Flaming Geyser Park once boasted this pavilion used for dining and dancing back in the day when a resort graced the banks of the Green River. So named for the exploratory drill hole which bubbled methane gas and once sported huge fireballs, Flaming Geyser began marketing its considerable natural wonders in the 1920s. This 1927 photo appeared in the October 9th issue of the Seattle Daily Times in an article jointly promoting the wonders of Flaming Geyser and the Falcon Knight automobile, seen to the left in the photo. T.A. Davies & Son, the territorial distributor of the Falcon Knight sedan worked hand-in-hand with a newspaper reporter who rode along and wrote the story. At the time, E.W. Wiese, the owner of Flaming Geyser was promoting a golf course to be added to the park’s existing cabins, trails, fountains, dancing, and natural beauty. It’s not clear if a formal golf course was ever built, though historic aerial photos showing mowed areas, which might have supported golf. Flaming Geyser operated as a private resort from the 1920s until the late 1960s when the operation fell into bankruptcy. The acquisition and development of county and state parks offering outdoor opportunities to the public sounded the death knell for dozens of private facilities at places like Lake Retreat, Deep Lake, Lake Wilderness, Shadow Lake, and Lake Sawyer. These private resorts could no longer compete with free public parks with similar attractions. At Flaming Geyser the land was slated for home development so Washington State Parks purchased the property and has managed it since. The 480-acre park has over three miles of Green River shoreline and is part of the vast Green River conservation area with 18 miles of river shoreline stretching all the way east to Kanaskat-Palmer State Park. The entire conservation area covers more than 2,500 acres of land. This image comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah historian and research specialist. Next week, a photo of the spectacular fountain which once greeted visitors to this park.
