Old Man House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Old-Man-House Site (45KP2)
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| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Nearest city | Suquamish, Washington |
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| Area | 1.1 acres (0.45 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 89002299 |
| Added to NRHP | January 12, 1990 |
Old Man House was a very large traditional home, called a "bighouse" or "longhouse," built by the Suquamish people. It was once the biggest longhouse in what is now the state of Washington. This important building stood right on the shore of Puget Sound.
Old Man House was the heart of the Suquamish winter village. This village was located on Agate Pass, just south of the modern-day town of Suquamish. Famous leaders like Chief Sealth (also known as Chief Seattle) and Chief Kitsap lived there.
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What's in a Name?
The Suquamish people had their own name for the village site where Old Man House stood. In their language, Lushootseed, it was called D'Suq'Wub (dxʷsuqʼʷabš). This means "clear salt water" and is where the name "Suquamish" comes from.
The name "Old Man House" comes from a special language called Chinook Jargon. In this language, "oleman" means "old" or "from the old times." The word "house" in Chinook Jargon could mean any building or even just a room. So, "Old Man House" meant a building from long ago.
A Look Back in Time
Scientists who study old sites, called archaeologists, have found that people lived at the Old Man House village for at least 2,000 years! This shows how important this place was to the Suquamish people for a very long time.
No one knows exactly when the huge longhouse itself was built. Many people think it was built in the late 1700s or early 1800s, but it might have been even older. The size of the longhouse is also a bit of a mystery. Reports say it was between 600 and 1,000 feet long (about 200 to 300 meters). Imagine a house that could be as long as three football fields!
Changes Over the Years
After the Treaty of Point Elliott was signed in 1855, the land around Old Man House stayed with the Suquamish tribe. This land became known as the Port Madison Indian Reservation.
However, in 1870, after Chief Seattle passed away, the U.S. government burned the longhouse. They did this to encourage the Suquamish people to spread out and start farming. Even after their main home was burned, the Suquamish rebuilt their village at the same spot and continued to live there.
Land Divisions and New Uses
In 1886, the government divided the reservation land into smaller pieces called "allotments." These pieces were given to individual Suquamish families.
Later, in 1904, the U.S. War Department bought land along Agate Pass, including the Old Man House site. They planned to build forts there to protect the new naval shipyards in Bremerton. Because of this, the Suquamish village had to move, and the tribe lost much of its access to the water.
The forts were never built. In 1937, the military sold the land to a private company, which then divided it into smaller plots for vacation homes.
Returning Home
In 1950, the Washington Parks and Recreation Department bought one acre of waterfront land where Old Man House had been. They made it a state park.
Then, on August 12, 2004, something special happened. The park land was officially given back to the Suquamish Tribe. This was an important moment, as it returned a significant historical site to its original caretakers.
See also
In Spanish: Casa del Anciano para niños
