January, 2017.:
In my book, San Juan Islands: Into the 21st Century, I mentioned that the islands were more noted for marvelous fishing rather than having large future forests like the size of the one pictured near Bellingham, Washington, on the mainland. The islands basically were long gone mountain tops, not so hospitable for tree roots. Yet original settlers found an old Lummi Indian longhouse (a dwelling) that housed three generations of residents in a 100x20' structure made from old cedar trees. A few sawmills existed, especially one at Thatcher Bay on the southwest side of Blakely Island that was considered the largest north of Seattle in the 1890s
The key assets of the Spencer Mill were the commercial workboats in the islands that made possible transportation of the lumber to markets and, even more, the lively streams that fed two natural lakes of the island and provided adequate overflow into the Sound to create water power. A small village grew up around the resultant waterfall and mill that included a tiny, picturesque post office. On January 30, 1965, on a dark and stormy night passing ferry passengers on the Sound cried, "Look at the huge waves of water coming at us, with trees and debris swirling in it!."
The small dam on the lake above Thatcher Bay had broken from heavy rain, sending a torrent of water down the steep stream bed into the Bay. Gone were a few waterside structures, especially the destruction of the post office into a twisted mess, plus one of the main old mill buildings. For a few years, the waterfall continued to attract residents like my own family for impromptu showers after wading a shallow lake of sandy bottom. The dam itself had been patched up adequately and still exists. An old photo from the Seattle newspaper hangs in my own cabin today.
