The Kelley Farm House

house was built by John Ezra Kelley as a wedding gift for his bride, Miss Sadie Crader in 1907. John was the eldest son of William Barton Kelley, the farm's founder, who claimed the land in 1864. Sadie was from Minnesota and came to Washington just to marry John even though he was considerably older than her. 

It was customary during this time for couples to meet via letters of introduction sent by family and friends. This was especially true for young men in search of wives in the far west. The wild nature of life in the west made for an uneven number of men to women. Courtships often occurred through the post office and couples met face to face for the first time just days prior to the wedding. Many believe this was the case with John and Sadie Kelley.   

Sadie loved flowers and the rhododendron's she planted in front of the Kelley Farm house bloomed each spring as the large family gathered on the wide front porch to celebrate. The farm stayed in the family until 2001 when it was sold to T & S Properties. The original house still stands and is generally known as the oldest home in Bonney Lake. 

The Kelley Farm has been in the local news many times in the past decade because of the competing priorities between the property owner's development plans and local citizen's love for its rich history and valuable natural resources as a wetland. 

Traditions change, however the Kelley Farm House wants to stay in tune with the customs of matrimony. Just as it was tradition to build a home for your new bride in the early 1900's, it is a more current custom to find a very romantic, perhaps historic, and well-groomed rural location for your wedding today. The Kelley Farm now has a Facebook page that advertises its merits as a wonderful historic location to have your modern wedding.   

Current trends of meeting partners online are often described as cold, removed and only for the out of touch. But one could certainly argue that meeting your spouse through an online dating site is very similar if not exactly the same as an old fashioned courtship through the mail. Perhaps things happen faster today, and it is easier to travel but my great grandparents courted through the mail for over a year. They met face to face only once for a few hours and then for the week prior to their wedding. They were happily married for 57 years!