Old Town Silverdale

Old Town Silverdale, told from Byron Street

Old Town is a few waterfront blocks with a long memory. This page is a short walk through that story — the inlet, the boats, the buildings, and the gathering places that came before the shop and trailer you see today.

This corner of Dyes Inlet

The Suquamish people knew this inlet as Sa'quad — "spear it" — long before it had an English name. In 1841, the United States Exploring Expedition under Capt. Charles Wilkes charted the inlet and named it Dyes Inlet, after John W. W. Dyes, the assistant taxidermist on the voyage.

When settlers arrived, they had grander ambitions for the town's name. Early boosters pushed for "Goldendale" — until they learned that name was already taken elsewhere in Washington. Silverdale it became, a quieter nod to the same optimism. Logging came first, then farms, then a small commercial waterfront that grew around the dock at the foot of what is now Byron Street.

Old Town was the original center of Silverdale — the dock, the main street, the gathering place. During the height of the agricultural era, record-setting shipments of poultry and eggs left from this waterfront. The local newspaper editor wrote: "From Silverdale, the cackle of hens was heard round the world."

Vintage aerial postcard view of Silverdale, Washington, showing Dyes Inlet and the surrounding landscape — Silverdale, Washington — a vintage aerial view of the town and Dyes Inlet, the waterfront that shaped everything here.

Families gathered on the old Silverdale dock, early twentieth century — Families on the old Silverdale dock — the same wharf where farmers loaded eggs and passengers boarded steamers bound for Seattle.

Before roads: the Mosquito Fleet

Before roads connected the Kitsap Peninsula to the rest of the region, Puget Sound was the highway. A loose network of small, privately operated steamers — known collectively as the Mosquito Fleet — carried passengers, mail, produce, and freight between waterfront communities and Seattle.

Silverdale's dock was a stop on that network. Farmers brought their eggs and produce down to the wharf; passengers boarded for the crossing to Seattle. Capt. Martin Madison was one of the men who ran those runs — a Mosquito Fleet ferry captain remembered in local history, pipe in mouth at the wheel.

The Port of Silverdale was created by public vote on April 13, 1920, specifically to manage the wharf and keep the waterfront working. When cars arrived and roads improved, the Mosquito Fleet faded. In August 1969, the old dock was burned to make way for a new boat launch and park — Port officials thought the burn would take one day; it took two weeks.

The Wickersham saw artifact at Silverdale Waterfront Park, a remnant of the logging era — The Wickersham saw at Silverdale Waterfront Park — a preserved remnant of the logging era that preceded the commercial waterfront.

3421 NW Byron — this block

The building at 3421–23 NW Byron Street has been a gathering place for nearly a century. County records note construction in 1935; other sources say 1928, remodeled in 1935 and again in 1987. Notes differ, but the block's story is clear enough.

In 1928, an advertisement announced Benbennick Place — lunches and coffee, pool and card tables, gas and oil service, and a barber shop connected. The Kitsap County Herald of February 3, 1928 noted that Mr. and Mrs. C. Benbennick had opened a restaurant at Silverdale: "Mrs. Benbennick is an expert cook. Your reporter will have to come up and sample some of the good eats."

A 1939 photograph from the Stottlemyer Collection shows a Union 76 station on this corner. Woody the barber drove the Model A. The Port of Silverdale has owned the property since June 2014.

Old Town Mercantile and Byron Street Bites are the current chapter of this corner.

3421 NW Byron Street building circa 1970s, before Old Town Mercantile — 3421 NW Byron Street circa 1970s — the same corner that has been a gathering place since the late 1920s.

The Byron Street block through the years

The original Silverdale Bank building on Byron Street, early twentieth century — The original Silverdale Bank building — an early anchor of the Byron Street commercial block.

The Silverdale Bank building in a later era, showing the arched windows and Byron Street address — 3343 Byron Street — the bank building in a later era, arched windows intact.

The Byron Street block building in its modern form, painted green and red — The same Byron Street block in its modern form — the bones of Old Town, still standing.

The Old Town Pub

A few doors down at 3473 NW Byron stood one of Old Town's most storied buildings. John J. Emel built Emel's Livery Stable & Hall between 1911 and 1913 — a stable on the ground floor, a community hall and lodge room above. The Emel family was part of the fabric of early Silverdale; Peter Emel, a relative, drove a Ford camper truck to and from California in 1918 on whatever roads were available.

Over the decades the building became a restaurant and beer parlor, then Pickles Tavern, then Stables Tavern, and finally the Old Town Pub — a neighborhood fixture that regulars remember fondly. It closed in 2017.

The building was demolished on November 18, 2025. It was a long run for a building that started as a livery stable and ended as a pub. Old Town is quieter for its absence.

Emel's Livery Stable and Hall, Silverdale, circa 1913 — people gathered on the front steps — Emel's Livery Stable & Hall, circa 1913 — "John Emel Prop." The same building that would become the Old Town Pub.

The Old Town Pub exterior on Byron Street, Silverdale, before its demolition in 2025 — The Old Town Pub — the same building, a century later. Demolished November 18, 2025.

Aerial view of Whaling Days festival at Silverdale Waterfront Park, with boats docked nearby — Whaling Days at Silverdale Waterfront Park — the same waterfront the Port was created to protect in 1920, now a summer gathering place for the whole community.

The Port, the park, and today

The Port of Silverdale still manages the waterfront it was created to serve in 1920. In August 1969, the old dock was burned to make way for a new boat launch and park — a two-week project that transformed the working wharf into the public green space that exists today.

Silverdale Waterfront Park sits at the foot of Byron Street — a boat launch, a dock, a playground, and a view across Dyes Inlet to the Olympic Mountains. Every summer, Whaling Days fills the park with music and food. The Northwest Old Timers Car Show rolls down Byron Street each Father's Day weekend. The Daffodil Festival brings color to the planters every spring.

Old Town Mercantile and Byron Street Bites are at 3421 NW Byron — the same corner that has been a place to stop, eat, and gather since the 1920s. Come find us.

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