HAT ISLAND HISTORY by Robert a Brunjes
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HAT ISLAND HISTORY By Robert A Brunjes I hope you enjoy this updated history of our Island. We owe a debt of thanks to so many people who have helped make our Island paradise what it is today. I would like to dedicate this history to one of them, a wonderful man, world renowned Photographer and friend to may of us on Hat Island. BOB BENSON - You are gone, but the “Studio B” will always be in port. At Latitude 48 Degrees, 1 minute North, Longitude 122 Degrees, 19 minutes, is an Island formed by a retreating glacier some 13,500 years ago. The melt water pouring from its jagged edges gave up glacial materials forming deposits of clay, silt and gravel layer upon layer, until a land mass was formed. A smaller area of land was connected by a land bridge to a larger area now known as Camano Island. As the glacier melted, fresh water remained around this land. Finally the ice mass in its steady decline moved beyond the Olympic Mountain Range, and Sea water rushed into the area, filling what is now Puget Sound. The water level rose and the land bridge vanished under water forming a small island. Over the next 13,000 years, rain, wind, tide, and storms continued to gnaw at this island reducing it some 30 percent to its current size of 1 and a ½ miles long by 1/3 of a mile wide and approximately 440 acres. With a mild climate and an average of 30 inches of rain per year (10 Inches less than the mainland only 3 nautical miles away) various forms of vegetation took hold, including Cedar, Alder, Douglas Fir, and Maple. Protruding from the Southeast edge is a ledge, devoid of foliage forming a polygon. Below is a protruding beach area. Future generations would look at this area and be reminded of a hat with the extended beach as the brim. Not only was an Island formed, but a name that would stick “HAT ISLAND”. The earliest name for our Island was Native American (CHUH-CHUH-SUL-LAY). Tribes from Mukilteo and South Whidbey apparently felt that ghosts were connected with the island and called it “the place where little one lived.” The term was said to refer to a Native American story that the western shore of the island was a good place for clams and fishing. A group from a local tribe was encamped there sunning themselves, when the bank suddenly caved forward and killed all but two. From that time on, the Island was a place you visited, but never stayed. In the spring of 1792, Captain George Vancouver, with his two ships, Discovery and Chathen, began the first exploration and charting of Washington waters. On a Wednesday, May 30, 1792, Captain Vancouver was anchored off a point of land at Mukilteo, now known as Elliot Point. From his log: “weather is deteriorating” (so what else is new?) “weigh anchor late afternoon and head for island. Anchored in 20 fathoms of water, hard sandy bottom, near halfway between the island and the point that divides the two openings,” (Camano Head). His botanist A. Menzies, mentions “ heavy night rain fall” and “some dogs had been left on shore on this Island whose yellings were heard several times in the night” Vancouver mapped the area and named many of the prominent points: Gardner Bay for Vice Admiral Sir Alan Gardner, Port Susan for his wife, 1 Whidbey Island for Sailing Master Joseph Whidbey, but the little island that he anchored off, that the natives were afraid of, remained nameless for another 50 years. In June of 1841 an American expedition arrived to chart and explore the area. The exploration was led by Captain Charles Wilkes, who would be responsible for the official charted name of Hat Island; Gedney Island. The big question “who was Gedney”? Wilkes indicated that he named it for a friend. Historians believed that it was Jonathon Haight Gedney, inventor of wooden cogs, used in the cotton gin and a horse drawn plow for digging potatoes However, the Department of Navy recently released Wilkes’ memoirs and we now know that he named it for a fellow officer that he served with 10 years earlier, Lt Thomas R. Gedney. Gedney would become famous in the capture of the slave ship “Armistead” which became a major Hollywood movie. Wilks lost 2 of his 5 ships. He was actually a Lieutenant and had promoted himself to Captain, and many of his discoveries were technically challenged. At the end of the voyage, he was court martialled, but in the bureaucracy of government the name was allowed to stand. When the Northwest became a U.S. Territory, part of Hat Island became public land when a University grant was established in 1866. Our island was first homesteaded by one Peter Goutrie, better known as French Peter. He was a Hudson Bay Company Fur Trader. His original homestead was purchased by the Government in the 1860’s to establish the Tulalip Reservation. French Peter, also known to the Tribes as “Stu-hi” meaning that when ever they bartered with him their prices were TOO HIGH. He took his new found wealth ($2,000) and moved to Hat Island. He built a cabin on the Northeast side and established a small farm and apple orchard. In March 1873, he was granted a homestead on the island. Apparently he had the reputation of hoarding his wealth and always paid in cash. He lived quietly on the island with his native laborer, known as “his man John” for 12 years. On November 18, 1875 French Peter was found shot in the head, draped over a drift log on the beach. His pistol was still in his belt. His faithful dog was standing guard. The speculation became that he had been murdered for his money which was hidden somewhere on the homestead. The murderer was never found. He was buried “10 rods west of the cabin” (in the area of the clubhouse). Newspapers in Seattle and other areas embellished the story. Treasure hunters searched for the fortune for the next 50 years, No treasure was ever found. Goutrie’s possessions were sold by a public magistrate. The homestead was sold for $525.00 to John H. Davis. His faithful dog yielded $1.13. From the Seattle Evening Dispatch, Nov 30th,1875 “A most brutal and Fiendish murder occurred on Hat Island......” A poem was included: “There was an old man called French Peter Who was shot gunned from less than a meter. While few were offended That his life had been ended, Some were vexed that it wasn’t done neater.” Another commercial enterprise was created in 1870; the Hat Island Sand & Gravel Co. Edward Barrington purchased part of the Public Land Grant and sold it to the Gravel Co. This purchase became the first reference to the name Hat Island. The Gravel Company 2 built bunkers and a wharf to transport gravel to the mainland. John Davis, with support from Amos Phinney of the Port Ludlow sawmill established a logging camp on the Island and logged the virgin timber. Many of the stumps are still visible from the logging operation. Even in its earlier days, the island seemed destined to become a vacation hideaway. As early as July 20, 1893, the local newspaper ran an article on Hat Island. Six gentlemen, led by John Hilton visited the island on the steamer, Beaver. Hilton had come to this area in 1863 and now owned 270 acres of the island he intended to log, “which includes a pretty grove of Maples at the South end.” The party located the Goutrie cabin described as “a deserted shack and outbuildings in a ravine near the Northern Beach.” Also “Indians were near the spot enjoying a clam bake. The feasibility of the island as a town site, as a picnic resort, a pleasure park or hunting reserve was all discussed.” The group left it to Mr. Hilton “to leave his mark upon the scene of the early exploits of Port Gardner Jack.” HAT ISLAND FOLK LORE “Grampie, who was Port Gardner Jack?” I have not been able to find out much information. He may have been involved in French Peters demise. It was right after the turn of the century that the first development of the island occurred by Dan Duryee. He opened the Everett view tract selling cabin sights on the sand spit on the southeast end of the island. Also, before and during WWI, a Mr. Schmitz tried to promote a resort and built a dance hall on the Northern end, but it didn’t pay. After WWI the Gravel Company prospered under the guidance of Henry J. Kaiser. In addition to the wharf and bunkers, a cook shack and bunk house were built to support approximately 15 employees. He removed much of the gravel from the West side of the island which was used in his road construction and cement business. Just think. There is a little bit of Hat Island in many of Puget Sounds major developments and roads. August Greyerbiehl in 1918 acquired 153 acres of the land logged by John Davis in settlement of a debt. He found that it offered a delightful spot for a summer home, which he built on the foundation of the dance hall. Goutrie’s old apple orchard supplied more fruit than their family could eat. An old fisherman was squatting on the property and had started a cabin. He was kept on as caretaker. The Greyerbiehls built a few cabins for rent and installed a wharf.