Engage. Fall City Library 2006 Community Study Turn to us. The choices will surprise you. CONTENTS COMMUNITY OVERVIEW Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 1 Fall City Library Service Area Background............................................................ 1 History of the Fall City Library............................................................................ 2 Fall City Community Today................................................................................ 3 Geography ............................................................................................ 4 Community Parks & Recreation ................................................................ 4 Transportation ....................................................................................... 4 Business ............................................................................................... 5 Education, Schools & Children.................................................................. 5 The Library Today and Tomorrow ....................................................................... 6 COMMUNITY STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................... 8 BOARD PRESENTATION SLIDES MAPS • Fall City Aerial Overview • Fall City Library Circulation • Fall City Library PC Booking APPENDICES • Demographic Summary • School Statistics • School Test Scores • Race in Service Area • Age in Service Area • Languages Spoken at Home • Occupational Profile • Home Sales in Service Area • Childcare Information COMMUNITY OVERVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Fall City’s name belies its unincorporated status; however, it is a close-knit community that works together for the common good. The community came together in 1944 to start a library and in following years they have worked to improve the library building, collections and programs. Instead of a city council, there is a Fall City Community Association; Fall City Arts Council; Friends of the Fall City Library and a newly formed Fall City Historical Society. These organizations provide leadership in local cultural activities and a town clean-up day. The new Fall City Library with its added meeting space can become the center of the community. The library, located near many businesses and the post office, offers a real physical center to the unincorporated area. This study considers the history of Fall City and its library with the challenges before the community today. The recommendations for the new library demonstrate the need for activities for Fall City residents and for the increased population in the surrounding area. FALL CITY LIBRARY’S SERVICE AREA BACKGROUND The beautiful valley that cradles Fall City has been the home of the Snoqualmie Indians for centuries. The river, named after the tribe, carved the valley that provided food, transportation, recreation and a dramatic natural setting for the local people. The principal Native American villages were at the present day locations of the City of Carnation and the Fall City community. The first white settlements in the area were Fort Patterson and Fort Tilton, built in 1856 to protect future settlers against possible uprisings by the Indians. Within two years, both forts were abandoned due to lack of hostilities. The first team and wagon crossed Snoqualmie Pass in 1869, which opened this area to settlers traveling from the East. James Taylor built a log cabin where the Colonial Inn is now and the Boham Brothers, Ed and George, established a trading post where Model Garage is situated. Supplies came upriver in large dugout canoes and Fall City was often referred to as "The Landing" because of shallow water farther upstream. In 1872, the Fall City Post Office was authorized by the territorial governor and George Boham became the first postmaster. The following year, a group of parents used lumber that floated down-river from Watson Allen's mill to build the first schoolhouse across the river from Boham's Trading Post. In 1875, the first small steamboats began bringing supplies and the Boham Brothers sold their claims to pioneer developer, Jeremiah “Jerry” Borst. Borst and his wife Kate moved to Fall City and hired B.C. Majors to survey and plat the town in anticipation of Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad tracks heading east. The 1 plat was recorded in 1887, but to Borst's disappointment, the railroad missed the town by a mile when the tracks finally arrived in 1889. The first Fall City bridge across the Snoqualmie River, also completed in 1889, improved access for supplies and passengers. The U.S. Census of 1910 listed 552 people in the Fall City precinct. Logging, lumber and farming were largely responsible for local growth. In the early 1900s, Fall City was connected to Seattle by telephone, making it possible to order supplies and receive them by train. From 1912 to 1947, the Fall City Telephone Company operated from the Prescott- Harshman house designated a King County Historical Landmark and located a block east of the present Fall City Library. Shortly before World War I, an improved Sunset Highway connected Seattle to Eastern Washington through Fall City, bringing tourists with the advent of low cost cars. As a result, many houses were built in Fall City by newcomers in the mid to late 1920s. The U.S. Census of 1930 listed 907 people in Fall City Precinct. The tourist trade virtually dried up during World War II because of gasoline rationing. After the war, Fall City tourism never restarted because the freeway from Seattle to North Bend was completed, bypassing the area. Logging, lumber and farming were displaced by high tech industries to the west. Many residents commute to nearby cities for employment, while local businesses provide services to those living in or passing through Fall City. Consciousness of history is crucial to this community. In 2003, the Fall City Community Association teamed up with the King County Road Services division to add historic street names to then current County street name signage. This year, local historian Jack Kelley is proudly publishing an update to Fall City In the Valley of the Moon, originally written by Margaret McKibben Corliss. Work on Jack’s History of Fall City has spurred interest in forming a Fall City Historical Society and Museum. HISTORY OF THE FALL CITY LIBRARY The Fall City Library was established in 1944 by the Fall City Study Club. The Community Methodist Church agreed to house the library in two Sunday school classrooms. Lumber was donated and Elmer Gochneur built the shelving. A linoleum rug was found second-hand for $10 and a desk, found floating down the river, was the finishing touch. Mary Stokes was the first librarian who had the library open two afternoons and one evening a week. Her chores included starting the oil and wood stoves in each room. After two years of support by the United Good Neighbor fund, the library began to pay the $100 per year utility bill. The Study Club raised money by hosting yearly silver teas. Each spring they had a plant sale, with members donating all the plants. 2 The library had to move 13 years later when the United Methodist Church was remodeling and there would be no room on the first floor for the library. Charlie Hansen had the solution. Al and Bonnie Hansen’s 18-by-24-foot honeymoon cottage was available, if he could find a place to put it. The Study Club asked for permission to move the building to school property. The Fall City community came together to raise money for the move and refurbishing. School children held pickle sales, and paper and glass drives, while adults held plant and rummage sales. Bill Lierly used his equipment to move the building with the assistance from members of the fire department. The community did all the remodeling. Shelving for 6,000 books was installed. Children helped move the books from the old library to the new. This little cottage served as the Fall City Library for 10 years, with the King County Library System (KCLS) supplying books and services and the Study Club paying for the utilities. In 1965 it was time again to move the library. The Fall City Study Club organized a door-to- door fundraising drive to ask each family and business in the community to donate at least $10. Almost three-fourths of the families donated money and most organizations donated cash and planned fundraisers. The Fall City Study Club gave KCLS a check for $9,267. The new building was started in January and finished in April 1967. The new library opened with 14,000 books. Again the library outgrew its space, so the Fall City Librarian Joan Bronemann suggested that since the Seattle-First Bank building was empty, KCLS could acquire it and more than double the size of the Fall City Library. The idea was greeted with enthusiasm and the building was bought for $150,000 and remodeled for $88,000. The bank vault became the teen area of the library, minus the steel doors of course. Staff pushed book carts across the street on moving day and the library was ready for business on July 19, 1986. THE FALL CITY COMMUNITY TODAY Fall City is home to about 5,000 residents and many businesses. Fall City remains an unincorporated area of King County, with no local government. Public services are limited, making the library a central community destination. Annexation may be considered in the future, but the King County Annexation Initiative currently has no such plans. Organizations such as the Fall City Community Association, Fall City Arts, the Neighbors Newsletter and