A large house made of cedar beams and planks once stood on the Alice Bay side of Samish Island. About 300 Samish tribe members lived together in the house, which was divided into rooms like a modern-day apartment building. Samish people lived there until 1875.

The house was built and owned by xwelxwálten (xwuhl-xwhal-tun), a wealthy and influential Samish fisherman known among early settlers as Harry Samish. Harry Samish is buried on Samish island.

Photo courtesy of P.R. Jeffcott, Romance and Intrigue on Bellingham Bay (manuscript), 1955. Text courtesy Russel Barsh Marine Research Lab - Samish Treasures sign.