This log-style dwelling once stood at the current site of Eagle Creek Park in the Morganville section of Black Diamond, located at 23902 Roberts Drive. The home, owned by Warren W. Bruckner for more than 40 years, was built during a bitter lockout and strike between union workers and Pacific Coast Coal Company.
Morganville was established in 1921, when 200 cheaply built houses were constructed on 20 acres, donated to striking miners by Tim Morgan. Known as the Morganville Addition, only about 40 of those homes still remain.
The log siding to Bruckner’s home may have come from timber cut on the original 33-acre lot. The logs were likely part of a façade when side-wing porches were later added. When constructed there were only dirt floors throughout – indoor plumbing wasn’t added until 1948.
Bruckner purchased the home, plus 13.5 acres, for $950 in 1955. A 12-foot x 24-foot log-style barn also existed on site.
Bruckner was born in Washington State in 1914 and married Lyolia Mihalos in 1937. He enlisted in the Army in December 1941, shortly after the United States entered World War II. A daughter, Marianne Benner Bruckner, died at age eight in 1945. After a divorce, he married Margaret Jean Marquette. Warren died in October 1996 and is buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Enumclaw.
Following his death, the Black Diamond Historical Society attempted to save the building, but its condition was too deteriorated. A 1997 news story incorrectly portrayed this log home as the old confectioner’s shop. The home was demolished circa 2006.
The property was platted in 2007 as the Eagle Creek housing development. Fittingly, two of the streets in Eagle Creek are named Bruckners Way and Bruckners Court, in tribute to the site’s long-time owner. This November 29, 1939, King County Assessor photo of tax lot 152106-9047 comes courtesy of the Puget Sound Regional Archives.
