Land transfer could boost historic farm

King County owns the 5.18 acre chunk of land on Green River Road, and the City of Auburn wants it to add to the Mary Olson Farm to the immediate south.

Should the King County Council agree to part with this section of the North Green River Park following a public hearing this month, city officials say the farm will have enough land for a parking lot and other amenities to serve it in perpetuity.

King County Council members will hold the hearing on the proposed land transfer land from county to city at 1:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 13, in Room 1001 of the King County Courthouse.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 60-acre Mary Olson Farm made up of seven buildings, including a barn and farmhouse, a century-old orchard, a year-round stream with two salmon runs and generous pastures and woodlands.

White River Valley Museum Director Patricia Cosgrove, who is overseeing the farm’s restoration, was unavailable for comment.

But other officials spoke enthusiastically about what the acquisition would mean to the Mary Olson Farm restoration project.

“There’s a flat area there with a gentle rise at the back where you can put parking,” said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. “And if you walk through it, it takes you to the back of the barn. As we guide tours through there, we will take them into the park and show them some of the high technology of the 1800s farmhouse and then open the big giant sliding doors for each tour. What that means is that no one will ever drive in again to the Olson Farm.”

Lewis said there is one section that was once part of the original farmland and that when it is fixed up it will be “a wonderful place to introduce an old style farm crop back to the land.

“Our plan is to block off Mary Olson Farm totally from the road,” Lewis said.

The Auburn community has raised more than $1.4 million of the $1.6 million needed to restore the farm and open it to the public. Private foundations and public agencies such as the City of Auburn, King County and Washington State, organizations such as the Auburn Soroptimists and private donates have provided funds.If King County OKs the transfer, ownership of the property would pass to the city within 30 days after the effective date of the agreement.

Copies of the proposed ordinance are available upon request from the Clerk of the King County Council, Room W-1039, King County Courthouse, 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 or by calling 206-296-1020.

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