Category Archives: Twin City Mile

Stanwood Historic District

Church building becomes a church again

Stanwood’s Historic Presbyterian built in 1906 has come full circle and become a church again.
Built in 1906, The new Tidelands Church has brought this building back to life.  And it is recognized as one of the historic places in Stanwood.

According to the “Stanwood Story” the Presbyterian congregation was organized in 1906.  Their  building was dedicated in 1909 and the first pastor was Rev. W. A. Couden.  A few years later in 1915, there was a popular new pastor, H.T. Murray who also provided services to a Camano Island congregation at the Camano Schoolhouse.  In 1931 the building was purchased by the Assembly of God, a non-denominational church with Rev. J. C. Patey the pastor (Oct 15, 1931 Twin City News).   It had several owners and renters, in 1953 it was known as the Twin City Gospel Chapel.  It was sold to the Eagles when the stained glass window was removed.  And in 1972 it was purchased from the Eagles by noted Pacific Northwest / Skagit Valley painter, Richard Gilkey (Stanwood News, Dec 13, 1972).  It was also a dance studio for a few years about 2005.

The Northwest Coast Presbytery (Presbyterian Church U.S.A) purchased the building in 2015 with some funds from the sale of the Deming Presbyterian Church building bringing the building back to the same denomination that originally owned the building when it was built (Bellingham Presbytery).  Tidelands Presbyterian Church, which now uses the building, was officially chartered as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A in 2017. Rev. Brandon Bailey is the organizing pastor.

There is more to learn about this building history and we will be working on it…help is always welcome.  Thank you to Rev. Bailey for updating our posting!

Tidelands Church, 10101 271st ST NW Stanwood

Tidelands Church, 10101 271st ST NW Stanwood, circa 2015

 

 

 

Presbyterian Church, Photographer Robert A. Young

 

Historic Old East Stanwood Building

One way to tell history is to feature historic places or buildings. Every place has a past and it is good to be reminded of it occasionally. The American Legion building on 88th Ave NW (north of Rite Aide) has an interesting story. Its unusual mission style stucco makes it very unique for the area. It was built in 1940 as the East Stanwood City Hall and civic center. It was planned with a large auditorium and annex for commercial club and smaller meetings, a council chamber, modern kitchen, fully equipped, a stage, men’s and women’s rest rooms, cloak rooms and an entrance lobby.

American Legion Post

American Legion Post

The Legion Hall (former city hall) was built under the direction of the Works Progress Administration (W. P. A.) with a government allotment of $11,775 and a 30 mill levy furnishing the balance for a total of $19,176. For those who are not aware, this part of town was then called East Stanwood and was separately incorporated from Stanwood, which was the area north of the current Twin City Foods.

uleen photograph of the East Stanwood Commercial Club

Juleen photograph of the East Stanwood Commercial Club that ran East Stanwood before it incorporated.

This building replaced the former two-story East Stanwood Commercial Club building on that site which burned in July of 1938. The fire was fought by both the East Stanwood and Stanwood fire departments. The late Harold Klett remembers being thrown from the roof of the hall when fighting the fire. The pressure of the hose he was carrying suddenly catapulted him off his feet and he was slightly injured.
This early Commercial Club building was built in 1920 to “function as a force in fostering a better and higher community spirit. It was to function as a social and recreational center to help knit the community in a more closely related spirit of cooperation. Hundreds in the community have attended dances given in the Yankee ballroom—the name given to the dance room.” (East Stanwood Sun, July 28, 1938) At that time there was much dissention in the community over the operation of the schools and other amenities and two years later East Stanwood, the area around the railroad depot, would incorporate as a separate town. Some of the early story of the Commercial Club is recounted in The Stanwood Story by Alice Essex (vol. 2, pp. 27-29, 32,44,46, 58, 60 & 84.)
In 1960, the two towns consolidated because of the need to pool funds for a sewage system and other public works. Two years later the City Hall building was sold to the American Legion for $10,500. The Hall is still an active community organization, known as the Frank Hancock Post No. 92 of the American Legion.

Updated from Stanwood Area Echoes #24 article published in 2003.