| Mud Bay Indian Shaker Church | |
|---|---|
 1896 drawing of the church building | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Indian Shaker Church |
| District | Thurston |
| Location | |
| Municipality | Mud Bay near Olympia |
| State | Washington |
| Country | United States |
| Geographic coordinates | 47°03′38″N 123°01′01″W / 47.0606°N 123.0170°W |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | c. 1885, rebuilt in 1910[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 24-foot (7.3 m) |
| Width | 18-foot (5.5 m) |
| Materials | Unfinished wood |
Mud Bay Indian Shaker Church is the first church built by the Indian Shaker Church.[2]
The first Shaker Indian church, also called the "mother church", was built c. 1885 near Olympia, then the capital of Washington Territory. The structure was built on a shoulder of the Black Hills above Mud Bay,[3] at the southern end of Eld Inlet, an arm of Puget Sound.[4][5][6][7] It was near the homes of Louis "Mud Bay Louie" Yowaluch (aka Mud Bay Louis) and his brother Sam "Mud Bay Sam" Yowaluch, co-founders of the church,[8] first and second "headman"s respectively. Mud Bay Sam was the first Bishop (church leader) after incorporation of Shaker Indian Church in 1910.[4]
The original church was oriented in an east-west direction, in a manner that would set the pattern for subsequent church architecture.[9] The earliest several churches were about 18-by-24-foot (5.5 m × 7.3 m) plain wooden buildings with 10-foot (3.0 m) shingle roofs, stout wooden doors and floors.[10] The Mud Bay church was rebuilt in 1910.[9]
