Oak Harbor’s Smith Park may soon be on the local historic register.
As discussed by the Oak Harbor Historic Preservation Commission, which assembled in January, the decision will come to a vote next month. The park made it onto the Washington Heritage Register last year which, according to Garry Oak Society President Laura Renninger, is extraordinary.
Only three other parks in the state have made it onto the list: Douglas Park in Grand Coulee, Denny Park in Seattle and Pioneer Park in Ferndale.
The centrally located Smith Park, sandwiched between Jensen Street and Midway Boulevard, took form in the 1860s, Kyle Renninger said at a presentation to the commission. A total of 150 Garry oak trees cram into the half-acre.
“Smith Park is a very special place to me,” Kyle wrote in an email. “I grew up a couple blocks from the park, so as a kid I have many great memories of going there with my neighborhood friends, playing on the swings and going fast on the merry-go-round (a rare sight in parks these days).”
It’s really a nut orchard, he said, and it’s likely the only park in the state comprised only of Garry oaks. In previous centuries, Lower Skagit people ate the acorns from these trees and used the wood for all kinds of purposes.
The land was once owned by the Barrington family. When Captain Edward Barrington passed away and his wife Christina sold some property to support the family, she allowed the area to function as a town square. During this time, Christina platted the first set of streets and lots of what would eventually become the incorporated Oak Harbor.
Eventually, Christina sold the land to a local businessman, Lewis Smith. Smith then made a deal with the townspeople that if enough of his land was purchased, he would gift the park to the public. This came to fruition in 1916.
While it was titled Smith Park even back in these days, it was the only public park in Oak Harbor at the time, so most referred to it as Town Park. A cabin sat on the lawn, where the fire department, city council and bands met. The lawn hosted livestock shows, sermons and picnics.
Kyle said the trees and understory of the park look very similar to how it did 100 years ago. The Garry oak society and the parks and recreation department have replanted native plants in the area.
“If someone from the time period in which it was significant, so we’ll say early 1900s, came back to the park today and saw the park would they recognize it as the park that it was, and I believe very much that they would,” he said.
About eight years ago, the city installed an informational kiosk, and the parks and recreation department more recently put in a sign made from wood from the Garry oak tree by the post office. This year, the department also installed an obelisk reading “Smith Park.”
During the installation of the obelisk, city staff unearthed a rock with the words “auto park” inscribed on the back. Likely, Renninger said, it was a marker for people to park there. Photos show Model Ts driving right through the park.
Parks and rec will host a ribbon cutting and install a Washington Heritage Register plaque in spring of next year. To make it on the local historic register, it needs to meet one criterion on an extended list qualifying historic value. According to Ray Lindenburg, senior planner, the park meets many criteria.
Oak Park Free Camp Ground, Oak Harbor Whidbey Island community gathering in “Oak Park” which later became what we know today as Smith Park. (Island County Historical Society, Library and Archives, 2014.11.08a)
At Smith Park, Oak Harbor, Henry Weidenbach Guernsey Cattle Late 1930’s Functioning as the town square, even livestock shows took place in the park beneath the Garry oaks. (Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society, Gift of Avis Rector)
