Seabeck, Washington

Seabeck is a former mill town in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, on Hood Canal. It was founded in the 1850s by Marshall Blinn and William Adams, doing business as The Washington Mill Company. Their lumber was in such demand they built a second mill, then a shipyard to build boats to haul the lumber to California, which had high demand due to the California Gold Rush. Eventually, along with four saloons, the town had two general stores and two hotels. In 1876, there were over 400 people living in Seabeck. After decades of success, in the 1880s, the demand had eased, and most of the easily accessible trees had been harvested. In 1886 a spark from the ship "Retriever" started a fire that consumed both mills, along with other buildings. Rumors flew that the mills would not be re-built, so most residents moved to other towns with mills, notably Port Hadlock, turning Seabeck into a virtual ghost town.

In the early 1900s, Laurence Colman and Arn Allen of Seattle formed a partnership to build a facility for YMCA and YWCA groups to hold summer conferences. In 1914 Lawrence Coleman and his brother George purchased much of the original Seabeck site. In 1936 Laurence Colman's son, Ken Colman, incorporated the conference grounds as a private, non profit corporation. He deeded to the corporation the 90 acres (360,000 m²) that now make up Seabeck Christian Conference Center.

Currently there is a marina on the water across the road from the camp - though it is currently in the process of being torn down and rebuilt - next to a general store, coffee shop, curiosity shop, [http://www.seabeck.com art gallery] , and a [http://www.seabeckpizza.com/ pizza parlor] . There are also a few houses in the general vicinity, and a now-closed elementary school that serviced the areas around Seabeck. Otherwise, it is mostly a rural area, although developments are beginning to put larger houses along the coastline and begin to bring Seabeck back to its former glory.

The town's school, Seabeck Elementary, was the one of a few schools in the area, attended by children in grades ranging from Kindergarten to sixth grade. It had a long, interesting history and thus was supported by the community. However, recent events beginning in the 1990's have questioned the value of the school. Some of the reasons being various health and safety issues, including water unsuitable for use. Also, the local school district has claimed to need budget cuts. Because of this, the school closed at the end of the 2006-7 school year. Still, a numerous amount of residents do not accept the closing of the school as a necessary step. The future of the site has not been decided.

External links

* [http://www.seabeck.org/ Conference center Web site]
* [http://www.seabecklutheran.org/ Evergreen Lutheran Church]
* [http://visitkitsap.com/cities.asp?ID=11 Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Information - Seabeck]