The extraordinary Jim Crook

Known for an extraordinary array of inventions, San Juan’s Jim Crook may be the ultimate Do It Yourselfer. During his life on the island, Crook created a machine for making his clothes, boat lifts, and rabbit traps, Jim Crook is quite possibly the island character to outdo island characters and to celebrate his amazing life the San Juan Island Historical Society and Museum recently opened an exhibit about his legacy that also highlights the historical industries of the island – lime, farming, and fishing.

The card-picker Crook created to make his clothes is one of the most ingenious elements of the exhibit at 20 feet long and weighing two tons.

“It took four people and a crane,” explained Museum Director Kevin Luftus said. “Even then, not all of the machinery fit.”

Crook was a toddler in 1867 when his family homesteaded in the area now known as English Camp. There would be three children, Mary, the oldest, Jim, and younger sister Rhoda. The Crooks were thought to have lived in the barracks before moving into soldiers’ quarters. According to an article on History Link, the soldiers left behind some 27 buildings, including officers’ housing on a terrace above the main encampment, barracks, storage buildings, a library, a blacksmith shop, a commissary, a blockhouse at the shore of the bay, a mess hall, and a hospital. The Crooks used the already cleared parade grounds for farming. In 1895, the article notes, the Crook property was assessed as 197 acres and $400 in improvements. By 1900, the family had 65 lambs and was selling 500 pounds of cherries a year, as well as wool and eggs.

Crook already had a mind for inventions. One such invention was a bed-maker, apparently to save him from a chore he disliked. So prolific was the young Crook’s creativity that legend has it his father took to locking up the tools when he needed Crook to help with farming.

One of the most tantalizing legends that persisted for years after the death of Crook’s father was that gold was hidden in the barracks. The legend turned out to be true when in 1970, National Park workers found an enamel pot filled with $1,395 worth of gold. The gold was given to the last surviving sibling, Rhoda, and the pot is on display in the Museum’s Crook exhibit.

One of the shirts and a pair of pants he made are also on display, along with a copy of the Sunday Seattle Times, May 16, 1948, that contained an interview with the clothesmaker.

“Now when supplies run low and there’s need for a new wool-lined quilt, some yarn for socks, or a new quilt, Jim simply runs the power unit… Places a pile of wool on the carder, throws the lever, steps on the gas, and it’s all in the making. Soon long units of fleecy white wool are rolling off with clock-like precision. Says Jim, of his creation: ‘Now that it’s finished it’s fine, but building two such in a lifetime would be one too many.’ ”

In his later years, with a desire to protect the site’s history, Crook sold 100 acres to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. State Parks deeded it to the newly formed National Historical Parks just months after Crook passed away, in 1967.

Crook remained a bachelor throughout his years and passed away in 1967, but not before writing a poem, in 1960, summarizing his life.

“My Life Story”

In English Camp

Where British soldiers once did tramp

There’s where I’ve spent my long career

I’ve hauled the log and drained the bog

And worked the horse and steer

I’ve handled wood – cord after cord

Threw it down near the bough

I piled it high upon the scow

I’ve plowed up fields filled with stumps

With tools on wheels, I’ve smoothed the lumps

To do hard work I have been forced

From hard work I am no divorced

I hope again I’ll never be married

To heavy things that were hauled and carried

Sometimes with work I am forced to flirt

But myself I am careful not to hurt

I’ve done wood-work and every level

I’ve tried to drag girls to my level

With watchful eye, I long did look,

To change some good girl to a Crook

Until this time I’ve done no harm

And now I’ve lost my youthful charm

In 1972, the remaining heir, Rhoda, passed away and the property reverted to the NPS. “Left behind were more than 10,000 Crook household and farm items that needed disposal as the English Camp site was being developed. Among them were sheds and other structures housing Crook’s inventions (including the textile equipment) that were prey to vandalism, weather, and aging but were not forgotten by the island community,” the Historical Link article stated.

In 1982, a group of islanders looking to preserve the Crook’s legacy formed “Save the Looms.” Members came from San Juan County Wool and Lamb producers, the Textile Guild as well as the Historical Museum. They petitioned then-Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson to take possession of the textile machines for display. That year, according to the exhibit, the two-ton carder was moved to the Wool Shed at the fair. In 1986, the “Jim Crook Society” was formed as a non-profit. Members dedicated themselves to the restoration, research, and demonstration of the weaving and carding equipment built by Crook. The Jim Crook Textile Building was built two years later, and having achieved its purpose, the Jim Crook Society disbanded in 1999.

To learn more about the San Juan Island Historical Museum, visit https://www.sjmuseum.org/home/, or stop by and view the exhibits in person. Hours are Tuesday – Thursday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., or by appointment.

Museum Director Luftus expressed appreciation to the funding sources for the exhibit, including San Juan County Lodging Tax Grant, The Norcliffe Foundation, and the late Ted Middleton.