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puzzlr
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PostSun Mar 18, 2012 12:04 am 
Thanks for the photos in this thread. Absolutely fascinating, especially the comparison shots.

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reststep
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PostSun Mar 18, 2012 1:34 pm 
Thanks for the additional photos. Do you know when the forest fire was that burned the area?

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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RPBrown
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PostMon Apr 02, 2012 12:09 pm 
More...... Photo 1: "Mr. Tull and his sawyer on the way up to the tunnel"
This is E.K. Hjelvik (Eivand pronounced Ivan) standing with Victor Tull. Probably more accurate to call him the chief blacksmith/engineer rather than sawyer. He was responsible for building the huge powerplant that provided electricity (for a time) and air for the main tunnel at Tubal Cain. The air was used not only to operate the drills but also for breathing as the men worked farther and farther back in the mountain. He might have been referred to as sawyer here as he was probably chiefly involved in the construction all the buildings at Copper & Tull City (sawing boards, thus sawyer in case anyone doesn't know). His wife and later son and grandkids still operate a store in Brinnon This is the main tunnel in Tull Canyon, located about halfway to the pass from Tull City. Photo 2: "Copper City-Iron Mt."
This is the earliest photo I have of Copper City, taken in 1906 from up towards the tunnel looking across the valley at the lower flanks of the castle. Photo 3: "Mr. Hanford, Nadeau, Tull Standing and Knapp standing with the bottle."
Frank Hanford (President), Ira A. Nadeau (Secretary), Victor Tull (General Manager) and A. Eugene Knapp (referred to as, "The Expert"). Mr. Knapp wrote the official document "Report on the Copper and Manganese Veins of the Tubal-Cain Copper and Manganese Mining Co." He signs it "Blewett, July 23, 1905". I wonder if he was involved with the mines at Culver Gulch?. The other sour looking guy sitting down is Judge Aubertson, I believe a supreme court judge from Seattle. The "Hotel Grand" was the first cabin built on the Katy Claim (Tull City). It was also the first to disappear in later years. This is looking towards the bog where the B-17 debris now sits.

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Jake
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PostMon Apr 02, 2012 8:07 pm 
Yup, Mr. Knapp ran the big mill at Blewett.

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Slugman
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PostThu Apr 05, 2012 6:01 pm 
You have a real treasure trove, thanks for sharing. You could make a little video about the history of the area, and use those stills to provide some of the footage. Maybe do some filming in the area today as well. hmmm.gif

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hikermike
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PostFri Apr 06, 2012 7:46 pm 
Very interesting thread....love the pixs. As for "Global Warming", many forget that the climate has been having it's own variations and that man is not responsible for all. A fair amount is natural changes. We tend to forget that we're just coming off the "Little Ice Age" which peaked in the 1500-1600's and that it was still very much a factor when these pixs were taken. The trees in the new photos would not be from the recent warming as that's been in the last 20-30 years and it would take it much longer for the development to get to this point. In school they teach that meadows are former lake bottoms and inevitably will become forest but that picture is incomplete. Those of us who hike no that this can't be true cuz not all of them are flat and in lowland areas. Two other factors are persistent snow banks and what some refer to as "cold holes'. Places where the cold air sinks and keeps the ambient temperature low enough to prevent germination of seedlings or kills off those that could have started.

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RPBrown
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PostMon Apr 09, 2012 5:03 pm 
Appreciate the comments. More…… Photo 1: “Pres. Hanford and his lake near the upper camp”
Buckhorn Lake was originally called “Hanford” but unfortunately the name didn’t stick. In fact, no places in the area bears the name of the Tubal Cain founder. Taken 1904. Photo 2: “A lake not far from camp”
The west side of Upper Silver looking at the “route” people have always utilized going to Tull over the years. I knew an ole timer that claimed to have taken his horse between Tull and Silver pretty regularly. Those that have been in the area know that would be quite a challenge. Nowadays, trees would block this same photo. Photo 3: “Frank Palmer and part of his pack train going to Iron Mt. May 11, 1905”
Look at how deep that trail is dug out. They obviously wanted to take advantage of as much of the working season as they could. Quite a few pictures show these same early season pack train scenes. Reststep asked about when this area burnt. So here’s the story passed down, 3rd hand by the time I heard it. A gentleman decided to go check out the Tubal Cain operation one hot summer day, more than likely 1904 as it was when the trail was newly completed from the Intermelia place (near Lords Lake) to the upper camp at Buckhorn Lake. After coming down off hot & dusty Dirty Face Ridge he stopped at Silver Creek to water his horse and take a little break. He tapped out his pipe, repacked it with tobacco and enjoyed a smoke. After a short while he mounted his horse and continued up the trail. As the story goes the fire nearly beat him up the drainage. While I don’t doubt the validity of this account I think there must be more to the story. If you look at many of these photos that have reliable dates I’d say the trees burnt at least 10 years prior to the photos taken. An expert on this subject who is a current Trail Blazer mentioned to me that most of the eastern Olympics burnt in the 1890s, started in the low country around the Dungeness valley when people were clearing land, burning stumps etc. So, more than likely a minor fire probably burnt some of the area started by the horseman but most of the area was probably already burnt from a very extensive fire 10 or so years prior. If you look at my Copper City photo you can see that some of the trees below look very recently burnt, probably from the pipe smoker. A little more trivia relating to the burn. Silas Marple first visited the area with his brother William Warren (who died at 38 years old in 1900) in 1886 or 1887. They discovered the mineral wealth of the area and first coined Iron Mountain and Green Valley. I'm fairly certain Green Valley is probably the Copper Creek drainage but could also be Tull Canyon. I doubt they'd call it Green Valley if it were covered with silver snags. Anyway, leads me to believe it was prior to the big burn.

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IanB
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PostMon Apr 09, 2012 11:17 pm 
The first copy I was given of The Lure of Tubal Cain was a photocopy of a friend's photocopy. The pictures were so degraded as to be almost useless. Never dreamed back then that such a thing as the internets would allow me to collect these high-quality images! Thanks again, RP! agree.gif

"Forget gaining a little knowledge about a lot and strive to learn a lot about a little." - Harvey Manning
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mick-scott
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PostMon May 28, 2012 12:56 am 
Rich - Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful images and stories. I hope you continue to do so. I really love our local history - my roots run deep as well and feel blessed to be able to see back in time thanks to your wonderful post. Hope you are well friend -

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RPBrown
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PostSun Jun 03, 2012 3:01 pm 
Hey Mick! What it is man?? Yeah, you and I are both real locals, eh? Ian, you bet bud. Glad you're enjoying the photos. More... Photo 1: "This is L.E. Marple, up a stump"
I lied earlier when I thought the earliest photo I had of Copper City was 1906. This was obviously earlier has you can see the building on the left still under construction. This photo was probably taken 1904 or 1905. L.E. Marple was Silas Marple's cousin and an old time resident of Seattle. More than likely this was the only trip he made to the mines as I've never seen another photo of him. The hillside in the background is The Castle looking toward where the long switchback is nowadays. Does the building on the left look burnt? If so, more than likely built from already burned logs but maybe there's more to the story. Photo 2: "First snow, leaving camp for good"
This is Tull City looking towards the pass. Notice the tent on the right. This might be prior to the cabins being constructed. Another possiblilty is the people with money slept in the cabins while the hired help slept in the tents. If that were the case the cabins would be directly behind the photographer. Photo 3: " This is the picture that has Mrs. Hart and Mr. Hart standing opisite - Old Quillcene Family"
This is an example of the personal nature of these photos. The comment makes me laugh. They were considered an "old Quilcene family" in 1904 or 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Dewitt Hart were among the founders of Quilcene. In later years their kids ran the Red & White store. Anyone know what the contraption is in the background? Kinda looks like a still but it must have something to do with mining. Notice this was taken before "Tull City, 1905" was burned into the shakes on the cabin in the background.

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Jake
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PostSun Jun 03, 2012 3:54 pm 
As for your question about the contraption in the background. Looks like a duck nest forge. Bellows setup underneath the hood. Used to sharpen drill steals among other things.

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mick-scott
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PostMon Jun 04, 2012 12:13 am 
Thanks for the "new" photos Rich! - My great grandmothers family - the Setzer's were early homesteader's in the Eatonville area in the 1860's - So I guess that goes a little ways beyond being a Ballard Beaver. wink.gif Again I am grateful that you are able and willing to share your families history through photos and first hand stories. I sure wish I had some documentation from my side. I was fortunate enough to have my great grandparents in my life. They filled our heads with great stories of adventure and all the hard work that went along with life in the "old days" Lets get together and talk soon. Mick

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RPBrown
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PostSat Jun 16, 2012 8:21 am 
Jake, Really appreciate your input! You're absolutely right, of course that is a forge. I should know that. As you mentioned, the main purpose would be to sharpen drill bits. Tull City Didn't have any hydraulic or air power like Copper City. I think they were intending to run air lines into the canyon from the main powerplant on Copper Creek, but they gave up mining in the area before that happened instead focusing all their energy on the main tunnel at Copper City. I've found lots of these drill bits over the years. They are usually about 4 feet long, resembling a crow bar. One person would hold the drill bit while another hit the other end with a sledge. After each hit the bit would be rotated until a hole was made which would accommodate a stick of dynamite. After the charge was set off and debris removed the process would start all over. What a tough way to make a living! Thanks also Jake for your input regarding Mr. Knapp at Blewett.

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rbuzby
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PostMon Jun 25, 2012 2:55 pm 
hikermike wrote:
As for "Global Warming", many forget that the climate has been having it's own variations and that man is not responsible for all. A fair amount is natural changes.
If you have looked into it at all, you know that global warming theorists are aware of this. The group of people you refer to who are not aware of natural variations in climate does not include climate scientists.

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Lakenes
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PostSun Jul 15, 2012 3:13 pm 
Where did you learn your information about this stuff? Where did you find the pictures? I was born and raised in Quilcene, and knew Ivan's son, Ivan the second I believe, and my sister dated Ivan the third. We just came back this morning from Tubal Cain mines. Heard rumors that there is another mine above the main Tubal Cain mine. This true? RPBrown thank you for the history! Do you know anything about a copper mine on the Duckabush river south of Brinnon? A friend of mine found a 800 ft long mine, but we know nothing about it. Maybe Robert Edward Lee had a side job on the Duckabush? "Robert Edward "Lee" Ross was born 1865 and died 1917. His wife, Daisy Macomber died at the young age of 27 from Tuberculosis. They are both buried side-by-side at the Brinnon Cemetery. Lee was a good friend of Silas Marple (Mine Superintendent who took these photos) and probably held a supervisory position at Tubal Cain. " Lakenes

"I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future." Want to have company on your hike? Email me and my wife and I will accompany you!
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