Dec 21, 1979
- Charmaine Bantugan
National Register of Historic Places - Pacific Coast Company House No. 75 (Baima House)
Statement of Significant: Built prior to 1880, Pacific Coast Company House #75 is significant as the only surviving structure associated with the early development of coal mining at Newcastle. Basically, unaltered on the exterior, it is a rare example of the type of housing available to the hundreds of miners who worked in the coal fields of King County during this period. At its zenith, 1884 to 1898, Newcastle encompassed over 600 houses and the population was said to rival that of Seattle. In the same period, the mines yielded 55% of all coal produced in the territory and 22% of all production on the entire west coast. Edwin Richardson, a surveyor, discovered coal at Newcastle in 1863 and took out an eighty-acre claim. In 1868, the land was sold to Daniel Bagley, who secured the mineral rights to his own donation land claim and several others surrounding it. After years of financial and organizational difficulties, the Lake Washington Coal Company was formed and mining began in earnest. The coal vein proved rich but production was slow until the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad reached Newcastle in 1878. It was during this period of initial growth that Company House #75 is believed to have been built. Production improved by 1880, but it took the shrewd management of a new owner with international interests to connect with the Northern Pacific Railroad's direct line from Portland to the East. With this move, Henry Villard opened Newcastle's coal mines to a national market, thus signaling the beginning of the production "boom," and in the following years the mines extracted from 400 to 800 tons of coal every day. By the mid to late 1880's, a series of problems began to plague the Newcastle mining operations. Labor disputes closed the mines periodically and there were several shaft fires, one of which burned for months. A second period of boom and prosperity continued through the 1890's, with production reaching a total output of 100,000 tons annually. Immigrants, mostly of Welsh, Italian and Finnish ancestry, flocked to the area, as did Americans from the East and Midwest. The ultimate decline of Newcastle as a coal mining center occurred as a result of increasingly hazardous working conditions, a major shaft fire, a playout of the coal vein, and finally the "Great Strike" of 1921. A majority of residences and commercial buildings in the town were owned by the mining company and rented to the occupants. When coal production ended, the miners moved on, and the town was rapidly abandoned. Most of the buildings were demolished for use as scrap lumber, added to, or altered beyond recognition. The only structure that remains intact is Company House #75. Presently known as the Baima House, its history is closely related to that of Newcastle itself. The Bernard Baima family, immigrants from Piano-Audi in northern Italy, rented Company House #75 from 1906 through 1917. Mr. Baima and four of his sons worked in the Newcastle mines. In 1920, Andriena Baima, then a widow with seven children, purchased #75 three years after her husband's death and remained in the house through the strike period of 1921. It is probably this alone that saved #75 when the rest of the town was dismantled. In 1934, one of the Baima sons, Joe, and his partner Mike Rubatino formed the B. &R. Mining Company and continued to mine the Newcastle hills on a relatively small scale until 1962. Members of the Baima family lived in and retained ownership of #75 until the death of Adolph Baima in 1977. Pacific Coast Company House #75 is the only recognizable evidence of a settlement that made an important contribution to the early growth of both King County and the State of Washington. It is also significant as an illustration of the living conditions for miners and their families during this period.
National Register of Historic Places - Pacific Coast Company House No. 75 (Baima House)
Statement of Significant: Built prior to 1880, Pacific Coast Company House #75 is significant as the only surviving structure associated with the early development of coal mining at Newcastle. Basically, unaltered on the exterior, it is a rare example of the type of housing available to the hundreds of miners who worked in the coal fields of King County during this period. At its zenith, 1884 to 1898, Newcastle encompassed over 600 houses and the population was said to rival that of Seattle. In the same period, the mines yielded 55% of all coal produced in the territory and 22% of all production on the entire west coast. Edwin Richardson, a surveyor, discovered coal at Newcastle in 1863 and took out an eighty-acre claim. In 1868, the land was sold to Daniel Bagley, who secured the mineral rights to his own donation land claim and several others surrounding it. After years of financial and organizational difficulties, the Lake Washington Coal Company was formed and mining began in earnest. The coal vein proved rich but production was slow until the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad reached Newcastle in 1878. It was during this period of initial growth that Company House #75 is believed to have been built. Production improved by 1880, but it took the shrewd management of a new owner with international interests to connect with the Northern Pacific Railroad's direct line from Portland to the East. With this move, Henry Villard opened Newcastle's coal mines to a national market, thus signaling the beginning of the production "boom," and in the following years the mines extracted from 400 to 800 tons of coal every day. By the mid to late 1880's, a series of problems began to plague the Newcastle mining operations. Labor disputes closed the mines periodically and there were several shaft fires, one of which burned for months. A second period of boom and prosperity continued through the 1890's, with production reaching a total output of 100,000 tons annually. Immigrants, mostly of Welsh, Italian and Finnish ancestry, flocked to the area, as did Americans from the East and Midwest. The ultimate decline of Newcastle as a coal mining center occurred as a result of increasingly hazardous working conditions, a major shaft fire, a playout of the coal vein, and finally the "Great Strike" of 1921. A majority of residences and commercial buildings in the town were owned by the mining company and rented to the occupants. When coal production ended, the miners moved on, and the town was rapidly abandoned. Most of the buildings were demolished for use as scrap lumber, added to, or altered beyond recognition. The only structure that remains intact is Company House #75. Presently known as the Baima House, its history is closely related to that of Newcastle itself. The Bernard Baima family, immigrants from Piano-Audi in northern Italy, rented Company House #75 from 1906 through 1917. Mr. Baima and four of his sons worked in the Newcastle mines. In 1920, Andriena Baima, then a widow with seven children, purchased #75 three years after her husband's death and remained in the house through the strike period of 1921. It is probably this alone that saved #75 when the rest of the town was dismantled. In 1934, one of the Baima sons, Joe, and his partner Mike Rubatino formed the B. &R. Mining Company and continued to mine the Newcastle hills on a relatively small scale until 1962. Members of the Baima family lived in and retained ownership of #75 until the death of Adolph Baima in 1977. Pacific Coast Company House #75 is the only recognizable evidence of a settlement that made an important contribution to the early growth of both King County and the State of Washington. It is also significant as an illustration of the living conditions for miners and their families during this period.
Dec 21, 1979
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