North Cascades

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE NORTH CASCADES

CORRIDORS OF SETTLEMENT: STEHEKIN RIVER

Maxwell/Courtney

Pershall's homestead, mentioned earlier in the chapter, adjoined Stanley's. Beyond Pershall's claim was the farthest homestead in the remote upper Stehekin valley. Oliver P. Maxwell traveled 7-1/2 miles upriver in 1912 to settle on approximately 148 acres (T33N R17E, Sections 7 and 12). He officially filed for the land the following year (1913), increasing his claim with an additional 12 acres in 1914. Over the course of six years "O.P.," as he was known, diligently improved his homestead by building a 2-story log cabin (16' x 20'), a cellar, a large barn, and a well. He fenced 20 acres and planted another in orchard alone. When USFS Ranger Blankenship came to survey Maxwell's claim in 1918, he noted that the settler had planted nearly 60 fruit and nut trees including almonds, walnuts, quince, apples, peaches, pears, apricots, and plums. Strawberries, loganberries, asparagus and other vegetables supplemented the richly-planted farmstead. "O.P." Maxwell received patent for his property without difficulty in 1919. [250]

Maxwell's land was sub-divided some time after 1931 and parcels sold to the Chelan Box Manufacturing Company and the Ray Courtney family. Today, all but 20 acres are owned by the NPS, and the remaining 20 are retained by Esther Courtney. An old cabin located on this acreage was probably built by Maxwell himself. The Courtneys no longer use this cabin as a residence, but live instead across the valley road and at the far end of a large pasture, in a newer, rustic-looking house. [251]

Cabin on Maxwell Homestead in Stehekin River valley, n.d.
This early structure is owned by the Courtney family today.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file)