Dairy Farm Properties of the Snoqualmie River Valley:1890-1960

NPS Form lD-go()..b OMS No. 1014401' {Aug. 2001) Wa$hi'lglon Slate Microsoft Word Formill j United States Department of the Interior National Park Service • • National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by mar1<lng~x· in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10·9OOa). Type all entries. _X_ New Submission Amended Submission A. Name of MUltiple Property Listing Dairy Farm Properties of the Snoqualmie River Valley, Washington B. Associated Historic Contexts (name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographic area, and chronological period for each) The Evolution of Dairy Farming in the Snoqualmie River Valley - 1890 to 1960 C. Form Prepared by name/title __ ----!.F~lo~r~e:!Jn!!<c~e...!.K~....!L="e~n!._"tz~...Jf"'o~r~K:>!.i~ng~C~o~u!.!.n!._"ty:t....=L~a:!Jn~d.!.!m!!a!.!.r~k5!.s..!<a!!!n~dlJH....!.S<.e!..!.rit~a!l:gl"'e'..!P~ro~g!!.r9.a!..!.m!_ organization _ date_DEC 2001 _ street & number -"5~1~6!.._"'S~e~c~0~n!.>d!.LA~v~e<!.n!._"u~e" _ telephone (206) 296-8689 city or town ",S",e",a",tt",le", state __ W A zip code 98104 D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 1hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Planning and Evaluation. ( _ See continuation sheet for additional comments.) ~q Signature o~ffiCial Date Washington State Historic Preservation Office State or Federal agency and bureau I, hereby, certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register. Signature of the Keeper of the National Register Date of Action Dairy Farm Properties of tWnOqUalmie River Valley, washinw Washington Table of Contents for Written Narrative Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers according to the instructions for continuation sheets in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 168). Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below. Page Numbers E. Statement of Historic Contexts (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) Introduction 1 Organization of the Multiple Property Document 8 ·11 Dairy Industry Regulations 11 ·12 Advances in Dairy Technology 12 ·17 Influence of Model Dairies 17·19 Social Structure In the Dairy Community 19·21 F. Associated Property Types (Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.) Family Farmsteads Description 22 Farmstead Setting 22-23 Housing 23-25 Hay Barn & Dependencies 25-27 Milk Houses 27 other Historic Buildings 27-28 Evolutionary Structures 28-29 Significance 29-30 Registration Requirements 30-31 Hay Barns Description 31- 33 Significance 33 Registration Requirements 33-34 G. Geographical Data 35 H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 36 (Discuss the methods used in developing the public property Hstlnq.) I. Major Bibliographical References 37 ·43 (List major written works and primary location of additional documentaUon: State Historic Preservation Office, other State agency, Federal agency, local government, university, or other, specifying repository.) Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 at seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this torm to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington. DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. NP$ Form 10-900-a OMS No. 1024-0018 (Aug, 2001) Washington Microsoft Word FOflTlat United States Department of •the Interior • National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section E Page 1 Dairy Farm Properties of the Snoqualmie River Valley, Washington King County, Washington E. STATEMENT OF HISTORIC CONTEXTS (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) Introduction The river valleys of Western Washington, with their mild marine climate, fertile alluvial soils, and proximity to urban markets, were admirably suited to an economy sustained by agriculture. As such, dairy farming in particular rose to the forefront throughout the region after 1890. The industry was encouraged in its formative years by progressive state legislation and by nationally significant, scientific advances in the technology of dairying. In the Snoqualmie Valley of King and Snohomish Counties, the golden age of dairy farming lasted well into the 1950s. Family dairy farming pervaded and shaped the cultural landscape of the valley during this period. After 1950, changing market conditions forced local dairy farmers to modernize their operations with new methods through the mid-1970s and has resulted in evolving farmstead design. Over the last two decades of the zo" century, family dairying has declined at an accelerated pace. Despite the recent erosion of the traditional pattern of dairying in the valley, important traces remain discernable on the landscape even today. Organization of the Multiple Property Document This multiple property documentation form identifies one historic context - Dairy Farming in the Snoqualmie Valley from 1890 to 1960 - and two associated property types - Dairy Farmsteads as complete complexes, and traditional Hay Barns as individual structures. The context statement outlines general historic developments related to regional and local dairying. The discussion of property types includes descriptions of physical characteristics, evaluations of significance, and registration standards for both property types. Background: Early Agriculture in the Snoqualmie Valley The practice of Euro-American agriculture in the Snoqualmie River Valley began in a limited fashion in the 1850s and 1860s with the first permanent settlements above Snoqualmie Falls. On the open prairie where the native Snoqualmie people had long harvested seasonal berries and root crops, the Euro-American's staked their claims. Here they established primitive subsistence farms, authorized by the Donation Land Law, the Homestead Act, and later by school and railroad land grand sales. Jeremiah Borst arrived in 1858 over the Cedar River Pack Trail and settled at the site of Fort Alden on the Snoqualmie River at Meadowbrook. Other pioneers soon followed, including Josiah Merritt, Mats and Peter Peterson, A. C. Kimball, and Joseph and Lucinda Fares (Corliss, pp. 28-31). NPS Fonn 10-900-11 OMS NO. 1024-0018 (Aug. 2001) Washington Microsoft Word Fonnal United States Department of •the Interior • National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section E Page 2 Dairy Farm Properties of the Snoqualmie River Valley, Washington King County, Washington E. STATEMENT OF HISTORIC CONTEXTS (cont'd) A handful of pioneer farmers settled in the Lower Valley in the 1860s, but the forested bottomlands there primarily attracted logging operations. Logging camps dotted the banks of the Snoqualmie River which providing a means of floating logs to market. Many settlers of the area began by working in the camps. Then they established and cleared their own claims in close proximity to the river. Farmers often supplemented their meager income with the production of hand-split shakes and shingles. Ship knees cut from stumps brought from forty to fifty cents a foot. One Snohomish City newspaper reported 250 ship knees ready for sale at a local valley farm (Whitfield, p. 645). From Snohomish City to Snoqualmie Falls, a linear pattern of pioneer farmsteads emerged. A newspaper reporter from the Northern Star penned a description of the country following his excursion up the river on the steamboat "Nellie" in 1877: ...by the river there is a settler on nearly every quarter section between this place and the Falls. In many places the mere shanty, the necessity of every newcomer, has given place to more comfortable dwellings. The area of forest that girts these dwellings ...has been in many instances very much lessened, the unsightly stumps are everywhere disappearing, patches of grain and vegetables can be seen where only a short time since the nettle grew among the tangled vine maple.... Settlers are daily coming in. Already they are compelled to go back from the river bank for timber or agricultural lands (Bagley, pp. 808-809). In the Upper Valley, where agriculture preceded lumbering, an important early cash crop was bacon. Hogs were cheaply raised, and were of sufficient value to justify the long trip to market. By mule or horseback, the bacon was hauled from the prairie to the base of the falls and loaded onto small river canoes which carried it downriver as far as Snohomish City. From there it was transported by salt-water canoe to settlements on Puget Sound. One of the more prominent operations was run by Jeremiah Borst who operated a thriving business in cured pork.

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