| The Formosa Lodge, Fox Island, Washington |
The Formosa Lodge, Fox Island, Washington
In its lifetime, host to many tea drinkers at the A.-Y.-P. E and many young Christian women afterward.
The Tacoma Y.W.C.A. was chartered October 9, 1906. In 1909 it purchased property on Fox Island in Puget Sound just north of Tacoma, Washington. The property was purchased to accommodate the Formosa Tea House or “Japan Tea House” from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A.-Y.-P. E.) of 1909. The location was known as Camp Sylvan or “Miyajima”, The Lodge retained its official A.-Y.-P E. name, “Formosa,” but was changed from Tea House to Lodge as was the interior. A beautiful inset copy of the A.-Y.-P. E. seal was mounted over the fireplace. The seal was designed by Adelaide Hanscom Leeson and was the “Official Emblem” of the fair. (shown below)
After the close of the fair, the building was taken apart, moved and reassembled by Japanese American volunteers, who were assisted by the architect and builder. Around 1931 the lodge succumed to Northwest weather and was torn down. The Y. W. C. A. sold the property in 1936,
Miyajima Island is the popular name of Itsuku-shima Island, situated in Hatsukaichi City in southwestern Hiroshima, Japan. The name Miyajima seems to be associated with Japanese hostels around the World.
We were advised by the Fox Island Historical that the Lodge was located on Baker Cove shown on the map below. The Formosa Lodge was mentioned in "Fox Island, A History" by Alexis MacDonald,1982 and in The Gig Harbor "Gateway" June 27, 1984, p.17. Thanks Birdie!!
OBM: 6/19/2008 rev 7/08
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| From the booklet Japan Exhibits |
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| The Site map has been damaged from being glued into a scrap book. The Formosa Tea House location is shown at the top of the page. |
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| A view of the Formosa Tea House at the Exposition. |
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| Inside the Tea House, May we bring you tea? |
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| The Arcade, Fair visitor’s and Japanese Geisha’s ready for Tea time. |
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| FORMOSA LODGE – The central building of the summer home of the Tacoma Young Women’s Christian Association, Miyajima, Fox Island, Washington. A structure from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition reassembled on Fox Island |
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| Formosa Lodge – Strictly modern central building of the Tacoma Y.W.C.A., summer home, Miyajima, Fox Island, Washington. |
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| A Sabbath Vesper Hour in the open – Tacoma Y.W.C.A. Summer Home. Puget Sound in the background. |
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| Burning Logs, Twilight Dreams, Friendship’s Tryst. – View in Living Room, Y.W.C.A. Camp, Sylvan, Washington. |
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| A beautiful inset copy of the A.-Y.-P. E. seal was mounted over the fireplace. The seal was designed by Adelaide Hanscom Leeson and was the “Official Emblem” of the fair. |
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| Boulder Beach was one of the two waterfront recreation areas used by Miyajima campers, lying below and just east of the main pavillion. The other was a small sandy cove to the immediate west. Behind these YWCA leaders on retreat is the two-story white house built by George L. Buck, circa 1910, later the home of his daughter Frances and her husband, F.W. Ward, for 60 years. To the left of the Buck home is the Grandpa Baker property. |
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| The Red and Black Torii Gate on the grounds of Camp Miyajima stood on the cliff’s edge overlooking Hales Passage, with a view of the Cromwell area and and entrance to Wollochet Bay. The group shown here, the Thursday Night Girls’ Club, is one of the Groups that made use of the unique YWCA summer site in it’s 30-plus years of activity. |
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| Post Card Issued by The Fox Island Historical Society Museum. View from a glass negative by Ray Bixby. An unknown Event in 1912. |
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| The Associated Tea Guild of Shidzuoka-Ken. |
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| Card probably purchased at the Japan Tea House. |
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| The Trees are hand painted on this Post Card. The AYPE Emblem sticker was added to a Japanese Post Card from the Fair Ground before mailing to Oklahoma. |
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| Exposition Station was the Post Office on the Fair Grounds. Many such cards were sold at the Japan Exhibits Building and the Formosa Tea House. |
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| Loyal, Temperance, Legion, Tremble King Alcohol, We shall Grow Up, W.C.T.U. Headquarters hand Stamp. |
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| Anna Gordon, Japanese Fund |
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Without a doubt many of the young women pictured above became staunch supporters and or activist's of the Women?s Christian Temperance Union. The success of the WCTU movement was largely due to the 5 Million dollars donated by John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller made the donation gambling that the women would be successful in their fight against alcohol. The reason, he was in a battle with Henry Ford for control of the primary fuel to be used for automobiles. Ford and all other automobile manufacturers around the World were designing their autos to run on any combustible fuel.
Henry Ford favored alcohol, after all there wasn't a farmer in the World who didn't produce alcohol to some degree or another. John D. favored gasoline because he thought it was a market he could control. He certainly couldn't control alcohol production. There was only one way to stop alcohol --- women. They were successful in getting alcohol as a controlled substance.
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United made it illegal for citizens to privately produce alcohol. Alcohol was the primary fuel of the Model T Ford and Rockefeller wanted to sell his Gasoline across the nation. With alcohol available cheap at most any farm who need gasoline? By criminalizing alcohol Rockefeller became the Worlds largest combustible fuel provider. For more on this subject see www.permaculture.com
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| Fox Island off Enan Road at 817 Fox Drive. |
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| Pam Fick a 30 year resident sent this picture. It shows where the women from the camp swam in the cove. The houses shown now occupy the area where the camp was on the North & East side of Fox Island. The exact spot is the where the light beige house on the left side of the picture now sits. A creek flowed where the first house on the left sits, then the next house is where the camp was situated. |
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