We’ve already covered how Lake Chelan and Stehekin offer a geographically extraordinary gateway to the west via Suiattle Pass and Cascade Pass (and now Rainy Pass as well) used by natives for thousands of years, as discussed in Ancient Trails.

Then mining along the Stehekin River valley attracted many non-natives here, as covered in Bridge Creek and Cascade Pass.

Some people who came to work the mines stayed as homesteaders even after the mines were abandoned. This story is about those people – the ones who built lives in Stehekin and along the Stehekin River. These are the pioneers of the town of Stehekin.

1880 to 1927 (before the dam)

This page is still under construction

The Dam and Relocating Stehekin in 1927

The most impactful event in Stehekin history was the construction of the existing dam at Chelan. If you visited Stehekin in 1925 you would have found the town and the dock on the opposite shore from where it is today and you would have seen a longer flat at the mouth of the Stehekin River. Even the road up-river was on the other side of the river than today.

The existing dam at Chelan, which was started in 1926 and completed in 1928, was actually the third or fourth in a rapid succession of dams starting in 1892, but it was the only one that raised the lake level so much that the town of Stehekin had to relocate to higher ground. The dam rasied the lake level 21 feet and now regulates the surface level of Lake Chelan between 1,079 and 1,100 feet above sea level.

The summer of 1927 was a busy time for the residents of Stehekin. It was spent tearing down the town on the west side of the late and rebuilding it on the east side of the lake. That included the dock, the ranger station, and the Field Hotel. Some of the hotel lumber was used to build today’s Stehekin Lodge. The new ranger station was built at Purple Point. That summer the Golden West Lodge was opened as a hotel. Because the dock was moved, the road on the east side of the late and river became the main road. The old road on the west side still exists between Weaver Point Campground and Company Creek and is reachable only by Harlequin Bridge.

1929 – Willaim Van Buckner gave the orchard to his son Harry Buckner. Harry was a year-round resident and the Stehekin postmaster. 1930 – Jack Blankenship built the McKellar Cabin which still stands near Purple Point.

High Bridge

In addition to the station at Purple Point, other ranger stations were built on the Stehekin River. 1933-34 The High Bridge Ranger Station was built for the USFS by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It included a residence, a shop/garage, barn, corral, and outhouse. It replaced the previous ranger station which was less than a mile further downstream on the Stehekin River, at the Bullion trailhead.

After mining ended

When all the mines (except maybe the Black Warrior) had ceased operations Stehekin became a tourist town and a place for residents seeking the kind of isolation it offers.

TEST CHANGE