| Photos |
 | Riley M. Hoskinson homestead and surrounding area ca. 1896-1897
This photo was taken from the Hoskinson homestead by Riley Hoskinson's son Stewart. The camera direction is the reverse of the first photo of the Hoskinson homestead, with the camera now located behind the windmill seen in the first picture looking toward the barn (center of this photo) and beyond. Based on this photo, the camera location in the first photograph was at the crossroads to the right of the church located in the middle distance center of this photo. Riley and neighbor Ambrose Grow were driving forces behind the building the church, the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, (left with bell tower) and school (to the right of the church.) In late 1883, took out an advertisement in The Seattle Post Intelligencer seeking a teacher for this school. The church was completed in 1896, dating the photo, per this history of the building from the Bremerton Sun. Note also this photo was taken in fall or winter, because the fruit trees in the picture are devoid of leaves. You can see in this photo some garden paths and garden plots amongst the tress. The white house to the left of the church is the church parsonage. The pole located closest to the camera is very interesting. It appears to be steel (which would have been quite expensive to buy and haul to Bainbridge Island) and quite tall, anchored at the bottom, with the angled white line that crosses the left of the photo suggesting a guy line or wire to hold the pipe steady in high winds. My guess is atop this pole would have been wind speed and direction instruments to aid Riley's weather measurements. The pole does not appear in the first photo of the Hoskinson homestead suggesting this photo was taken after the first, and the pole a later additional to the property. Was the pole perhaps provided to Riley by the Signal Service? On the far left, the deforested and burned land of the first photo is again evident. There also appears to be a large section of land deforested, but not yet burned beyond the church and the white house. You can still see the tree stumps sticking out of the ground. Behind the school the land appears to have been completely cleared except for a couple tress. Some of this land is certainly the land Riley offered for sale beginning in Nov 1883 and was still offering for sale in Mar 1895. His 1886 advertisement specifically offers land has been logged and burned, but not yet cleared suggesting the property on the left of the photo. The plat map for the Hoskinson homestead suggests all of the land in the picture may have been owned by Riley Hoskinson. Finally, note this photo shows the pallisade style fencing seen fronting that road in the first photo continues as the road extends past the church and school. You can also see it fronting the road that runs left to right in front of the white house, church and school. It would have been quite an undertaking to construct so much closed fencing, involving many thousands of individual boards. This photo appeared in the 19 Nov 2017 edition of the Kitsap Sun with the following caption: "Riley Hoskinson operated this weather station and windmill at his home just north of Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island from 1878 to 1889. He gathered weather observations every day and sent regular reports to Washington, D.C. Hoskinson's station is flanked in the distance by the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church's parsonage and church center. Madrone's second school is on the upper right.." |
 | Riley M. Hoskinson homestead and surrounding area ca. 1884-1886
This photograph was taken of the Hoskinson homestead by Riley Hoskinson's son Stewart. In the foreground left is a barn. If you look closely you can see a horse drawn buggy parked in front. The trees behind are the fruit orchard Riley planted and writes about in his many letters, particularly his letter to the Cloverdale Reveille, 30 Sep 1880: "Last spring a year planted, 200 fruit trees, of apple, Pear, Peach. Quince, Plum, Prune, and Cherry, also Currants, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, and Strawberries, besides many other articles to tedious to mention." Note that the photo was likely taken in Spring as the fruit trees appear to be in bloom. The house behind is presumably Riley and wife Martha's. It looks to have been added on to several times since the Hoskinsons arrived on Bainbridge Island in 1878. To the right of the house is windmill (it looks black in this photo) with a three tiered white structure in front believed to contain Riley's instruments for recording the weather (temperate, barometric pressure, etc.) As a member of the Signal Service of the US Army and Dept. of Agriculture, Riley recorded local weather conditions and reported them to The Seattle Intelligencer and the federal government throughout his time on Bainbridge Island. There appear to be other houses behind the Hoslkinsons, presumably the homes other homesteaders. It is interesting to note the palisade-style fencing that borders the road and surrounds the barn and other buildings. This would have been quite an undertaking to construct, involving thousands of individual boards. All along the right side of the photograph the land has been cleared of trees and burned. This is perhaps the land Riley began offering for sale in Nov 1883 and was still offering for sale in Feb 1886. In 1883, he was offering 80 acres. In 1886, he offers lots of 5, 10 or 20 acres, perhaps to attract smaller buyers. Note the price has increased substantially from $10/acre in 1883 to $30/acre in 1886. The 1886 advertisement notes the land has been logged and burned, but is not yet cleared. Finally, note the tree stump in front of the barn. This gives an idea of the size of trees felled to clear the Hoskinsons land. The stump is roughly the same width as the length of the buggy in front of the barn, which would make it 10+ feet in diameter and 15-20 feet tall. The burned stump near the road at the the bottom left of the photo looks to be from a tree only a bit smaller in diameter. |
Fisher Family Genealogy