Part I - The History of 4701 Beach Drive

The area where this house now stands was apart of 140 acre piece of land which was homesteaded in the 1860’s by Leonard and George Oulet a pair of logging brothers. George inherited full ownership of the property in 1868 when his brother died. There were two properties listed in the homestead certificate in 1869, a home built on pilings measuring 20x28 feet and a barn 24x40 feet. George sold the property to William Brown who kept the property until he died in 1876. Henry Stone was the next owner and he deeded the property to his sister Bell Amund. She then leased the property to Joseph Basselin. In 1899 the Scandinavian American Bank became owners of the property and divided it up into three tracts which included the two buildings originally owned by the Oulet brothers. The two structures were purchased in 1900 by Ferdinand Schmitz. Ferdinand Schmitz, a German immigrant served on the Seattle Parks Commission for years and helped to create reserves for the original conifer forests in the area, many still remain today. William Holt a local land owner and President for the Grand Central Hotel Company bought the property and was owner by 1906. He divided up the land and the original 20x28 foot home became apart of the first subdivision called Rockaway Beach. This plat of land is still called Rockaway Beach. It may have been called Rockaway Beach because the land was probably traveled on by many Rockaways which are four wheel carriages. This area has a pristine view of the Olympic Mountains. The home at 4701 Beach Drive is now owned by Steve and Jan Burkholder.