Lake Tapps Power House Landmark Sign Has History of it's Own

The Lake Tapps Power House on East Valley Highway has been in the community for over 100 years, but now .

“This power plant is somewhat the icon of our entire project,” said Lloyd Warren, board chair for Cascade Water Alliance. “People used to drive past it and never know what it was used for, but now people will know its historical significance and that Cascade is here and part of the community.”

The cedar wood sign details "future" plans for Lake Tapps – as they were advertised decades before.

Robyn Bopp-Sullivan, a mortgage banker from Lake Tapps, used to drive past the sign all the time, when it was displayed near Top Foods on Lake Tapps Parkway. She became so fascinated with the history of the old signs surrounding the lake that she knew she should save at least one of them.

"I would drive past them every day and watched them fall apart over time," said Bopp-Sullivan. She claimed ownership of the sign and started researching how to restore it.

Bopp-Sullivan eventually got in touch with Jim Wickens, the woodworking and design teacher at Auburn Riverside High School. Wickens took on the project and put it to his students to restore the dilapidated sign.

The original sign ended up being too rotted to be salvaged, so Wickens purchased rough-cut cedar and, with Sam Grosse and a handful of other students in the school's woodworking club, recreated the sign in 2004.

After about two years of work, the new/old sign was given to Lake Tapps Middle School, where it has been since 2006.

The Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society saw potential in the sign and plans for a historical marker at the Lake Tapps Power House began to materialize. To transfer the sign to its new home, Hunter and Sons Construction helped build reinforcements and the Bonney Lake public works crew took care of the landscaping.

In addition to the sign, an inscribed boulder with the history of the area was placed beneath it. The boulder is in the same style and spirit as the other markers scattered around Bonney Lake and sponsored by the Historical Society, like and the .

The text on the rock was written by . It details the creation of Lake Tapps and the builders dedicated to its construction.

Weber sees the sign as the beginning of a new chapter in preserving community history for future generations.

“One hundred years from now, Cascade Water Alliance will have another dedication, much like this one,” he said.

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Visit the Lake Tapps Power House sign and historical marker at 2111 E. Valley Highway.

For more local history, visit the Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society website and Facebook page.