North Cascades

RECREATION AND TOURISM IN THE MOUNTAINS

HOSTELRIES AND RESORTS

Golden West Lodge

Early view in winter of the entry gate to Golden West Lodge from Stehekin Landing, n.d.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file: Wenatchee World photo)

The Mountain View House functioned as a lodge in Stehekin until Purple left the area in 1918, selling his property to the company involved in developing hydroelectricity on Lake Chelan. The Rainbow Lodge continued to serve meals to day visitors and rent rooms and cabins until the advent of World War II. Closed during wartime, it was never to re-open after Lydia George's death in 1946. The Field, however, continued to serve tourists until the raising of Lake Chelan appeared inevitable. The Field Annex was then moved upvalley by Jack Blankenship, who was operating the annex as an inn of sorts. But Blankenship misjudged the new location in relation to the rising of Lake Chelan and the annex had to be removed entirely ca. 1927. The main portion of the Field Hotel structure was dismantled and materials such as windows, doors, stairways, and moldings were salvaged and reused in the construction of another hotel which stands today, the Golden West Lodge.

Built in 1926 on the site of the Purple homestead, the Golden West Lodge continued the Field's tradition of serving guests and tourists at the head of the lake. Although not a master craftsman, Blankenship built an inn which was fairly typical of the day's tourist accommodation: a spacious resort hotel located in a scenic area which blended rustic simplicity with some elements of elegance and comfort. Modest in appearance, the Golden West has not changed substantially since first constructed. Two and a half stories in height, its roofline was broken by gable-roofed dormers, and its symmetrical primary facade accented by a central two-story entrance portico. Inside, the atmosphere was comfortable, with a grouping of davenports and chairs around a large native stone fireplace all set in an open lobby. Gas and kerosene lamps placed on tables throughout created an ambiance ideal for storytelling or chatting. Animal heads and hides and scenic photographs served to decorate the walls. A dining room overlooking the lake and capable of seating 48 was separated from the main lobby by a pair of french doors. All summer long quests enjoyed family style meals complete with homemade cakes, pies, and biscuits baked daily by the lodge cook. A central stairway in the lobby led to a second floor and balcony supported by massive peeled and varnished log posts. Here, guests could quietly observe the activity in the lobby below. [33]

Golden West Lodge and patrons, n.d. Log cabin in center left, known as the
"House That Jack Built", is used as a craft shop today.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file)

By this time, the 1920s, the lake boat was making daily trips to and from Chelan. As a consequence, day visitors to Stehekin increased. They needed no overnight accommodations and thus changed the nature of tourism at the head of the lake. Furthermore, fewer visitors came uplake, most preferring to remain downlake with their cars on roads which led them to new and perhaps more exciting places. While other parts of the state blossomed with the advent of the auto age, the automobile was in many respects the near demise of Stehekin as a tourist haven. Horsepacker Dan Devore recalled in the 1930s:

Bout the time the automobiles began getting thick, the tourist trade started falling off and it never has been so good since. Seems like people don't have time to stay in one place very long any more and they don't like to get very far away from their automobiles, picture shows and such. [34]

World War II brought an end to pleasure travel and recreational activity in the valley. Both lodges operating in Stehekin at the time, the Golden West and the Rainbow, closed their doors during those quiet years.

After wartime travel restrictions and gas rationing were lifted, only the Golden West re-opened for business, but with little fanfare. It had new owners with new ideas. Gone were the miners who stayed in the lodge in its early years; modern tourists made new demands and valley competition for their business was severe. In response, the new proprietor built five small log cabins to supplement the rooms in the main lodge. Fully furnished and fitted with plumbing and electricity, the rustic cabins allowed guests to come and go as they pleased and added a new dimension to the resort on the lake. A teardrop-shaped swimming pool approximately 15' x 15' in size, with a flagstone terrace, was filled with water diverted from Purple Creek. Rock walls and terracing, flower beds and fruit trees further enhanced the picturesque quality of the Golden West. Guests at the lodge could partake in a variety of recreational pursuits such as shuffleboard, badminton, dancing, cards, pool or snooker, archery, and horseshoes. Of course hunting, hiking, mountaineering, fishing, and horseback riding were also available. Best of all, as the Golden West Lodge advertised in one of its brochures, "We have no mosquitoes at the lodge." [35]

The lodge went through a series of owners and proprietors over the years of its operation. The short tourist season and the distance from supply centers were partially responsible. Jack Blankenship lost his rights to the property in 1940, and George Miller became the new owner. Miller's son Peter was responsible for building the small log cabins.

After Miller, the lodge was sold to Glen and Chet Ashmead who added a sixth log cabin to the site east of the main lodge (Cabin 11 today). In turn, Ashmead sold to William and Florence McLean who ran the lodge and cabins for a number of years. Two other owners came and went prior to a Seattle corporation, Outdoor Recreation, Inc., purchasing the property in 1967. For two years the Golden West was operated as the "Stehekin Lodge" and the small cabins were used as housing for lodge employees. With the establishment of the national park in the area in 1968, this company sold its holdings to the federal government. [36] Today, the Golden West stands as the oldest major resort in the present-day national park complex. Though no longer used in its original capacity, it remains a nostalgic part of the Stehekin valley landscape.