The Dirt on Fairhaven
How a historical neighborhood was preserved through its culture, legends and architecture.
Story by MADISYN ALEXANDER| Photos by Kelly Pearce
Hastily paddling his rowboat into Bellingham Bay comes a bearded, greasy-haired, rotten-smelling man in a formal top hat and suspenders. It was unscrubbed “Dirty Dan” arriving to claim Fairhaven as his own.
Fairhaven has been inhabited by an array of eccentric characters over the years who have helped shape the local culture and inspired much of the notable architecture. The neighborhood was first occupied by Salish peoples, who used the land to hunt, gather and fish.
According to Jackie Lynch, a city planner for Bellingham since 1989, Fairhaven appealed to these first visitors because it provided a calm place to anchor. This was due to the winds coming in from the Southwest, consequently blocked by the forested hills of Sehome and South Hill. This made traveling easy for Daniel J. Harris, better known as “Dirty Dan” for his infrequent bathing, who officially established the neighborhood when he appeared in May, 1854.
Dan named the location after a Salish name, “see-see-lich-em”, for its native meanings of “safe port”, “quiet place” or “fair haven.”
After his arrival, “Dirty Dan” was first introduced to John Thomas, who already owned property along Padden Creek. Upon Thomas’ death, “Dirty Dan” took over his land and began claiming nearby properties in return for gold.
“Dirty Dan’s” increased wealth initiated the development of commercial buildings in Fairhaven. It allowed him to introduce new businesses, like the three-story hotel Dan later built at the foot of Harris Avenue, a street Dan named after himself. Yet the area still contains industrial land to this day, according to Jackie.
Fairhaven generated a surplus of jobs during the 19th century, mostly manufacturing jobs that provided more stability for the middle class in the area. Fairhaven was also one of the larger ports along the Pacific Northwest for logging and coal mining.
Fairhaven in 1854 was a raw land and microcosm of westward conquest, according to Jackie. Photographs of the city’s streets from the 1870s and 1880s show an excess of trees and few inhabitants. It was also the end of the frontier between Fairhaven and the City of Bellingham, which became united in 1903.
“Being in the Northwest, we were the last area that was conquered,” Jackie declared. “The waves have changed that have hit since then [in terms of social] and technological changes, like the railway coming through… making trading cheap as snot in comparison to prior methods of transportation. Then the freeway [arrived] and it became the cap on it all because you could live and migrate to cities within an hour or two.”
By 1889, “Dirty Dan” sold his claims to Nelson Bennett and C.X. Larrabee, developers with the idea of expanding Fairhaven to the same extent of surrounding cities, like Seattle and Tacoma. Their contributions to the neighborhood inducted them into Fairhaven’s cast of characters.
Scott Ward, executive director of the Historic Fairhaven Association, describes these pivotal people as characters whose stories have impacted the community.
“‘Dirty Dan’ was one of those characters who was dedicated to creating a livable, community-oriented city, but he was also a very difficult person to deal with,” Scott said. “[He was] driven and had a clear idea of what he wanted and that can rub people the wrong way.”
Despite Dan’s drive, the neighborhood never reached the capacity of a city. This was due to economic booms and busts on both a regional and national scale, such as the growth of the local salmon canning industry and The Great Depression.
Fairhaven is now a serene historic district known for its luxurious boutiques, educational and cultural artifacts. Visitors can discover its past through the preservation of cracked, red brick construction. Equally revealing are the intricate wall murals that show scenes of Harris Avenue in 1927 and the statues of imperative figures like “Dirty Dan” or J.J. Donovan, found on street benches.
“The only way for a community to keep its culture and be unique is to have historic buildings,” Jackie explained while excitedly throwing her arms up. “You can imagine any strip mall, blink and even if you suddenly transferred over a number of states you wouldn’t necessarily know you’d moved. They all look the same: bleak, awful and cookie cutter… [Downtown Fairhaven’s] buildings anchor you to who, what and where you are.”
A simple walk through Fairhaven reveals the realities of its past residents and helps tourists and locals alike understand the cultural context and history of the ground they’re walking on. In fact, Scott thinks of Fairhaven as a rich story the community is still continuing to write.
“A place like Fairhaven that has a deep sense of history allows for [education] to be more personal,” Scott said. “I’m becoming a part of the same story that’s been going on for a long time. People who choose to live here and participate in Fairhaven as business owners, residents or neighbors have that same sense of [involvement].”