Ennis Creek, A look down from above

1887 photo of the mouth of Ennis Creek on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Photo from the Bert Kellogg collection, hosted by the North Olympic Library System.

The perspective above, of the mouth of Ennis Creek on the central Strait near present day Port Angeles, really intrigues me.  Not only does this photo date to 1887, which is an old image for this part of Washington, but it is also looking down on the creek mouth and hamlet from above...a somewhat rare perspective for old photos like this.  The area around the Ennis Creek mouth has been heavily used, and modified, over time: Originally a Klallam village site, then the settlement site for the Puget Sound Cooperative Colony (shown in the 1887 photo above), then utterly transformed by the construction of the Rayonier Mill in 1927.  The site is now home to the Olympic Discovery Trail, and also is the site of an active toxic clean-up program.  As a consequence, the landscape now looks very different:

September 18, 2020 photo of the mouth of Ennis Creek, looking down from bluffs to the west of the site.