North Mason Chamber of Commerce :: Union's Historic Dalby Waterwheel

The historic Dalby Waterwheel in Union

Union Tourism Association
www.visitunion.com

About the Dalby Waterwheel
by Valerie Johnson

Edwin Justus Dalby, born January 10, 1885 in Rock Island, Illinois, came to Union in 1890 with his parents, William Owen Dalby and Mary Ellen (Nellie) Loosley Dalby. Young Edwin loved to row a boat over to the pretty little cove with the lovely rushing stream and make camp there. Ethel Morgan Dalby, born July 5, 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, came with her mother and stepfather to Seattle in the early 1900s. Ed and Ethel met in Seattle when Ethel was a 16 year old talented beauty, and they married on November 15, 1911 when Ethel was 17 years old. Ed had already graduated from the University of Washington and in 1904 had taken a cross country trip with the famous photographer of Native Americans, Edmund Curtis, serving as translator to the Smithsonian sponsored expedition.

After they married, Ed and Ethel Dalby purchased an 8- acre tract of land from the State of Washington on Hood Canal. This was the same place that the young Edwin loved to come to and camp as a boy. There were no roads in the area at that time, so the young family had to clear the land of trees and underbrush before they could build their home. During that time Ed and Ethel, along with three of their children, Fritz, Gwennie, and Eddie (David came later), lived in a large canvas tent on the building site near the stream. They also had a large tent that was used as the kitchen and dining room until the new house was completed enough for them to take up residence there. (Ethel noted in later years that the house was never finished, at least not to her satisfaction. Such things as doors on the upstairs bedrooms were never installed, nor were a handrail for the wide staircase leading to the upstairs. As there was a big double iron-framed bed on the large landing at the top of the staircase, and was used by two of the brothers as their sleeping place, it could have been quite disastrous if any of the children had been sleepwalkers!)

As part of the plan for the creation of their home, and since there was no public utility department at that time, Ed conceived the idea of using the stream on their property to generate electricity for their use. With the help of his father, who still resided in Union, they built the first waterwheel and thus, the first hydroelectric plant in the region, by using a wooden cultivator wheel procured from a local farmer. This original wheel worked well for a couple of years, but was destroyed during a cold spell one winter. The wheel froze and broke into pieces and with no way to repair the wooden one, it was determined that a new wheel was needed.

In 1922, Ed was working at the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper, covering the waterfront and shipping news as Marine Editor, and learned that the cable car counterbalance wheel that served Yesler Way line was being discarded, so he arranged to purchase it. He had the huge wheel shipped out to the canal in two pieces and set to work installing the metal buckets that served it so well for many years. After the wheel was completed, Ed crafted two huge timbers made of cedar to support the wheel as well as the strong shaft the wheel would turn upon. A long cedar trough brought the water from a point far upstream and delivered it to the wheel at a point about three feet above the wheel. With the help of several men, as well as block and tackle equipment, the wheel was put in place on it base and attached to the shaft. The signal was given to divert the water into the trough, and all present waited patiently to see if the stream could turn the massive two-ton wheel. Many thought it wouldn't! When the stream delivered its first water to the wheel, it began to revolve slowly at first, and then began to pick up speed until it gained its optimum tempo. The Dalby waterwheel has thus been turning ever since, with only few disruptions to its schedule, usually for repairs. In more recent years, in order to preserve the wheel, it has been shut off from the end of Labor Day in September until Memorial Day in May. In this way it is hoped that the waterwheel will survive many more years and bring pleasure to many more people.

The electricity that was produced by virtue of a dynamo was DC, or direct current, so the lights needed to be kept on at all times. This often proved strange and amusing for houseguests from Seattle, who would awaken in the night and find the house ablaze with light. Thinking that they would be helpful, they would go around turning them off. Inevitably, a family member would follow behind, turning them back on, and explaining that the system would back up and burn out if the lights were all turned off!

Ed Dalby had a small woodshop inside the little cabin next to the wheel, and in it he operated a lathe and other woodworking equipment, powered by the waterwheel. There was enough electricity produced to power the new house, several small cabins on the property and even strings of lights that were placed from tree to tree. During its heyday, the Dalby property had the "big house", 13 cabins, and a large wooden pavilion built for Saturday night dances in the 1930s.

The current wheel served the needs of the Dalby family for many years, until the advent of more modern conveniences. When the "Navy Yard" highway (which later became State Route 106) was constructed in 1928, it replaced the one lane dirt road that ran in front of the Dalby home. During the construction of the new paved highway, workers from the road crew knocked at Mrs. Dalby's kitchen (back) door and asked her if she wished the highway to go in front of (to the north) or in back of (to the south) her home, and her reply was, "Oh, put it out in back". With the completion of the new roadway, the Dalby waterwheel was put on view to all who passed by it, and it became a favorite photo stop for people from all over the world in the years that followed.

In the late 1970s the metal buckets had all developed holes from many decades of constant use, and new buckets were installed in their place. Ed Dalby Junior along with Jeff Araujo and other volunteers took on this project and installed new buckets made of wood on the wheel. Throughout the years when the waterwheel needed work done on it, Ed would organize a work party composed of neighbors and friends of the Dalbys, who unselfishly gave of their time and labor to see the wheel continue to operate. After Ed's death in 1998, local volunteers headed by Jeff Araujo generously gave of their time and labor to do major work on the wheel, installing a new concrete base and shoring up the sagging cabin. It is due to their unselfish efforts that the Dalby Waterwheel continues to bring pleasure to many people today.

The Dalby Waterwheel is now returned to public view

With the realignment of State Route 106 in Union, the historic Dalby Waterwheel was no longer accessible to the public. Marilyn Dalby, the current owner of the waterwheel, wished to correct this situation by donating not only the waterwheel, but also a piece of land where it could reside on the new portion of SR106.

The Hood Canal Improvement Club raised funds to move the waterwheel and will register it as an historical site and provide for its maintenance, so that all may once again enjoy the special beauty of Mason County's signature landmark.

The Hood Canal Improvement Club is a not-for-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation, please contact the Hood Canal Improvement Club at P.O. Box 312, Union, WA 98592, or phone Janett Souza (898-7325), Sue Russell (898-2852) or Valerie Johnson (898-4799).

Dalby Waterwheel Week Proclamation

WHEREAS, Edwin Dalby built the Dalby Waterwheel in 1922 with the assistance of his father, William Dalby, who were early pioneers of Union; and

WHEREAS, the waterwheel was the first hydroelectric plant in the Hood Canal area creating electricity for the main house and 13 cabins until the 1940's when the PUD brought services to the property; and

WHEREAS, after the PUD brought services to the property, the waterwheel's electricity-producing days ended but the wheel continued to turn throughout the years providing enjoyment to passersby from all over the world; and

WHEREAS, the Dalby Waterwheel has been featured in many publications through the years and the historical value of the waterwheel is evident; and

WHEREAS, with the realignment of State Route 106, the waterwheel is no longer accessible to the public; and

WHEREAS, Marilyn Dalby, the current property owner, wishes to correct the situation by generously donating, to the Hood Canal Improvement Club, not only the waterwheel but a portion of her property that abuts the new location of State Route 106 so that the waterwheel can be moved to this new site; and

WHEREAS, the Hood Canal Improvement Club intends to raise funds to move the waterwheel to this new site and upon completion of the project, the Club will register the waterwheel as a historical site and will provide for its maintenance; and

WHEREAS, fundraising efforts are now underway and the Hood Canal Improvement Club will also host a mid-summer barbecue on the green at the Robin Hood Village in Union on July 30th.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Mason County Commissioners does hereby proclaim the week of July 24-31, 2005 as DALBY WATERWHEEL WEEK

and encourages all citizens to support this project so that the community and visitors may once again enjoy the special beauty of Mason County's signature landmark.

Dated this 19th day of July, 2005.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Jayni L. Kamin, Chairperson
Lynda Ring Erickson, Commissioner
Tim Sheldon, Commissioner