May 22, 2025 – Agricultural history was on full display at the meeting of the King County Landmarks Commission, which unanimously approved a landmark nomination for the former Highland Dairy Farm near Woodinville. Public & architectural history consultant Sarah J. Martin joined with property owner Leanette Bassetti to present the landmark nomination.
The property is a well-preserved example of a typical small-scale dairy farm from the mid-20th century, a property type once common in rural King County. Developed by George and Ida Siepmann, the farm took shape in the 1930s and flourished through the late 1950s, even expanding in the post-World War II years to include a larger barn with a soaring hayloft. The dairy farm complex transitioned to serve Leno and Antoinette’s cattle farm and landscaping business from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. Today, four farm buildings survive as the backdrop for Bassetti’s Crooked Arbor Gardens, a reimagined landscape with several distinct gardens and sculptures dotting the grounds, that is open to visitors seasonally and for special events.
View the approved a landmark nomination for the former Highland Dairy Farm (PDF)
Thank you to 4Culture for supporting this nomination.
4 Culture Grant Awarded for the Preparation of the Highland Dairy Farm Buildings Landmark Application
In the Summer of 2024, we were awarded a grant from 4Culture to support researching the history of the Highland Dairy Farm buildings, which are part of the Bassetti’s Crooked Arbor Gardens. As well as researching and documenting the history of the Dairy Farm, the grant included funding to create an application to King County Landmarks Commission requesting King County Landmark status for the historical buildings.
This project is supported, in part, by a grant from 4Culture.
