08/30/05

Before Usal became a State Park in 1985 there was lots of water in the creek and lots of driftwood on the beach and also up in the pasture land  and along the creek. 

Along the road the Usal Store and to the right across the bridge the houses where the rich people lived, in the foreground is the shearing sheds.  On the beach against the hillside are the cabins and during the war a dog kennel was built to house the War Dogs, the Coast Guard stayed right there on the beach.

My Grandparents Jennie and William Thomas lived at Usal for almost 40 years.  They ran cattle and sheep and fished the ocean.  In the left hand corner of the picture is the old store, further up the Usal road is my grandparents home, there was no electricity and the water came from the spring in the hill, at that time it was perfectly safe to drink.

This is my Grandparents home, they had no modern conveniences only a telephone and it was a public pay telephone.  The Usal Lumber Mill closed in 1898 and my Grandparents moved there in 1922.

The other structure that were left in Usal: to the left the old hotel where Don Etter lived and down on the beach the piling from the wharf when they shipped lumber from Usal

This is the old store and off in the distance a little cabin.  Next is the Horse barn with about 6 stalls and a couple of box stalls, a hay loft and storage room for lots of bales.

On the left is the old school house, on the right the front of the old store.  A map to give you some idea where everything was placed.  There was only four residents of Usal, my Grandparents, Don Etter who also ran cattle and sheep and Ed Pate who lived in a cabin on the beach.

To read my thoughts on Usal click here

ulm