The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-09-28
PIONEER MAIL
CLERK NOW HERE
First Steamboat Mail Clerk on Island
Route
Now Teaching in District No. 1-Was
One of the Pioneer Merchants of
Whatcom and Still Owns Valua-
BILE Belltngham Property.

/" H. FOUTS, of Bellingham,
w. who is now teaching school
in district NJ l, the "south end" dis
trict of San Juan island, is one of the
pioneers of the northwest, having
come to the Sound in 1871. He loca-
ted at Whatcom in the early eighties
and was the first mail clerk on the
island route" which, when the SER
vice was first established, had it's ter
mini at Port Towns end and Semiah-
moo. This was several years before
the town of Blaine was founded and
WhatcOm was only a little settlement
at the head of the gre at bay border
ing the vast forest reaching out from
tidewater to the snow clad slopes of
Mt. Bake and the Cascade range.
''Sehome,' as it was then called, was
the most important point ON Belling-
ham bay and was the name of the
postoffice. It was a coal mining set
tlement, the Sehome mine being the
first coal property opened in the then
territory of Washington. Coal under
lies considerable portion of the site
OF the present fine city of Bellingham
and the workings of the old mine,
long since abandoned, extend under
the two main business streets in sev,
eral places.
Mr.. Fouts began his mail service oc
the steamer Hope, which was sue
ceeded on the route by the famous
old Evangel, at that time commanded
by Capt. Herbert Beecher, son of the
celebrated Rev. Henry Ward Beech
err. Mr.. Fouts handled the mail on
the Evangel until he left the service
to engage in the mercantile business
in Whatcom. The only postoffices in
this county then were at San Juan,
near the site of American camp, at
the south end of this island, Lopez,
Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor, Orcas
and East Sound. Israel Katz, now
of Port Townsend, kept a store at
San Juan, Mrs. Weeks had a little
store at Lopez, Jos. Sweeney was the
only merchant here and Mr.. Shat
tuck, who died few years ago, had
small store at the head of East
Sound bay. Guemes, Samish and
Anacortes were then on the mail
route and the steamer stopped over
night at Anacortes. Mr.. Fouts' fam
lily lived at Sehome and he succeeded
in getting that point included on the
route and the steamer then laid over
there instead of at Anacortes. The
change considerably incensed the
founder of the now thriving Fidalgo
metropolis and he tried to get Mr..
Fouts dismissed, presumably for ''per-
nicious activity"
After leaving the mail service Mr..
Fouts established the ''New York
store" in old Whatcom. The building
is one of the landmarks of 'old town"
and the store was for a number o.
years the principal mercantile estab-
lishment there. Mr.. Fouts still owns
it and he also owns what is known as
the 'Fouts tract" of fine lots only
short distance from the court house
and near the center of the city. He
says he has to sell a lot occasionally
to pay taxes, which are exhorbitant,
and grade and other assessments,
and be jokingly says that he can 'see
his finish" financially if he don't ''let
go" of all his holdings before long.
Mr.. Fouts came over here to teach
ssiust for a change" He left posi-
tion in the employ of the city paying
much more than be is getting as
teacher but he wanted to get out of
the city and enjoy country life for
while. He had never seen the inter
ior of San Juan island until he arrived
here to teach. He is delight d with
it and thinks Tat people who own
good homes on the island should be
well content and not indulge in any
longings for city life, with its strife
and disappointments. He was in
town Saturday and called to see some
Of his old acquaintances, including N,
n Churchill and the editor Of the