This photo of a fountain at Flaming Geyser Park appeared in the Sunday, October 9, 1927 issue of the Seattle Daily Times. The article was written to promote both Flaming Geyser and the Falcon-Knight brand of automobile. There is a tiny sign to the right of the water spray which reads: The Coldrew Electric Fountains – Play Every Spring.
At the time Flaming Geyser was a privately-owned resort providing campsites, stoves, restrooms, a swimming pool fed by the Green River, a fish hatchery, and round picnic tables cut from six-foot sections of fir trees. E.W. Wiese was the manager of the park located between Auburn, Black Diamond, and Enumclaw in a district called Kummer.
The park’s name derived from Eugene Lawson’s 1911 drill hole, resulting in a spring of bubbling methane gas which when lit sent a burst of flame high into the air. The presence of methane, commonly called natural gas, induced a slew of gas wells to be drilled in the Kummer anticline, starting with the Petchnick hole in 1928.
There followed another ten wells by minor and major oil companies, including Shell. None of the natural gas wells proved to be commercially viable. Eventually the park fell into bankruptcy, as state and county recreational sites began displacing privately operated facilities. Today, the actual flaming geyser is a faint shadow of its former glory as a failed attempt to enlarge the geyser actually restricted its flow coupled with natural dissipation.
Still, Flaming Geyser State Park on the Green River remains a popular destination for fishing, hiking, swimming, picnicking, whitewater rafting, and model airplane flying. This image comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, who collects vintage photos and specializes in historical research.
