Carmichael’s Hardware, Tollgate Farm Park honored by King County for historic preservation

Carmichael’s True Value Hardware in Snoqualmie was recognized by the King County Executive’s Office this month with a John D. Spellman award for achievement in historic preservation.

Store owner Wendy Thomas accepted the Spellman in the “legacy business” category during a ceremony held at the Si View Community Center on Dec. 7. Thomas and husband Bryan Woolsey purchased Carmichael’s back in 2002.

“We’ve felt honored, Bryan and I, to be the current curators of this artifact,” Thomas said after accepting the award, noting many owners and city leaders before her have contributed to keeping the 116-year-old building in good condition.

“The building’s continued existence is the result of the help and care of many.”

The annual Spellman Awards, now in their 22nd year, recognize achievements of historic preservation in King County. Award namesake John Spellman was the first King County Executive, a state governor and founder of King County’s historic preservation program in 1980.

Located in historic downtown Snoqualmie at the corner of River Street and Falls Avenue, Carmichael’s has gone through several iterations during its over-a-century life, but the rare independently-owned hardware store has remained a staple in the community. It is the oldest continuously operating business in Snoqualmie.

Brothers Otto and Dio Reinig founded the store in 1902 as the Reinig Brothers Store. The shop burned down five years later, but was rebuilt the same year.

The store got its current namesake after Betty and Dick Carmichael bought it in 1973. They ran Carmichael’s for nearly three decades.

Thomas and Woolsey, frequent customers of Carmichael’s, were both working at Issaquah Lumber Co. and living in North Bend when they came to the conclusion that they wanted to run a small-town hardware store. To their surprise, the Carmichaels agreed to the sale.

“This is a kind of gathering place for the Valley community,” Thomas said in a prior Valley Record article. “It’s kind of a vortex where everyone meets and visits.”

Carmichael’s Hardware during the snow on Nov. 29, 2022. Photo William Shaw/Valley Record.

Si View Parks Executive Director Travis Stombaugh talks about the restoration at Toltgate Farm Park during the John D. Spellman Awards.

Alongside Carmichael’s, the Si View Parks District was recognized with a Spellman Award in the “Restoration” category for the restoration of historic farm buildings at Tollgate Farm Park.

Si View restored a 1904 Queen Anne-style farmhouse on the northeast corner of the 410-acre park property, as well as an adjacent barn. The facilities will help the park retain its historic connection to agriculture by offering community classes, a farm stand and space for several small farmers.

The now-park was originally a prairie tended to by Snoqualmie Tribe members for hunting and gathering. European settlers began arriving in the 1850s. By 1867, Tollgate Farm had its first homesteaders, who were among the first in the upper Valley. The farm went on to become one of the region’s most successful dairy farms.

The farm got its name because of its location as a toll stop along the Snoqualmie Pass Wagon Road. The road opened in 1865 and became a toll road in 1883.

After the farm ceased operations, many of its buildings were neglected and deteriorated for over a span of 40 years. Developers started eyeing the property at the turn of the century for an office park and housing, but residents rallied to save it. The city and county purchased the land in 2001.

Tollgate Farm Park opened in 2015 and a year later, restoration work began on the farmhouse as they developed plans to restore the whole farmstead. Si View reopened and completed that work this year.

Si View Executive Director Travis Stombaugh said the vision for the restoration was to restore Tollgate farm to its original usage, as a place where residents could recreate, obtain food and come together as a community.

“We really just mimicked what’s always been there,” he said.