CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) Camp at Saltwater Park 1926-1933? |
Saltwater State Park 2003 |
Saltwater State Park Bridge 2003 |
In 1880 James McSorley claimed a homestead in the area. He and his family appear in the 1870 census on the Maury Island - Milton rolls. (Milton was a post office south of Redondo.) He sold his land to King County in 1902, and the area became know as McSorley's Gulch. A logging chute was visible into the 1920s. In 1925 J. Haydn Roberts built ten cabins called Saltwater Grove and rented them to summer visitors. Their property was sold to the state in 1950 and became part of the park. The park was presented April 24, 1926 and dedicated August 20, 1933 with a hatchet buried under the flag pole to symbolize peace between Seattle and Tacoma. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) set up camp in Saltwater Park while constructing the rangers house. The stone work for the kitchen and fireplaces was done by local people and the CCC.