Kitsap County Historical Society

Silverdale Kitsap County Historical Society

Sa'quad, meaning "spear it," is one of the names used by the Suquamish tribe to refer to the Clear Creek camping ground, the estuary, and all of Dyes Inlet. In the 1850s, William Littlewood was the first settler in the Clear Creek area. The town site was platted in 1889, adopting the name Silverdale a year later. The principal industry was logging, which evolved into chicken ranching and farming, aided by the first in a series of cooperative stores. The fastest mode of transportation at that time was the steamboats of the Mosquito Fleet. W. T. Gaffner built the first store, including a post office. Record-setting shipments of poultry and eggs caused the local newspaper editor to report: "From Silverdale the cackle of hens was heard round the world." Silverdale organized the first fire department in the county and within 50 years became the shopping center of the peninsula.