History of the Farmhouse

First homesteaded early in the century, Monte Villa was a dairy farm. The McWhirter family is responsible for giving Monte Villa its name. Monte was a favorite horse whose name not only graces the farm to this day, but whose body was buried under the apple trees to the east of the main house; under what is now paved parking near a set of large holly trees. Originally close to 150 acres, the construction of I 405 in the 60's cut the property down to 87 acres. When developed by Quadrant in 1993, the Farmhouse became available on an acre lot when the City of Bothell stipulated in the development agreement with Quadrant that the farmhouse and barns, beloved for decades by so many, be spared in perpetuity from demolition.

The original house, comprising less than half of the structure as it exists today, was built in 1927. The current dining room was the living room, and the wall separating the main stairway from the current living room was the exterior wall. In 1939, owner Lloyd Mitchell remodeled the house, adding the master bedroom, the current living room, and the basement recreation room, (complete with its white pine walls, hemp rope trim, and nautical theme lighting). Mr. Mitchell was involved in the ownership and management of Van De Kamp's bakeries, and supplied them with dairy products from Monte Villa. Photographs of the lush valley pastures full of grazing cows were used for Van De Kamp's advertisements. Mitchell's daughter and son-in-law, Eleanor and Vern Fortin, continued work on the house in 1967, redecorating and adding on a carport, (now the ballroom), and a covered terrace. The Fortins were involved in founding QFC and Vernell's Candies, (for Vern & Eleanor). The Mitchell/ Fortin families resided at the house until its sale to Quadrant. Waiting only for the Quadrant deal to close, the Arnim family of Edmonds formed a partnership to purchase, enlarge and remodel the house for its current role as a facility for business and social occasions of all kinds. Builder Mike Arnim added a foyer, enlarged the living room, enclosed the carport to form the ballroom, and enclosed the terrace to create the sun porch. All of these changes were undertaken with the approval of the local Bothell Landmarks Preservation Board to ensure that the character and charm of the home remained intact. The event garden to the east of the house was created specifically to accommodate weddings and parties and was planted with specimens from other parts of the property to assure continuity with the existing landscaping.