The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-08-16
THE STONE OF cHuCklHUT.
Captain Roeder Bought the
Quarry Thirty Years Ago.
He Laid the Foundation Of = For
tune by Faith I'm the Rich
Northwest.

Captain II. Roeier. senior member
OF the firm OF Raeder 6 Roth. pro-
prietors OF the Chnckanuf stone
quarry, is registered Al the Griffith.
Captain Roeder i an odd pioneer on
the Sound. and when be comes TO Sc
attic be always meets scores of friends
who have known him for many years
A PosT-ISrgLLlGEScxK reporter yester-
day asked the captain 10 tell him
something about the noted Chucksnut
quarry tina; of late wears has grown
famous throughout the state of Wash
ington and the Pacific coast The
captain face lighted up and he said /:
well, Young man, don't know ex-
acrly what TO say, but do know that
il was lucky day when | discovered
that stone mountain. Ii was way
nack in the early Sos that | pur-
chased ninety-tbree acres of the
mountain for $50 per acre. |
had been raised back in Ohio
where there is lots OF stone qaarries
and | knew that ii this coautry ever
amounted 10 anything the stone
quarry would he a big thing. The
iuure | thought of it the more foFciely
Gia the i.lea strike nae that il would
be q GOOD scheme to get more OF ~
So short time after buying the tlrst
piece | purchased Iu1 acres more,
thinking IL IL oid not realize any thing
while | lived il would be big thln.,
for my children.
The quarry, yea know, is situated
seven miles from Whatcem, on The
shore of Chuckanus hay. little arm
of Bellingham bay. Well. in the early
days that country was not Very denSeiy
populated, and of course We dian'I
have much anu enlrnt. Once IN q
while, though. the old fellows from ali
round the bay woaia congregate
at Oily mpia. ard have good
old fashionable time. Colonel l.. G..
Fitzhugh, once superintendent OF the
coal mines at Bellingham bay, was
one OF the jolliesf fellows in our crowd,
and it was great amusement for him
To get hold of me in a crowd ami ex-
claim: Here's the crazy man that's
paving taxes on ii mountain of rock. y
OF course 1t always raised laugh. but
IL didn't change ne one bit. and
hung on to that mountain of ros k
atsR AtNC al Att1 II t1C No4tkffA W a.
alive now he would be quite wiling &c
pay hall the taxes fDr half interest.
Il guarried the first rock in ls56
and shipped il TO Victoria, where il
was USED in the construction of s
lighthouse. | did non push the
sale of il then for Years. and
not until the Portland custom house
was built in 1876 did sell any large
amount. furnished COCO tons for
that structure, which was shipped to
Portland on steamships. Since that
time the sale os stone has increased
wonderfully. We have shipped it ali
over the coast. but mostly TO differ
ent cities in Washington. Our daily
output now Is 200 tons. 1t is impossi-
bic 10 get any more out, owing To the
limited room for drilling purposes.
The supply of stone is inexhaustibIe
and it seems a pity that we cannot
get il out faster. ii would astonish
YOU To see what demand We have
from Seattle build. rs. The amount OF
building going ON here is unprece-
dened. and nav only wish is that We
might he able to send more stone
here