Cumberland City Hall Saloon & Eatery - "Ain't No City Bar"
Cumberland, Wa is a little town about 9 miles NE of Enumclaw, WA on the Veazie Cumberland Road. The "City Hall Saloon & Eatery" building located there has served a number of functions for the mining town of Cumberland since its construction in 1893. Originally, Fred Nolte, the founding father of Cumberland, built it as a hotel.
In 1887 Nolte filed a homestead claim on the northern quarter of Section 28 that includes the present town site. He had settled in the area about 1883 and owned 160 acres surrounding Deep Lake (now known as Nolte State Park). Aware of the geological wealth of the Cumberland area, Nolte was instrumental in opening up a number of coalmines, most notably the prolific Carbon Mine. After finding a good seam of coal on his land, Nolte would lease or sell to a coal company who could mine the coal.
With the coming of the railroad around 1890 the settlement became a town and mining center. To house the miners coming to work the new seams, this is the only standing hotel left of the many that were built. A daily passenger train ran through Cumberland with the railroad depot located just behind the Cumberland Hotel, sporting an elevated ramp connected to a platform directly to the hotel.
A 1911 Polk Director shows John Daniels as proprietor of the Cumberland Hotel in that year. The hotel also served as a grocery store and post office until Joe and Elizabeth Paschich built the present Cumberland Grocery in 1916. Local lore has it that the hotel served as a brothel during a shadier period of its history.
For much of the last century the building has served as a tavern. It was owned by Mike Kaikovich from 1931 to 1969 and was known as “Big Mike’s”.
It is now know as the “City Hall Saloon and Eatery” and is run by owners Jeff and Shawn Benchley. It has become a popular place for bikers each Thursday, and live music can be enjoyed on the weekends.
Cumberland Saloon and Eatery
314th Way SE – Cumberland, WA 98022
360-886-0569
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