North Cascades

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE NORTH CASCADES

CORRIDORS OF SETTLEMENT: STEHEKIN RIVER

Buzzard

Several miles upriver the farthest homestead from the settlement at the head of the lake was William Buzzard's claim of 160 acres (T33N R17E, Section 26). A miner from Spokane, Buzzard came uplake in 1889 and selected a site on a horseshoe bend of the Stehekin River. Here he built a small, rough 1-story log cabin and cleared many acres of land for pasture and cultivation. By 1892 his famous potato crops were shipped downlake to Chelan and up to miners in Horseshoe Basin. The Chelan Leader reported on May 19, 1892, that Buzzard had hauled 1000 pounds of potatoes on his wagon up to the rock slide (past Cottonwood Camp today, at end of present-day road). By 1895 Buzzard's ranch had been considerably improved and a visitor there in September

. . . was astonished at the productiveness of [Buzzard's] splendid Stehekin Valley farm, situated in close proximity to Rainbow Falls. Mr. Buzzard has a fine orchard planted, and some of his apple trees have made a four-foot growth this season. He also has nearly all varieties of small fruits. He had the largest potato tops . . . and cabbages that would weight 15 to 20 pounds at the least calculation. [217]

Thirteen years after Buzzard arrived, the USFS completed a government report on his "agricultural settlement." In 1902, the ranger responsible for the report noted a three-room house, 16' x 42' in size (the dimensions of the extant cabin today), a 24'x 27' log barn, 25 acres of land "under plow," 40 acres "under fence," and 60 acres "under ditch." [218]

Farming and mining claims in Horseshoe Basin occupied most of Buzzard's time, but he also operated a horsepacking business one year. The Chelan Leader reported in 1896 that Buzzard was ". . . getting ready to do a general freight and passenger business from the head of the lake to all the mining camps in that vicinity, and will be able to furnish good saddle or pack horses on short notice." [219] Whether it was a successful venture is not known, but by September of that year he had traded his pack train to M.E. Field. [220] Buzzard also earned a living selling cordwood logged from his land to the boat company operating on Lake Chelan. In 1900 and 1901 he removed a sizable amount of timber from his claim, and two years later he reportedly cut and sold 150 telephone poles. [221]

Despite all his profitable ventures, Buzzard almost always left the valley to live in Spokane for the winter. Each spring, in March or April, he would return to his "valuable and beautiful home" in Stehekin and prepare to work his mining claims up the valley. [222] On November 9, 1903, he officially purchased his homestead from the government. [223]

Buzzard continued to live summers on his ranch until 1910, when he decided to sell his property. He entered into an escrow agreement with William Van Buckner, a Californian interested in developing the homestead further. Apparently because Buzzard was a spendthrift, this agreement stated that Buckner would pay for the property by depositing fifty dollars a month into a bank in California (in lieu of paying Buzzard the entire price), until the total amount for the ranch was paid. After this agreement was made and papers signed, Buzzard moved downlake to Chelan where he lived until his death in 1919. Local tradition holds that by the time Buzzard died, Buckner had paid off all but $50 of the $5000 purchase price. With this remaining payment Buckner purchased a headstone for Buzzard, who was buried in the Old Fraternal Cemetery in Chelan. [224]

Buzzard/Buckner cabin and outbuildings on homestead, 1984.
(Photo by G. Luxenberg, NPS)