Tonjes H. Havekost
Original Photo
The original photo used as reference for the mural was photographed by an unknown photographer in circa 1900.
Donated by Linda Oppe, 1999
Tonjes Henry Havekost was December 25, 1840 in Germany. He was the son of Anna Ahlers and Gerd Havekost.
He came to the United States in 1866 or 1867 and was one of the first settlers in Skagit County in the 1870s. He settled in Burrows Bay on hundreds of acres of land, and at one point he held over 400 acres of land. In 1891, he built a 2-story hotel with 26 sleeping apartments. After his death, the hotel was enlarged and used as a boarding house by the Amsberry family for the E.K. Wood Mill.
T. H. never married but his nephew J. H. Havekost was an on and off resident of Anacortes.
Before his death, he instructed his executors to build a granite monument from the money that came from the sale of his land, as long as it did not exceed $10,000. This monument would mark his final resting place and would be placed on his land that overlooks Burrows Bay. This was all on the condition that the city used the land for park purposes and kept the monument in good repair. A total of 220 acres of Havekost’s land now makes up Washington Park and his monument sits overlooking his beloved land.
T. H. Havekost passed away on December 18, 1911 in Anacortes, Washington and is buried at Washington Park.
