Barnes Point is an ancient landslide delta that juts out into

Lake Crescent Lake Crescent is a deep lake located entirely within Olympic National Park in Clallam County, Washington, United States, approximately west of Port Angeles on U.S. Route 101 and nearby to the small community of Piedmont. At an official maxim ...

Clallam County Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 78,209 in 2021. The county seat and largest city is Port Angeles; the county as a whole comprises the ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. As one of the few areas of relatively flat ground near Lake Crescent, it hosts Lake Crescent Lodge, the Storm King Ranger Station of Olympic National Park, as well as several private homes. It also contains the trails which access

Mount Storm King Mount Storm King is located within the Olympic National Park about 20 miles west of Port Angeles, Washington. The mountain is located on the south side of Lake Crescent near Barnes Point, and has an elevation of . The trail to the summit st ...

Marymere Falls Marymere Falls is located in Olympic National Park near Lake Crescent in Washington, United States. The falls are accessed by a one-mile, well-maintained, dirt trail through old-growth lowland forest consisting of fir, cedar, hemlock, and alder ...

, and Barnes Creek. Barnes Creek flows through an

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, providing spawning habitat for the

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Crescent cutthroat trout. The ten acres of land between Rosemary Inn and Lake Crescent Lodge were owned by businessman Thomas Aldwell until 1940. There was a main house three guest cabins, work shed and horse barn. The property was purchased in 1942 by James C deWilde, a retired Dutch banker from Shanghai. His wife's father was from India where he served as Colonel of the Bengal Lancers. During his time at Barnes point, deWilde wrote two books about the resurgence of Islam in Asia. Two other authors also lived at Barnes Point. Margaret Merrill wrote the classic "Bears in my Kitchen" and her husband Bill ( a park ranger) published a guide to fishing and camping. Bill Merrill was the first ranger to wear side arms and the first nations gave him the moniker "two gun". During the World War deWilde served as the blackout warden in case of enemy action. Emil deWilde and his new wife came to Barnes Point from the Netherlands in 1947. Emil had served in the Dutch underground during the war and had been captured and tortured by the Nazis. His health was poor due to starvation and the extreme quiet was helpful for emotional recovery. Emil and his father started Lake Crescent Nursery on the site. By 1949, 13 people lived on the property including a nanny from Scotland, field hands from Oklahoma and the two families. In 1953 the Park service purchased the property and the house and barn were demolished. Two of the cabins were floated across the lake to Log Cabin resort where they remain in use to this day. Barnes Point and Barnes Creek take their name from Paul Barnes, who settled at the point in 1890.

References

Landforms of Clallam County, Washington Landforms of Olympic National Park {{ClallamCountyWA-geo-stub