Time & Again: 1989, a year that shaped Vashon

1989 was a watershed year for the world: The Berlin Wall fell, Tiananmen Square erupted, the Exxon Valdez disaster spilled more than 10 million gallons of crude oils, and The Simpsons premiered on Fox as a Christmas Special.

Just as these 1989 events continue to shape our world, Vashon also saw major events in 1989 that continue to shape the future of the island.

In 1989, the Washington State Ferry System built an extension for a passenger-only ferry at the north end dock, purchased the 230 passenger-only ferry “Skagit,” and at the beginning of the next year opened passenger-only ferry service from Vashon to downtown Seattle.

This was part of a “quiet ferry revolution” that, over the 1980s, saw Vashon ferry capacity for automobiles increase by 31% and passenger capacity increase by a whopping 66%. This increase in ferry usability and the passenger-only ferry, along with island housing costs that, at the time, were rising slower than Seattle’s housing market, helped to create the an early wave of gentrification on the island.

Three organizations formed in 1989 today help identify Vashon as a haven for the environmentally-conscious. The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, the Vashon Bird Alliance and the Vashon Island Growers Association were all created by islanders envisioning a more environmentally conscious island.

1989 also saw a spirited debate, across several community forums, over whether — in the words of attorney Bill Tobin — Vashon was to become a “Bedroom Community” or a “Farmer’s Republic.” Amid this spirited debate was a county-led effort to rename all the roads into a numeric grid.

Ultimately, a compromise was reached: Some roads retained their traditional names — such as Bank Road, Cemetery Road, Burma Road — and most became “SW xxx” for east-west roads and “xxx SW” for north-south roads. The development of Back Bay Inn in Burton roiled the island, as some residents bemoaned the end of turn-of-the-century homes to create an inn built in the same style, while others rejoiced at the opening of an inn with rooms for rent and a new restaurant.

As Vashon evolved into a more suburban community — today, it is more accurately termed exurban — 1989 saw a growing concern about the rising cost of housing beginning to price out many longtime residents, and the birth of two organizations trying to help.

Vashon HouseHold was created “to develop and steward affordable housing for low and moderate-income island residents in partnership with our community and an integrated network of social support organizations.” At the same time, Vashon Co-Housing was formed “premised on the belief that people are happier, healthier and more resilient if they live in community.”

These two affordable housing efforts were remarkably prescient, foreseeing the impact of gentrification on the island in the 1990s and accelerating until the COVID-19 pandemic kicked it into overdrive.

Vashon has always had a flourishing arts culture. Art was deeply embedded in the culture of the s ̌xwəbabs or Swift Water People, who inhabited Vashon-Maury Island since time immemorial. American settlement brought traditional Western arts to the island, and from the 1890s on, the island reputation as a haven for artists flowered with the formation of the Arts League after WWII and Vashon Allied Arts in 1966.

That reputation expanded and deepened in 1989, when UMO came to the island to expand Vashon’s reputation with movement arts, and when Kendall Campbell formed the Island Singers, which evolved into the highly respected Island Chorale.

Two other notable events occurred in 1989. First, Santa’s Cottage was built by a group of islanders to expand the celebration of the winter holidays, which began the tradition of what is today WinterFest. Second, Earl Van Buskirk became the owner of Bacchus Lumber, which he later renamed Island Lumber — a store which today rivals any of the “big box” lumber hardware stores off-island.

Vashon in 2025 is known for its strong environmental ethic, its evolving response to homelessness, gentrification and affordable housing, and its deeply embedded arts community. Now more than thirty years ago, 1989 was the year that focused many of the forces now defining these efforts, and the year that birthed many of the organizations leading that charge locally.

So why 1989?

Rapid population growth during the 1980s is one factor. The population increased 26% that decade — compared to 13% in the 1970s, 9% in the 1990s, 5% in the 2000s and 4% in the 2010s.

A growing urban professional demographic, an aging population (Vashon aged more quickly during the 1980s than the general population of King County, the state, and the nation), and rising education levels during that decade meant more expertise, organizational experience, and incentives to begin deep systematic change.

In 2025, the U.S. is seeing fundamental changes to what we consider “normal” politics, governance and the rule of law. But we cannot yet see all of the new organizations, projects and ways of thinking emerging this year, or precisely how they will shape the future.

Will future islanders look back on 2025 as a watershed year for Vashon? Only time will tell.

Bruce Haulman is an island historian. Terry Donnelly is an island photographer.