Monte Cristo (extracted from www.historylink.org, written by David Cameron, Jan 02, 2008) On February 24, 1893, the Monte Cristo Mining Company files a plat in Cleveland, Ohio, for the town of Monte Cristo, located in Snohomish County, Washington. The corporation, located on its mining claims at the junction of Glacier and Seventy-six creeks, files a plat creating the most inaccessible town in the county, at the highest elevation (2,900 feet). With the railroad expected to arrive by late summer, several hundred permanent residents are anticipated, with many more men working in the mines and prospecting for new veins of ore deep in the Cascade Mountains. Two Plats in a Tricky Setting Although the mines were in Washington and the corporate headquarters for the Everett syndicate were located at 36 Wall Street in New York City, the principal individuals who created the Monte Cristo mining industry all had ties to Cleveland, Ohio. Both Charles Colby (1839-1896) and Joseph Colby resided there, as did Colgate Hoyt (1849-1922), and Cleveland was the city where John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), owner of the railroad being extended to Monte Cristo, spent his formative years. Thus it was in Cleveland that Joseph Colby of the newly formed Monte Cristo Mining Company filed their plat. Ten days later a second plat was filed in Washington under the government townsite law. This was filed by a separate group of men, and for several years resulted in legal action between claimants and owners of structures already on the land. Thus there were two separate sections to the town, the company townsite above and along the narrow peninsula between the creeks, and the lower section, a narrow band of lots from the creek confluence and flat of the rail yards and on both sides of the South Fork Sauk River. This was formed at that point by the creeks coming together and was spanned by a sloping wooden bridge off the peninsula toward the depot below -- a tricky challenge for winter bobsledders. Lots actually had been promoted and reserved since the first of the year by the Colby group, with large down payments required and prices not cheap. Along Dumas Street, the main thoroughfare of the community, undeveloped prime real estate with no improvements or services might be had for $800, or approximately $17,500 in current value. (A miner’s daily wage was $2.50 per day, minus board and room.) By the time the plat was filed, 84 of the 236 lots had already been sold. Most of the less desirable ones farther up the hill and some distance away from the rail yards stayed in company hands. A Community Based on Mining The first listing of businesses and residents comes from 1894. At that date the town had the expected number of saloons, hotels, boarding houses, and mercantile establishments, but also the Star Dairy, a meat market, and a laundry. Other professions included barbers, shoemakers, a baker, a tailor and a dressmaker, plus druggists and a doctor -- employed by the Monte Cristo Mining Company. There was a Presbyterian church briefly, with law and order in the hands of a constable and a deputy sheriff. Newspaper publisher James Bartholomew also served as justice of the peace and manager of the telephone company. Only one known issue of his Monte Cristo Mountaineer has survived. School District No. 70 was established that year, its one-room building erected not far from 76 Creek in the upper corner of the townsite. Many residents lived in hotels and boarding houses, while others rented small frame homes. Most miners stayed all week at the bunkhouses near their work, as the mines (with the exception of the nearby Rainy) all entailed long and arduous walks up to their mountainside locations. Fatalities occurred due to snow slides and , OCR Text: Monte Cristo (extracted from www.historylink.org, written by David Cameron, Jan 02, 2008) On February 24, 1893, the Monte Cristo Mining Company files a plat in Cleveland, Ohio, for the town of Monte Cristo, located in Snohomish County, Washington. The corporation, located on its mining claims at the junction of Glacier and Seventy-six creeks, files a plat creating the most inaccessible town in the county, at the highest elevation (2,900 feet). With the railroad expected to arrive by late summer, several hundred permanent residents are anticipated, with many more men working in the mines and prospecting for new veins of ore deep in the Cascade Mountains. Two Plats in a Tricky Setting Although the mines were in Washington and the corporate headquarters for the Everett syndicate were located at 36 Wall Street in New York City, the principal individuals who created the Monte Cristo mining industry all had ties to Cleveland, Ohio. Both Charles Colby (1839-1896) and Joseph Colby resided there, as did Colgate Hoyt (1849-1922), and Cleveland was the city where John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), owner of the railroad being extended to Monte Cristo, spent his formative years. Thus it was in Cleveland that Joseph Colby of the newly formed Monte Cristo Mining Company filed their plat. Ten days later a second plat was filed in Washington under the government townsite law. This was filed by a separate group of men, and for several years resulted in legal action between claimants and owners of structures already on the land. Thus there were two separate sections to the town, the company townsite above and along the narrow peninsula between the creeks, and the lower section, a narrow band of lots from the creek confluence and flat of the rail yards and on both sides of the South Fork Sauk River. This was formed at that point by the creeks coming together and was spanned by a sloping wooden bridge off the peninsula toward the depot below -- a tricky challenge for winter bobsledders. Lots actually had been promoted and reserved since the first of the year by the Colby group, with large down payments required and prices not cheap. Along Dumas Street, the main thoroughfare of the community, undeveloped prime real estate with no improvements or services might be had for $800, or approximately $17,500 in current value. (A miner’s daily wage was $2.50 per day, minus board and room.) By the time the plat was filed, 84 of the 236 lots had already been sold. Most of the less desirable ones farther up the hill and some distance away from the rail yards stayed in company hands. A Community Based on Mining The first listing of businesses and residents comes from 1894. At that date the town had the expected number of saloons, hotels, boarding houses, and mercantile establishments, but also the Star Dairy, a meat market, and a laundry. Other professions included barbers, shoemakers, a baker, a tailor and a dressmaker, plus druggists and a doctor -- employed by the Monte Cristo Mining Company. There was a Presbyterian church briefly, with law and order in the hands of a constable and a deputy sheriff. Newspaper publisher James Bartholomew also served as justice of the peace and manager of the telephone company. Only one known issue of his Monte Cristo Mountaineer has survived. School District No. 70 was established that year, its one-room building erected not far from 76 Creek in the upper corner of the townsite. Many residents lived in hotels and boarding houses, while others rented small frame homes. Most miners stayed all week at the bunkhouses near their work, as the mines (with the exception of the nearby Rainy) all entailed long and arduous walks up to their mountainside locations. Fatalities occurred due to snow slides and , Granite Falls Historical Society,Documents (articles, clippings, letters, papers),Mapping Articles,K-O,Monte_Cristo.pdf,Monte_Cristo.pdf Page 1, Monte_Cristo.pdf Page 1