Editing Kenmore, Washington (section)

===Early 20th century===
[[Scotsman]] John McMasters and his wife Annie arrived in Puget Sound in May 1889 from [[Kenmore, Ontario]], intending to establish themselves in the shingle-making trade. McMasters and his business partner, Chris Kruse, leased land from Squire and opened a shingle mill on the northeastern shore of Lake Washington on January 1, 1901. Establishing a [[company town]] alongside the mill for his employees, McMasters named it after his earlier hometown in [[Canada]], which in turn was named after the [[Kenmore, Perth and Kinross|village]] in [[Scotland]], registering the name with the state on January 10.<ref name="HL - name">{{cite web |last1=Stein |first1=Alan J. |title=John McMaster names the Village of Kenmore on January 10, 1901. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/2927 |website=HistoryLink |access-date=January 1, 2024 |date=January 4, 2001}}</ref><ref name="KHS - Etymology">{{cite web |title=How Did Kenmore Get Its Name? No. it wasn't named for the washing machine! |url=https://kenmoreheritagesociety.com/how-did-kenmore-get-its-name-no-it-wasnt-named-for-the-washing-machine/ |publisher=Kenmore Heritage Society |access-date=January 1, 2024 |date=July 31, 2023}}</ref> By 1903, Kenmore had established a school system and post office, with McMasters named the first [[postmaster]] for the latter.<ref name="HL - name" /><ref name="PO">{{cite web |last=Lange |first=Greg |date=February 15, 1999 |url=http://historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=583 |title=Kenmore Post Office opens on November 12, 1903. |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=March 24, 2007}}</ref>

Despite cargo railway service passing through the area as early as 1887 via the [[Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway]], most access to the city in its early days was by boat, with regular ferry service to [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Bothell, Washington|Bothell]], and [[Woodinville, Washington|Woodinville]] starting in 1906. The city later gained a passenger railroad stop. The first improved road connection to Seattle and Bothell&mdash;the Red Brick Road&mdash;opened between 1913 and 1914, with bus service following the laying of the bricks. As a result, Kenmore became a country retreat for weekend gardeners with local landowners selling off clear-cut "garden plots" to Seattlites with automobiles and green thumbs.  It attracted at least two short-lived [[nudist camp]]s during the 1920s.

Far more striking, however, was the impact of [[Prohibition]]. Kenmore quickly became famous in [[Seattle]] for its fine country dining and, more importantly, its fine country [[drinking]], as a substantial illegal alcohol industry developed to meet the demands of [[Jazz Age]] Seattle nightlife. Although relatively close to Seattle proper thanks to [[Washington State Route 522|Bothell Way]]'s status as one of the few improved roads then heading north from downtown it was nonetheless far enough out that Department of Revenue officers could, for the most part, ignore it.

The Blind Pig, a roadhouse on Shuter's Landing at Lake Washington, was probably the most famous of the Kenmore [[speakeasy]]s.  At the lakeside, its illegal hooch could be dumped into the lake quickly and easily should it become necessary.  Few people were fooled; the name itself was, in fact, [[blind pig|a well-known slang term meaning "speakeasy".]]  But despite its notoriety, the Pig was not even the city's most infamous saloon.  Routine violence and fist-fights at the Inglewood Tavern earned that establishment an alternative name: the Bucket of Blood.

This archipelago of dining and entertainment - over 30 different restaurants, dance halls, bars, and clubs in a three-block area - remained a major part of Kenmore's identity through the 1940s.