the Jenkins had a young daughter named Margaret. (William's father was named Joseph Jenkins, so perhaps this is the source of the error in the 1929 map. The owner of Lot 3 in the 1935 map below has been corrected to Wm. Jenkins.)

1935 map of south end of Lake Samish (Metsker's Atlas of Whatcom County)

The Jenkins's official residence in Bellingham city directories of the time indicate that they lived in town, so perhaps their intent for Lake Samish property was recreational. Or perhaps they were speculating, like others seem to have done before them, that this property was a good investment.

Indeed, in September 1930, the Jenkins executed a lease granting oil and gas mining and production rights on Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4 to H.F. Alexander.

Oil and gas lease on Lot 3 to H.F. Alexander, 1930 (Washington State Archives)

And in March 1931, they granted the Puget Sound Power & Light Company the right to "construct, erect, alter, improve, repair, operate and maintain an electric transmission and distribution line" through Lot 3, "except one (1) acre in the Easterly part thereof."

Deed from Jenkins to Puget Sound Power & Light Company to erect and operate a power line through Lot 3, March 1931 (Washington State Archives)

Their partners in both of these transactions were Milton and E. Agnes McMillin. And in July 1935, the McMillins purchased Lot 3 and the SE4 of the SE4 from the Jenkinses. The next post will pick up from here.

The East Parcel: Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills

A previous post showed a map from 1916, in which Lake Whatcom Realty Co. is shown as the owner of the East Parcel. A new map found for 1929, posted here, shows Lake Whatcom Log Co. as the owner, and a conversation with Jeff Jewell at the Whatcom Photo Archives suggests that these two companies were probably related.

Lake Whatcom Logging Co. was partially backed by Julius Bloedel and J.J. Donovan, and the company  purchased numerous tracts of land throughout the region, eventually controlling "practically all the best timber in the area," according to this article. When Bloedel and Donovan bought out their third partner's shares in Lake Whatcom Logging Co., it (and its land holdings) became part of the Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills company.

This explains why Bloedel-Donovan was the owner on record when the East Parcel of what is now the Point was platted into Shallow Shores Road. As to why Bloedel-Donovan took this action, a look at its Statement of Profit & Loss covering the period 1920 to 1932 provides a clue:

Source: George Loggie W. Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies

After being profitable throughout the 1920s, the company suddenly started bleeding red. In a note to the P&L, the company reported, "The lumber industry in this region has been menaced by an ever-increasing tax on timber and timber lands. The timber owner has been forced to liquidate his holdings faster than normal consumption demands, which has resulted in a virtual confiscation by the tax levying bodies."

Having likely "liquidated" its holdings on the south end of Lake Samish, Bloedel-Donovan evidently decided to plat the land adjacent to the lake into Shallow Shores Road in 1932. It will be interesting to learn who the first owners of the platted lots were.

 

A few more owners of the West Parcel: E.E. Scott and J.H. Jenkins

A visit to the Northwest Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives last week revealed that the West Parcel of the Point changed hands a few more times than previously thought.

E.E. Scott

When Thomas McTighe, the original homesteader, died in 1909, he evidently died intestate, as his estate, including his land at Lake Samish, came under the administration of F.J. Barlow of the State of Washington.

On April 22, 1910, F.J. Barlow executed an administrator's deed to sell the Lake Samish property to E.E. Scott for $3,000, as shown in the pages below from the deed volume.

Source of both images: Washington State Archives, Northwest Regional Branch

According to Lottie Roeder Roth's History of Whatcom County Volume 2, E.E. Scott was born in Kansas. After working in the lumber business in Iowa and North Dakota, he came to Washington and eventually settled in Bellingham in 1906, where he became sales manager for Whatcom Falls Mill Company.

George Loggie

Whatcom Falls Mill Company was owned by George W. Loggie, whom we know owned the West Parcel of the Point in 1916. And in fact it was Scott who sold it to him. On May 10, 1910, less than three weeks after Scott purchased McTighe's Lake Samish land for $3,000, he sold it to George Loggie for "One dollar and other considerations in hand paid."

Presumably, Scott procured the property on behalf of his boss in the first place, and was compensated for it via those "other considerations" obliquely mentioned in the deed.

J.H. Jenkins

Another new owner name was discovered in a 1929 map from the Whatcom Photo Archives, which shows that the West Parcel of the Point was owned by someone named J.H. Jenkins.

Source: Whatcom Photo Archives

Corroborating information about a J.H. Jenkins in Bellingham or Whatcom County has so far been hard to come by. None of the Bellingham city directories of the period show a J.H. Jenkins, for example.

Another trip to the Washington State Archives should be able to tell us if Loggie sold the property to Jenkins, and if Jenkins then sold it to Einar Erickson (the next owner we know about based on a 1934 map), or whether there were any other interim owners.

Platting of Shallow Shores Road, Part 2

Further to the earlier post about the platting of Shallow Shores, Whatcom County Public Works has come through with the Shallow Shores plat map from 1932, which marks the official creation of Shallow Shores Road (called Shallow Shores Drive at the time). The plat encompassed the East Parcel, which was originally designated as school land.

According to the dedication on the plat map, the land was owned by Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills in 1932:

Know all men by these presents: That the Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills, a Maine corporation, authorized to do business in the State of Washington, with principal place of business at Bellingham Whatcom County, Washington, owners in fee simple of the land embraced in this plat at Shallow Shores Whatcom County, Washington, has caused the same to be platted into Blocks, Lots and Streets, as shown on this plat, and we do hereby declare and acknowledge this plat and dedicate to the Public all the streets shown hereon. -- Witness our hands and seals this 19th day of January 1932: Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills, J.J. Donovan, Vice President. Attest Stewart Matthews, Secretary.

The book 18 Men and a Horse by Donald H. Clark describes some of B-D's operations at Lake Samish as early as 1890:

Source: 18 Men and a Horse, Donald H. Clark, p. 8

"When Bloedel went into the timber to check up on the work, it was easy to locate Mickey [Gates] and his crew; just stand anywhere around Samish Lake and listen!" Clark wrote (p. 196).

18 Men and a Horse also has a photograph of "the Weaver farm," settled on land logged by the company near the south end of Samish Lake:

Source: 18 Men and a Horse, Donald H. Clark, p. 185

From the 1916 map posted earlier, we also know that Bloedel-Donovan was active on the northwest side of Lake Samish.

This Shallow Shores plat map is the first record found of B-D's ownership of the East Parcel of the Point. Perhaps a visit to the J.J. Donovan photograph collection held at the Centre for Pacific Northwest Studies will provide more clues about the company's activities in the area of the Point at Lake Samish.

1951-81, West and East Parcels combined: Maynard and Patricia Parks

In April 1951, Einar Erickson sold the West Parcel of what is now 394 Shallow Shores Road to Maynard and (Mary) Patricia Parks. The Whatcom Assessor report for the East Parcel shows that Maynard Parks owned this section as well, but it does not specify when he procured it or from whom.

According to his obituary (of 2007), Maynard was born in Seattle in 1913. Maynard and Patricia (a nurse, born in Everett in 1915) married in 1940. Maynard served in World War II and subsequently made his career as a railroad executive. The couple had two sons: Michael and Daniel.

It was while the Parks owned the Shallow Shores property that the big house at the Point was built on the West Parcel, in 1977 (presumably demolishing the house that the Ericksons lived in?). The much smaller house currently standing on the East Parcel is believed to have been built in 1940 and remodelled in 1980.

In April 1981, Maynard and Patricia did an extraordinary thing: they donated their property at Lake Samish to Western Washington University. According to the article published in WWU's newspaper, Western Front (below), the gift was directed to WWU as opposed to Maynard's alma mater, the University of Washington, because of an interest in WWU that began when the school's rowing crew waved to him and Patricia while practising at Lake Samish.

The donated land, valued at $750,000 at the time, became the most valuable piece of property in WWU's real estate portfolio. In honour of its benefactor, the school named a new campus building after Maynard and Patricia (who died in June 1981, only a few months after the land donation). Parks Hall was dedicated in 1983.

The land donation was in the form of an irrevocable trust that would pass to WWU "at the appropriate time," according to WWU Board of Trustees minutes. The Western Front reported that the land would pass to WWU upon Maynard's death, but it didn't turn out that way. In May 1987, the Western Foundation (holder of the WWU land trust) sold the Shallow Shores property to Herbert and Chara Messer. The recorded sale price in Whatcom Assessor records was $295,000 -- substantially less than the 1981 valuation of the Parks's donation.

All kinds of questions arise from this: Did the Messers have any connection with WWU? Why was WWU entitled to sell the land before Maynard's death? What did WWU do with the land between 1981 and 1987? A trip to WWU archives may provide some answers.