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.