Originally known as Summit, the highest point on the rail line between Maple Valley and Black Diamond, nearby Four Corners was created by the intersection of two roads. Surprisingly, the original intersecting roads were the Renton-Black Diamond (built around 1915 and now called SR 169) and the Danville Road (now Summit-Landsburg). A fifth road east towards Kangley produced a five-cornered intersection resulting in numerous auto accidents. The Summit-Landsburg Road was relocated to its present configuration in the early 1980s. The four main quadrants are labeled by direction from today’s main intersection.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the four corners were owned by the Belleman family (S.E.); Weyerhaeuser Timber (S.W.); Jim & Vivien Junivicz (N.W.); and Palmer Coking Coal Co. (N.E.). Guy N. and Myrtle (Neal) Belleman were the first to develop their property in the 1930s. The Belleman property supported a gas station and lunch counter which later became Four Corners Tavern and Café. The S.E. corner is now home to Safeway, Starbucks, McDonald’s, and many surrounding businesses. The Shop Fast Texaco station occupies the site where Belleman’s original gas pumps once stood.
Weyerhaeuser’s ownership of the S.W. sector derived from Carl Hanson’s White River Lumber Co, with whom they merged in 1949. The Hanson family operated their Summit mill in the 1890s, adjacent to the railroad tracks (R.R. R/W) seen in the upper left. That S.W. quadrant now supports Goodwill (originally Safeway), Key Bank, Four Corners Bar & Grill, Gino’s, with a 76 station on the corner.
At the time of this photo, the Junivicz family (also spelled Junevitch) lived in their home next to the sawmill they operated. Lumber and timber are scattered around the grounds. A second hand store and gas station stood on the corner now occupied by Dairy Queen. Later called the Four Corners Trading Post, the building was destroyed in a spectacular fire in 1978. Their N.W. corner was redeveloped by Ardis and Stan Johnson, whose family-owned Coast to Coast hardware store was later relocated and reimagined as Johnson’s Home & Garden center. This quadrant, known as Four Corners Square also hosts Walgreens, Panera, Grocery Outlet, and many others.
Palmer Coking Coal’s former mine office can be seen left of the letters, N.E. The company purchased the property in 1939 after moving from Durham to pursue new coal mining opportunities around Danville and Landsburg. The mine office was moved to this location shortly thereafter. The Danville road is above the letters, N.E. while Kent-Kangley is below, illustrating the awkward intersection with five corners. Further north along SR 169 were homes occupied by Palmer principals, Jack & Alice Morris, Bill & Nancy Morris, and George & Wilda Morris. The N.E. corner is now home to Hops & Drops, the Fred Meyer complex of businesses plus TRM Wood Products; while the former George Morris home site accommodates U.W. Medicine.
This 1955 photo by Guy W. Belleman was taken from an airplane he rented with a private pilot’s license. It comes courtesy of Teresa (Belleman) Reese, daughter of Guy W. & Nettie (Comer) Belleman, and granddaughter of Guy & Myrtle. Photo enhancement and labeling by Nick Haney, a Seattle photographer.
