Lake Chelan was Washington’s Gold Mine King
Lake Chelan was Washington’s Gold Mine King
Halfway up Lake Chelan, not far from Holden Village, was Washington’s most successful gold mine.
Bill Phillips, Holden Village Archives
Gold? Lake Chelan? Yes!
The year is 1896. Harry Holden (born James Henry Holden,) a man who found wealth from mining in Nevada - discovered gold in the base of a remote Lake Chelan mountain.
Because of the hard-to-get-to location of the new treasure trove, large scale mining would not start for another forty years.
Production years
In 1938, large-scale mining operations finally got underway and the Holden Mine became Washington's largest producer of several precious metals; gold, silver & copper.
Not long after World War II, gold and other precious metal prices dropped, affecting the bottom line of running the mine.The Holden Mine stopped production in 1956. When the official closing took place in 1957, a confirmed amount of 514,000 ounces of gold was mined from the mountain.
Bill Phillips, Holden Village Archives
Holden’s Post Mining Era
The owners, Howe Sound Company, had an asking price of $100,000. In 1960, after nearly 4 years of no interest, they agreed to hand over the property to the Lutheran Bible Institute (known today as Trinity Lutheran College.)
The new caretakers envisioned the Holden mining town to be a spiritual retreat campus in 1960. The decaying structures were brought back to life by hard working volunteers. The mining town became the year round retreat center we know of today.
John Hottinger, Hike Haus Head (via Holden Village on Facebook)
Considering a visit to Holden Village? Here's some online information: HoldenVillage.org
'Located in the North Cascade Mountains, Holden Village welcomes all people to form and renew their relationships with God, the earth, and each other.' -Holden Village.org
INFO: Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce, GoldProspectors.org, HoldenVillage.org
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SEE INSIDE: The Unique Mountain Tower Cabin in the Cascades
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