View source for On the founding dates of Madrone and Three Mountains

As the Baronies of Three Mountains and Madrone were created very early on, when such things did not have regular rules and structure around them, the specific dates are a bit up in the air. Here is Sir Richard on the subject, from a post on Facebook on May 30th, 2025:
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I spoke with Baron Raymond the Mild, Founding Baron of Madrone, this week. Those days they were making stuff up as they go.

The first barony in the SCA was Atenveldt, which was first named that in November 1969.

The general way it seems to have been, was the first new branch in any state was becoming a Barony and its founder became the Seneschal. There were no ceremonies. No acknowledgement by the Crown. No charter from the BoD. It was just accepted.
So the first mention of Three Mountains in The Page in December 1969 called it a Barony and the Seneschal was Sir Frederic of the West Tower. Sir Frederic was originally from California and was knighted in 1968. It is unknown exactly when he moved to Portland, but likely Fall of 1969.
There is mention that the first name Sir Frederic submitted for this group was "The Barony of the Mountains" but the heralds rejected this name for being too general. After receiving the rejection letter, the baron is said to have looked out his window and saw three mountains; Mount Hood in Oregon and Mount St Helens and Mount Adams, both in Washington. He resubmitted the name as the Barony of Three Mountains, which passed. [From An Introduction to the History of An Tir by Dame Hrefna Ulfvarinnsdottir, 2016.]

The first printed name in December 1969 was “The Barony of the Mountains” with “Three” written above it. The notice says “now engaged in organizing this new barony in the Portland, Oregon area. The first planning meeting is being held as this issue goes to press.” The newsletter was likely published at the end of November 1969. How long beforehand things had been organizing, no one seems to know.

So the only known firm date is Dec 31, 1969, when they held their first event “New Years Eve Revels” at the home of Sir Frederic.

The first use in the SCA of the title Baron I can find seems to also have been in 1969. And that was for the creation of Court Barons.

Frederic continued to be Seneschal until Lady Nicorlynn assumed that role in June 1970. According to mundane newspaper interviews with Nicorlynn, at the demo tourney held at Norwestercon in Portland on May 29-31, 1970, the fight was to determine who would be Baron. Then it was mentioned Frederic was “invested” at the jointly sponsored First Baronial Tournaments held in Olympia on June 20, 1970. It is known the Crown of the West was not present.

In speaking with Raymond the Mild, who autocratted the event which was held at his father’s land, he recalls no such ceremony. The first use in SCA publications of the title Baron for Sir Frederic occurs almost a year later, in May 1971.

For Madrone, Raymond went to BayCon in 1968 and saw the demo there. He brought back SCA publications, including the early handbook. There’s no mention of any branch in Washington until the January 1970 The Page.

Then it simple says “PACIFIC NORTHWEST AREA -- A SEWING FEST AND PRACTICE SESSION WILL BE HELD On SATURDAY, JAN. 31st, at the home of Maid Laurellen of Evergreen on Mercer Island, Washington.”

The new group didn’t have a name, but Raymond is listed as Seneschal. Given that he lived in Olympia but the first advertised event was held on Mercer Island, it’s unclear what sort of organizing had been occurring or when, nor how Laurellen became involved.

Raymond has stated that there was never a ceremony making him Baron. Nor did he ever have a crown or coronet. He was simply baron because he was the founder.

The first year of events the vast majority were held in Olympia, with a few in Seattle.

Raymond said after consultation with a visiting herald from the West, named Boncueur, the new group would be named Madrone. The first use of Madrone as the name for the Washington state Barony appears in The Page, March 1970.
The first time Raymond is titled Baron in an SCA publication is in The Page, July 1971.

At some point Raymond moved to California and Arizona. There being no rules about changing territorial barons he remained founding Baron of Madrone, though he did not live in Washington. He would visit for events occasionally.

The people of the barony held a meeting in October 1972 and decided to create a position called chatelaine or [[Castellan]] and voted Liam of the Barque to be their Castellan, in charge of the Barony while Baron Raymond was gone. Liam would become the second Baron of Madrone in 1974.

It seems the only way, with any known documentation, to date the baronies is from their first mention in an SCA publication, that being The Page. Thus the dating of Three Mountains to Dec 31, 1969 and Madrone to Jan 31, 1970.
And as a courtesy, given the lack of official royal investment, dating the Barons similarly makes as much sense as any, though most likely the adoption of those titles likely happened in 1970 and don’t appear in print until 1971.

According to the “The History of the West Kingdom: a Summary of the First Kingdom of the SCA” by Baron Hirsch von Henford, OL, OP, and other timelines from the Kingdom of the West, on July 28, 1973 (A.S. VIII), Baronial Charters were given to all existing Baronies in an effort to officially anoint historical branches.

I would be happy to be corrected in any of this information. It is all I’ve been able to track down after about 6 weeks of research, with help from Baron Hirsch, Kingdom of the West Historian.

Sir Richard Fitzalan


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