Woodinville Heritage Society

10/15/2026

Hey, Woodinviller’s! A Civil War warship, a famous w**ery, and a mysterious invention buried in the backyard. Yep, that’s all part of OUR history! ⚓🍇

You can’t make this stuff up!

In 1862, the USS Monitor made history when it battled the Confederate ironclad Virginia in the first battle between ironclad warships, helping revolutionize naval warfare and signaling the beginning of the end for wooden warships.

So what’s the Woodinville connection?

Meet John Anderson — a Woodinville pioneer who reportedly engineered and helped build the famous USS Monitor!

This Swedish-born engineer eventually headed west and settled on land that would one day become Chateau Ste. Michelle W**ery. Yes, THAT Chateau Ste. Michelle!

And Anderson wasn’t your ordinary pioneer. He was an inventor who reportedly built unusual guns, intricate locks, water pumps, and even a perpetual-motion machine — a device intended to run forever!

Spoiler alert: It didn’t. 😂

According to family recollections, the machine ran for 24 hours before stopping. His family eventually buried the contraption in the backyard! Do you think it’s still there?

Anderson died in 1914, but his remarkable story lives on.

⚓ From Civil War ironclads to Woodinville w**e country — who knew our little corner of the world had such big stories to tell?

📜 Source: “A Builder of the Monitor Settled Near Woodinville,” by Oscar Roloff, Daily Journal-American, February 13, 1979. Featuring recollections of Elmer W. Carlberg.

10/11/2026

10/08/2026

Hey Woodinvillers! Ever drive by this by Woodinville Sports Club and wonder, what is that? 👀 🚗

It’s part of Fort Bixby from Woodinville’s old Gold Creek days. In 1977 there was a wedding there? Yup, a wedding. Anyone remember Fort Bixby?

A little piece of the Woodinville story still sitting right along the road. ❤️❤️❤️

Follow along for more of the stories behind the places you pass every day!

10/07/2026

Did you guess it? It’s Wilmot Gateway Park! Woodinville really came together for this one.

Hard to imagine Woodinville without it now. Opened in 1999, the park was named for longtime community leader Jerry Wilmot, and it was truly built brick by brick by the community. The Woodinville Rotary Club led a fundraising campaign supported by thousands of donations from local families, individuals, and businesses.

Today, it’s where we walk, play, gather, dance, celebrate, and run into someone we know. ❤️

Yesterday’s community project. Today’s community gathering place.

Way to go Woodinville. What are your memories of Wilmot Gateway?

10/06/2026

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS WOODINVILLE? 👀

This familiar Woodinville spot looked very different when this photo was taken.

Recognize anything in the background?

Where are we?

Drop your guess below. 👇

Hint coming later today…

10/06/2026

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS WOODINVILLER’S?

This familiar Woodinville spot looked very different when this photo was taken.

Today, thousands of us pass through it every year—but here, it was just beginning to take shape.

Where are we?

Drop your guess below. 👇

Hint coming later today…

Answer and more history revealed tomorrow.

10/04/2026

We are OPEN til 4pm today! Come on in, we’ve left the door open for ya. Pumpkins arrived!

10/03/2026

Take a Sunday break at "Woodinville’s House". Sit by the fountain, relax, and discover a little Woodinville history along the way.

Come see the -100+ year-old w**e press from the Sammamish Valley-explore local stories, and see what’s new inside the museum.

There’s always something to discover at your Woodinville Heritage Society & Museum.

Come see us this Sunday, 1–4 PM. We’ll leave the door open for you.

10/01/2026

Cows? In Woodinville? Thousands of Carnations? In Woodinville? World class dairy with President Taft visiting? In Woodinville?

YES! In Woodinville.

Long before Chateau Ste. Michelle graced the valley of Woodinville and tasting rooms filled the Hollywood District, one of the Sammamish Valley’s most remarkable agricultural estates was raising dairy cattle—and carnations, right where the Chateau is today.

Hollywood Farm was established by Frederick Stimson, whose family made its fortune in the Northwest timber industry.

There’s a lot more to this story.

Coming October 17th: Cows & Carnations — The Story of the Stimsons in Woodinville. 10:30 - Hollywood Schoolhouse

What do you know about The Hollywood Farm, the Stimson's?

09/30/2026

Picture Woodinville in 1905: a nasty snowstorm hits, supplies are running low, and help comes chugging up the Sammamish Slough. 🚢

Word reached Capt. John L. Anderson that Woodinville needed supplies, so the Mercer headed our way—pushing through the ice and making it into town with what the community needed.

And honestly, what an entrance. A sternwheeler breaking through the ice to rescue Woodinville? We love that for us. 🥰

Today, we know the Sammamish River as a place to walk, bike, paddle, and enjoy the view. But more than a century ago, it was also one of the ways communities stayed connected—and helped each other when it mattered.

The Woodinville Weekly later called the Mercer the “Hero of Woodinville.”

So next time you’re along the river, picture this beauty steaming toward town.

Same river. Same community spirit. Much more dramatic delivery service. 😎