The Anderson Family formerly had a sawmill in these woods. We honored that history when we chose our neighborhood's name, Forest Mill.
Joseph W. Anderson along with his brother Francis D. Anderson each bought 40 acres to total these 80 acres around 1942. It was all the money they had. They bought the acreage sight, unseen. This property is in Section 16. All Section 16's were given for the support of the schools. So the property was completely logged and sold to support the schools.
Francis moved a small trailer onto the property, which they called home for quite a number of years. Joseph bought a home in Tacoma, but brought his family out to the property to play with the cousins, often. One very hard winter Francis’s 3rd child became very ill. He did survive, but life in the woods was rough. So, they moved to a home in Des Moines, Washington. Joseph rented out his home in Tacoma and they moved to Alaska around 1954-55 in order to find work. When Joseph and Marcella and their children came back to Washington in 1959, he rented a house in Seattle, but his dream was to have a sawmill and a lumber store on the property. I am guessing that around 1966 Joseph began working on his dream. Francis no longer wanted to be a part of the acreage ownership, so Joseph bought his brother's half for the then current value. Joseph built a one-man sawmill in the back of the property.
He also built a one room 12' by 24' cabin. He heated with a wood stove and the family brought in water in 5-gallon containers.
One of a pair of working Percheron Work Horses died, so the owner wanted to sell the other one. Joseph bought the beautiful, big horse to work at the mill. His name was Danny. He stood 17 hands high. They always had a dog or two on the property as well.
He and Marcella still owned the house in Tacoma. Marcella and their 2 girls lived in Tacoma during the week and spent all weekends and all summer on the property. They wanted their 2 children to be able to go to school in Tacoma. Around 1969-70 Joseph decided to pick up stakes and move his operation to the front of the property, out by the road where the houses are now located. Along with a lot of help, he put the cabin on 2 log skids and drug it through the woods with a dozer out to the front of the property. He then moved the sawmill near the cabin.
The cabin and the sawmill were about where Lot 3, Plat 2 is located. Danny pulled in many a log to the Mill. Danny was a worker. He knew it was much easier to pull a log in, if he ran. And he knew where to take the log and when to stop. Joseph would hook him up to a log and let him take it in.
From the time Joseph and Francis bought the property until it was renamed Forest Mill, the property was called Anderson Acres. Not long after they moved to the front of the property, Marcella wanted a bit more comfort. She was instrumental in acquiring a 30-foot mobile home. She had a kitchen, a living area and a bedroom. Sometime around 1976 Danny passed. Then Joseph used a 1952 Willy’s Jeep and a Wisconsin Donkey (look it up) to pull the logs in.
Around 1994, Joseph and Marcella packed up, retired and moved back to their home in Tacoma. Four years after Joseph died, Marcella and her two daughters started the process of platting the land. Because of the housing slowdown in 2008, the process came to a screeching halt but picked up again after a few years. With much sweat and a few tears, and every dime we had, the process was completed and you have some beautiful homes to live in, on some beautiful property.
Written by Joseph and Marcella’s daughter Rita Anderson Jackson
Rita's Son Blair and his wife Holly, are building toward the back of the property. Their four children spend a few days a week there to help and explore.
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| Clearing for the Well - Fall 2018 |
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Our new Well - Summer 2019 |
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| Helping Dad - Spring 2020 |
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Stemwalls and Footings - Summer 2020 |
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| Exploring on the Old Logging Road/Driveway - Winter 2020 |
