By the mid-1880s the area that would become Langley had pretty much been clear-cut for cords of firewood to power the steamer ferries, and the brush was transported to Seattle to help fill in the dock areas.
Tree stumps dotted the streets, and roads were muddy most of the year. When Jacob Anthes created his vison for a town, he started by planting dozens and dozens of maple trees in 1891 all around the fledgling village.
In some of the photos the tree trunks are painted white – an old-time method of protecting young trees.
