North Cascades

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE NORTH CASCADES

CORRIDORS OF SETTLEMENT: SKAGIT RIVER

Babcock

One mile above Thornton's homestead was Burton Babcock's claim of 138 acres (T37N R12E, Section 30). Babcock was a miner and his penchant for gold kept him traveling in and out of the North Cascades. Although he may have been in the upper Skagit region as early as 1893, he did not settle permanently until 1902, after he had returned from the Klondike gold fields. He chose a homesite along the north side of the Skagit River, east of Babcock Creek.

Known as a miner and rancher, Babcock supplemented his income by working odd jobs. In 1905, for example, he was hired by the GLO as a chainman for the survey of a nearby township. [92] In 1907, he was working at a talc mine along the Skagit River. [93] When the GLO mapped Babcock's township in 1906, the surveyor recorded that Babcock had cleared several acres, "part in clover and the rest in garden." The homestead itself consisted of a 12' x 14' two-room house, a barn, and a third building under construction at the time. Babcock was described as a "deserving citizen" who resided on his property year-round. [94]

Despite this attestation of residency in good faith, Babcock never succeeded in obtaining full title to his land. In 1908 he applied for homestead entry under the June Act, and the USFS immediately challenged the validity of the claim. Babcock was offered a special-use permit by the USFS enabling him to remain on the land, but he refused it, insisting the land was rightfully his. After a series of hearings which included the GLO, the USFS, and several upper Skagit settlers who testified in favor of Babcock, the claim was declared invalid in 1910. By law Babcock was required to vacate the property within a specified amount of time. In December of that year, he took charge of the Davis Ranch for the winter, but by 1911 Babcock had passed away. [95] The only remnants on the land that speak to this early upper Skagit homestead are several unkempt fruit trees conspicuously located in a logged-over area south of the highway.