Richard T. Kennedy and Grechen F. Schmidt’s One hundred years of the "waterland" community: a history of Des Moines, Washington chronicles the maritime and civic evolution of the forested bluffs and sheltered shorelines along the eastern edge of Puget Sound. Set strategically midway between the rapidly expanding urban centers of Seattle and Tacoma, the narrative details how early homesteaders, loggers, and fishermen relied on the region's vital "mosquito fleet" steamers to overcome profound geographic isolation and establish viable coastal claims. By tracing the collaborative development of the town's defining waterfront, from primitive docks to a bustling recreational marina, the text reveals how these dispersed early residents forged tight-knit kinship networks through shared maritime labor and civic engagement. Ultimately, this local history documents how the cooperative stewardship of this dynamic shoreline successfully transformed a rugged, remote logging frontier into a resilient, highly connected residential enclave bound by its enduring identity as a "waterland" community.

Des Moines (Wash.) History, History, United States, Washington, King, Des Moines History, Washington (State) Des Moines