My decision to renew interest in some of my old bicycle routes by peeling back the history of my small slice of western Washington has led to some startling discoveries, at least to me.
Just the other day I decided to explore some side roads off a hill climb I often make up to Cougar Mountain. I stumbled across this old cabin, which turns out to be one of the oldest buildings still standing in King County.
It's called the Baima Cabin. It's an old coal company town house dating from about the 1880s. That's only about 30 years after the first white settlers showed up over in Seattle; ancient history in these parts.
Coal town
The cabin was part of the old town of Newcastle, which was named for the coal-mining region of England. A company town owned by Pacific Coast Coal Co. sprung up outside a nearby mine entrance, which sits at the bottom of a hill. This is house No. 75.
Newcastle and other mines in the region supplied coal to Seattle and all the way down the coast to San Francisco. The seam played out in the 1920s, however, and most of the buildings in town were demolished.
A family by the name of Baima moved into this cabin and remained for 50 years.
Cabin
In spite of its present seemingly isolated location, it sits next to a development of McMansions and just downhill from the tony Newcastle Country Club. It's sits on private property. Looking at this farm property, it's hard to believe a town stood here about 80 years ago.
The King County HistoryLink website describes the cabin:
The simple single-wall construction of the house was quick and inexpensive, using vertical boards alone without stud framing. Similar houses, most now gone, were built in Black Diamond and share similarities with those built earlier in mining areas in the Eastern United States.
To get there: climb Newcastle Way from the QFC shopping center on Coal Creek Parkway, turn left on 133rd Ave. SE, which becomes Newcastle Golf Club Way, then turn right on 136th Ave. SE. Keep an eye open through the trees for a small farm on your left. This is private property.
Stats
To anyone who still cares, I'm still plugging away at racking up 4,000 miles in 2008. Last year didn't go so well. So far, I'm doing better this year.
I need to ride an average 333 miles a month to hit 4,000 miles. In March I rode 366 miles, which not only put me over my monthly requirement but helped me make up some lost ground from January and February.
I should have 1,000 miles at this point of the year, but I've logged 929 miles. But I'm doing much better than last year, when I had ridden 711 miles.
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