32021 Entwistle Street
Carnation, WA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - David and Martha Entwistle House

Statement of Significant:

The David and Martha Entwistle House, constructed in 1912 by an unknown builder, is significant under Criterion A for its association with the Entwistle family, early pioneers in the Carnation area and prominent members of the community for many years. The house is also significant as a last remnant of the Entwistle fruit farm, a 40+ acre tract situated at the southeast corner of town. Because the farm remained in productive operation into the mid-1950s, its longevity effected the pattern of Carnation's new residential development through that decade, and beyond. The close-in Entwistle fruit farm played an important role in the agricultural-based economy of the town.
The Entwistle House is also significant under Criterion C as the best-preserved and finest expression of Craftsman style architecture in the town of Carnation.

Historical Background

The Entwistle House is located in the central Snoqualmie Valley on land originally occupied by the Snoqualmie Indians. The Snoqualmie group had principal villages at the present locations of Fall City and Carnation, while smaller settlements were dispersed throughout the valley. The chief of the tribe at the time of Euro-American settlement was Patkanim who had his headquarters at the mouth of the Tolt River at present day Carnation. The earliest Euro-American explorations into the area began around 1849-1850. After negotiations with Washington Territorial Governor Issac Stevens in 1855, Patkanim signed a treat ceding all of the valley to the white settlers.
During the Pacific Northwest Indian Wars of 1855-1856, a company of soldiers from the Northern Battalion proceeded up the Snoqualmie River to establish a series of stockades to guard against possible Indian attacks from east of the Cascades. One of the soldiers sent to the Snoqualmie Valley to assist in the fort construction was James Entwistle, David Entwistle's father. According to War Department records, Entwistle was born in Harlem County, New York in 1832. The 1880 census, however, lists Entwistle's birthplace as England, and this coincides with family records.
James Entwistle enlisted in the Army on May 30, 1855 at Cincinnati, Ohio. He served in Company H, 9th Regiment of the U.S. Infantry under Captain Guthrie during the Oregon-Washington Territory Indian War. He deserted from the Army on April 13, 1856 at Fort Steilacoom, Washington Territory. In 1858, Entwistle filed a claim on a 160-acre homestead near the Tolthue River, thus becoming the first white

settler in what would become the City of Carnation. This initial foray into the wilderness was short-lived, for Entwistle surrendered to the Army at the Presidio in San Francisco, California on February 10, 1859, and was restored to duty.
James Entwistle married an Indian woman named Mary Showay sometime prior to 1861. Their first child, Dora, was born August 12, 1861 (d. 1945). Dora later married another Tolt pioneer, James Harris, and the couple eventually moved to Seattle. Other children were William (1864-1960), and James Jr. (1869-1951). Entwistle deserted again in November 4, 1861, from Camp Pickett on San Juan Island, Washington Territory, and returned with his family to his land along the Tolthue River.
Mary Showay Entwistle drowned when her canoe overturned in the Snoqualmie River on December 11, 1872. On August 23, 1873, Entwistle married Sarah Kelly who became the second white woman to live in the Tolthue area. The couple had four children: Elizabeth (1874-nd), Mamie (1877-1968), David (1879-1960), and Celia (1881-1946). Elizabeth may have died in childhood as she is not listed as surviving her parents in their obituaries.
During this period, loggers and settlers began to migrate to the area which became known as Tolt, shortening the original Tolthue, a Snoqualmie word meaning "swiftly rushing waters." Also, during this period, the first school in the area was organized. The single building was known as School District No. 27. The school had only four students, one of whom was David Entwistle.
Like others in the Snoqualmie Valley, James Entwistle's primary crop was hops. James prospered and became one of the wealthiest farmers in the area, building a large home and hops drying barn. In 1894, as a consequence of the Panic of 1893, the price of hops collapsed, falling from $1.25 per pound to 6 cents per pound. Entwistle, who had mortgaged his property based on the hops crop, lost the farm. The family moved temporarily to a house on a neighboring farm. Later, they purchased land where the subject house is located and established a new farm, extending from Entwistle Street south almost to the Tolt River. The current Valley Memorial Park, the expansion of the schoolgrounds, and the Regal Glen subdivision now occupy the lands once farmed by the Entwistle family. James Entwistle continued to farm and was a founding member of the Tolt Oddfellows in March, 1895.
James Entwistle died by drowning on October 31, 1902 during a visit to his daughter, Dora Harris, in Seattle. He is buried in Tolt Cemetery. At the time of James's death, only Celia and David still lived at the family home with their mother, Sarah. Sister Mamie had married William Pyncheon and lived in

Seattle. Brother William also lived in Seattle, while James, Jr. apparently remained in Tolt, but not at the family home. David assumed leadership of the Entwistle family.
Tax records show that the subject house was constructed in 1912, at the height of a period of economic boom in Tolt. During the decades from 1890-1920, profound growth occurred in the Snoqualmie Valley, supported by hops production and subsequent logging and dairying enterprises. The King County Directory of 1911-1912 lists the population of Tolt at 340, while the directory for 1914-1915 reports the population at 1,000. In 1911, the Tolt Townsite Company platted the area across from the farm, north of Entwistle Street, as "the KC survey". In 1912, the Oregon and Washington Development Company platted the "Garden Tracts" to the west of the subject property.
In the 1911-1912 County Directory, David Entwistle is listed as a farmer in Tolt having paid taxes of $117. The 1914-1915 Directory shows that he paid $220 in taxes. The increase is the result of the construction of the new house and its associated outbuildings. David married a woman named Martha and had two children, Robert and Ann. During this time, in 1917, the town of Tolt changed its name to Carnation, seeking to gain prestige by being associated with the nationally-famous Carnation Milk Farm approximately four miles to the northwest.
David and Martha lived in the subject house for most of the rest of their lives, with David continuing to work as a farmer. The Washington State Farmer's Directory of 1950 lists David Entwistle as a berry farmer with 48 acres. Tax records suggest the land actually owned by Entwistle was closer to 30 acres. An article in the Seattle Times of July 10, 1954, notes that "the town's young folk earn summer money" by picking berries from nearby berry fields, presumably those of David Entwistle. David is not listed in the 1954 Farmer's Directory. Entwistle moved to Seattle around 1955 to live with his sister Mamie Pyncheon. He died March 15, 1960 at his sister's home at the age of 80. His obituary lists him as "a farmer many years," and "a member of the Tolt Grange and the Tolt Men's Club." The farm in Carnation was subdivided and sold in 1959, with the house retaining a little over a half-acre of land.
The subject house is noteworthy as the home of David and Martha Entwistle, important early citizens of Carnation. Although James Entwistle himself never lived in this home, the property is linked by family association with this prominent local pioneer. The Entwistle fruit farm, with the farmhouse at its center, directly influenced the physical development of Carnation. For over forty years, all new growth was forced to locate north and west of the close-in farm. The farmland thus became available for later development important to the community, including Volunteer Park, the expansion of Tolt High School,

and a new subdivision. The house remains as the sole reminder of the large farm and the prominent Entwistle family who helped to shape the character of the community.

Architectural Significance
The Craftsman Style and the Arts and Crafts movement were major influences on domestic architecture during the first three decades of the 20th Century. Espoused by Gustav Stickley in Craftsman Magazine, the style flourished on the west coast and in the Puget Sound area during the period. Frequently these houses were built from stock designs purchased through mail order catalogs. The Craftsman movement developed as a reaction against the Victorian excesses of the previous decades.
The Craftsman Style emphasized the use of natural materials, such as wood and stone, to connect the building to its surroundings, and honesty in construction techniques (without faux finishes). The carpentry would often be exposed in order to exhibit the actual handiwork involved in construction. Moreover, interior spaces were meant to be efficient and wholesome, with built-in cabinetry, bookshelves or seats meant to provide a simple atmosphere for family activities. Other characteristic elements of the style include the use of exposed rafters, knee braces, intricate doors and windows, an emphasis on horizontal massing, and grouped windows.
While Craftsman houses are found throughout King County, higher style versions of this form are usually confined to the more prosperous middle-class neighborhoods of Seattle and other urban areas. Craftsman houses in the rural parts of the county are generally modest in scale and form. The Entwistle House is an exception to this trend and the finest example of the Craftsman Style in Carnation.
The Entwistle House exhibits greater stylistic refinement than other houses in the area dating from the same boom period. For example, the tapered piers of river stone which dominate the main facade are a typical Craftsman technique, used to evoke a sense of naturalness and rustication. They are unique in Carnation to the subject house. Furthermore, details such as the diamond windows and carved rafter ends are not found on other Craftsman houses in the area. Even those comparable in size and scale (such as the Richter house on Reitze Street and the Prenatt house on Morrison Street) are more vernacular expressions of the style, with simpler plans and less adventurous detailing.