A historic Marysville home that once stood at the corner of 8th St. and Delta Ave. is now fully restored and thriving in a new location on Hat Island.
The 840-square-foot house, built around 1900, was most recently owned by the family of Arthur Duborko, who served as Marysville mayor from 1968 to 1972. The city purchased the property in 2018 to develop the Civic Campus and partnered with Nickel Bros to preserve and relocate the structure rather than demolish it.
In July 2022, the house was carefully transported by barge down the Ebey Slough and across Possession Sound to Hat Island, where it now serves as a vacation home for current owner Bill Liles and his wife, Diane.
“The opportunity to carry on a piece of Marysville history has added something even more special to the project,” Liles said. “We certainly were not planning for this, but very pleased to be part of it.”
 An undated photo shows the Duborko family home at its original location on the corner of 8th St. and Delta Ave. in Marysville. |  Nickel Bros. crews load the renovated home onto a barge, shipping it from the Ebey Slough to Hat Island in August of 2022. |  The historic Marysville home is now settled on Hat Island, adjacent to the Hat Island Golf Course. |
Ties to a community leader
The house is connected to the Duborko family, who owned it from 1983 to 2018. While records do not confirm whether former Mayor Arthur Duborko lived in the home himself, it remains a tangible link to a family deeply rooted in Marysville’s history. Duborko moved to Marysville as a child in 1919 and grew up in a nearby home his father purchased, believed to have once been a Catholic rectory. He and his sister Eleanor attended Marysville schools and walked through what is now Comeford Park to the old Lincoln School at Columbia Ave. and 7th St.
Duborko held a variety of jobs throughout his life, including shingle weaver, shipyard worker and letter carrier. He served on the Marysville City Council from 1953 to 1968 before being elected mayor. According to his obituary, he believed in representing everyday people and working closely with fellow councilmembers.
He also had a passion for building wooden boats, a craft he began at age 14. Over his lifetime, he built more than 50. He and his wife, Dorathy, were active in local groups including the Marysville Historical Society and Quilceda Carvers. Dorathy was also an avid gardener, wood carver and seamstress who enjoyed square dancing and belonged to the Order of Amaranth in Marysville.
A second chance
Nickel Bros moved the house to their yard on 156th St. NE, near Twin Lakes Park, in 2019, where it was stabilized and partially restored. On July 21, 2022, crews transported it to a construction yard near Ebey Waterfront Park. From there, it was loaded onto a barge and made its journey to Hat Island.
Jeff McCord, house rescuer for Nickel Bros, said relocating and restoring older homes is about more than saving materials.
“It’s a combination of affordability, historic preservation and environmental sustainability,” McCord said. “This offers a way to reuse an entire house rather than putting it in a landfill. It’s a huge form of recycling.”
 Homeowner Bill Liles stands on the front porch of the newly renovated historic home. |  The back of the home features a deck with outdoor furniture, looking out to the Hat Island Golf Course. |  An aerial view overlooking Possession Sound from Hat Island, near the area where the historic home is now located. |
Life on Hat Island
Hat Island, also known as Gedney Island, is a small private island in Possession Sound between Everett and Whidbey Island. It is accessible only by private boat or the Hat Express ferry, which operates from the Port of Everett. The ferry ride takes about 30 minutes.
The island has no mail delivery and limited services, including one fuel pump that operates for one hour each Saturday. Residents value the island’s quiet setting, tight-knit community and natural surroundings.
“Now that the home is basically through the complete renovation, it has surpassed all my expectations,” Liles said. “The combination of being located on Hat Island and all the other factors associated with the house has become the perfect fit.”
He encourages others considering a similar project to stay engaged through the process.
“For anyone planning to renovate a historic home, and especially moving the home to a new location, stay focused and stay involved,” he said. “Be prepared for the occasional unexpected twist. In the end, you will have some fun stories and great memories to last a lifetime. All worth it.”
 The island’s only gas pump is open for one hour each Saturday, a reminder of Hat Island’s self-sufficient lifestyle. |  The Hat Island Community offers a tree-lined, nine-hole golf course, weaving through open fairways and forested terrain. |  On Hat Island, where vehicles arrive by ferry or barge, older trucks like this one from the 1960s are part of the landscape. |  Once used for fishing, these row boats now hold soil and seedlings in Hat Island’s volunteer garden, a pandemic-era project that continues to grow.
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 Perched above the marina, the Hat Island Yacht Club is where islanders come together to share meals, stories and a view.
|  Ready for launch, kayaks line the Hat Island marina where residents enjoy direct access to Possession Sound.
|  The Hat Island ferry nears the marina, completing one of its regular trips to and from the Port of Everett.
|  The Hat Island marina stretches into Possession Sound in this aerial view of the private island community.
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Sources:
- Visit and photos by Bridgette Larsen, April 2025
- Historical background and obituary of Arthur Duborko, provided by Councilmember Peter Condyles and the Marysville Historical Society
- Interview with Bill Liles, May 2025
- Hat Island Community Association: hatisland.org
- Obituary of Dorathy Mae Duborko, Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home, published December 2015