The History of Ames Lake

John Ames and the Ames Family

December 7, 2025 / Leslie

The Ames family has an early connection to the Snoqualmie Valley, particularly around Ames Lake (named after them).

In the early 1900s, John Ames settled in the area, a few decades after the first homesteaders arrived in the community that would become Tolt (now Carnation).

When Ames Lake was an undeveloped pond

When John Ames lived in the Valley, Ames Lake was still an undeveloped natural pond. The surrounding hills and riverbanks were sparsely settled. Travel depended almost entirely on trails, wagon roads, and the river itself.

Ames saw a chance to build a small local business. The rural-yet-accessible location near the Snoqualmie and Tolt Rivers gave him both homestead potential and a business opportunity.

Ames’ cable ferry across the Snoqualmie River

Recognizing the need for a river crossing before modern roads, Ames established a cable ferry across the Snoqualmie River and provided lodging for travelers and visitors at his resort hotel, the “Blue Front,” where he hosted paying guests.

A community around the lake

John Ames created early attention to a part of the Snoqualmie Valley that might otherwise have remained undeveloped for many years. He helped set the stage for what would become a community around the lake.

History of Snoqualmie Valley Roads

October 3, 2025 / Leslie

As the lower Snoqualmie Valley floor was cleared of forest, farms were developed through the 1860s to the 1880s, providing a variety of crops to local markets. For several decades, these crops were transported to market via flat-bottomed river steamboats.

Up until the early 20th century, area residents crossed the Snoqualmie River in personal small crafts, or at strategic ferry landings. In the village of Tolt, a cable-operated ferry was situated on the river at the Ames Landing site, now MacDonald Park and West 40th Street.

Roads were built for wagons and cattle, as well as coal and lumber activities. These early roads were crude and seasonally impassible due to heavy snow, rain, and mud.

West Snoqualmie Valley Road

In the late 1880s, population growth in the Snoqualmie Valley spurred the construction of the first north-south wagon road. It traveled down the east side of the valley, running north toward Snohomish City.

Snoqualmie Valley Road was largely in place by 1890. New dwellings and barns were constructed along the road at the valley’s edge, rather than on the valley floor. The settlements of Fall City, Tolt (Carnation), Novelty, and Cherry Valley (Duvall) benefited from this road, now SR 203.

By 1912, the road continued along the hillside south of Novelty to the little settlement of Vincent and beyond.

Along this road, westside farm children could walk to the Vincent Schoolhouse (now a King County Landmark), overlooking the Snoqualmie Valley at NE 80th Street. The one-room school served grades one through eight until 1942.

In 1932, West Snoqualmie Valley Road proceeded along the length of the valley. Carnation Farm Road was also improved by that date and has the same configuration as it does today.

Sources: King County records, King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project

The History of Hiking at Ames Lake Forest

September 3, 2025 / Leslie

Hiking at Ames Lake Forest began with Native American trails and was significantly shaped by the logging industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which cleared the land and left behind remnants of old logging routes that became informal trails.

In the mid-20th century, following logging and replanting, the Evergreen Mountain Bike Club established new trails, which King County Parks later improved, creating the current hiking, biking, and equestrian trails used today.

Indigenous Trails and Early European Impact

Native American Trails:

Before European settlement, Indigenous peoples, such as the Tuobeda’bš, used trails in the area for hunting, trade, and ceremonies.

Logging:

From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, logging operations heavily influenced the landscape. Logs were moved via flumes and skid roads, the remnants of which could be seen in the area, creating a de facto network of trails.

20th-Century Development and Trail Creation

Replanting:

Following extensive logging, the area was replanted, primarily with Douglas Fir trees.

The Evergreen Mountain Bike Club:

In more recent decades, mountain bikers from the Evergreen Mountain Bike Club created and improved trails in the area, laying the groundwork for current recreational use.

Snoqualmie Valley – Images of America

August 21, 2025 / Leslie

This collection of photographs and archive materials introduces the rich history of the communities in the Snoqualmie Valley, where Ames Lake is located.

The book was created as a collaboration between the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, Snoqualmie Valley Museum, Fall City Historical Society at Carnation, and Duvall Historical Society. It was published in July 2025 and will be sold at the local historical societies. Or you can buy it online.

The proceeds from the sale of the book support the organizations that collect, preserve, and share our communities’ histories.

Our First Ames Lake Website

July 13, 2025 / Leslie

This is an image of a 2003 Ames Lake newsletter. Members were encouraged to post stories on our first community website.

Ferries Across the Snoqualmie River

July 5, 2025 / Leslie

Until the 1890s, there were no bridges over the Snoqualmie River, so people used canoes to cross it.

As more wagons and teams came onto the scene, ferries emerged. One of the first was owned by James Duvall. It was located where the Woodinville-Duvall bridge is now.

Some ferry crossings were operated using a system of ropes or cables to pull the vessel across the river. Passengers pulled the ropes to assist the operator.

The Fall City ferry, built in 1885, was a wooden, cable-operated ferry used to get across the river into town.

In the early 1900s, John Ames established a cable ferry at the current site of MacDonald Park and West 40th Street.

Water transportation remained important for commercial and passenger travel until the railroad’s arrival in 1910. The development of roads and bridges eventually led to the decline of ferry crossings on the Snoqualmie River.