Allyn is a community at the mouth of Sherwood Creek on the western shore of Case Inlet in the North Bay region of South Puget Sound, about 21 miles (34 km) northwest of Tacoma and 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Shelton, Washington. The community was first settled in 1853 and was named after Judge Frank Allyn on September 6, 1889. Sherwood Creek, fed by Schumacher Creek, Mason Lake, and Trails End Lake, flows northeast for 9 miles (15 km) to Case Inlet. The creek is named after Joseph Sherwood, a millwright from Vermont, and his brother Warren, who settled in the area in 1854 to operate a sawmill. Case Inlet, named after Augustus Case, extends 16 miles (26 km) from Johnson Point at the confluence of Dana Passage and Nisqually Reach in the south to within 2 miles (3.2 km) of Hood Canal in the north, forming the isthmus connecting Kitsap Peninsula. South Puget Sound generally comprises the north-south trending Puget Lowland trough, flanked by the Cascade Range foothills to the east, the Black Hills near Olympia to the south, and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The underlying bedrock consists mainly of Oligocene marine sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, and Eocene basalt flows, mudflow breccias, and interbedded fine-grained sedimentary rocks of volcanic origin. The bedrock is buried by unconsolidated Quaternary deposits that reach depths of over 3,400 feet (1,036 meters). These deposits represent six continental glacial episodes, two alpine glaciations, and six interglacial intervals. The most recent deposits belong to the Vashon Stade of the Fraser Glaciation, which formed landforms by moving continental ice sheets generally trending south to southwest. At Allyn, Vashon glacial till, consisting of clay, silt, sand, and gravel, was deposited directly by retreating ice. Streams such as Sherwood Creek have since eroded and transported these glacial sediments to the shoreline of Case Inlet, where they are either deposited or directed northward by prevailing sediment drift. Shore structures like bulkheads, groins, and boat ramps cause beach sediments to accumulate along their southern sides, while small-scale erosion occurs to the north of these obstacles. A small spit, located about 0.7 miles (1.2 kilometers) south of Allyn, is also prograding northward.

Little is known about the earliest human inhabitants of Puget Sound, who arrived shortly after the glaciers retreated around 13,800 years ago. These ancestors of the Coast Salish tribes left petroglyphs in various locations, including Enetai, Harstine Island, and Victor across Case Inlet from Allyn. The South Puget Sound Coast Salish tribes include the Squaxin, Duwamish, Nisqually, Snoqualmie, and Steilacoom peoples. European contact likely first occurred in 1792 when Captain George Vancouver anchored off Blake Island and sent Lieutenant Peter Puget to explore the southern embayments in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. In 1818, Britain and the United States both claimed the Oregon Country but agreed to joint occupancy. The U.S. Exploring Expedition, led by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, further explored Puget Sound in 1841. Lieutenant Augustus Case and his crew portaged from the head of Hood Canal to present-day Case Inlet via an ancient Native trail, depicted as a dotted line on the expedition map. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty established the boundary at the 49th parallel, making Puget Sound part of U.S. territory. From the 1870s to the 1920s, Allyn was served by a small fleet of steamboats known as the Mosquito Fleet, which connected communities along Case Inlet before road networks were built. These boats traversed the waterways of South Puget Sound, transporting people and goods. By navigating nearly anywhere water allowed, the Mosquito Fleet was vital to the region’s growth. It enabled people to live along the shoreline while remaining connected to the broader world, without relying on roads or rail lines.

By 1890, Allyn had a post office, school, newspaper, sawmill, two saloons, a hotel, and an economically important wharf that stretched across the tidal mudflats to deep water. The Port of Allyn was formed in 1921 to maintain a commercial dock for both Allyn and the neighboring community of Belfair. The dock at Allyn was a trestle extending 580 feet (176 m) out from Drum Street, in the same location as today’s Allyn Dock. A wharf was built at the end of the trestle that was 61 feet (18.6 m) wide by 73 feet (22 m) long. A covered warehouse was on the north end used for many years to store lumber, hay, grain, and other trade goods for local businesses. The south end had a storage shed, that eventually was converted to an oyster processing plant. The last scheduled steamboat run from Tacoma to Allyn occurred in 1924. As roads improved and auto, bus, and truck transport became popular, stores moved closer to the highways and commercial water traffic declined. Today, the main road through town is State Route 3. In the 1920s and 1930s, logging and farming were the principal industries employing residents of Allyn and Belfair. In the 1940s, civilian workers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton occupied all available housing within commuting distance, including Allyn and Belfair. During World War II, the U.S. Navy constructed approximately 48 miles (77 km) of railroad from Shelton to the Bangor Submarine Base in Silverdale. This railroad is currently operated and maintained under a contract with the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad. During the war, the oyster industry expanded significantly due to meat rationing and increased consumption of fish and shellfish as substitutes. The North Bay of Case Inlet proved highly productive for shellfish. The covered shed on Allyn’s wharf was leased to various oyster companies for 30 years and remained in use until 1974, when the dock was renovated. Read more here and here. Explore more of Allyn and Case Inlet here: