The California Dream Comes to Puget Sound
An ambitious Eastern investor transforms a Maury Island homestead into an experimental fruit orchard, signaling the future of the region's agricultural ambitions.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The nucleus of a beautiful suburban fruit farm has been laid on the southern point of Maury Island, King County. Mrs. William Dunn, of Chicago, purchased 154 acres several years ago, anticipating the time when the Sound country would be known for delightful country homes. The farm features thousands of trees, including Italian prunes, apples, cherries, pears, and nectarines. To ensure a bountiful harvest, the farm has introduced beehives, as honey bees serve as the most reliable agents for pollinating blossoms. The property also features a diverse array of nut and ornamental trees, all under the guidance of skilled horticulturists and the state board of horticulture. While a proposed county road threatens to cut the property in half, the owners are pushing for a route change. It is expected that within five years, the trees will be in full bearing, setting a model for the future of the Sound's shores.
“It is needless to add that the example set here will be but a forerunner of that time when the entire Sound shores are to be dotted with suburban farm and country residences.”
This 1893 vision of Maury Island as a hub of elite, 'California-style' fruit production highlights how early settlers marketed the region as a pastoral paradise. Today, that same island is better known for its complex industrial history and the ongoing environmental and land-use battles that define modern Vashon-Maury life.
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