https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/dfcf470f46019a5bcc1e98ee933f4149.pdf df3621d93fef578d4f8bc20e8b63e315 PDF Text Text Part II •I’;' ■■ -.■'jf-.■...■■> �N. Weis WASHINGTON AREA 1 t a T y J O 0 0 - WO 1^. S LIBERTY, WASHINGTON 11 ’~The sun disappeared behind Teenaway Ridge on my left. curves. Highway 97 continued to climb in broad Horizons lowered as altitude was gained The sun reappeared frequently, offering brief post/ ponements to the day’s end. The road leveled and the sun set for good as I pulled into Liberty Guard Station, fifteen miles northeast of Cle Elum in -1- �N. Weis central Washington. A brief look at the topographic maps showed that I had passed the Liberty turn'^ff a quarter of a mile back. Liberty is located at the joining edges of the Liberty and Thorp, Washington^l5 minute maps and the maps have to be matched to make out the route. I reached the turn'"' Retracing my off and headed east up Williams Creek, occasional glimpses of quiet pools. enjoying Windrowed gravel banks Indicated the area had been placered heavily. The last traces were the obvious result of a dredging operation. A short two miles from the highway, the road crossed Lion Creek, angled slightly right, and suddenly became the main street of Liberty. A sign on the left read "For Sale, Claims, Cabins." of the street, Mining There were old cabins on both sides and just visible across the valley was a string of mining shacks. My maps indicated that two tunnels and three shafts were to be found near the mine shacks. of town. The road divided at the upper end The right fork dead-ended in a quiet clear­ ing, and I made camp for the night. Making camp was simply a matter of jockeying the truck about until two spirit levels were satisfied. mounted at right angles. The levels are One indicates fore and aft -2- �N. slant — the other shows my "roll attitude." to do a bit of reading, Weis I planned so this night I parked with a quarter bubble on the left of the level to raise the head of the bed. It was a peaceful spot. The waters of tiny Boulder Greek rushed by a few feet away. It was quite a relief to be camped by a genuine ghost town, after suffering through three days of high expectations and dashed hopes. Reviewing my notes, appointments In a row. I counted seven dis­ First there was Maryhill, south-central Washington. Once a going town. In It had degenerated Into an orchard and truck farm. An old store stood alone among young fruit trees. Part of two old ferries were at the banks of the Columbia River, put to disuse by a new highway bridge. On the hill above town, a replica of England's Stonehenge seemed strangely out of place. A few miles away, the Maryhill Museum overlooked the Columbia from a lofty perch on the north bank. of Interest, Inside were many Items mostly art objects and European royal family relics. It was a fascinating museum, but not a single Item pertained to the old town of Maryhill. Both the Stonehenge memorial and the museum were -3- �N. Weis built by Samuel Hill, a famous pioneer in road building. I speculated as I drove away that many visitors to the two sites must have departed with the same thought: "What in Sam Hill?" Thorp, one hundred miles north, next on the list. shrunk, town. had been Bypassed by the highway, it had but was still too lively to be called a ghost The old water—powered flour mill at the north end of town was fascinating. swimming in the mill pond, Complete with kids it was a sight guaranteed to transport the beholder to the time of his childhood. I would have joined them had I packed a swimTsuit. One of^the youngsbers offered the loan of his! To the north, Greek, Lester, investigation, town. the towns of Easton, Cabin Ronald and Cle Elum all warranted but failed to fit the category of ghost With mild irritation I recalled my troubles with a loud and perslsV^nt cafe operator who ranted so continuously that no one could mount a response. He badgered me to buy something or he "wouldn’t answer a damn question!" I ordered coffee, handed it back to him with the paid for it, s u ggestion that he drink it, and treat the customers to a few seconds of blissful quiet. then �N. Weis And that reminded me of the quiet that permeated my campsite at Liberty. I was again relaxed, anxious only for the next day to arrive. The morning was cool, and the skies were clear overhead. A few puffy clouds were climbing over the hills to the west. The conditions were ideal for photographing the old mine shacks that extended down the south side of the valley. The first cabin was securely locked with a hasp of unique construction. A large saw blade, hinged at one end, entire width of the door. spanned the A square hole, burned through with a cutting torch, obviously allowed a U-bolt to be exposed far enough for a gigantic padlock to pass through its eye, A long rear marked the beginning of a tunnel. shed at the The shoring was rotted and collapsing, A bit fjlrther west was a smaller shack with a vertical mine shaft located in its center. There was barely room to stand inside between the walls and the shaft. A shaky rotted ladder extended downward beyond view. There was no hoisting wheel mounted above the shaft, and no evidence of one ever having been installed. Perhaps the old shaft was used merely as an inside cooler for food storage. A horizontal tunnel penetrated the hill a few yards from the shack. �N. Weis An eighth of a mile downstream was a small building with lots of character. Some of its wid® roof boards had warped to near rain-gutter proportions. A ramshackle rear stoop was on its last legs. door was battened shut, but part of the south wall I poked my head inside, was missing. The and after a moment getting used to the dim light, I made out a wooden floor and some old furniture. One step inside was enough. With a hollow groan, the floor sagged like a trampoline. I could make out a large trap'^ door in the center. Another shaft,no doubt. a rock onto the trap~}ioor. I tossed The punky empty sound demonstrated that further exploration would be fool^ hardy. The solid earth outside felt reassuring. Behind this cabin were a number of shafts nearly hidden by heavy brush. Some were covered with three— inch-diameter poles too rotted to support one’s weight. Their partial collapse indicated that some ipnwary creature had broken through. attest^to The numerous shafts and tunnels indicated A a considerable hard*rock mining effort, a vain effort, but it was for most of the gold taken in the area was placered from Williams Greek, -6- �N. Weis In 1867, Benton Goodwin, the first sizeable gold deposit. a deaf-mute, found He uncovered a two-r-^ dollar nugget at the junction of Swauk and Williams ireek*^ when he kicked over some rocks to make it ' a''/, easier to gather cooking water. Greatly excited, he put the nugget in his mouthy and ran squawking back to campj Members of the party panned gold furiously all summer. Some pans ran to one thousand dollars, and a good gravel bar yielded up to six hundred dollars per day. Inevitably, word leaked out, and miners poured in. The first community established was called Meaghersville, and was located at the site of the original discovery. As gold was panned out and the hot activity moved up^ream, convenience. camps were moved for The town migrated two miles up Williams Creek to its present position. the slacked, and^Chlnese moved in. By 1884 the boom had A few years later, white miners held mass meetings and demanded the Chinese leave. It had been determined that hydraulic operations would pay off, and deserted claims were again valuable. Scott Darling opened a store in I892, "everything you could want - Miners supplies, -7- selling fishbait. �N. Weis A post office was gum boots, and bug juice." established and the town was officially designated "Liberty." Liberty was^X^w^^ij^ deserted in 189? when the Yukon ^trlke lured most miners away. dredge was brought In from Sumpter, activities boomed again. Some wire gold in but the big lode was never tapped. During the depression, to a few hard-up miners moved in "pan wages," but pockets miss were rare. Oregon, and Hard rockers s^nk shafts in search of the mother lode. quartz was found, In 1925 a by the dredges Slowly, Liberty became deserted. Scattered throughout town are relics typical of the various booms that Liberty enjoyed. The oldest are probably the log structures that dot both sides the o:^maln street for nearly a quarter mile. A number of the cabins were used for a time as places of business. and repair. disrepair. On some, Many show signs of loving care the repairs are falling in Sheets of metal roofing placed over scant shingles are loose and floppy. Thick butt shakes have been tacked over the metal and now they are falling away. -8- �N. Weis A water-|whe el-powered rotary goldiwasher rests Intact at the east edge of town. A small ditch still carries a minimal flow of water to the wooden trough that in turn feeds the water to the upper portion of the wooden wheel. The wheel stands about twelve or fourteen feet high and is equipped with perhaps four dozen slanted boards that catch the flow of water. An iron axle transports the power to a series of belts and chains which result in not only turning the drum, but in powering a small endless belt. The belt lifts the gold-*-bearing gravel from the bln to the mouth of the drum, where it is treated with water and agitated. Unwanted gravel flows out the far end of the drum like concrete from an over'^ull ready-mix truck. Periodically the drum is scoured and the gold concentrate is panned out by hand. At the west end of town there is another gold washer. Built to more modern specifications, operates on the same principle, Diesel engine, it but is powered by a and appears to have a capacity hundreds of times that of its counterpart across town. It was in Liberty that the "Incident of the rock" supposedly occurred. repeated, A favorite story, and often it has a number of variations’*"^] .j. i. The -9- �N, grizzled old prospector, Weis tired after ten hard hours spent on the blister end of a pick, was contentedlyeating his home-cooked supper. A two-ton rock came flying through the happenedI roof, smashed the table flat, and drove It, and all, stew, That's when It clear through the floor. boiling mad, but unhurt, supper Spattered with the old gentleman sat then he rose, swiped the stew from his face^and ystalked outside. He planted his feet there a moment, wide and firm. canyon, With a voice heard for miles down the he bellowed^ <tv^'A11 right, dammlt‘^~^who threw It?" -10- �N. Weis BLEWETT, WASHINGTON There are a number of historical accounts I read two of them concerning the town of Blewett. and found little agreement. A third account sided with neither of the first two, hence the vague nature chosen because they were of the following few items, consistent in some small measure. Gold in quartz or nugget form was found by a soldier, perhaps a captain, in 185^ or (^5. The The area was noted either town started about 1861. for its small nuggets found only near bedrock, or its thousand-dollar nugg^gfB^ found nearly everywhere. About 187^, nearby Culver Gulch. gold in quartz was found in The veins ran narrow and rich, or up to eight feet wide. In 1880, the action slowed and the town died — or — the place was a boomer until 1890, when the rush was in full swing! A twenty-stamp mill was built in 1879 by the Chelan Mining Co. For a while it turned out ten thousand gold bricks a week. Some of the facts are obviously "Chamber of Commerce." Like the ten thousand bricks a week. Any gold brick worth its name weighs at least thirty pounds and was worth, in 1890, about ten thousand dollars. Now ten thousand bricks a week adds up to one hundred iaillion dollars in gold per week — far more than the -11- �N. Weis area’s lifetime production. Blewett’s past is hidden behind a disastrous fire, and the destruction of most of the surviving buildings by construction of a highway through town. Later the highway was made wider, and Blewett’s visible trace of history became even narrower. About all one can be sure of in Blewett/ is that the site is located twenty-one miles north of Liberty, and if you don’t look clos^ you will miss it. Four buildings remain on the north side of the road, two of them original structures of Blewett. One is said to have been a shoemaker’s establishment, the other a wood shed. Across the highway are two structures of more obvious background. One, an old stamp mill, shows that four bays of stamps were once in action. A bay of stamps was traditionally five stamps. Near the mill is the old smithy, with a few items of original gear still within. What makes a visit to Blewett worthwhile is the marvelous old stone arrastra. ore crusher, built in 1861 or 18?^, been water*^ower driven. This drag^stone is said to have The explanation seems likely, since it is located adjacent to Peshastln Creek. -12- Much �N, Weis of the ore from the earlier shafts and tunnels was processed here for a percentage of the gold retrieved. Dozens of prospect holes and horizontal tunnels can be found within a mile or so of Blewett. According to the Liberty, topographic map, Washington, 15 minute more than a dozen tunnels are located in Culver Gulch immediately behind the old mill. -13- �N, Weis DISAUTEL, WASHINGTON Disautel stands alone, far removed from the other ghost towns visited in the state of Washington. It is not shown on the area map at the beginning of the chapter, but may be located on the Disautel, Washington, 15 minute topographic map. gravel road 155 heads in north-central Washington, east. In fifteen miles, the right (south), From Omak, a lesser road branches to crosses Omak Creek, and Immediately branches into the various streets of Disautel. To the left is a huge garage, a number of residences, and beyond are one of them occupied. The road to the right leads past a row of look-alike homes, by then windsa number of residences of mixed vintage. On the hill is a strange-looking structure. It appears to be a small store with a gabled false front complete with a pointless window that opens to^e air in both directions. Louis Whlstocken^who lives in town, was happy to talk about the history of Disautel, and to discuss the nature of its remnants. The funny structure on the hill was not a store, but the rear wall and wash house of a home that had been partially dismantled. The large building in the center of town was once a barn for logging teams, then a garage for logging trucks. Louis explained^ �N. Weis that the trucks put many of the loggers out of work. A railroad once carried logs from Disautel to the sawmill at Omak. When the area was logged out, the j^lghway department used the garage for housing road . . Highway Department Later, when the Statfee moved A Only two families remained. . maintaining equipment. out, the town died. Louis Whistocken is a handsome man of Indian ancestry. His last name was his dad’s first name, and meant "walk on the arm." in spite of his name, was a very add that his father, wel]»educated man. Louis hastened to Louis* main interest was rodeo, until he got bent up. "Busted my knees a few times had three specialties, steer ropin’, bull doggin’ and saddle bronc. Used to win my share of prize money even after my knees gave out." On the way out of town I came upon two more bronc busters. The meeting was a near collision. It looked like I would head them off at the bridge^ but at the last moment^ the two young riders veered their mounts sharply and headed for the stream. speed, At full they flew over the backs of their ponies and splashed heavily in the water. Shortly, they both emerged, laughing — each hanging on to his pony’s tail, enjoying a tall drag onto dry land. they galloped off, Remounted, then turned and headed back to $ �N. Weis repeat their performance. stepped out, I stopped the truck and camera In hand. The encore was out­ The third go-round was even better, and standing, the fourth performance rated a cold bottle of pop all around. We sat on the tailgate of my truck and talked, Dave was twelve and Leon was fourteen. were brothers, sharing the last name of St. They Peter. Their father had been killed riding saddle bronc at a rodeo a few years back. In spite of this, the two boys both plan to become championship rodeo hands, Dave pointed out the old Brooks residence just across the creek. It was aroundLeon chimed in, "the ghostiest place "We stayed over there once — clear after it got dark — scared us — it sure is haunted!• I looked back as I drove away, I could see the two of them shaking up the last of their pop • then thumbing the stream of foam carefully against their tongues t, .-ryand each other. �N. Weis ’’The wooded slopes and fractured ridges that make up the Okanogan Highlands in north-central Wash­ Here ington constitute a ghost town hunter’s paradise. within a few miles of the Canadian bo3?der, are the remains of four ghost towns. Born of a short-lived mining boom, they maintained a shaky existence through 1900’s ' the early hundroda as agricultural communities A -1- Le/afJi �N. Weis The last to die was Molson, correctly, the three Molsons. or more The story is unbelievable, but thoroughly documented, John Molson, promoter, investor, and George Meacham, decided to combine their respective funds and talents to create a town. Molson, the man with the money, had large sums invested in the Poland China Gold Mine. The mine was located high on the North Pork of Mary Ann Creek, just two milesof the Canadian border, and not considered a fit site for the town. A flat area four miles west of the mine was selected, and the town laid out. Named for Molson, but never graced by his presence, the town grew from nothing in 1900 to a population of three hundred in one year. Then the town nearly died when Meacham, the promoter, had a bad hassle with the new town fathers and left for Texas, In the first year^ the promoters had invested seventy-five thousand dollars. A drug'^store was built, and a dentist and a lawyer set up practice. The Molson Magnate was to have printed up the first paper. Perhaps a few issues were run off the presses, but no one recalls ever having seen a copy, -2- �N. Weis The ornate three-story Tonasket Hotel was the big drawing card. It had a full-glass front, and a wrap-around second-story ballustrade. More than sixty full-height windows gave the three_story structure an impressive appearance. The two outboard windows on the false front were strictly decoration. They smacked of empty promotion, as did brochures showing steamboats coming up Baker River to dock near the hotel. Baker Creek was in reality the seepage of a few springs a mile to the south. Ore deposits at the Poland China were thinning, and Molson suffered. to be doomed. In 1904-, W. W. For several years the town seemed Then a trickle of homesteaders appeared. Parry built a store and grain warehouse. Rumors of a railroad were widely spread in 1905, and a new j/ercantile went into business. crews did, in fact, The railroad builjK the tracks right past town. Eight saloons grew from the ground overnight "like mushrooms," and a deputy was hired. The town was booming and lots were selling at a premium. J. H. McDonald filed his homestead. Then No one had bothered about land ownership, and Old McDonald had a farm of considerable wealth after he planted the corners of his legally allotted one hundred sixty A acres. His quarter section of land Included forty acres of Molson, Hotel Tonasket included I -3- Molson, Washington �N. Weis Legal notices to vacate were posted, and lawsuits led to countersuits. Storekeeper Parry considered the situation hopeless, mercantile half a mile north. and built a new Sev/Cal businesses followed, and a new residential area was created. Lots in the new Molson had the advantage of uncontested ownership. By 1906, New Molson and Old Molson were of equal size and temperament. Arguments never stopped, and fislfYights were common occur^nces. A gun fight was threatened once when a resident named Sutherland complained of his neighbor's pigs trespassing on his property. Sutherland met his adversary in the middle of Main - .45«s. Street, with two loaded^forty-^ives-. He offered one A to his opponent, but was refused. The fight was a failure, but the pig problem was permanently resolved. By 1908, of Molson. a bank. McDonald had fenced in the old town That year, Mr. L. L. Work decided to build He chose Old Molson, but could not gain legal ownership of a suitable plot of ground, so the bank was built on skids in the middle of Main Street. It opened for business a different place each morning. Finally a lot was designated and the bank was ceremoniously planted. Procedures were temporarily -4- �N. Weis 1nterupted when the participants paused to watch, then take part in one of the better street fights in Molson’s history. ( Miraculously, in 1914 the two enemy camps combined efforts "for the good of our kids," and built a three-story brick schoolhouse. It had a gymnasium in the basement, and steam heat in every room, but the two outhouses were still placed out back as a sanitary measure. Built precisely half way between the two towns, the school became the nucleus of a third town. Those tired of fighting in the name of town pride were quick to build homes and places of business in "Center Molson." Potter built a mercantile, and Dunn built a fancy theater. Addition of a barbershop and pool hall made the new "town" the entertainment spa of the surrounding territory. The two extremes of Molson continued to fight. one. If one had a new dance hall, the other built When an auto dealer began to sell /Oakland^ in Old Molson, a dealership was quickly established in New Molson selling ^Maxwells.'* Proud owners drove to Center Molson to compare notes. the post office, Old Molson had so New Molson opmpaigned to have one -5- �N. Weis of their citizens elected postmaster. They succeeded in 1920, but Old Molson citizens wouldn’t give up the post office. When the old postmaster went to lunch, a few New Molsonites stole the works and moved it to "its rightful location," The fights and arguments continued into the twenties, but they were largely academic, since all three towi^ were shrinking due to Improved trans­ portation and removal of the railroad. happens when business fails, As often the hotels and stores A few of the stores struggled burned down one by one. on for a number‘of years. One of them lasted until 1955. The railroad tracks have been removed, but access to the various Molsons is still easy. The road east from Oroville is a good blacktopped secondary. Fifteen miles out, a gravel road branches to the left. About six miles north on this road stand the remains of* the three Molsons, The^^t^ Bonaparte, Washington, 15 minute map shows the layout of the Molsons as well as Ghesaw, Bolster, and Havlllah. Now, in 1970, all of the stores in the three Molsons are closed and the school is deserted. Only a handful of people are left to carry on the fight, and they seem to be uninterested. -6- �N. Weis At old Molson, three buildings have been Among them is the old bank building. preserved. Fully equipped with memorabilia of the times, it is an excellent museum of the early I9OO agricultural era. Surrounding the old bank is a multitude of ancient farm machinery. powered tractors, steam—-'" and *—> reapers, cultivators# A f Horse powered saws, threshers, are there. At New Molson, or just plain Molson, a T-shaped intersection is lined with nearly a dozen Outstanding are the Pratt substantial buildings. and Chamberlin two---story rock or concrete structures that were built in 1913. On the corner is the G, L. Diamond S^^re with a sign in front stating "For Sale, Inquire wihln or ...."and that is all. Fire Axs destroyed part of the interior, but much of the < AL*'*------ - 1/ counterwork and some scattered merchandise ts- still inside. Next to the Diamond Store is a wood and metal building that is still full of old hardware. Nails, rusty bolts, bent gutter work and other worthless items are strewn all about. the front reads The sign on "McCoys Cash Store — Meats and Groceries ," -7- ar �N. Weis A hundred yards south of the Diamond Store is the quaint old broad-porched headquarters build­ ing of the Eastern Okanagan Telephone Company. Its picturesque multl-paned front ^Indow and pompous false front make it the classic structure of Molson, Center Molson has the school and grange hall. The school has a T^Vj antenna on its roof, and cord after cord of weathered firewood stacked at its foundation. The basketball court is still in the school basement. It isn’t hard to Imagine a game in progress. Bitter enemies must have gathered here to sit in close proximity. Perhaps they even joined together momentarily to give three cheers for the Molson basketball team. -8- aJ th. �N. Weis GHSSAW, WASHINGTON Ten miles east of the Molson Jiinction, the banks of Meyers Greek, on stands the town of Chesaw. Once the prime rival of the Molsons, It has been reduced by time and fire to a precious few buildings, A country store continues in operation and a dozen or so people live nearby. July, Once a year, on the Fourth of up to six thousand people flock to the famous Chesaw Fair and Hodeo, and Chesaw looks like its old self again --but on this quiet summer day, only one car was parked on Main Street, Beyond the little general store is a small log structure that has been converted to a double­ In 1900, doored garage. "Home Millinery" shop. this was Minnie Carpenter’s In its display windows the latest feathered fashions were changed as rapidly as styles required. There were several other hat shops, among them "Mrs, Commodore Johnson's Millinery Shop," where the tastes of the younger generation were counted North of Minnie’s Millinery is the false- fronted Townsite Building, Once there was a bold sign along its flank reading "TOWNSITE OFFICE" indi­ cating it was a real^estate office, perhaps both. or town halli Between the Townsite Building and -9- �N. Weis Minnie’s is the largest remaining building in Chesaw, It has been used for a number of purposes, best remembered as the Chesaw Bank. but is Later it was the town’s post office, and more recently it has served as a residence. One of the first mining services offered in Chesaw was that of assayer, J. P. Blaine. His small smelter and laboratory building stands on the right side of the street at the extreme north end of town. The hipped-roofj^square-log structure is plumb and sound of wall, but its shingles are blowing away in batches, and the lean-to shed behind is in Ou shambles. The tree that stands behind matches the ' building, With sturdy trunk topped with broken limbs and dead branches, A quarter mile north of town are the squat remains of a two—story log and frame house. beautiful home, Once a it now presents a study in angularity. The left gable leans out. The ridge'^ole has broken and permitted the roof to drop at the center. One comer has sunk and carried one side of the entry cubic^ with it, creating another set of distortions from the vertical, Chesaw was named after ”Chee-Saw," an early Chinese settler who took an Indian wife and settled JL 0 *** �N. Weis near a commonly traveled ford on Meyers Greek. In the 1800*s visitors to Ghee-Saw’s Ford spotted some traces of gold in the creek. Word of the gold spread, but since the area was in the Golvllle Indian Reser­ vation, no prospecting was allowed. In I896, with morals adjusted to fit the pocketbook, the white man opened half the /i^eservation to mineral claims. Promptly, a»ory good pasturesand fieldswere taken by whites^ as placer claims. The town"~site of Ghesaw was laid out on land obtained by filing a half-dozen Some honest mineral claims false claims side by side. t were made, however, on outcrops that looked promising. Iron and copper were the first ores taken in hard-'^ rock operations, the Ast er, Gonslderable iron has come from '’^Polaris, and the /Roosevelt placer^old was "spotty," The One claim might yield eighty dollars a pan, and twenty feet away another claim would be worthless. The ^Gold Axe*- on Buckhorn Mountain was the first to produce gold from hard rock. Eventually high-grade ore was produced in quantity, and mills were built at the north edge of Ghesaw and at a road junction about three miles to the south. By 1900 Ghesaw was a sizeable log community of two hundred population. -11- It grew rapidly into a �N. Weis full-blown town with two three-story frame hotels, and a population (on a Saturday night, and counting dogs) ahe-— that neared the/^thousand mark. Josh Clary's saloon In town. "Greenwood" was the busiest Fred Fine’s paper, //he Meyers Creek Ne^,\ aligned Itself solidly with the editorial policies of the Republican ^arty, and printed a little news on the side. The-Barker Hotel burned in I906, and @years lateri three more of the town's larger buildings were destroyed. * y^burned^ Mining operations were dropping off as lodes were depleted. The Greenwood Saloon was sold and converted toca church. roof, A steeple was tacked’on the extending only slightly above the saloon's false front. In the twenties, the automobile led people to the bigger towns, and Chesaw declined at an increasing rate. Many buildings were scavenged, Pires racked the town in I950 and again in 1959. But the population of Chesaw is now increasing. Recently a couple bought the old eight-"^ sided silo behind the general store. Stained a dark brown and fitted with a spiral staircase and handsome front door, it makes a proper summer home. p. -12- �N, Weis BOLSTER, WASHINGTON D. Drill» G. Jenkins was the editor of the Bolster Generally outspoken, he was particularly acidic as he wrote his last editorial. He had learned why so few subscriptions had been bought. the paper. Most borrowed Some even split the cost and passed the paper around. Editor Jenkins wrote» To those upon whose backs a fungus growth sere and yellow is clinging , Those who for the past year have borrowed the paper.j .j.which wasn’t no good no how, I offer my sympathy!" He closed his office and departed town. Bolster, just two miles north of Chesaw, once threateened to outshine its southern rival. one year, For each called the other a "suburb," It was in 1899 that J. S. the Commonwealth Placer Claim, McBride bought up paced off a main street, named the place "Bolster," and proceeded to sell lots. The Hamilton Store was already there, and soon a corner of the store was designated as post office, with the storekeeper as postmaster. stores sprang into action, up. Within a year, two more and three saloons opened Thirty homes were built, and Editor Jenkins started up the paper with high hopes of success. -13“ �N. A three-story hotel, parts, Weis the mark of success In these was constructed, hut never quite finished,' Bolster collapsed! It seemed to follow the mining trend closer than Ghesaw, and perhaps the loss of Its newspaper had some effect. The town’s people drifted to Ghesaw and Molson, School opened for one post office closed In 1909. year In I9IO, then closed. The By 1916 the only citizens left were seven bachelor prospectors, and they finally left or died. The remains are sparse, A large false-X^ fronted saloon stands at the edge of a cultivated field, Its three bay windows are vacant, A false front extends half heartedly toward the ridge-pole, and part of It Is blown away. The north wall sags and will soon fall,and will probably take the rest "^with it, of the building alon^ similar structure, Just beyond the saloon Is a but without a false front. may have been a store, It but has been used as a bam ! SO long that all signs of human occupancy are gone. Half a dozen cabins are scattered about, last used^ perhaps^by the seven lonely prospectors. There isn’t much left to see or explore at Bolster, The few old buildings seem sad and dejected. -1^- �N. Weis Only one man could look upon this lonely scene with any measure of satisfaction. Jenkins, -15- That man would be Editor �HAVILLAH, WASHINGTON Martin Schweikert built a grist^^ In 1903, mill and store near the junction of Antoine Greek and Mill Greek, at a point three miles west and ten miles southwest by road from Ghesaw, good; and in a few years Mr. Schweikert, first postmaster, mill. Business was the town’s built a larger steam,powered flour The boiler and other parts were railroaded into Molson, and then freighted sixteen miles to Havillah by oxen. constructed, Grain storage buildings were and soon fine white flour was flowing from the mill. Packed in carefully weighed sacks, it sold far and wide under the trade name of "Gold Sheaf." Soon a log school was built, ydhurch constructed. Havillah, and a Lutheran pronouned "HaVEBlah," —— — was rapidly approaching its maximum size. In 1917 a handsome new tall-splred church was built. A deep ravine cuts across in front of the church, requiring access via a wooden foot bridge. Although the bridge is In doubtful repair, and the church looks somewhat tattered at the windows, sign out front proclaims weekly services led by Reverend Wlnterstein. -16- the �N. Weis The little log schoolhouse has become an Y-«si out building for one of the remaining Stoutly resisting decay, with windows boarded over, it is hung all about with the wire, ladders, cables, chains and the miscellaneous parts that farmers always save. When the Schweikert was converted to a school. |llll closed down, it A second-story access had to be added as a fire escape. Enclosed, and lighted by two small windows, the stairway cranks its way down the side of the building, around the corner, and ends at the next corner, having traversed nearly half of the building’s perimeter. Havillah Isn’t much of a place anymore^ of course^ ^t never did measure out to be much of a place — until you added up the- friendships, the memories, and the good times that were yesterday in Havillah. -17- �N. Weis I -------- ’^he road northeast from Wauconda parallels Todora Creek along its entire length, the creek's terminating at juncture with Kettle River. along this scenic route, is the site of Bodie, About midway fifteen miles from Wauconda, Washington, Forested slopes broken by occasional barren outcrops and footed by grassy flats make the trip to Bodie one of pleasant -1- �N. Weis variation, Todora Creek bounces along, nearly always visible|from the road, and gently audible at each The Bodie Mountain, crossing. n‘iAp Washington^ opo is a definite aid to exploration. Part of this map Is reproduced in the introduction. Bodie has half a dozen buildings strung out along the road, Most of the cabinsiare stained board and the creek. 'batten. mostly on the east side,vnext to Across the Only one is of log construction. street is the deserted Bodie ^chool, complete with wood^shed and twin houses out back. The second story of the schoolhouse appears to have been an apartment, perhaps an early version of a teacherage, Bodie was established as a mill town about 1900. At one time it had a store, house, bunkhouse^and hotel. post office, cook^* Almost every resident worked for the Perkins Milling Company. The giant stamp mill processed much of the ore taken from the Golden Reward and the Elk (later the Golconda) /fines. Business was good up until the late thirties. shut down — and so did Bodie. Since then, The mill In 1962 the mill burned. things have been pretty quiet. You can almost hear the silence in Bodie, especially at sunset. Later, by moonlight, the old cabins in town take on a new look. seem luminous, Bleached boards and fence posts show half outlines. -2- Bodie, Washington �N. Weis Clouds scattered above reflect the dim light and stand out boldly against the pitch-dark sky. The morning light divorced Bodie of its nocturnal beauty. dingy. One, Some of the cabins looked downright however, was in fine trim, recently repaired, and protected by a sign that made me think twicer "NO TRESPASSING — SURVIVORS WILL BE PROSECUTED^ �N. Weis OLD TODORA, WASHINGTON Indian trails generally followed the streams, and the white man often built his wagon roads on top of the trails. Consequently, where streams Joined, roads also met, and there towns sprang into being. Todora was established at the confluence of Cougar and Todora ^reeks, northeast of Wauconda. It mushroomed into existence shortly after I896 when the area was opened to mineral claims. By I898 there were twenty-five cabins strung out along the Inter-section. road, Aligned on both sides of the north-south there was a store, smithy, assay office, and post office. It appeared to be a growing town, but rumors concerning the nearby mines were circulating shortly after its post office was established. The suggestion was made to move the town north four miles where the mines were more promising. The town stayed, of course, but eight months after Todora received its post office, it was moved and given the name of Bodie. Later a post office opened twenty miles farther northeast, using the name Todora. The original Todora then took on its present designation, "Old Todora." Along Old Todora's main street are three of its original business houses and ai, number of cabins. �N. Weis the One of the cabins on the east side of.main street was A probably the residence and office of Postmaster Frederick Just north is the badly decayed structure Rosenfelt. that once housed the local assaye?s^ office. Its walls are sagging and its roof poles are nearly barren of shingles. On the west side of the street the blacksmith’s shop stands nearly roofless. and its gables enclosed with log walls are well joined, Adjacent and to the north, broad rough-hewn boards. is the Schmellng General Store, brothersI Its solid Carl and Herman. once operated by The roof was extended six feet to the front to provide shade for window-shoppers and inveterate whlttlers. Just west of Old Todora is a modern country home. I stopped in to ask about Old Todora, and was heartily; welcomed by the Atchisons. Over huge stacks of pancakes topped with buttered syrup, we discussed the deserted towns and mining camps in the area. After determining the nature of each building in Old Todora, Washington, I mentioned that my Bodie Mountain, Topographic (15 minute) map indicated a large mine three miles upstream on Cougar Creek. The Atchison brothers, S. G. and Charlie, its existence and elaborated. >5- confirmed Called the Sheridan �N. Weis Mine Gamp, it had a number of buildings including a That made it a ghost town in my mill and dormitory. book. I thanked the Atchisons and headed for the door. Before I could leave, Charlie added, "You might go on up a couple of miles and look over the old town of Sheridan, There’s a dozen buildings there, some made of logs — three stories high — and a hotel with dance hall on the second floor — balcony^tool " The map was quickly spread^ and the site located. Beside the first sharp switchback above the head of the creek were two empty squares, ting deserted buildings. Charlie was surprised the "It’s on the old Sheridan map showed even that much, Road, indica­ you know — used to go all the way to Republic, but it’s been blocked with trees for years." Mrs. Atchison volunteered, "Not too many people know about the place — last bunch in there punctured their oil pan. We had to go up and rescue Of course they had to walk all the way dovrn. their car. Amidst warnings of deep ruts and boulder-::^ strewn switchbacks, information, I thanked them for pancakes and then set off for Sheridan Camp and Sheridan Town, -6- �N. Weis SHERIDAN MINE CAMP, WASHINGTON The road was exactly as stated — terrible The first three quarters of a Ruts wery'a foot deep. mile wasn't bad, but after making the left turn to go the up East Pork of Cougar Greek, the road became a A Heavy trucks had been through here when challenge. the ground was wet and soft. Narrow ridges between ruts were now the roadway, and accurate navigation was a must. In two miles, a gate blocked the road, but here was the turnoff heading left up to the mine camp, A sort of halfway house was located at the -'jV junction. It was a handsome cabin of large logs, roofed with moss-grown thick-butt cedar shingles. Half a mile north of the halfway house cookhouse junction was the Sheridan Gamp^o^k and bunkhouse. Eleven logs high, for cooking, and steeply roofed, it offered room heatlng^and recreation, with sleeping quarters above. Behind the bunkhouse was a board and batten shed with an alr-clrculatlng c^ola on top. I speculated that it was either a meatjhouse or assay office, or perhaps the cooking was done here instead of in the big log building. One of the nice features of exploring an "unknown" site is that the only information available is "on the spot" guess work. -7- �N. Weis One thing is certain. The twelve>»by-“elghteen-foot vented building had been bu^t around a four-foot-’diameter stump, sawed flat at table height and full of chop marks I That meant it most likely had been a meat house or cook house. The asssy office theory was ruled out. Just up the hill a bit the old mill clings to the hillside, the roadway. extending down to and including half In fact the road splits to go either past or under the mill chutes. shape. The mill is in bad Much of its superstructure is gone, X / ■ / lron__work and machinery is missing. shouldn’t call it a mill, Perhaps I for its Inside timbering did not resemble most mills. It could have been a concentrator^or merely a fancy loader. was a square two-story building. equipment was inside, was evident. Near the "mill" Some of the original and the function of this structure Forge tables, with cinders and charcoal still in place, made it a smithy. littered one end of the building. portion, and its Numerous ore samples In a small^closed there was an abundance of crushed ore. An oven pedestal and roof vent were enough to deduce that an assayer carried out his work at this end of the building. -8- �N. Weis The road was narrow, and it took a while to find a place wide enough to turn about. For a I suspected that I had driven in on the ultimate one­ way road -- "in only." accomplished, Finally, a one-eighty I headed for Sheridan Town with high expectations. -9- �N. Weis SHERIDAN (TOWN), WASHINGTON From the "halfway house" through an unlocked gate, the road leads and continues upstream along the north bank of the East Pork of Cougar Creek. The roadway is narrow. area on either side of the mile and a half. There is no flat "straight" road for a The first turn is a sharp switch- back to the right. At this point a faint roadway leads straight ahead. The barely perceptible track was the main street of Sheridan. Looming on the right, and fairly hidden by trees, was a two-and-a-half-story "hotel," Each story was eight logs high, and the logs were fat — well over a foot in diameter. logs to the gable top. still standing! It was another eight Twenty-four logs high and Across the front of the lower floor was a long timbered opening designed to hold two double doors and several large windows. The lower foundation logs extended forward a dozen feet to support a wide boardwalk, now entirely rotted away. Close inspection Indlcatad that company offices may have been planned for the main floor, with living quarters above. Just up the main road a few yards was another log building of nearly equal size. -10- It looked �N. Weis like another "hotel," but more probably was built to house the laboring force. Centered, and behind these two massive log buildings was a third log structure. It was a low^ single-story outfit, with collapsed roof. low walls divided It Into stalls, Numerous spelling out Its It was a stable, and It was a big one — function. larger In floor space than either of the taller log buildings. The faint trail that led Into the trees from the switchback became more Indistinct with every step. I had gone perhaps one hundred yards beyond the two-anda-*half—story log "hotel" when I came across the collapsed remains of the real It had been gigantic — and plush. logs formed tall^ slngle-»story side walls. Squared Adz marks on the logs Indicated they had been flattened without the benefit of saws. jointed. The corners were beautifully lock'-'~^ Above the first floor had been a vaulted peaked roof, constructed of sawed rafters and shingled with heavy shakes. The entire upper floor — clear out to the useless eaves -- was floored smooth with expensive (for that era) tongue and groove boards. This was the fancy place the Atchison Jfrothers at Old Todora had told me about. -11- It had been Intact Just �N, Weis a few years before. The upper floor was used for dances, and had a walk-out veranda. Below the veranda was the usual boardwalk leading into.the lower floor, which was the hotel proper. The rest of the town was anticlimactic. hind the hotel was a large dug-out cooler. Be­ West and north of the hotel were six cabins in various states One of them had roof shakes nearly three everything feet long, and^was so well preserved that it could of decay. have been made liveable with a few hours* labor. Never had I been in a more deserted or more forgotten town, nor had-I ever seen ^uch magnificent log buildings. Just how they had survived was a -. mystery. The big log building at the switchback was a mystery by itself, appearance. Something was "wrong” with its It took a moment —— then it was obvious. There were no windows at the sides or on the upper floors. No sane man would live in a flammable building without an avenue of escape. to have windows. At first it seemed unexplainable. Then things began to add up. downstream, months. falling. A building like this had Old Todora, a few miles had ^eld its post office for only eight The reason was that the mines nearby were Gould it be that Sheridan Town failed -12- just �N. Weis as quickly, and that work on the big log building was stopped short, just before the windows were slated to be cut out and framed? Perhaps the reasoning Is In error. I hope It Is, In a way. for standing In the middle of this Im­ pressive ghost town, one begins to feel guilty about prying Into long-held secrets. Like a grand old lady, her modicum of privacy. -13- Sheridan Town deserves � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Norman Weis Manuscripts Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1971-1987 Description An account of the resource A collection of manuscripts by Casper College professor Norman Weis. <br /><br />This collection includes manuscripts of:<br /><em>Ghost Towns of the Northwest: Known and Unknown<br />The Starduster<br />Two-Story Outhouse<br />Helldorados<br /></em><br />Each manuscript contains written in edits by Norman Weis Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Norman Weis Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Norm Weiss Manuscripts and Photographs, CCA 10.2003.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Searchable PDF Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CCA 10.2003.01_Weis_Manuscripts Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Manuscript Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Ghost Towns of the Northwest: Known and Unknown </em>Washington&nbsp;Draft Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <div class="element-text five columns omega"> <p><a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a></p> </div> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1971 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Norman Weis Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Norm Weiss Manuscripts and Photographs, CCA 10.2003.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CCA 10.2003.01_Weis_GhostTowns_DraftManuscript_Wash Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Searchable PDF