Excerpted from Seabeck. Tides's Out. Table's Set. Fredi Perry, 1993, Perry Publishing, Bremerton, WA.
The first human inhabitants of this area were of the native Twana (To-an-hooch) tribe, they seasonally camped and fished in the Seabeck and Big Beef Creek area. The name "Hood's Canal" was given to the fiord by Captain George Vancouver in 1792 when he explored the region for Britain from his ship the Discovery. Vancouver's scouting party probably first saw what is now called Big Beef Creek in May 1792 as they moved south to explore the canal. Forty nine years later, in May 1841, a mapping party from Lt. Charles Wilkes' US expedition charted the Big Beef harbor.
The earliest residents of Big Beef valley were Joseph Boyd and Tom Clark who, in 1857, cleared some land and farmed in the flat at the mouth of the creek. The name "Big Beef" was given the creek sometime between 1870-80. The name being a reference to the headwater area of the larger of the two creeks where Jacob Hauptly owned land and kept cattle to sell for meat to the Washington Mill Company in Seabeck. The smaller creek, just to the south, is known as "Little Beef," which presumably refers to the relative size of the creek and not the cattle!
In 1875, John Walton purchased land to build his home, farm and log in Big Beef valley, adjacent to Hauptly's property. At about this time, Peter Emel moved into Big Beef Valley and purchased two homesteads on Big Beef Creek where his family logged to supply Canal steamers with wood and sell to the mill in Seabeck.
The first bridge across the mouth of the Big Beef harbor was built on pilings for the county by Peter Emel in 1896. This bridge was used until 1916 when new piling was driven and the bridge replanked. The bridge was rebuilt again in 1942, and then again in 1965 when it was replaced with the present causeway structure.
Big Beef Harbor has always been a popular area for fish traps. In 1901, two traps were run by the Rosaw Straits Packing Company, that fall they took in over 6,600 fish. Indians also used to come to the Big Beef area and camp on the spit, harvesting and smoking salmon over campfires.
A brief history of the town of Seabeck.
The Big Beef Creek Fish Research Station was established by the University of Washington in 1965. Since then it has gone through several phases. These changes reflect the changes in fisheries management practices and research priorities through the 1970's and '80's
1965-1970
The effort of the 1960's and early '70's was on studies related to the basics of the life history of salmon, particularly chum salmon. Dr. Ernest Salo and his students studied the behavior of wild fish and applied this knowledge to fish culture, including the development of spawning channels, incubation boxes and hatcheries. Most of this research was supported by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), SeaGrant and Washington Department of Fisheries (WDF). The research done by graduate students Koski, Schroder, Duker and Beall is world renown.
1970-1975
This phase of station development emphasized the transition from freshwater culture to mariculture. Moring's and Abbott's work on pen rearing helped pioneer the pen-rearing programs of Domsea, the Squaxin Tribe, and the Weyerhaeuser's Ore-Aqua Foods, Inc. The integration of public, private and tribal enterprises was part of the Sea Grant Program.
1975-1980
The "Navy years" were focused on the study of the behavior of outmigrating juvenile salmon in Hood Canal. This work included the migrations, food habits and behavior under natural and affected circumstances. The original studies were done by Bax, Prinslow and Whitmus.
1980-1984
In 1980, plans were developed for a regional freshwater and saltwater fisheries research center that would have involved a consortium of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the NMFS, WDF, and UW. Final design for the Big Beef "super station" was pending and the final design for the Manchester Marine Laboratory was completed when all plans were scrapped overnight. This happened on Nov. 2, 1980 with the change in administration and the defeat of Senator Magnuson. The planning was not without benefits, however. The station was enhanced greatly by a complete property boundary and road access survey, weir improvements and the development of a 2000 gpm well-water system. The source of freshwater for the hatchery is now the heart of the station and the future depends on maintaining this resource.
After the abandonment of the super station concept, and with the loss of planning and development monies, the station suffered from lack of support. There was a continued interest on the part of NMFS and WDF in the use of the facilities and the water; however, WDF had no support. NMFS had some support and in 1981 NMFS and UW jointly constructed a 2600 ft pipeline from the well to the hatchery for a gravity/siphon well-water supply of 1000 gpm. In 1982-83 NMFS built a new hatchery and the station facilities continued to grow as a part of the demand for the available water.
1984-1985
In 1984, failing budgets forced the School of Fisheries to institute a Cost Center with a pay-as-you-use base. With the institution of the BBC cost center and deficit spending, the SOF managed to operate the station almost exclusively by means of selling surplus Atlantic salmon eggs given to the UW by NMFS. In mid 1984, the UW signed an agreement with Scan Am Fish Farms, a Norwegian-owned company, to rear Atlantic salmon fingerlings for transfer as smolts to their seawater net pens in May 1985.
In 1985 the station was running at capacity. WDF conducted research on juvenile chum salmon, using a wet laboratory that they constructed, the stream and the weir (which historically has been a joint venture). NMFS continued with their Atlantic salmon brood stock program as well as their chinook salmon egg bank project. There as some overlap with UW projects. The UW continued a chinook program (unfunded) because was an extension of the SeaGrant program, which terminated Dec. 31, 1984. UW also hatched and reared chum salmon in an unfunded cooperative program with WDF. It was essential to keep the chum stocks viable in face of a heavy fishery. The research on wild coho was principally a WDF program. This required the use of the weir and supporting facilities.
The primary station funding support was from sales of Atlantic salmon eggs and fry done under a memorandum of understanding with Scan Am Farms. This took virtually all the stationUs resources because it is a high-risk venture. The Atlantic salmon as a different animal, very difficult to rear in freshwater, but quite domesticated and docile in saltwater. These hurdles were overcome in the freshwater phase and the product was in demand.
Under construction, if you have any information to contribute, please contact the station at bbc@u.washington.edu