North Cascades

MARKETING THE WILDERNESS: DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES

Stehekin Mining District

MINERAL RESOURCES: MINING

Doubtful Lake

Pelton Wheel remains from water-operated sawmill near Doubtful Lake.
(Photo by G. Luxenberg, NPS, 1984)

The earliest discovery of any importance in the district was made by the same men who had located the Boston Mine in the Cascade Mining District. George Rowse and his associates (including Gilbert Landre) staked claims in the vicinity of Doubtful Lake ca. 1888. [138] These claims proved to be rich in lead and silver. [139] Calling the original prospects Quien Sabe, the miners staked a total of seventeen claims and later a millsite around the small mountain lake. The Cascade Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company took over the claims by 1904, and with more than $750,000 to spend, the company made many improvements to the mining operation. Two log cabins (14' x 18' each) were built near the outlet of the lake as early as 1899. [140] A log cabin (12' x 14') and frame house (14' x 20') were built on the millsite, and a sod house (12' x 12') with a shake roof sat on the northwest side of the lake. The millsite contained a water-powered sawmill, completed ca. 1908, which produced timber for the mines and cabins. A six-inch metal pipeline ran at a steep angle from Doubtful Creek to the Rowse millsite where a 48-inch Pelton Wheel was located. [141] Several hundred feet of tunnel were cut into the hard rock surrounding Doubtful Lake. One claim, the Dandy Lode, was located near the water's edge on the north side of the lake accessible only by boat or raft. Rowse was known to keep a double-ended scow on the lake to get around. [142] The company also put in a number of trails from Cascade Pass to the millsite and other claims.

Despite all these efforts, little ore was taken from Doubtful Lake -- mainly because of the lack of adequate transportation. When a USFS ranger examined the claims for patent purposes in 1913 no ore was being removed and the structures had deteriorated considerably. [143] Nevertheless, the ranger did recommend that patents be issued and the company received title to the mining claims and millsite in 1915. [144] From all accounts, little or no mining activity around Doubtful Lake occurred after this time. Although the cabins no longer stand, a multitude of adits still pierce the mountain walls, and the site of Rowse's Mill can be located by following the old pipeline from Doubtful Creek down to the large Pelton Wheel in the woods. The sawmill itself has deteriorated and lost its blade, but its ruins remain to be studied.