Something old, something new

They say something old can be new again. Recently the salvage crew at the RE-Store in Bellingham was dismantling an old building in the Birchwood neighborhood and came across a beam hand carved with the words, “Wm Elder Point Roberts Wash April the 30 1918.”

Members of the crew contacted the historical society via Facebook about finding a bit of our history. We know John Elder arrived in Point Roberts with his wife and son (William) in 1892 and homesteaded on the west side of the Point. The Ellet report of 1904 shows John built a well-made 18 x 24 story and half log house, a 24 x 32 barn, five acres cleared and in cultivation, a hay barn and blacksmith shop. Total value of all improvements was $700.

How this 103-year-old beam carved by William Elder traveled from here to a building in the backyard of a neighborhood in Bellingham remains a mystery, but thanks to the crew at the RE-Store, we have something old that is new again to us. We look forward to adding this treasure to the history center.