1905 Map of Skykomish

About this map

Monte Cristo and the high mining camps of the northern Cascades dominate this turn-of-the-century landscape. Surveyed between 1897 and 1902, the map documents the area during a period of intense extraction and industrial transit. The Great Northern Railway cuts through the center of the sheet, navigating the steep grade toward the Cascade Tunnel, linking small railroad settlements like Scenic, Tye, and Tonga. These rail stops and the presence of mining sites like Big Gulch indicate a geography defined by the movement of ore and timber from the deep interiors of the Snoqualmie National Forest.