Editorial: Marianne Lincoln

Although it is one of the area’s newer communities, being started in 1923 with the Harding Mill, the greater Graham community, including Kapowsin is much older. As author Lawrence D. “Andy” Anderson so magnificently displays in his book, In the Shadow of the Mountain (out of print), the area had many activities in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that have left many ghosts on the landscape. Log cabins, root cellars, rail tracks to nowhere, stairways, and roads with missing bridges dot the landscape.

In order to know where those activities took place, what they were and when, a person needs a map or a museum. Sadly, that museum does not exist. Many of the longtime residents wish there was a place to put their old photos of the mills on Kapowsin lake, Kapowsin High School, the Tea House on the island, the moonshiners, the Harding Mill, the Kirby, Graham, and Thrift School and more.

An ongoing history in the making is the Electron Dam site. Contruction began in 1898, and it was completed in April of 1904, but stories continue to be generated of things that happen on that Puyallup River site. A tram accident in 1974, a mudslide in 1936, and recently, astroturf placed in the riverbed poisoning fish. The flume, headworks, pond, penstocks, and powerhouse are quite a fascinating feat of engineering. It provided the first power for the trolly cars in Tacoma.

When, who and how this much needed museum will happen is anyone’s guess. But it is beyond time to get some people to start thinking about it. The old guard is aging and starting to pass down their memorabilia. We need to capture that and save it to tell the story of how we all got here.

Who is up for a challenge?