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.

 

The Point 1916: George W. Loggie

The next map we have of Lake Samish is dated 1916, and in it we can see that the Point is still divided in two distinct parcels. The East Parcel, initially designated school land, is now owned by Lake Whatcom Realty, and the West Parcel is owned by G.W. Loggie.

Source: Whatcom Museum

According to the biography of George W. Loggie in History of Whatcom County, Vol. II by Lottie Roeder Roth, Loggie was one of the best known lumbermen in the northwest.

George W. Loggie (sourced from History of Bellingham and Whatcom County, Washington)

Western Washington University maintains the George W. Loggie Papers, and these papers may provide some hints as to Loggie's interest in or use of his property at Lake Samish. Perhaps he had intentions of establishing a mill there. There was certainly other milling activity at the lake at that time, including Manley and Sons Shingle Mill and Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills, both of which operated mainly on the east side of the lake.