Golden West Lodge Historic District: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, North Cascades National Park Complex

National Park Service

The Golden West Lodge Historic District is located in the small community of Stehekin at the head of Lake Chelan in the remote North Cascades of north central Washington State. Access to the site is limited; however, boat and/or plane service is offered daily to/from Stehekin. The property was first developed by William (Whitby) F. Purple, an early settler to the Stehekin Valley, between 1897 and 1917. Purple established the Mountain View House, a hostelry overlooking Lake Chelan. Purple sold the property in 1917 to W. F. Boardman who immediately sold the acreage and its improvements to the Chelan Electric Company, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railroad. Stehekin resident E.O. “Jack” Blankenship purchased the Purple property circa 1924 and demolished the Mountain View House. During his tenure, Blankenship made many improvements to the site, which included construction of the Golden West Lodge in 1926 using materials, in part, salvaged from the Field Hotel. Subsequent owners built several small rustic log cabins on the grounds as well as other small scale recreation features. Ultimately, the Golden West Lodge offered overnight accommodations to visitors from 1926 to circa 1972 and today serves as a National Park Service visitor center. The Golden West Lodge Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 as part of the “Historic Resources of North Cascades National Park Service Complex” Multiple Resource Documentation effort. In association with recreational development in the Stehekin Valley at the turn of the twentieth century, the property is locally significant under Criterion A. The period of significance begins in 1926 when E.O. “Jack” Blankenship built the Golden West Lodge and extends to 1945 when U.S. involvement in World War II ended and tourism in Stehekin regained momentum. The boundary encompasses approximately 2.4 acres of land that includes the buildings and structures associated with the property as well as numerous rock walls and terraces. Eight landscape characteristics help to convey the historic character of the site, including natural systems and features, spatial organization, views and vistas, topography, circulation, vegetation, buildings and structures, and archeological sites. Numerous features associated with the above-mentioned landscape characteristics contribute to the feeling and association of the property. Specifically, the rich history that has defined and shaped the site is displayed through several buildings and structures associated with the development of the area, including the Golden West Lodge and six small rustic cabins. Other landscape features, including a tear drop-shaped pool fed by water from Purple Creek, a system of rock walls and terraces, a pedestrian route following the alignment of the historic access road, and the remnants of a fish pond remain as character-defining features. Ultimately, the location, design, setting, materials and workmanship of these buildings, structures and associated landscape features convey the character of the Golden West Lodge as it appeared during the period of significance, 1926-1945. Collectively, the site’s contributing features are in fair condition.

Golden West Lodge Historic District: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, North Cascades National Park Complex

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