The Bakamus family
William Bakamus immigrated to the United States from Corinth, Greece in 1910. He and his brothers, Nick and Tom, homesteaded out near Lake McDonald, and later their sister Francine joined them.
In those days, the area was isolated and there were just a handful of Greeks in the greater Issaquah area. The family would often make the trip into Seattle for parties and gatherings with the Greek community. That is where William met Stamatina Damascus, and they were married in 1916.
Logging and dairying kept the brothers busy for many years, and the last piece of family property was just sold last summer. Originally, their holdings wrapped all the way around Lake Kathleen.
The brothers’ children attended the old Coalfield School and then came into town to go to Issaquah High. Several of them married into some of the oldest families from the lower valley, starting dynasties of their own. Today, there are dozens of Bakamus descendents in east Renton, the south end, and Issaquah.
