Restoring a farm from out of the past

Hidden along Green River Road in Auburn sits the Mary Olson Farm, a farmstead whose history is as rich as its beauty.

Bought in 1879 by Alfred Olson, a pioneer who emigrated from Sweden, it was most recently inhabited by Olson's children, who lived in the farmhouse without electricity or plumbing until the 1960s. The property and its seven original buildings have been mostly vacant since that time.

To protect the 60-acre farm and surrounding canyon from development, Auburn bought it in 1994 and leased it to the White River Valley Museum, which is overseeing a $1.6 million restoration project.

"The Mary Olson Farm is like a tonic for our increasingly urbanized lives," museum and farm Director Patricia Cosgrove said. "As soon as you walk past the entry gate, the green canyon walls wrap around you, shutting out noise, distractions and views of the modern world. We are so lucky to have this gem of a place."

It was a self-sufficient farm, Cosgrove said.

"If the Olsons needed something, it was within reach — gardens, orchards, smokehouse, chickens and eggs, lumber, you name it."

The property also has a colorful history. On July 9, 1902, a violent escaped convict, Harry Tracy, showed up at the farm, according to the museum's newsletter, the White River Journal. He held Mary Olson, then Mary Johnson, and her two children hostage for the better part of the day after ordering Johnson's husband, Eric, to go to Tacoma and buy him two guns.

No one in the family was hurt, and Tracy left the farm that night as suddenly as he'd arrived. The encounter made the Johnson farm and the family famous for a time and helped secure the farm's place in local history.

The farm — the most well-preserved historic farm in the county, says King County landmarks officer Julie Koler — is a county landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Because the barn is on the register, the restoration project must maintain the historic use of the farm and its key historic features and must protect and preserve its archaeological resources, including as much of the construction style and original wood, hardware, fixtures and finishes as possible.

BOLA Architecture & Planning, which specializes in historic restoration, worked with Cosgrove and her team to decide the goals, needs and costs of the project. More than $1 million has been received in donations and grants, and supporters have their sights on raising $440,000 more.

Among the buildings to be restored are the 3,150-square-foot hay barn; the Olson's two-story farmhouse, built in 1902; a 100-year-old weaving house; a 25-square-foot outhouse; a chicken coop, built in 1901; a garage and ice house; and a smokehouse, where the Olsons smoked salmon, venison and duck.

This year, the restoration has focused on the barn, built in 1897 to store hay and serve as a milking station.

The cedar-shake roof has been replaced, and all four sides of the barn have been restored, two using lumber salvaged from the barn and two using donated cedar planks. The wood-plank floor has been replaced.

The next steps will be refinishing the milking enclosures and adding electricity to replace the original carbide lanterns.

"The barn is really the centerpiece of the farm," Cosgrove said, "and this is a particularly lovely old barn."

Once complete, the barn will be available for school field trips and other educational programs and special events.

The farm is currently closed to the public, but Cosgrove anticipates that it will be open by appointment for field trips in the fall. In 2009, it is expected be open to the general public during limited hours.

Dana Blozis is a Kent freelance writer: dana@virtuallyyourz.com