King County Historic Preservation

We've shared this image before, but so many things are blooming right now, we thought it would be nice to have a pop of color and a historic building before the weekend. The gambrel roof barn was built in 1942 when the property was the Coy Brothers Farm. The builder was Herman Jerstad. The barn is now part of the Cherry Valley Dairy.

Since we're nearing the anniversary of Mt. St. Helen's 1980 eruption, we thought we'd mention one of the more significant volcanic events in King County history, the Osceola Mudflow, or lahar. More than 5,000 years ago this lahar from Mt. Rainier created the Enumclaw Plateau, and it remains the largest relatively flat area in King County. The lahar filled in creeks and ravines and changed river courses, but created a broad area that became a significant agricultural economic engine in the late 19th century through today.

Yesterday King County preservation staff attended a virtual session on "Structural Stabilization of Historic Masonry Buildings." We occasionally get some extra instruction so we can assist historic landmark owners around the county. We don't have that many brick buildings in our inventory, but they are often subject to seismic damage and freeze-thaw cycles that can damage the brick or stone. This example is from downtown Issaquah.

May the 4th be with you! King County has a historic connection to Star Wars...with a former landfill compactor called "The Mole." It's rumored it was the prototype for the Tatooine sandcrawlers in the original movie! Our office still has film of this beast in action!

Cedar Hills landfill 'Mole' may have inspired sandcrawlers in 'Star Wars' - MyNorthwest.com The Mole, a 1960s trash-compacter from Cedar Hills is rumored to be the inspiration for the sandcrawlers in Star Wars.