NORTH CASCADES History Basic Data

excerpts from Nomination Forms National Register of Historic Places Inventory for North Cascades National Park

1. NAME
Black Warrior Mine

2. LOCATION
North Cascades National Park
Chelan County,
Washington

3. CLASSIFICATION
Category—Structure; Ownership—Public-Private, Public Acquisition Being Considered; Status—Unoccupied; Accessible to the Public—Unrestricted; Present Use—Industrial, Park

4. OWNER OF PROPERTY
Black Warrior Mining Company
Spokane, Washington

5. LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION
Division of Mines and Geology
Olympia, Washington

6. REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS
None

7. DESCRIPTION
Condition—Good, Altered, Original Site

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The Black Warrior mine, in Horseshoe Basin, North Cascades National Park, is an excellent example of the mining era in this region. Dug in solid rock at the base of the cliffs surrounding Lower Horseshoe Basin, the tunnel extends back into the mountain an unknown distance before branching to form a crude T.

The entrance, bordered on one side by a waterfall, is about 20 feet wide and perhaps 15 feet high. It immediately opens up into two "rooms" carved into the rock. One of these served as a kitchen and mess; the other contained the tools and work benches of the miners. The adit runs directly between the two, and is a tunnel about 10 feet wide and perhaps 8 feet high, although somewhat irregular. A few feet in, say 50, another room opens off the tunnel, possibly used to store goods. The rails of a small hand-cart railroad extend along the adit. These are in a state of disrepair, the light metal being twisted.

A large amount of trash and miners' equipment lies about the opening. This trash will eventually be cleaned up. Outside the entrance are tailings, the reddish rock being in contrast to the undisturbed rock and vegetation in the vicinity.

The ore mined here was galena, which contained silver, lead, and traces of copper.

The discovery of this mineral deposit was made in 1891 by Albert Pershall and M. M. Kingman. By 1892, Donald Ferguson was owner of the claim. Geo. B. Markel apparently owned the patent from 1905 to 1946. Since then the Black Warrior Mining Company has had the mine. Operations at this mine ceased in the 1950s.

8. SIGNIFICANCE
Period—19th Century; Areas of Significance—Commerce, Conservation, Industry

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The discovery of the Black Warrior claim in 1891 by Robert Pershall and M. M. Kingman, two well known prospectors in the North Cascades, marked the beginning of considerable prospecting in Lower and Upper Horseshoe Basins as well as in the adjacent areas. It was the second discovery in the Stehekin drainage, the first being the Quien Sabe claim on nearby Doubtful Lake in 1886.

Ownership changed hands several times until, in 1946, the Black Warrior Mining Company, Spokane, Washington, acquired control. The mine was active off and on down to the 1950s. It is inactive today.

Although it ranks among the mines in North Cascades National Park that were most highly developed, the Black Warrior does not seem to have been a particularly rich body of ore.

Its significance is not so much for its own history and certainly not for its production of wealth, but that it is representative to a high degree of the mines and mining techniques once widely spread over large sections of today's North Cascades National Park. It and the other claims resulted in the thorough exploration of this area, they contributed greatly to the development of communication and transportation in these rugged mountains. They brought the first wave of national publicity to this parkland. And, not least, this mine demonstrates the effect of man's influence on his environment, and the results of this influence.

The mine is easily accessible to hikers and is a dramatic representative of the mines of the North Cascades, and the era they represent.

9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Marshall T. Huntling, Bulletin No. 42, Gold in Washington, Division of Mines and Geology, Olympia, Washington, 1955.

E. N. Thompson, "North Cascades National Park, Basic Data Study"

10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
48° 28' 10" 121° 02' 05"

11. FORM PREPARED BY
Erwin N. Thompson, Historian
Office of History and Historic Preservation,
ESC, NPS,
Washington, D.C.

12. STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFICATION/NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION

1. NAME
Black Warrior Mine

2. LOCATION
North Cascades National Park
Chelan County,
Washington

3. MAP REFERENCE
USGS Cascades Pass, Washington
1:24,000 7.5 min series, 1963 (Map is in error)

4. REQUIREMENTS

1. NAME
Black Warrior Mine

2. LOCATION
North Cascades National Park
Chelan County,
Washington

3. PHOTO REFERENCE
NPS, Sept. 1959, OHHA, ESC, NPS

4. IDENTIFICATION
Looking north toward mine entrance.

Black Warrior Mine, Horseshoe Basin. Kitchen wall may be seen inside mine entrance. NPS Photo.