Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Told by the Pioneers
Mr. Munks had first used candles-an open dish to burn oil-then later
candles and lamps were obtained. The only means of transportation
was by row boat or canoe. Later he had a horse which he rode
over the prairie, which was then a fern-covered open country. Munks'
Landing was the first stopping place on the island and the piles of
white rock used for the landing are all that remain of this oldest landmark.
An aIel Indian fort and stockade had been built by the peaceful and
quiet Puget Sound Indians years before, at the head of Squaw Bay,
on the land later boug·ht by M1'. Munks, and here one of the hardest
fought Indian battles took place. Near the old stockade was a bed of
clam shells approximately seven feet deep, indicating the Indians had
used the site for a camping ground for many years. There were still
many Indians in the region and Mr. Munks had many interesting and
exciting experiences with them. He brought the first cattle ,seventeen
head, to the island, aboard a sloop from \Vhatcom. He also brought
the first wagon and planted fruit trees and a grape vine, and some of
these plants still yield an excellent crop of fruit. They were planted
in 1863. In 1870, ?Ill'. Munks, a veteran of the Mexican \Var, was appointed
postmaster. Prior to this time the nearest postoffice was
at ·Whatcom, later named Bellingham.
Mr. :?\lunks had lived in \Vhatcom before coming to Fidalgo Island,
and had served on the BoundarY Commission. Later he had a trad-
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ing post on the Frazer River. He had crossed the plains in 184~ and
had engaged in many of the Indian wars in California and Oregon.
·When the boom struck Anacortes, December 31, 1890, the excitemellt
spread all over Fidalgo Island, and M1'. jlunks built an up-to-date
hotel at the water front and near the old landing. He expended his
entire savings. When the boom broke he found himself without a
cent. However, during the boom he built on a grand scale, and his
hotel was a three-story affair, built of lumber from Utsaladdy. Mr.
Priest was the contractor. Mr. l\Iunks passed away in 18H8 on Fidalgo
Island, of which he was often referred to as "King," a title of which
he was proud.
After his death, life was a struggle for Mrs. l\Iunks, left with two
babies and three step-sons, debts and taxes long unpaid, and a mort.
gage on their home. Howc,·er, she managed well and gradually paid
off the indebtedness.
The Munks home is a rambling old frame house of two stories with
large rooms, high ceilings, and large windows made of small square
panes. It is comfortably furnished, with old pictures decorating the
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