October 11, 2026
Back by Popular Demand!
Matt McCauley at Homestead Park |
Beneath the Surface: 45 Years of SCUBA Diving into Mercer Island's History
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Matt will focus on the Island's history from the perspective of the relics, wrecks (navy planes, parts of the ferry Dawn) and natural features he's discovered on the lake floor since 1979 when he began scuba diving in the waters off Mercer Island as a sophomore at the high school. Recently he found a milk bottle from Kristoferson's Dairy off the north end of Luther Burbank park.
After logging much of the Island in the 1890's, the settlers claimed the land for pasture. Alfred Kristoferson bought ten acres at what is now Homestead Field for his dairy. It was one of the Island's first dairy farms and it's likely that Kristoferson's Dairy was the first regional business of significance founded on Mercer Island. Read more about the early dairies on the Island and the important part they played in settling the Island in our history book, From Haunted Wilderness to Coveted Community.
More Trivia: Did you know the Northern Pacific Railway was awarded large land holdings on the southeast side of the south tip of the Island around the Beach Club area?
Why was the NP awarded land on MI, which is not only an island but is nowhere near a rail right-of-way? Because they could. Real estate brokers George Flood and John Dunney as well as early Island developers tried unsuccessfully to buy the land from NP. There is also a letter from a "Person" in the NP files - that would be one of the three Person brothers who started that first dairy. Ernie Person and John Dunney went on to become great friends.
Matt McCauley moved to Mercer Island at age 11, graduating from Mercer Island High school in the class of 1982. As scuba diving high schoolers, Matt and Jeff Hummel made headlines for recovering World War II aircraft from the bottom of Lake Washington. Matt has continued his explorations since then and has written extensively about Eastside history.
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Thanks to community donations, we have digitized 38 years of the Mercer Island Reporter: 1968 — 2005, accessible for free on-line — at mih.stparchive.com. A special thank you to the donors who've contributed to our digitization project: Cyclemates Bike, the Kiwanis Club of Mercer Island, the Mercer Island Rotary Club and the Mercer Island Community Fund. |
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