HomeMy WebLinkAboutIrondale Beach History Sign DRAFTHOW IT WAS FORMED:
The Puget Lobe Ice Sheet
About 17,000 years ago, Irondale Beach was beneath a
giant ice sheet, the Puget Lobe ice sheet. It was an
extension of the larger Cordilleran ice sheet and part of
the Vashon Stade, our latest ice advance and retreat.
The Puget Lobe ice sheet was so large that where you are
standing was beneath 3,900 feet of ice.
That’s 3 Empire State Buildings tall! ——–————3,900 ft ——–—-—–Contours show approximate ice thickness in feet at glacial maximum during the Vashon Stade. Map derived from
ice thickness contours by R. M. Thorsen (1980).
You are here.
Irondale Beach
The ice sheet reached as far as Tenino, WA, staying their for about
100 years before beginning to melt. The flowing meltwater created
rivers underneath the ice carving out the Hood Canal and
surrounding waterways, including Irondale Beach. The rivers
deposited sediment along the coast, the earth rebounded upward
as the ice shrank. When the Juan de Fuca lobe receded marine
water entered the lowlands and filled the newly carved troughs.
This created the shorelines we are familiar with today.
Graphics modified from the Washington Geological Survey
NATIVE LAND:
Life On Chimacum Creek
For centuries, Tribes occupied Olympic Peninsula shores, adapting
their lives to the natural bounty of the land, rivers, and sea. They
settled into permanent longhouses in the winter and traveled for
fishing and resource gathering the rest of the year.
Chemakum Tribe thrived at S'Kwai village on Irondale Beach.
Chemakum Creek and the village at its mouth were known as
“S'Kwai.” The Chemakum language related to the Quileute
language, a La Push Tribe – these Chemakuan
languages are a language isolate, unrelated to any
other language family in North America. Tribal
legends say a great flood split the Chemakum
from the Quileute. The Chemakum and their
lands ultimately merged into the S’Klallam and
Skokomish Tribes after their numbers dwindled
to less than 70 individuals in the mid-1800’s.
Words from the past
Chimakum Language
Chimakum Villiage: S’kwai
cedar: sokwom
basket: amay
canoe: hi'ilolaka
salmon: kahakwa
potlatch: ixwaqwol
butter clams: chatsabilhiw
weaving: hokwotsisaqa
Natural resources found at
Irondale Beach
Clams were identified by their hole in the
sand. Irondale Beach has butter, native
littleneck, and horse clams. Women often
used digging sticks and woven baskets for
clam digging.
Salmon were abundant and a main source
of nutrition. They were cooked over an
open flame held by a cedar stick.
Western Red Cedar were used for carving
canoes, building longhouses, medicine,
and weaving. Tribes gather materials to
preserve the tree, not kill it. Cedars can
live 1400 years and grow 150 ft tall!
What was woven from Cedar?
Many things! Clothing, wallets, hats, mats,
mattresses, crafts, and a variety of baskets.
Water tight baskets for boiling water,
open weave baskets for clam digging.
Did you know?
Irondale Beach was
host to ‘potlatches’,
ceremonial feasts that
lasted days. Families
would save money for a
marriage ritual, name
giving, or other rites of
passage and give gifts
to the guests as
payment for witnessing.
13,800 yrs ago-
1850’s
Photo: Chimakum Woman- Curtis, Edward S. 1868-1952
INDUSTRIALIZATION:
The Steel City of the Northwest
Hematite bog ore in Chimacum
sparked Irondale’s industrial era.
Puget Sound Iron Company
began ‘pig iron’ production in
1880 with a smelting furnace,
20 beehive charcoal kilns, and a
wharf along Irondale Beach.
Over 25,000 tons of charcoal
iron were produced, but low
quality ore closed the company.
Four more companies tried for
profitable production between
1903 and 1910, overhauling
equipment and raising ore
quality. 1909 brought the
transition to steel production
and a 24 hour operation.
Irondale boomed! 1,400 people,
saloons, mercantiles, a hospital,
hotel and newspaper lined
Moore St. Bankruptcy
shutdown production in 1911
and together with a huge fire that destroyed the Moore St buildings,
Irondale dwindled to 200 people by 1915. World War I shortly
revived the mill. 22,000 tons of pig iron were produced 1917-1919.
Look closely and you’ll find traces of the mills on your visit today.
Boardwalk on Moore St
An excerpt from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sunday, April 17, 1910
edition on the third attempt at making Irondale a prosperous steel city.
1881-1919
Photos from Jefferson County Historical Society and Ole Kilmer.
Irondale Beach History
MODERN DAY:
Irondale Beach County Park
Jefferson County purchased Irondale Beach
in 2001. After finding contamination in the
soil from early years of industrial use, we
partnered with Washington Department of
Ecology to restore the property and turn it
into a park.
To clean up and restore the site, we:
Removed contaminated sediment and
soils
Removed slag (a byproduct of metal
smelting)
Capped remaining contaminated soil
to prevent any further release of the contaminants
Restored the shoreline habitat
Developed a plan to protect historical features of the site
Did you know?
Irondale Beach is two
parks in one! The
Chimacum Creek
Tidelands to the north are
owned by the Washington
Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the Irondale
Beach Park to the south is
owned by Jefferson County
Parks and Recreation.
Take a walk on the sandy beach.
How can you enjoy Irondale Beach?
How many types of mammals or birds can you spot?
Great spot for clamming or fishing!
Tour the Irondale Mill.
Launch a kayak.
Want to learn more? Scan the QR code for our
Irondale Beach Park History webpage!
Present Day 17,000 yrs ago
Designed by Chelsie Kilmer