#9 on Map

Margaret Case Anderson, fourth daughter of Des Moines pioneers Rollin A. Case, Jr. and Marion Wilcox Case and wife of Richard Anderson, first Des Moines Marina Harbormaster, lived in Des Moines during her entire childhood, then returned in 1969 after her husband’s retirement from the U.S. Air Force. She made the quilt square depicting Joers’ Blockhouse.

Joers’ Blockhouse

Located at 22855 Pacific Highway S., the Blockhouse was built in 1933 for Ernest and Minnie Foster, who operated it until 1944 when they sold it to Paul and Frances Joers. The original log building burned down in 1953, was rebuilt two months later, and then was completely remodeled in 1967. After Paul Joers and his son Ron died, Marilyn Joers Mettler and her husband Ron took over the restaurant’s operation in 1973. The Blockhouse was sold in the late 1990s, became a Thai restaurant for a couple years, and is now [May 2004] a casino.

—paraphrased from One Hundred Years of the “Waterland” Community: A History of Des Moines, Washington