Welcome to Creosote
By George Soltes
PHOTOS BY GEORGE SOLTES AND COURTESY GARY M. WHITE COLLECTION, BAINBRIDGE HISTORY MUSEUM
Long before the word creosote became associated with toxic waste and Superfund sites, the town of Creosote, across Eagle Harbor from Winslow, rivaled its neighbor as the most important community on Bainbridge Island.
In the early 20th century, while most of Bainbridge read by candlelight, the citizens of Creosote enjoyed electricity supplied directly from the Pacific Creosoting Company plant, one of the island’s biggest employers. Largely isolated from the rest of Bainbridge before there were widespread cars or adequate roads, the self-sufficient town over time featured bunkhouses, private cottages (referred to as “the row”) and a general store, not to mention a ferry dock, dance hall, roller rink and its own baseball team. Kids walked to classes at the nearby McDonald School.
While it might sound like a little slice of heaven, life in Creosote was not without its downsides. Besides the noxious chemicals, deafening machinery and risk of getting brained by the massive, constantly moving timbers, the townspeople had to tolerate the incessant, pungent scent of their namesake product, described by the contemporary writer Arthur Conan Doyle as an “evil-smelling mess.”
After more than 80 years of operation under various names, the facility closed in 1988. The EPA has been working ever since to clean up the residual creosote, now known to be a carcinogen, among other health hazards. Most recently, the deteriorating sheet pile wall is being replaced with a new concrete barrier. The intention is for the site to eventually be converted into a public park.
For now, when the wind is right, islanders can close their eyes, take a deep breath, and pick up a scent somewhere between a gasoline leak and a closet full of mothballs, taking them back in time to the town of Creosote.
