William (Bill) Lofall, a long-time commercial fisherman and his wife Martha, owned the property where the Lofall Community Corporation Dock is located. In the 1949 the Black Ball Line approached Bill and Martha about building a ferry landing on their property. They agreed to lease and develop the land to the Black Ball Line. Bill constructed the dock and the ferry dock road (Wesley Way), and Black Ball Lines installed the mechanical hardware and piles to support the ferry boats. The dock was commissioned for service in June 1950.
The Commissioning of the Lofall Dock on June 10th 1950
The lease agreement with Black Ball included a clause that allowed Bill Lofall to use the area south of the traffic lanes on the dock. As such, Bill barged in a building to become a restaurant and built a bait house to serve the Hood Canal fishery.
The Ferry dock had three buildings, of which two still stand:
The ferry system built this building to serve as a passenger waiting room, restroom and a single office for the ferry workers. After the ferry left, Bill Lofall converted this building into a rental house, by adding a kitchen, converting the office into a bedroom and enclosing the covered porch area into the rental's second bedroom. Today, this rental house remains occupied and provides a revenue stream for the corporation.
The Sea Breeze Inn building was barged in from Scandia and put into place by Bill Lofall. At the Sea Breeze Inn, passengers could buy hot food and beverages. Ruth Ryan, a local resident of Lofall, Washington, ran the Sea Breeze Inn. Her husband "Red" Ryan ran the 4-corners Tavern / Gas Station in Lofall, during this same time. After the ferry left, the Sea Breeze Inn was converted into a rental house. Later, when the Corporation purchased the dock, it became the dock keeper's house. Today, the Sea Breeze Inn is offered to the public as a wonderful Air B&B vacation rental.
The Lofall Bait House sold herring to the local commercial and recreational fishermen. It was located just east of the Gazebo location and was operated by Bill and Martha Lofall.
The Black Ball Line ferry service between Lofall and Southpoint, began operation in 1950. Black Ball operated a number of ferry runs in the Puget Sound region. Later that same year, Black Ball decided to raise tolls to cover increased costs. The State felt that it could run the system more efficiently and forced Black Ball to turn over all its operations to it. In 1951 the ferry system was turned over to the Department of Transportation.
The wood-constructed ferry Kitsap was one of the original ferry boats to serve the Lofall-Southpoint ferry run and the only ferry assigned to the entire duration of the run. The Kitsap could only carry about 30 cars. Her passenger cabin was also only certified for a little over 300. Still, she could do a days work and sailed the route on Sundays to help out the Rhododendron and daily during the summer months.
The Ferry M/V Kitsap in the foreground and the Ferry M/V Vashon behind it at the Lofall Dock.
Launched on 10 May, 1930, the wood-constructed ferry Vashon served the Vashon Island run until 1941 when the vessel was assigned to the San Juan Islands. For the next nine years the vessel made the rounds in the Islands until the new route between Lofall and Southpoint opened up. She made 28 trips a day until the Olympic took her place in 1954.
The ferry M/V Vashon with the Lofall fishing fleet floats in the foreground.
In 1951, the state ferry system inherited a diverse fleet from the Black Ball Line. All were shipshape and ready for work, but travel across the Sound, which had been already been building, had outpaced the capacity of the boats.
Ferry M/V Olympic - Sister ship to the M/V Rhododendron
To the rescue came two east coast ferries, put out of work when a bridge built across Chesapeake Bay put the Gov. Harry W. Nice and Gov. Herbert R. O'Conner out of a job. WSF quickly snapped them up, brought them through the Panama Canal, and outfitted them for work on Puget Sound.
Painted in the new green and white colors of the "Evergreen Line" as it was first dubbed, the two ferries were given names that reflected the Northwest: the Gov. Harry W. Nice became the Olympic and the Gov. Herbert R. O'Conner became the Rhododendron. Even though they were small ferries, new boats always attracted attention, and the neat little near sisters were no exception.
Their pairing on Chesapeake Bay followed them throughout much of their career on the Sound. In March, 1954, the Olympic started on the Southpoint-Lofall run, but a month later she was displaced on the run by her sister, Rhododendron. The Olympic was moved up to the Clinton, Whidbey Island - Mukilteo run where the Rhododendron joined her sister on that route in 1961 after the completion of the Hood Canal Bridge.
On April 17, 1954, the ferry Rhododendron enters service on Puget Sound. Washington State Ferries (WFS) and was put on the Lofall-South Point run.
Ferry M/V Rhododendron
In November 1953, the boat left Baltimore under tow, and spent the next month traveling to Seattle via the Panama Canal. For the next three months she underwent retrofitting and performed in sea trials. During this time, the vessel was renamed the Rhododendron, after Washington’s state flower.
The Rhododendron is 226 feet long, with a beam of 67 feet. Her 1,600 hp engines allow her to travel at a speed of 12 knots. She can carry 75 cars and 600 passengers. Originally, the vessel carried a crew of 13 who lived aboard the boat four days a week and spent three days at home, in what the WSF called the “touring-watch system.”
The cross-canal trip only took 10 minutes, the Rhododendron proved to be a bottleneck breaker years before the completion of the Hood Canal Bridge.
Bill Lofall, who built the Lofall Ferry Dock, was also a seasoned seaman and fisherman. He knew the Hood Canal waters and its storms very well. Due to his skills and in-depth knowledge of Hood Canal, Bill was hired by the State of Washington to pilot the Rhododendron until it was retired in 1961.
In 1961, the Hood Canal bridge was completed and the Lofall-Southworth ferry run became obsolete and was retired. The property and dock were turned back over to William and Martha Lofall. The facility remained vacant for a number of years. During that time, Bill and Martha converted the Sea Breeze Inn and the ferry passenger waiting room/office buildings into rental homes.
In 1972, the Lofall Dock was still owned by Bill and Martha Lofall, and was up for sale. The State proposed building a public boat launch at the dock site. In response to this proposal the Lofall Community Corporation was formed to purchase the property and create a private facility that we know today.
Lofall Community Corporation Facility 1993
In a severe winter storm in February 1979, the Hood Canal bridge sank. In an emergency move, the WSDOT came to the Lofall Community Corporation with plans to re-commission the Lofall Dock to again offer ferry service between Lofall and Southpoint.
The State first built the long pier to accommodate a passenger-only run. While the passenger only ferry operated, the main dock was modified to land car ferries. As part of the lease agreement with the State, when the service was terminated, the State removed its hardware and improved the facility for Corporation use.
The East half of the Hood Canal bridge was replaced in 2008, which required that the state needed to re-commission the ferry service across Hood Canal. The Lofall Community Corporation facility was selected by WSDOT to run a passenger ferry on the Kitsap County side. The Lofall Dock's float piles were removed and a large landing float was temporarily installed. At the completion of the ferry service, the state re-installed the float system in a new configuration chosen by the LCC management (to accommodate more boats), a modern anchoring system and a longer aluminum ramp.