North Cascades

RECREATION AND TOURISM IN THE MOUNTAINS

HOSTELRIES AND RESORTS

Mountain View House

Early view of Purple's homestead, the Mountain View House,
looking west. Site of Golden West Lodge today.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file)

The Field was not the only hotel in Stehekin. Early settler and miner Whitby F. Purple established the Mountain View House overlooking Lake Chelan. Arriving in Stehekin in 1897, Purple opened his homestead residence as a hostelry within two years' time. In 1899 he was planning to add a second story "and otherwise improve it, to meet the demands of a rapidly growing business." [29] By 1900 he had built a dock on the lakeshore with steps leading up to the house, and a log barn was sited alongside the road leading upvalley. An historic photograph reveals that Purple built a 2- 1/2- story gable-roofed structure perched high above the lake. A rubblestone foundation and wrap-around veranda with a screened sleeping porch above created a rustic appearance clearly sited to take advantage of the view. The surrounding landscape was more formal, embellished with ornamental plantings, rock-lined paths and terraces, and decorative rock piles. Tent platforms were carefully located beneath trees for those guests who wished to sleep outdoors. [30]

Rustic cabin built by Purple near the main residence on his homestead.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file)