Unique tidbits, legends weave engaging history of Eastside

The first drive-in restaurant on the West Coast was in Renton. Mercer Island was the scene of the Eastside's first recorded murder. A rock festival blasted the ears of Woodinville residents, and both parties walked away unharmed from a duel in North Bend.

Fascinating historical tidbits and tales linger long after the chapters in this history were completed. What follows are a few of the more interesting ones.

Claim-jumping murder: Eastside pioneer James Colman argued with Enatai settler George Miller over illegal land claims. Miller threatened to kill Colman. Apparently Colman and Miller were subpoenaed to a King County court for a hearing.

On Feb, 8, 1886, Colman waved goodbye to his wife, Clarissa Colman and left home with a teenage houseguest to row to Seattle for the court appearance. They never made it

A detective hired by Mrs. Colman later found their bodies and bloodstained rowboat near the south end of the island. The two had been shot.

After three trials, Miller ended up in jail for two years. He was acquitted and released. In the 1950s, Eastside historian Lucile McDonald interviewed Colman's daughter, Clarissa Colman Fawcett, who claimed Miller confessed to the murders on his deathbed. For many years, South Point on Mercer Island was called Murder Point by residents.

High tide: Although Native Americans hunted on the island by day, when Thomas Mercer began exploration in the 1860s, local Indians refused to spend the night there. They had a legend that the island sank every night and rose again each morning.

Historians have speculated the legend may have roots in the sunken forests off Mercer Island shores. The trees, standing upright, are at South Point and at the island's north end. They were a hazard to navigation, and around 1900, a ship and crew used a dragline to sheer off the tops to 15 to 20 feet below the surface.

There are other submerged forests off St. Edward State Park in Kenmore and one at the south end of Lake Sammamish. Scientists believe a massive earthquake around 900 caused landslides that resulted in the underwater stands of trees.

Island castle: A tower was built for water storage on Mercer Island in 1889. It looked like a castle tower. Although it had long been abandoned, the landmark was destroyed in the early 1970s, when it was vandalized and then burned down.

Eastside rocks: Ike and Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Guess Who and Led Zeppelin were some of the 25 acts that rocked at Woodinville's Gold Creek Park for three days beginning July 25, 1969.

More than 50,000 fans showed up for the Seattle Pop Festival, paying $6 a day, $15 for all three days. Crowds were so large that promoters had to bring in extra food and water.

Yes, some neighbors complained.

It's the law: The No. 1 ordinance in Bothell, passed into law on Aug. 7, 1889, declared it unlawful for an ape or anyone dressed as an ape to appear on the streets of Bothell in July or August.

Apes ordinarily didn't wander the streets of Bothell. However, several people apparently dressed up as apes for an annual festival.

The fine for such appearances was $5.

Army versus miners: Labor problems occasionally surfaced at Eastside mines. Owners called in the Washington State Militia to prevent violence in 1891. At least one troop camped in Gilman, today's Issaquah, for two weeks while things cooled off.

Material matters: One of the first wool mills in Washington, Matzen Woolen Mills, was on the waterfront near today's Marina Park in Kirkland. It burned down in a spectacular fire in 1935.

Floating club: The first American Legion Hall in Kirkland was a World War I surplused Liberty Ship, permanently moored at the waterfront. The cannons that once marked the Kirkland city limits on Lake Washington Boulevard were also WWI surplus. They stood at the corner of Lake Washington Boulevard and 10th Avenue South. Eventually, they were moved to the Redmond American Legion Hall.

Walking the plank: In the early 1900s, a puncheon, or wooden walkway, ran along the Lake Washington waterfront from Houghton to Kirkland.

Dueling friends: In Ada Hill's "History of the Snoqualmie Valley," pioneer Annie Carpenter told of two drunken men, Mike McGilvey and a Mr. McGowan, who got into a fierce argument in the late 1800s. They were so angry, they decided to have a duel.

Accompanied by friends, they went to a field near Tollgate Farm and were each given a rifle. They counted out the paces, turned around and pulled the triggers.

Silence.

The friends had not loaded the guns. The surprised duelers were so happy they laughed and hugged one another.

Popular site: When the first railroad excursion brought sightseers to Snoqualmie Falls in June 1889, entertainment included a tightrope walker traversing the falls on a high wire. The local citizens had prepared food for 400 to 500 people, but more than 1,000 came and the food ran out. The next weekend, the citizens prepared for a large influx. But sales were down — word had gotten around in Seattle, and the tourists brought their own food.

Bear baby: In the 1870s, Redmond pioneers Warren and Laura Perrigo built the Melrose House, an inn for travelers not far from today's Bear Creek Shopping Center. For about three weeks, visitors were entertained by the antics of a bear cub.

The Perrigos' hired hand, DeWhitt Griswold, captured the bear while he was hunting. According to Redmond historian Nancy Way, Griswold tied it to the woodshed and gave it a barrel for a bed.

Each morning the bear would pull out the straw from the barrel and air it and then put the straw back into the barrel at night. The bear eventually chewed through the rope leash and escaped.

Playing train: Willowmoor Farm, what is today's Marymoor Park, had its own narrow-gauge steam railroad to move grain, feed, other supplies and workers between the more than two dozen sheds, barns and outbuildings.

Long service: Bill Brown was practically mayor for life. He was elected mayor of Redmond in 1918 and served until 1948.

He was also a King County commissioner from 1924-32, and one of his projects was getting West Lake Sammamish Parkway built. (Brown also benefited from the highway project. It opened up access to two of his developments: Rosemont and Rosemont Beach.)

Waterless watershed: Although it is known as the Redmond Watershed, it hasn't produced a drop of drinking water for at least 70 years.

Redmond purchased the land and Seidel Creek in 1926 to provide water to a thirsty town. Several years later, the state health department determined the water didn't meet state safety standards and the waterworks was shut down. Today the open space contains popular biking and hiking trails.

Farm industry: Union Hill in Redmond was home to at least 15 mink ranches in the 1950s. In the Sammamish Valley, there were 25 dairy farms in 1948. But Redmond's biggest farming export was chicks. Poultry farms and hatcheries were numerous. Even after farmers gave up raising chickens locally, Redmond's H & N International hatched and shipped 8 million chicks a year in the 1980s.

Mascot meaning: When Native American Henry Moses played basketball for Renton High School in 1916, competitors from other schools jeered, calling the Renton team a bunch of Indians.

Moses, whose family lived in the area before Caucasian settlers arrived, said the name-calling was a positive thing because Indians stand for determination, bravery and strength.

When the basketball team won the state championship that year, the school voted to be permanently known as the Indians. Moses, a talented athlete, went on to briefly play professional baseball.

Mugged: Root beer became a hot commodity when the Triple XXX Barrel drive-in restaurant opened in Renton in the mid-1930s. It was the first drive-in on the West Coast.