Des Moines Beach Park: History

Long before the first European ships sailed into Puget Sound, the shoreline around today's park was an important gathering place for the ancestors of the Muckleshoot and Duwamish peoples, who traveled from villages in nearby river valleys to seasonal camps along Des Moines Creek, where salmon returned to spawn each year. They set up shelters made of poles and woven mats, fished the creek, and dug up clams along the beach. Archaeologists have discovered ancient piles of discarded shells near the creeks, evidence that people gathered and cared for this place for countless generations. Archaeological and physical evidence suggest that the first people in the Puget Sound region arrived over 13,000 years ago.

Today, visitors can still catch a glimpse of the wildlife that has long called this shoreline home. Keep an eye out for harbor seals bobbing offshore, great blue herons stalking the shallows, bald eagles soaring overhead, and, if you're visiting in the fall, salmon making their remarkable journey up Des Moines Creek to spawn. As you watch the tide roll in, it's not hard to imagine what this coastline looked like centuries before roads, marinas, and neighborhoods transformed the landscape.

Ever wondered where Puget Sound got its name?

In 1792, British naval officer Captain George Vancouver arrived in the Pacific Northwest to resolve a territorial dispute with Spain and continue Britain's exploration of the region. Sailing aboard the HMS Discovery, he entered the inland waters near what is now Puget Sound and sent his second lieutenant, Peter Puget, to explore farther south while he continued the journey himself.

As Vancouver passed the site of present-day Des Moines, he noticed smoke rising from the shoreline. Indigenous people were intentionally burning underbrush to flush out deer for hunting, which was a common land management practice at the time. During the expedition, Vancouver named the southern reaches of the waterway Puget's Sound in honor of his lieutenant. Cartographers later extended the name to encompass the entire body of water we know today as Puget Sound.

Today, many people use the term Salish Sea to refer to the body of water that extends into the U.S.-Canada border and includes Puget Sound as well as the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the San Juan Islands. The name, which honors the Coast Salish people who were the first to live in the region, was proposed in 1989 to reflect the entire cross-border ecosystem. Washington State and British Columbia officially recognized the name in 2009.

Pioneers Settle the Region

By the late 1800s, Washington had become one of the nation's great logging regions, and communities were beginning to spring up along the shores of Puget Sound. In 1889, a group of settlers and investors from Des Moines, Iowa, founded the town of Des Moines, naming it after the Midwestern city they had left behind.

The towering Douglas firs and cedars that blanketed the surrounding hills fueled a booming timber industry, and the Des Moines Creek valley became part of that story. French Canadian loggers hauled massive logs through the forest with teams of oxen, while sawmills sprang up near the creek's mouth to process timber for the growing cities of the Pacific Northwest. Before trucks hauled timber, enormous tree trunks traveled downhill through wooden flumes—long troughs filled with rushing water—and steep logging chutes on their way to waterfront mills.

Meanwhile, steamships from the famous Mosquito Fleet carried lumber, passengers, mail, and supplies between waterfront communities, making Puget Sound the region's transportation network long before highways existed. In 1909, a new dock was built at the end of S. 227th Street, near the site of today's Anthony's HomePort, further cementing Des Moines' connection to the water.

Dance Hall Days and a Historic Ferry

In 1916, the enterprising Neal brothers, a local family that had already established the local telephone company and operated a bus line connecting Des Moines with Seattle, converted an unfinished lumber mill into a waterfront dance hall. That same year, the King County Ferry System began running an automobile ferry between Des Moines and Vashon Island. The first of its kind in the region, it could carry 40 cars and 200 passengers. Among other benefits, it helped the island's farmers transport produce and goods to canneries inland.

Throughout the 1920s, visitors traveled from around the region to enjoy evenings of dancing, dining, and beachfront recreation in Neal's Pavilion, perched over Puget Sound. It marked the beginning of the property's transformation from a working waterfront into a destination where people came to relax and cut loose.

An Outdoor Paradise for Orphaned Children

Not every chapter in the park's history was shaped by industry. One of its most enduring stories began with a couple whose mission was to give vulnerable children a safe, joyful place to grow up.

Herman and Annie Draper, known affectionately as "Daddy" and "Mother" Draper, opened the Children's Industrial Home in Des Moines in 1908. Their orphanage welcomed children from all backgrounds and was believed to be the only self-supporting children's home in the country, relying on the children's work and talents rather than government or church funding. The children attended public school and trained in trades such as printing, contributing to a press they produced and sold. Draper's main focus, however, was music. The children honed their musical skills and toured the country as "The Jolly Entertainers," performing concerts that raised money to support the orphanage while exposing them to places and experiences they might never otherwise have seen.

Around 1917, the Drapers purchased the wooded land along Des Moines Creek to create a campground and playground for the children in their care. They filled in an old mill pond and added swings, tent platforms, and a picnic shelter, creating a peaceful retreat where children could spend their days. The grounds were later opened for community picnics and gatherings. After Herman and Annie Draper passed away in 1927—just five days apart—the Children's Home closed, but the property soon began another chapter.

A Church Community Creates an Enduring Gathering Place

In 1931, the North Pacific Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church purchased both Draper Park and Neal's Pavilion, creating Covenant Beach Camp. For decades, families, youth groups, and church congregations from across the Pacific Northwest gathered here for summer camps, retreats, worship services, and community events. Many of the historic buildings that define Des Moines Beach Park today were constructed during this era. Most of the church members were Swedish immigrants or their descendants, and the buildings they built were heavily influenced by Scandinavian craftsmanship traditions. The Dining Hall, completed in 1935, was designed by Marvel Johnson, then just 20 years old and one of the earliest women to graduate from the University of Washington's architecture program. Connected to it is the charming Kaffe Stuga, whose Swedish-inspired details remain a distinctive feature of the park.

Meanwhile, Neal's Pavilion found yet another purpose as the camp's tabernacle, accommodating up to 1,000 worshippers during busy summer weekends. After the beloved waterfront structure was destroyed by fire in 1954, a new auditorium was built farther inland in 1957. Today, Beach Park Event Center continues to host weddings, concerts, art exhibits, and community events, carrying on the park's long tradition as a gathering place.

In 1986, the City of Des Moines purchased the 20-acre property and its 630 feet of Puget Sound shoreline, ensuring it would remain a public park for future generations. Rather than replacing the historic camp buildings, the city chose to preserve them. That commitment led to the property's addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, recognizing its unique role in the region's history.

Today, visitors can still wander past many of the original cabins, the Dining Hall, and the beautifully restored Auditorium, all set against the backdrop of towering evergreens just steps from the beach. Whether you're enjoying a picnic, attending a wedding or concert, exploring the tidepools, or watching the sun set over Puget Sound, you're experiencing a place that has continually brought people together for generations.