|
In 1889, prospector Joe Pearsall set out from Mineral City northeast of Index and climbed to the top of 6000-foot Hubbard Peak. His first clue to the possibility of mineral wealth was the presence of red streaks in the rock galena. On July 4th, 1889, the first claim was staked in Monte Cristo, starting a sensational gold rush; the glint of minerals around Monte Cristo sparked speculative investments to tap the promising sources of gold and silver. Mr. Charles Colby and Mr. Colgate Hoyt realized the need, and the potential profit, of building a railroad track from Everett to the mining camp. With railroad fever everywhere in the northwest, both gentlemen realized that these trains brought growth and opportunities galore: where the tracks went, so did the population, the businesses, and therefore the economic developments. Puget Sound Reduction Company even relocated its headquarters from Seattle to Everett in 1892 and began construction of the smelter on September 29th of that same year. In December, the plant, which was situated above the Snohomish River delta and downwind from Everett, received the sidings for the Everett & Monte Cristo Railway terminus. This railroad, which was crucial to the mining operations, was to enable the smelter to refine 250 tons of arsenic and sulfur-contaminated ore daily within its three blast furnaces. Mr. Hoyt convinced his friend, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, to finance the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway (E&MCR), which was incorporated on March 11, 1892. However, even with this great wealth, financing still was an issue, because of the nationwide panic of 1893. The sale of Everett Land Company bonds did provide the remaining capital in the end. As construction was almost immediate, the railroad surveyors ignored repeated warnings of the sudden and violent flooding of the river, dismissing it as a "little trout stream". After the three bridges and six tunnels in Robe Canyon were almost completed in November of 1892, they met up with the largest storm in 20 years. The fury of nature washed out the grade in many locations and covered other locations with landslides. Again, the railroad Board of Directors minimized the concerns; this lead to a chronic, frustrating, and futile series of reconstructions, which would last for the next 40 years. For a time, the railroad prospered from the freight revenue, as it transported miners, supplies, and machinery to the mining camps. In turn, it carried the ore concentrates from the mines to smelters in Everett. Logging operations also added business, as the logs were transported to the various mills along its path. And, a surprising use of this line was as a popular tourist destination. On February 24, 1893, the Monte Cristo Mining Company filed a plat in Cleveland, Ohio, for the town of Monte Cristo, and the corporate headquarters for this syndicate were located at 36 Wall Street in New York City. (In actuality, the Monte Cristo Mining Company was part of the Everett Land Company syndicate. (10)) Ten days later, a second plat was filed in Washington State, by a separate group of men, resulting in several years of legal confrontations and ending in two separate sections to the town of Monte Cristo. Most miners stayed all week at the bunkhouses near their work, as the mines all entailed long and arduous walks up to their mountainside locations. Fatalities were fairly common occurrences due to snow slides and avalanches. As well as concerns over the housing conditions, labor troubles arose from disputes over the pay disparity within the industry. (10) The smelter produced $546,955 in gold and silver bullion with
only one furnace in use, from January to September in 1895. This,
of course, included ore from outside Monte Cristo as well. The
smelter even added arsenic extractors, in 1897, in response to
the demand for arsenic trioxide, an insecticide and industrial
reagent. This proved to be a very profitable sideline. Employment
rose to between 75 and 125 people, who were transported via trolley
from their residences. There was only a vague reference to the
health risks associated with living in proximity to the smelter.
In the 1900 souvenir edition of "The Daily Independent",
an article noted, "This removal from the city's center relieves
the people wholly from the fumes and vapors that are commonly
given off during the smelting process, and that makes life in
the city like Butte, for instance, almost intolerable. At the
same time, the distance is sufficiently short, from two to three
miles, to make the smelter industry a part of that of Everett,
where its employees reside." (1) Stories of the families
of these smelter workers have been documented in "Voices
from Everett's First Century," by Margaret Rynning Mickelson.
Here is one such quote: "The arsenic smoke that poured out
of those stacks was a very yellowish green and had a strong smell.
The slag from the ore ran like liquid through a long trough to
the slag dump. Later this slag was crushed and used on streets
that were muddy." (1) This smoke description sounds like
sulfur, which was a significant problem with the ores when smelting,
noted prominent Monte Cristo historian, Mr. David A. Cameron.
(10) And, Mr. Arthur Thompson wrote this about his father: "When
he came home his black hat would be white, covered with arsenic
dust. Mother wouldn't let him go back. The men who worked there
didn't last long." (1) By 1897, when shipments reached record levels (10), it became apparent that the mineral deposits in Monte Cristo Mines were not of high quality. This was a due to the fact that the mountain range was subject to earthquakes, making it difficult to find long veins of concentrated ore deposits, remarked Everett historian, David Dilgard. (11) Thereafter, as shipments declined and expenses for repairs far surpassed the revenue, the decision was made not to rebuild the tracks east of Granite Falls. This was after the major rain, flooding, and washout cut off access to Monte Cristo in November. By 1899, with the railroad and mines in receivership, John D. Rockefeller opted to rebuild and sell, which he did. In fact, it was the decision of Rockefeller's agent, Gates, which drove the companies into receivership in the first place, so that he could gain control over them. (10) The mines, alone, brought in $1 million through their purchase by ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company). In February 1903, the E&MCR was taken over by the Northern Pacific. By 1915, the Rucker Brothers had leased the Monte Cristo branch, in order to access and supply their sawmill in Lake Stevens, their timber camps east of Granite Falls, and the Big Four Inn, built in 1920. This Inn was a spectacular resort, a popular vacation destination, and the "brainchild" of the brothers. (7) The Monte Cristo branch was chartered as a common carrier, known as the Harford Eastern, and was obligated to provide service to all the lumber camps, towns, and mills on the line. This was a financial strain on the brothers, especially the maintenance burdens. In 1925, things worsen when the lease expired, and the brothers were forced to purchase the line. They finally rid themselves of this debacle in the spring of 1929. (10) It is interesting to note the fact that this mining venture and its tortuous history reached the east coast and the attention of the New York Times, with the following headlines: 1.) February 7, 1895: "THE MONTE CRISTO MINES FIASCO: Absurdity of Men Investing Large Sums in Property of Which They Know Little." (a letter to the editor): "How many times is this old, old story of disastrous
mining investment to be repeated? Were the shrewd business men
who obtained control of the property in 1891 so anxious to begin
building their railroads, and the erection of their concentrator
and smelter, that the had no time to look into the merits, from
a mining standpoint, of the so-called mines, which were to form
a basis for all this financial superstructure? 2.) February 10, 1895: "Miners Leave Rockefeller. Alleged Ill Treatment at the Monte Cristo Mines in Snohomish, Wash." "These mines are owned by John D. Rockefeller and his associates in the Standard Oil Company. Men assert that wretched bunkhouses, originally built to house only a score of men, are now made to shelter as many as seventy. They have no ventilation or light except that offered by huge cracks in the walls and leaky roofs" AND 3.) May, 1, 1905; "Rockefeller Loses in Mine, $2,000,000 Goes, It Is Said, in Monte Cristo, which Will Be Closed." (3)
"(Rockefeller) bought them about 1890 of Leigh Hunt,
who is exploiting Korean gold mines and cotton growing in the
Soudan. Rockefeller built an immense concentrator and furnished
money for a great amount of tunneling and drifting for richer
ore. All the ore proved of low grade and unprofitable." Although ASARCO's purchase of the mines and smelter was only a means of acquiring the machinery and eliminating the competition with their Ruston Smelter in Tacoma, the arsenic extraction continued until 1912. The smelter's smokestacks were toppled in 1915, but sadly the long-term impact on the residential area that sprung up on that site lasted for another hundred years. Researched and written by Aileen M. Langhans in June, 2008 (1) Museum of Snohomish County History, Looking Back Series:
"The dubious history of Everett's smelter", by Eric
Taylor. Building the Everett-Monte Cristo Railway, Stillaguamish Canyon,
1892 (LEFT) Heading into Monte Cristo on the Everett-Monte Cristo Railway tracks. (BELOW)
|