Bonney Lake's Plateau

The story of Bonney Lake and the plateau is not about towns and their storefronts, but of the enduring people who settled there before and after Washington achieved statehood. In spite of their brief presence, Michael Connell and Reuben Finnell are names credited for many of the area's key landmarks. In 1864, pioneer William B. Kelley arrived at the plateau. His public service as a territorial legislator and county auditor made him one of the most respected individuals of eastern Pierce County. Other pioneers, such as the Moriarty and Vandermark families, engaged in logging and farming on the plateau, which continued to be considered a wilderness. Oscar Doc Bowen, one of the settlers who arrived from the 1930s dustbowl, had a spiritual impact when he called for construction of the area's first church. Less than two decades later, Kenneth Simmons saw potential for further growth and pressed to incorporate the plateau's west end--forming the town of Bonney Lake.

Author: Winona Jacobsen, Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
Published: 05/16/2011
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.40w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780738582085

About the Author
Jacobsen, Winona: - Winona Jacobsen of the Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society has acquired images from private collections, the majority of which have not been published before. With the assistance of many descendants of early settlers, the stories of life on the plateau are captured in the photographs they share.