Golden Tree Brings New Life to Pioneer “Mansion”

The Golden Tree Hostel on North Beach Road, with its owners and renovators, Ken Katz and Ian Woolworth

By Margie Doyle

After 120 years in existence, two years abandoned and two years’ renovation, one of Eastsound’s pioneer “mansions” is now open as the Golden Tree Hostel, a five-bedroom Bed & Breakfast.

The two story home and outbuildings were renovated by partners Ken Katz and Ian Woolworth. Their “experiment” in remodeling and recycling amounts to craftsman artistry at its finest.

Both Katz and Woolworth are experienced contractors, on Orcas Island for years. Ken had closed his construction company, Bent Nails, and done some traveling; when he returned to Orcas, he knew he wanted to do something different. Ian had been looking at possible site projects and first came across the house, formerly owned by Shirley Aggas,  in 2010. When he sent Ken to look at, Ken said he ““saw the bones and knew immediately it was going to work.”

On a recent tour through Golden Tree, Katz said, “Everyone on the island had looked at the house,” but were discouraged from undertaking the project because salvaging it would be too much work and no lending institution would finance the purchase. Katz and Woolworth’s bid to purchase included their pledge to save the house rather than raze it; that was significant to the sellers, who accepted their offer in 2010.

The pair had “no thoughts of tearing down,” said Katz, though it was more difficult to save the pioneer “mansion,” as Woolworth’s daughters called it, than to build new. For sheer size alone, it has been an ambitious project. Work began soon after purchase, but it was slow-going at first. There was a lot of hard work, but as experienced contractors, nothing was overwhelming. The most “annoying” part was basement and attic work, due to the critters that lived and died there. After a slow start, they took out a private loan and completed the work this spring.

Many of the features – doors, furniture, windows, and the like are recycled materials, collected over the years, from Rosario, from garage sales, and from many a trip to the “boneyards” of island contractors. They relied heavily on the Exchange to keep costs down; its  destruction by fire “definitely impacted our vision,” says Katz.

The “mansion” as work began two years ago.

While their remodeling and rebuilding work was significant, Katz and Woolworth have retained much of the rustic, farmhouse feel of the old “mansion” as Woolworth’s daughters referred to the century-old house. The floors are the same bare wood, and many of the built-in cupboards remain. One closet that housed the water heater has been turned into a small bathroom, the wallpaper a collage of old Life Magazine covers that were in the attic. Local artists Sarah Miklowski, Dan Vierthaler, Deborah Sparks, Annie Sparks and Dave Koommoo have painted the bedrooms and the upstairs hallway.

The unfinished attic has been turned into a dormitory room, with a new bathroom installed in what had been an upper level enclosed porch. In addition to three private rooms, there is a women’s dorm and a co-ed dorm. All the rooms have communal bath facilities, which is common worldwide, except for in the United States.

The covered back deck has been extended and built out to look over a grassy commons area and fire pit.  Also behind the house is the bicycle shed, where bikes are loaned and maintained for guests, the old toolshed, where a sauna has been installed, and the old barn, with rebuilt dormer windows and the old pool table from Vern’s Restaurant sitting where hay bales used to be.

Out of respect for local businesses, Golden Tree rents bikes only to its guests, but it allows islanders to come and use the spa facilities on a day-use basis, much like Doe Bay Resort.

This February, the home, which was built in 1889 by Michael Donahue (who also built Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Eastsound), and originally the center of a 180-acre farm, was put on the National Historic Registry.

The Golden Tree wood carving decorating the front of the freshly-painted home, was carved by Jimmy Dahl, who was partners with Gil Geiser, the former owner of Rosario Resort.  The carving depicts the tree that hangs over Cascade Lake by the Ranger station. Katz enjoys the synchronicity of the carving with the trees in front of the hostel, named “Golden Janes.”

One of the two partners is at the Golden Tree, at 1159 North Beach Road, all the time. Katz says, “We’re not after making a huge profit, but rather, creating something for the island that’s bigger than us.

“We wanted to provide an atmosphere where all ages from all over the world  can gather, where great conversations occur… and exactly what we want to see happen is already happening. The firepit is the center of what we do, the social hub for our guests. We do want locals to hang out, too, and interact; we invite people to drop in. We’re happy to have people come by and engage with what we’re doing.

“And as the community ages, we want to encourage younger people to come here and have a place to live; to have the next generation settle here.”

More information, rates and reservation can be found at the Golden Tree’s website, goldentreehostel.com or by calling 360-317-8693.