Historic Langley

1902: Skidmore house

Circa 1910. Skidmore residence (Courtesy "Island County – A World Beater").

Miss Zillah Skidmore owned the house in 1902. According to Lorna Cherry, "She farmed 19 acres and was famous for diversification of her farm products which included 15 varieties of apple trees. Her property included the first community hall that was torn down in 1934 and the property across the street that was purchased by the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church." (Cherry III).

Circa 1910. Skidmore house on Cascade Avenue (Courtesy South Whidbey Historical Society).

Miss Skidmore originally came from England, and the 1910 census lists her age as 54. Her brother Benjamin, age 50, and a 10 year old foster son, Arthur Hoffman, lived with her.

Circa 1915. Skidmore house (Courtesy South Whidbey Historical Society).

Zillah Skidmore died in 1922 and is buried in the Langley Woodmen Cemetery.

The next owners of the house were Lon Nelsen and Catherine ("Kattie") Chase. The Chases arrived in Langley in 1929. According to a 1969 interview with the "Whidbey Record," they first lived in the Goldsmith place on Cemetery Road (now Al Anderson Ave.) then bought two acres and the big house at 6th and Cascade Ave.

Lon was a carpenter. He helped Albert Melsen as a builder, and worked on almost every major building in Langley after 1929. He helped install Langley’s first sewer system which was a wooden pipeline, and was involved with the Masons and Deer Lagoon Grange.

Although Lon and Katie had no children of their own, the Chases are remembered as" the couple who took in homeless children, juvenile delinquents and wards of the court." During the hard days of the Great Depression, the Chase home became a haven for anyone without a roof. They are credited with having put 26 children through school. Lon was custodian at the local school for more than a decade.

Katie died in 1952. Lon moved to the newly constructed Brookhaven in 1969 and died in 1972. Both are buried in Langley’s Woodmen Cemetery.

The house was bought by John Mykut who deeded it to his son Mathew ("Matty") Mykut on January 1, 1985 for a brief time, before reclaiming it.

Circa 1985. Mathew Mykut residence (Courtesy South Whidbey Historical Society).

In 1989, John Mykut sold the property to Richard "Dick" Francisco who added a kitchen and several enclosed porches in 1992. The building then housed a series of restaurants.

1992. Additions under construction (Courtesy Ron Childers).

The first restaurant to open after the remodel was "Francisco's" with Chef Giuseppe Mauro,

Next was Brian Mckenna’s "510" (1995 – 1999), followed by the "Tres Lobos" operated by Tom and Marie Thomas, then Jack Ng’s "China City."

When China City moved to Freeland, it became the "Edgecliff "owned by chef Gordon Stewart (2002 – 2005) followed by Tim and Jonathon Criswell from Hawaii who ran the Edgecliff from 2006 until it closed in 2010.

1995. European Restaurant and Bar with For Sale sign (Courtesy John Adams).

1995. Edgecliff Bar & Grill Restaurant (Courtesy John Adams).

2004. Edgecliff Bar & Grill (Courtesy Robert Waterman).

The last restaurant was China City. When it left, the building became vacant.

2020. North side of vacant building (Courtesy Robert Waterman).

2021:The property was purchased by Marcos A. Diaz and Deanna M. Nollette.