By HARRIET MUHRLEIN

Several years ago, the Historical Society created a display of many of the barns in the area. This particular barn really caught my eye.

I interviewed Elmer Longmate about the history of the farm. His father, Frank, and a brother came to the Puget Sound area from San Francisco in the early 1900s. Frank bought the 42 acres in south Kingston close to his wife’s family, the Erlandsons.

At first he was a “stump farmer,” meaning that he grew crops between the stumps. He worked for others to earn cash. One of the jobs was cutting and hauling shingle bolts to the Newell Shake Mill on the Newell Dock on the south side of Apple Tree Cove (at very low tide, one can still see the concrete support for sawmill building at the end of the dock).

Another job was cutting, splitting and selling firewood to the families living in Port Gamble.

Dairy cows were kept on the farm. Piglets and bull calves were raised and sold for meat.

In the winter of 1936, a very strong storm hit the Kitsap Peninsula, causing much damage in many areas. The Longmate barn was blown slightly askew. It was unsafe and unable to be straightened. The current barn was constructed and finished by about 1942.

Frank Longmate died in 1957 and his wife Ida died in 1968.

The farm was then sold to Sara Parrington and has been expanded some from its original size. Sara works hard to keep the farm in good condition. She has raised Hereford cattle there.

— Kingston Historical Society President Harriet Muhrlein writes A Glance at the Past. Contact her at muhrleinharriet@comcast.net, or by mail at P.O. Box 333, Kingston.