By Ruth Pickering

Special to the Record

The Fall City Historical Society is sponsoring a tour of the historic Isackson Sawmill from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Sept. 22.

One of the few family-owned sawmills still operating in King County was started in 1936 on the Redmond-Fall City highway by Henry Isackson. During the WWII period, the large mills were on government contracts, so Isackson could provide lumber for smaller commercial needs in the area. He was known for his talent with things mechanical. This paid off during the war, when he had a contract with a Kirkland shipyard to saw ironwood imported from Australia.

Ironwood is a very dense wood, strong and slow to rot, thus ideal for ships. Very few mills could handle ironwood because of its density, but Isackson adapted an engine for the mill carriage to move the wood very slowly past the saw blade, so the blade would not overheat.

His son Duane Isackson currently operates the mill. On the tour, Duane will talk about the mill and give a demonstration. Duane also has some logging artifacts and stories.

To get to the mill, drive from Fall City toward Redmond on Highway 202 about 12 miles, to the traffic light by the gas station at 244th Avenue Northeast. Turn left on 244th Avenue Northeast and Isackson Sawmill is visible from the road on the right side.

There is parking available, but carpooling is recommended.

For more information, contact Cindy Parks at (425) 444-6960 or go to the Fall City Historical Society Facebook page. Links to 2018 videos about the Isackson Sawmill, produced with funding from a Heritage 4Culture grant, can be found at www.fallcityhistorical.org.