POULSBO REAL ESTATE
Poulsbo: Poulsbo's name is derived from a Norwegian word meaning "Paul's place." Norwegians settled at the head of fjordlike Liberty Bay in 1882 and developed a fishing and farming community. The town is nicknamed "Little Norway".The highway east from Poulsbo connects to Bainbridge Island by a bridge, and then to Seattle by ferry.
For many years, Norwegian was the only language spoken by the citizens of Poulsbo. In 1886, Ivar B. Moe felt there was enough people on Dogfish Bay (later named Liberty Bay) to warrant a post office. He made an application and called the new town Paulsbo. The Postmaster General misread Moe's handwritting and listed the new post office as Poulsbo. Transportation in Poulsbo's early years was by boat, horseback and foot. Major buying and selling was via a boat trip to Seattle's Pike Place Market. Fisherman from the Bering Sea brought their catch of codfish here for salting and preserving----one of the largest codfish processing plants in the Northwest. It was also here that lutefisk was processed. Townspeople and visitors can still eat lutefisk at the First Lutheran Church's annual Lutefisk Dinner the third Saturday of each October. This church, founded by those early Norwegian settlers, sits on the bluff overlooking Poulsbo. Service is held in Norwegian each year during Viking Fest.
A "mosquito fleet" of steamers sailed from Seattle to Poulsbo for some 60 years, carrying passengers and freight. Poulsbo's strong ties to the water is still evident today, with the presence of three marinas on the shore of Liberty Bay, a Marine Science Center and harbor tours.
The downtown waterfront area was at one time part of Liberty Bay. In the 1950's the community worked together to fill part of the bay to form Liberty Bay Waterfront Park and Anderson Parkway. Some of the buildings you see today were once on pilings. The Kvelstad Pavilion, a popular spot for summer weddings and family gatherings, was added to the waterfront park later. Within a span of five generations, Poulsbo has changed from a rowboat on an untouched shore to a thriving community with "small town" charm.