When the original mining town of Old Newcastle was established in 1863, the primary source of drinking water was a little creek to the south that began up on Cougar Mountain and emptied into what is now Lake Boren.

It was normally a gentle flow of water, but during heavy rains the creek would overflow and created a large flood plain to the north of the current lake. The lake was bigger and deeper than it is today, and also was swampy on the Eastside.

Chinese workers came into the area in the early 1870s, primarily to work on the railroads, but some came to Newcastle and worked for the mining company.

The earliest news item we have found is from 1873 about an attempted suicide by a Chinese worker. There were evidently race issues, and in 1876, 40 Chinese workers were driven out of the mining camp.

In 1876 and 1877, more than 300 Chinese workers were employed in building the railroad extension from Renton into Newcastle. After the line was completed, many of those men came to work in the coal mines at New Newcastle.

They mostly worked in the bunkers at the picking tables sorting coal by size. They were housed in company-owned buildings until 1885, when race issues arose and all of the Chinese-occupied housing was burned.

The workers (all men) left the camp and built small huts among the trees near a creek away from the camp. They planted narrow gardens along the creek bank and coops for chickens and ducks. Over time, the creek became known as China Creek.

The creek continued feeding into Lake Boren, overflowing onto the flood plain and dropping rich silt during the winter.

The rich flood plain was used for grazing livestock in the summers. That condition changed in the 1960s when, according to the late Milt Swanson, Robin Peterson, owner of the property west of the current Coal Creek Parkway and north of the lake, began creating a concrete channel for the creek bed.

Peterson worked for Stoneway Concrete as a mechanic and was able to bring home surplus concrete, which he dumped into the bed. He created a stable channel that no longer overflowed during storm events and went directly into the north end of the lake.

Eliminating the flooding allowed the lakefront to be developed, and we have homes there today. China Creek continues to bring silt into the lake during storm events and the outflow must be cleaned periodically, or local flooding does occur.

Workers from many nations were instrumental in the success of coal mining in Newcastle and the eventual creation of the city, but only the Chinese have a named legacy in China Creek.

A founder of the Newcastle Historical Society, Swanson knew more about Newcastle’s history than anyone, because he actually lived it. Swanson died at the age of 95 in January 2014. In this month’s history feature, Newcastle City Councilman, and history buff, Rich Crispo recalls his favorite Swanson stories.

I had the good fortune to know Milt and spend almost every Wednesday afternoon with him during the two years prior to his death. I was thirsting for information about our city and Milt was always willing to share his personal experiences.

By Greg Farrar
Milt Swanson, recalling the happiness and the hardship of a lifetime lived in Newcastle, poses in a 2012 photo, sitting among the artifacts of local history that he had collected and stored in a makeshift museum building on his property.

Milt was born in a house near the current Coal Creek Family YMCA and lived in the house at the corner of Newcastle Golf Club Road and Lakemont Boulevard since 1922, when his father rented the property from the Pacific Coast Coal Co. Milt told me many stories. Here are two of them:

1.) Did you ever wonder about the slight dips in Newcastle Golf Club Road as you drive over them? The topography along Coal Creek was very different in 1863, when coal production started, than it is today.

South of the creek was a flood plain, and a series of small ravines fed ground water and rain water from the hills to the south into the creek. The first dirt road above the flood plain and along the ravines included a series of bridges made from cedar logs.

Over time, mine waste was dumped along the road, and the ravines and the flood plain were filled in. When it came time to pave the road, the path went right over the existing bridges. Eventually the logs rotted out and the road surface dipped a bit.

The next time you drive along the road, count the dips. Some are obvious while others are subtler.

2.) All of the mine tunnels had air shafts reaching to the surface. One such shaft is located where Newcastle Golf Club Road meets Lakemont Boulevard.

During a heavy rainstorm in the 1960s, a stream of water came down from Cougar Mountain and crossed the covered shaft. The top covering collapsed and dammed up the hole well below the surface. As a result, the hole filled up with water.

A Boeing employee driving his station wagon on the way to work tried to drive across the “puddle.” His car started falling down into the hole, but luckily hung up on the edge.

He called for a wrecker and one came from Renton and stopped on the other side of the puddle. The driver walked around, attached a pull chain, and proceeded to pull the wagon completely into the hole and beneath the water.  The car was removed with the help of another truck.

Shortly after the car was removed, the dam in the hole broke and fell into the abandoned mine far below. The hole was eventually closed using concrete, cedar logs, mine rock and asphalt. That fix has lasted for 50 years and the next time you drive that route look for the circular indentations in the road surface near the curve.

Want to hear more about Milt’s stories and the history of your city? Email me at crispo@comcast.net.

Garry Kampen

This year is the 20th anniversary of Newcastle, a small city that ranks high in livability, and the 15th anniversary of Newcastle Trails, a nonprofit citizens group that has worked for parks, trails and open space, in close cooperation with the city, since 1999.

I’m writing to celebrate Newcastle’s amazing and still-growing trail system, and to encourage you to explore it and enjoy it. Check NT’s website, www.newcastletrails.org; download our latest map and trail guide; join NT by emailing info@newcastletrails.org (for trail news, no dues); attend our Oct. 6 board meeting (7 p.m. at Regency Newcastle); and consider volunteering for the board, or lending a hand with trail work, computer work (GIS, web, writing), lobbying, fundraising — whatever you’d like to do.

Newcastle’s trails are part of a regional network used by walkers, joggers, cyclists and equestrians. The city lies within a Grand Loop, a triangle of trail corridors with its base on the existing Lake Washington Trail (future Eastside Rail Trail) and its apex in Cougar Mountain.

The sides of the triangle are the May Creek Greenway (mostly in Newcastle) and the Coal Creek section of the Mountains to Sound Greenway (mostly in Bellevue). The triangle is crossed north-to-south by Coal Creek Parkway (continuous sidewalks) and the heavily used Waterline Trail (few sidewalks, many trees), with downtown Newcastle and Lake Boren Park sandwiched between.

You can walk the loop and its cross-trails now, with two exceptions: Renton’s May Creek Trail (partly complete, bridge needed), and the parkway underpass for the Coal Creek Trail (due soon). The Grand Loop is mostly wooded nature trails: The May Creek and Coal Creek trails include creeks, waterfalls, bridges, historic sites and sections of an old railroad; the Terrace Trail has switchbacks, lovely rock steps, views, fallen trees and giant moss-covered boulders. The Marshall’s Hill and Red Town trails (in Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park) link wilderness trails with the remains of Old Newcastle and its coal mines.

The west-to-east CrossTown Trail is Newcastle’s major urban trail (nature trails and sidewalks), a central connector linking schools, parks, neighborhoods and north-south trails. It starts near 116th Avenue Southeast and Newcastle Way, and winds past or through Hazelwood Elementary School, Hazelwood Park, Donegal Park, the historic Newcastle Cemetery and Lake Boren Park, continuing on sidewalks to Beit Tikvah and, after a gap, southeast along the DeLeo Wall (woods, views) from Newcastle Vista to Cougar Mountain.

Fall projects include new trail signs citywide, and changes to the CrossTown Trail: rerouting it at the new middle school and the planned Renton School District Newcastle development (between Olympus and Hazelwood), and rebuilding sections of trail between Newcastle Vista and Cougar Mountain.

Newcastle’s trail system has benefited from the cooperation of many groups, including Renton, Bellevue, King County and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club (check their websites for trail maps and guided walks). Volunteers were also essential. Much of the trail work was done by Boy Scouts, and parents, from Newcastle’s Hazelwood Troop, and other troops from Bellevue, Kirkland and Renton.

The trail will connect Coal Creek Parkway across from Lake Boren to Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. The group is essentially building the trail from scratch, so work will include clearing, culling the soil of organics and contouring the trail bed.

The work party starts sharply at 9 a.m. and goes until noon, though individuals can continue to work past that time, if they wish. The group meets along Southeast 81st Street, near an under-construction subdivision.

Learn more about Newcastle Trails, and get precise directions to the work-party site at www.newcastletrails.org.

The project, entitled “Black Forest (29,930,000 tons),” is spread across the forest floor in the form of nearly 50,000 pounds of biochar, environmentally friendly charcoal that appears similar to the coal that was once mined from the mountain.

“It was kind of the launching point,” artist Hans Baumann said, “this idea about rethinking what the park was, and trying to reinterpret its history in a way that might be visually compelling.”

By Kate Smigiel
Artist Hans Baumann spreads bio-carbon, a black charcoal often used as a fertilizer for agricultural crops and ornamental plants such as orchids, as part of a large-scale art installation on Cougar Mountain.

The Cougar Mountain trails hold the stories of the region’s past, which included about a century of mining. Park visitors literally stand in the midst of history as they pass abandoned mine shafts, find remnants of carts and railroads, and discover stray pieces of coal.

The park is the site of the lucrative Newcastle mining site, which helped transform Seattle into the dominant port city it is today. The mine operated for about 100 years until the mid-1900s. Workers extracted nearly 11 million tons of coal during that period.

It’s that rich history that attracted Baumann to the project about two years ago, he said.

“The park is an interesting place to visit, but then beyond that, the existing literature about it and the amount of historical interest in it, I feel, it made my project quite rich, because I was able to draw from it,” he said.

“Black Forest (29,930,000 tons)” was funded by 4Culture’s Site Specific Arts program. The number comes from the estimation that the mines emitted 29,930,000 tons of carbon dioxide during its heyday. Baumann received $20,000 total in site-specific grants.

The biochar has carbon sequestration qualities, allowing it to store carbon emissions and mitigate the harmful effects of greenhouse gases in climate change.

The idea is that the material will conceptually begin the sequestration process of 29,930,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the same amount released through the mine’s 100 years, Baumann said.

The project took about two years to come together, Baumann said, and much of that time was spent researching the history of the area.

The artist met with local groups, such as the Newcastle Historical Society and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. Baumann specifically mentioned Cougar Mountain expert Steve Williams and Newcastle legend Milt Swanson as dutiful teachers as he learned about the park.

“This installation is, in part, an effort to make their work physically and visually present on the mountain,” Baumann wrote on his website.

Baumann recalled fondly visiting with Swanson at the Newcastle pioneer’s home on Lakemont Boulevard and exploring his vast coal-mining museum.

Swanson, who passed away Jan. 20 at 95 years old, was the premier historian when it came to the Newcastle mines. He was born and raised in Newcastle, and he worked in the mines as his father and grandfather did before him.

The art installation, which covers more than an acre of forest floor, and sits on what used to be a gravel mine, was unveiled to the public in a special ceremony March 15.

Baumann spoke about his project, provided a tour of the site and thanked the volunteers that helped spread the voluminous bio char.

“The only thing I hope is that people find it compelling on some level,” he said. “I’m just hoping that it affects people in some way.”

The art installation will remain in place until it decomposes, but visitors are encouraged to come early spring, before much of the piece will be covered by vegetation.

By Kate Smigiel
Artist Hans Baumann spreads bio-carbon, a black charcoal often used as a fertilizer for agricultural crops and ornamental plants such as orchids, as part of a large-scale art installation on Cougar Mountain.

Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is now home to a unique land-art installation that pays tribute to the area’s coal mining past.

The project, entitled “Black Forest (29,930,000 tons),” is spread across the forest floor in the form of nearly 50,000 pounds of biochar, environmentally friendly charcoal that appears similar to the coal that was once mined from the mountain.

“It was kind of the launching point,” artist Hans Baumann said, “this idea about rethinking what the park was, and trying to reinterpret its history in a way that might be visually compelling.”

The Cougar Mountain trails hold the stories of the region’s past, which included about a century of mining. Park visitors literally stand in the midst of history as they pass abandoned mine shafts, find remnants of carts and railroads, and discover stray pieces of coal.

The park is the site of the lucrative Newcastle mining site, which helped transform Seattle into the dominant port city it is today. The mine operated for about 100 years until the mid-1900s. Workers extracted nearly 11 million tons of coal during that period.

It’s that rich history that attracted Baumann to the project about two years ago, he said.

“The park is an interesting place to visit, but then beyond that, the existing literature about it and the amount of historical interest in it, I feel, it made my project quite rich, because I was able to draw from it,” he said.

“Black Forest (29,930,000 tons)” was funded by 4Culture’s Site Specific Arts program. The number comes from the estimation that the mines emitted 29,930,000 tons of carbon dioxide during its heyday. Baumann received $20,000 total in site-specific grants.

The biochar has carbon sequestration qualities, allowing it to store carbon emissions and mitigate the harmful effects of greenhouse gases in climate change.

The idea is that the material will conceptually begin the sequestration process of 29,930,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the same amount released through the mine’s 100 years, Baumann said.

The project took about two years to come together, Baumann said, and much of that time was spent researching the history of the area.

The artist met with local groups, such as the Newcastle Historical Society and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. Baumann specifically mentioned Cougar Mountain expert Steve Williams and Newcastle legend Milt Swanson as dutiful teachers as he learned about the park.

“This installation is, in part, an effort to make their work physically and visually present on the mountain,” Baumann wrote on his website.

Baumann recalled fondly visiting with Swanson at the Newcastle pioneer’s home on Lakemont Boulevard and exploring his vast coal-mining museum.

Swanson, who passed away Jan. 20 at 95 years old, was the premier historian when it came to the Newcastle mines. He was born and raised in Newcastle, and he worked in the mines as his father and grandfather did before him.

The art installation, which covers more than an acre of forest floor, and sits on what used to be a gravel mine, will open to the public at 11 a.m. March 15 with a special ceremony at the Red Town Trailhead.

Baumann will speak about his project, provide a tour of the site, give thanks to the volunteers that helped spread the voluminous bio char and answer attendees’ questions.

“The only thing I hope is that people find it compelling on some level,” he said. “I’m just hoping that it affects people in some way.”

The art installation will remain in place until it decomposes, but visitors are encouraged to come before spring, when much of the piece will be covered by vegetation.

The Newcastle pioneer, born and raised in this community, spent all of his 95 years living in the same area, 90 of which were in the same company house that still stands at the edge of town near the Cougar Mountain trailhead.

Milt Swanson

Swanson died Jan. 20 after a Jan. 14 fall sent him to the hospital, where he lapsed into a coma.

He knew more about the city’s vast coal-mining history than anyone, because he actually lived it. He worked in the mines, as his father and grandfather did before him, and it was vital to him to tell his story, making sure the history of Newcastle never died.

“It was important to him to allow as many people who were interested to understand the beginnings of the city they live in,” Newcastle City Councilman Rich Crispo said. “He loved this community.”

Friends remembered Swanson as a sharp, inquisitive man, with a sense of humor that made him impossible to dislike.

“He made me laugh all of the time,” said Newcastle Historical Society member Vickie Baima Olson. “He would always put a humorous twist on things.”

Swanson was the authority when it came to Newcastle history, leading him to create the Newcastle Historical Society.

For the better part of its more than 20 years of existence, the Newcastle Historical Society was a place where passionate history junkies could get their fix by attending monthly meetings where the legend that is Swanson would talk about the good old days.

It’s evolved since then, making a greater effort to preserve the city’s history, but Swanson was still a major part of that, Olson said.

“Milt, I think, died in peace,” she said. “I think he felt confident that his artifacts would have a good home and the Newcastle Historical Society would protect the history.”

At the group’s Newcastle Days booth, Swanson was often an attraction himself, a veritable encyclopedia of the city’s history, Newcastle Trails board member Giles Velte said.

“He is an irreplaceable part of our history,” Velte said.

Swanson had a love of railroads and speeders, something he shared with Newcastle Historical Society President Russ Segner.

“We both love railroad history, so we bonded over that,” Segner said. “He really was one of the final links between Newcastle as it has evolved, and the history that existed here from the 1900s, on up through the evolution of the Eastside.”

Crispo said he learned nearly everything he knows about the history of the city from Swanson. He, along with Olson, would often sit for hours listening to Swanson’s stories, while they recorded him for an oral history project.

“Milt was a 95-year-old guy that represented what all of us would like to be at 95,” Crispo said. “He was still somebody who could teach, somebody who could share his knowledge, right until the day he died. Not many people can do that.”

Milt Swanson

The Newcastle Historical Society announced that founding member and local legend Milt Swanson died Jan. 20.

Swanson, who was born and raised in Newcastle, spent all of his 95 years living in the same area, 90 of which were in the same company house that still stands at the edge of town near the Cougar Mountain trailhead.

He knew more about the city’s vast coal-mining history than anyone, because he actually lived it. He worked in the mines as his father and grandfather did before him.

“He will be missed by many who knew and loved him, but his legacy will live on in all the artifacts and stories he has so generously given to the Newcastle Historical Society,” society member Vickie Baima Olson wrote in an email.

Swanson moved to the Regency Newcastle assisted living facility in December after he fell at his home. He fell again Jan. 14 and was taken to Overlake Hospital, where a hematoma developed and he lapsed into a coma, Olson said.

“At the Regency, he continued to share his vast knowledge of the history and geology of Newcastle, while continuing to read and learn,” Olson said.

Swanson was 95. Learn more about Swanson’s remarkable life in this Newcastle News feature from 2012: newcastle-news.com/2012/08/02/a-coal-mining-life.

Newcastle News invites you to share your memories of Swanson below in the comments.

Firefighters from Eastside Fire & Rescue and Bellevue and Duvall fire departments responded to a wildfire near The Golf Club at Newcastle at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2.

The fire was spotted by a pilot who relayed the information to an air traffic controller at the Renton Airport, said Lt. Troy Donlin, Bellevue Fire Department spokesman.

Initially, firefighters were not exactly sure where the fire was, but the approximate location of the response was at the corner of 154th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 83rd Court, according to Capt. Todd Dickerboom of the Bellevue Fire Department.

Two women then alerted the firefighters to the blaze located about a quarter mile up from a Cougar Mountain trail entrance on 154th Avenue Southeast, Dickerboom said.

The initial size of the fire was estimated at 300 feet by 600 feet, Donlin said.

As of 10 p.m., the fire was under control and crews had formed a perimeter around the fire’s remnants, Dickerboom said. Crews were expected to stay overnight to monitor any activity.

“When we consider it under control we’re not seeing big flames, it’s been knocked out, we’ve sprayed water everywhere and we don’t see anything, but there’s still smoldering going on,” he said.

Crews used about 2,400 feet of hose to reach the fire, Dickerboom said.

At the blaze’s height, 40 firefighters from the three departments were on hand, said Bellevue Battalion Chief Marty LaFave.

There is no word on a cause of the fire, but indications suggested that it could have been smoldering for some time, Donlin said.

Firefighters were expected to be at the scene overnight and into the morning, when they will have a chance to safely put out any lingering hot spots, Dickerboom said.

“We will wait until daylight when it’s safer to operate in the area so we can see where our hazards are and then bring in more crews to complete final extinguishment,” he said.

No one was injured and no homes were harmed by the blaze.

The motorcycle involved in Friday’s accident along Newcastle Golf Club Road rests near a guardrail. By Christina Corrales-Toy

NEW — 2:27 p.m. Aug. 10, 2012

A motorcyclist died after colliding with a guardrail on Newcastle Golf Club Road on Friday morning, according to King County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West.

The motorcyclist was traveling eastbound on Newcastle Golf Club Road when the driver came upon a left-hand curve in the road, failed to navigate it and struck the guardrail, West said.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center, according to West.

West said there were no witnesses and no identification on the motorcyclist. Alcohol does not appear to be involved in the accident, but West said the incident is still under investigation.

The identity of the victim was not available, pending notification of next of kin.

The incident occurred near the Red Town Trailhead of Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

Police closed Newcastle Golf Club Road just east of the 155th Avenue intersection for nearly four hours while investigators processed the scene.