Unearthed antique signs in Clinton add to mystery of store’s past

While cleaning up a Clinton property recently, John Norris found his version of treasure buried in the backyard.

Two 14-foot antique signs, made of porcelain and metal, with Bailey’s Corner written in white lettering faintly outlined with green across a red background. One sign appears to have endured more wear and tear than the other, but both were discovered underground less than a half mile from the iconic store of the same name where people can grab a burger or beer, listen to live music or participate in trivia nights.

Norris doesn’t know why the signs had been buried, and others who have owned Bailey’s Corner Store are unfamiliar with their existence. Norris sold one for $1,800 this week and is currently searching for another interested buyer, possibly a descendant of the families who settled in the area.

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South Whidbey history has been peopled by multiple Baileys, but not all of them have been related to each other.

In 1852, Robert Bailey, South Whidbey’s first white settler, took out a Donation Land Claim of 162.5 acres, according to a South Whidbey Historical Society article researched and written by Laura Canby. Bailey’s acreage encompassed all of today’s Cultus Bay and Possession Point area. He ran a trading post, likely where Possession Shores is today, which came to be known as Bailey’s Bay.

Among his many other accomplishments, Robert Bailey was elected as an Island County commissioner in 1858 and served as an Indian sub-agent for Skagit (sometimes spelled Scadgett or Scatchett) Head, which was where his property was located.

He married Yabo-Litza, the daughter of a subchief of the Snohomish Tribal village of D’GWAD’wk, which is where present-day Sandy Hook Yacht Club Estates is located on South Whidbey. After Yabo-Litza’s death, Robert Bailey remarried another Snohomish woman, Charlott(e) LaDue. Her Snohomish name is unknown.

Robert Bailey’s son, Henry Bailey, also lived on South Whidbey and went on to become a famous steamboat captain.

It was several decades later when Bailey’s Corner Store came to be. The building where the store is located today started out as a one-room schoolhouse. Lorna Cherry’s book, “South Whidbey and Its People, Volume II,” details the history of the second Ingleside School, which was built in 1914.

Tom Eggleston, who previously owned the business and building with his wife Sherry, recalled the living quarters behind the building that were the schoolteacher’s. It was where they, too, lived for a time while in charge of running the store.

Current owner Ken Stange, a former teacher himself, said the building still has original flooring from its schoolhouse days.

Today Bailey’s Corner Store is nearly unrecognizable compared with pictures of the schoolhouse it once was. It has a metal roof, additions to the original structure and is surrounded by towering trees that were absent in earlier photographs.

The school ended up moving to Langley in the 1930s and the building left behind became known as Bailey’s Corner Store. Coincidentally, one Clarence “Ray” Bailey – no relation to Robert and Henry Bailey – was the owner and proprietor, according to another historical article written by Canby.

During World War II, it was one of the places where Whidbey’s young men registered for selective service, then referred simply to as Bailey’s Store. Another old clipping from an unidentifiable newspaper listed a series of owners after the first, including a B. Johnson around 1950, Bob Kelly in 1965, Jim Smith in 1971 and Laura and Royce Gildersleeve in 1973.

But besides these tidbits, little else is known about the history of Bailey’s Corner Store, a bustling backwoods institution approaching 90 years old. In all her research, Canby has not been able to determine whether it is named for Clarence Bailey or Robert Bailey. She said the location of Bailey’s Corner Store would have been too far inland to be Robert Bailey’s trading post.

Eggleston believes it was named for the first white settler on South Whidbey. This explains why an aging, mossy wooden sign in front of the store proclaims Bailey’s Corner Store was established in 1852, despite not being historically accurate.

“It’s just always been a stable place down here in this portion of the island,” he said. “It’s gone through many changes, many ownership styles.”

Sherry added a commercial kitchen to the building, bringing more food options. Today, under Stange’s ownership, the store has thrived as an entertainment venue.

“That’s what makes it noteworthy in the present time,” Stange said. “It’s not a convenience store, it’s a community hub now.”