Book Review

Lake Whatcom A History
by H. Leon Green
The History Press, 2024 / 205 pages, paper, $24.99
ISBN 978-1-4671-5553-3
Reviewed by April Markiewicz
H. Leon Greene has succeeded in providing a very comprehensive and detailed history of the activities that took place in and around Lake Whatcom over the last 170-plus years. The book, “Lake Whatcom: A History,” is only 205 pages long, however, Greene has compiled a plethora of archival records and data, as well as used historical maps and photographs to provide a fascinating portrayal of life on and around Lake Whatcom since the mid-1800s.
Much of the early history is focused on the extensive utilization, i.e., exploitation of the abundant natural resources in the watershed by early settlers for coal, timber, and plentiful fresh water for industrial activities. By the early 1900s, however, Lake Whatcom was also being recognized as a vital resource on which the future survival of the entire community was dependent as its primary source of drinking water. That importance has become even more crucial today.
An Overview: Setting the Stage
The beginning sections of the book provide an overview of the lake’s geology, early Native American presence, the influx of settlers into the area, and background on the formation of what was eventually to become the City of Bellingham (city).
Special attention is devoted to describing the efforts of several of the early settlers who left an indelible mark on our community. They included Julius H. Bloedel, Edward F.G. Carlyon, John J. Donovan, Edward Eldridge, brothers Will, George, and Leslie Jenkins, Peter Larson, Russell V. Peabody, and Henry Roeder to name a few.
J.J. Donovan began his career in railroads, coming to Fairhaven in 1888 and soon branched out into coal mining and logging. He formed partnerships with other early settlers of note, including J.H. Bloedel and P. Larson. Donovan was also active in many other civic activities and was renown for his kindness, generosity, and devotion to the community. He is credited with promoting the development of the New Whatcom Normal School that eventually became Western Washington University. He passed away at the age of 78 and is buried in Bayview Cemetery.
J.H. Bloedel came to Fairhaven in 1890 and eventually invested in the Blue Canyon Coal Mining Company. Bloedel quickly realized the need to fi nd an effi cient way to transport the coal to Bellingham Bay and partnered with Donovan to form the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railroad Company. Eventually, both men partnered with P. Larson to form the Bloedel-Donovan-Larson timber empire. Larson provided financing, Bloedel managed the business, and Donovan oversaw operational logistics and building. Bloedel was a staunch supporter of the city, and in 1946, he and his wife Mina donated 12.5 acres of land at the northwest corner of Lake Whatcom to the city to create the Bloedel-Donovan Park (the City of Bellingham dropped the hyphen and now it’s the Bloedel Donovan Park). He died at the age of 93 and is buried in Seattle.
P. Larson was born in Denmark and came to the United States in 1871 at the age of 22. He started his career in the railroad industry, but made his fortune in mining lead, silver, and zinc. His need of timber for his mines sparked his interest in logging, and in 1898, he partnered with Bloedel and Donovan to form the Lake Whatcom Lumber Company.
Over the years, Larson spent large amounts of money buying forested lands around the lake and elsewhere, in addition to continuing his investment in the Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad. He died in 1907 at the young age of 58 and had amassed a fortune with an assessed value of $10 – $25 million. In accordance with his wishes he was buried in Helena, Montana.
The Jenkins brothers made their impact as well. Will D. Jenkins moved to Whatcom in 1885 and founded the local newspaper that later became Th e Bellingham Herald. He was also the first mayor of the merged cities of Whatcom and Sehome and served for three terms. George A. Jenkins captained steamboats for transporting passengers, freight, and mail on Lake Whatcom for many years. His other brother, Leslie A. Jenkins, owned and operated the Whatcom and Geneva Stage Line until railways, trolleys, and motor vehicles made it obsolete. He joined George in the steamboat business and served as the purser.
These men and the hundreds of people they employed in the late 1800s and early 1900s for coal mining, timber harvesting and milling, railroad construction, road building, and shipping in the watershed left a legacy there that is still visible today. Moreover, the growth and character of the current City of Bellingham and Whatcom County were also directly influenced by their efforts.
Settlements and Towns
Concurrent with harvesting the bountiful natural resources in the watershed, company towns and settlements were being established around the lake, initially to support the employees and their families. Th e Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, however, spurred an influx of settlers seeking to establish homesteads in the area. A population boom ensued, resulting in not only the construction of homes and rooming houses, but also of churches, schools, and parks.
Greene highlights the towns of Silver Beach and Geneva, as well as the smaller settlements of Blue Canyon and Park. His detailed descriptions provide insights into life there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This section of the book is a fascinating read because he also includes historical maps of their locations, nearby railway and trolley lines, roads, and the wharfs used for shipping and unloading ore, raw timber, and finished wood onto rail cars for transport to Bellingham Bay.
Old photographs are also included that capture many of the primary business and social activities taking place in each of them, as well as buildings of note such as churches, schools, parks, the Silver Beach Hotel, and the White City Amusement Park.
Silver Beach is described in greatest detail. Located at the north end of Lake Whatcom, it was not only the most accessible coming from Bellingham, but was also a focal area for transporting ore, raw timber, and milled lumber from Lake Whatcom to Bellingham.
It was therefore not only a company town, with several sawmills and shingle production operations located nearby, but also a shipping center and railroad hub. Company employees, settlers, and tourists flocked to area and stimulated further growth. Th e result was not only residential and rooming houses, but also amenities like the Silver Beach Hotel and the White City Amusement Park.
The Amusement Park included ballfields, a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, dance pavilion, and roller coaster, as well as hosted games and competitions on Sundays. During the summer months the park attracted hundreds of city and county residents, as well as thousands of tourists.
The town of Geneva was primarily a logging and mining site with lumber and shingle mills in operation. Eventually, its population outnumbered that of Silver Beach and was envisioned by the Jenkins as a resort destination, offering parks, picnic opportunities, and entertainment.
Blue Canyon was exclusively a company town with coal mining as its only source of income. When the coal mine closed, the employees and their families moved away or moved to nearby Park.
Interestingly, Greene does include the resort community of Sudden Valley in his descriptions though its development did not begin until 1969. It is still in high demand for home seekers and offers numerous amenities to its homeowners including a golf course, swimming pool, community center, playgrounds, a marina, and parks. According to Greene, it is one of the largest cooperative homeowner’s associations in Washington state.
As mining and logging activities declined or disappeared throughout the watershed, smaller settlements like Park were abandoned as populations shifted or disappeared. Moreover, as the population growth in Bellingham increased, it expanded into the Lake Whatcom watershed, with those areas that were more fully developed and offered more amenities to its residents growing rapidly. Very few of the early towns and settlements initially established in the watershed remain today and exist only as subdivisions of Bellingham or the county.
Other Details
Greene writes extensively about other activities in the watershed, enumerating the various railroad companies, timber and lumber companies, mills and coal mines in operation in the watershed, boats that transported coal, wood, and passengers on the lake, parks that were created and other recreational activities like hunting and fishing. At times, the magnitude of detail is overwhelming to read in one sitting, but does give the reader an intimate view of life in the watershed during that time frame.
The last chapter of the book is devoted to Lake Whatcom’s water – how it was historically used, treated to be potable, distributed to city and county residents, and became the primary drinking water source for 100,000 people today.
In conclusion, “Lake Whatcom – A History” provides an easy-to-read overview regarding the origins and growth of current day Bellingham and parts of Whatcom County, as well as an understanding why development in Bellingham and the Lake Whatcom watershed are laid out the way they are today. As a side note, it also explains why there is so much development around our primary source of drinking water today (and why the lake’s water quality is continuing to decline).
The level of detail in this book at times is daunting, but provides an excellent portrayal of the significance of Lake Whatcom and its watershed in the development, growth, and survival of our communities within Whatcom County. Our potential as communities, however, would never have been realized without the efforts of the early settlers who were drawn to the natural beauty and resources available here. Th is book helps us to understand and appreciate more fully those efforts.
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April Markiewicz is an environmental toxicologist and recently retired as the associate director at the Institute of Environmental Toxicology at the College of the Environment at Western Washington University.