Do you ever have a moment where something triggers an adventure to investigate your childhood? Pickup an object and you are transported to the past. The place you went to is still close by and one day there it is. The address is just around the corner. Temptation to see it right now is great. The stop light turns and you are in the parking lot.  A wrong turn that turns into the right one takes you back.

That was me. I had a place in mind from the early 1960s. Childhood memories of stopping at a place to peek into old buildings and see old log cabins that were from ages long ago. The 1890s lured my mom to take us there. Perhaps it was how my grandparents lived since they were Washington pioneers. She never told me why but we came back to this place many times.

That thing that trigger this was a white button with red lettering.  I found it in my quest to find Seattle Worlds Fair items. It was tied to taking a rocket in the space race at a place called Santa Land. You see at one time a man dreamed of a special shopping mall with an amusement park in it. It was called Federal Shopping Way.  Now long gone. Lost to bad business deals honest and crooked. Rotted away until the land became so valuable that a strip mall was built in its place.

Around the back of the building I went, by the loading docks I drove. To the end of the store row and the street exit I went. There on that corner once stood Old Line Historic Park. This was the place of trees and vintage times preserved in a small park.

Gone… I knew it was gone even when I found the little button. A lingering memory or rumor taunted me that they had been saved. I swear I had seen them at a park or in the trees one day knowing what they were. Not taking time to know that was them or remember where that memory was lost in the grid of life.

Digging around I finally found it. Two of the old buildings were saved by the Historical Society of Federal Way. They spent a lot of cash and volunteers hours to dissemble them, preserve their being and then rebuild then again at West Hylebos Wetlands Park.

There are long documented articles about them if you are inclined to read about what and how this all happened plus more history than you can want.  These are courtesy of Historical Society of Federal Way:

Denny Cabin History

Barker Cabin History

Federal Shopping Way and Old Line Historic Park

Weeks later I pulled up to the park and there they were. Denny Cabin was on the left up next to the parking lot.
She had been painted and been given a lot of care.

The saviors of this building had also put together a museum quality informational sign.

I took a few other pictures and found some old photos for your comparison.

Denny Cabin 1991 – believe at Federal Shopping Mall

Denny Cabin on Queen Ave Seattle as a Tavern

Then the old cabin I remember as a child running around and inside was next. It was rebuilt slightly off the parking lot and looked amazing!  Here is how the two look from my car in the parking lot.

 

Federal Way has done a good job of creating the signage.

Drum roll… here is what the cabin looks like today

M

Memory found and completed. Such satisfaction. History is there for those that seek it. Get up and dig for it.