Originally published in the Voice of the Valley, December 12, 2006
By Barbara Nilson
On December 9, 1899, 31 men lost their lives in an explosion at the Carbon Hill No. 7 Mine outside the town of Carbonado; they have been memorialized with a monument built at the cemetery and dedicated in 2002.
From 1899 through 1930, more than 100 men were killed in violent explosions and other disasters in the coal mines of Carbonado, Wilkeson, and Burnett.
The memorial was established by the Wilkeson Eagles Aerie No. 1409; the Carbonado Eagles Aerie merged with Wilkeson in 1924. It consists of a large chunk of Wilkeson sandstone weighing more than 2.5 tons with two plaques, one dedicated to those who lost their lives and the other lists the major mine disasters in the Carbon River coal country.
Chunks of coal surround the memorial that is just a few yards away from many of the graves of the miners in the cemetery established in 1880.
Should you want to pay your respects, take Highway 169 to Enumclaw; then on to Buckley; go 2 ½ miles through Wilkeson, then three more miles until you see the sign Carbonado on the right. Turn right and drive down Pershing Avenue past rows of neat miner’s homes from the turn of the century. When you spy the Carbonado Saloon the road curves to the right, down the hill to the cemetery.
Hungry or thirsty? The saloon is an inviting stopover. In a niche to the right of the entrance is an old round table, gas fireplace, photos and mementos of the mining town. On any given day one might find 6 to 10 horses tied up outside as riders come up from South Prairie or as many “hogs” lined up along the sidewalk, at the same time. Throw in a couple of pickups and there is an eclectic mix.
Prospecting begins in 1870
Prospecting began in the Carbon River region in the 1870s by Frances Bisson, a fellow from Wales; followed by a mining expert, Robert Wingate, who emigrated to America from Scotland in 1864. In 1879 he prospected the Carbon River for the Carbon Hill Coal Company. He opened a promising coal prospect for his employers and the area became one of the highest coal producing areas in the state.
An incline was constructed down the side of the Carbon River Canyon to the river level 400 feet below; a bridge was built across the Carbon River near the mine and the horses began pulling wagons filled with machinery to the new mine.
Looking down the canyon from the current one-way bridge, it is difficult to envision the mines and miners clinging to the steep rock cliffs on the 45 slope. Men hewed ties out of timber by hand, taking them down to the-canyon’s side, then laying the rails.
A powerhouse, built at the top of the canyon, burned coal from the mine to produce needed power. Empty cars entered the mine, returning filled, pulled up and down the incline by cables powered from the powerhouse. The bunkers and other necessary processing buildings were constructed at the top of the canyon across the river near the Northern Pacific Railroad tracks.
Town site established in 1880
The NPR extended their line in 1880 from Wilkeson up the three miles to the gravel terrace across the river from the mine. The men working there gave the proposed town site its early name, Carbondale, after the Pennsylvanian town, where some of them had recently lived.
The post office was established as Carbondale in May of 1880 and the district was awarded a voting precinct in Pierce County that same year. It’s not known just when the name was changed from Carbondale to Carbonado.
The following year, the Carbonado School District #19 was created. The townspeople wanted to be separate from Wilkeson. In 1883 the company built the school at a cost of $1,200 and the community donated another $100 to buy, among other equipment, a nice bell for the belfry.
A new gym was completed in 1929 at the cost of $14,664. (In the 1940s, my sister-in-law Eleanor Nilson, was one of two teachers instructing in the Carbonado school. She lived in the teacher’s cottage behind the school which is still there.)
Chinese laborers
Crocker and Wingate were great promoters of hiring the Chinese labor force. The Chinese were meticulous workers and built a series of steps down the canyon side. The steps had been tiered from the top of the canyon down to the river level, using a zigzag, or switchback pattern.
The Carbonado mines were shut down throughout 1886 because of the Chinese troubles in Pierce County. Unfortunately, the Chinese were driven out of the mines and the county by those coveting their jobs.
In 1882, The Carbon Hill Coal Co. was sold to Charles Crocker and his associates; and the mines across the river were called the Crocker Mines. Until 1901 the coal was shipped from Tacoma to California aboard steamers, to be used by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Crocker became one of the most influential men in the U.S. in 1880; he and his partners were known as the “Big Four Railroad Kings.” They owned 4,160 acres of Pierce County, with mineral rights, which had been originally part of the NPR’s land grant from the government. The town of Carbonado was built nearly in the center of this property.
Carbonado one of three depots
There were only three depots between Puyallup and the coal mining country; the first, in South Prairie (my step-grandmother’s family, the Skelleys, ran a hotel there where my grandfather, William Elliott, an engineer for the railroad, stayed at the end of his run); the second in Wilkeson; and the third, at Carbonado. The train came once a day, and Carbonado sat at the end of the line in the middle of a dense forest.
The numerous, giant trees required much clearing, which had to be done before the town could take shape. The company built a sawmill next to the depot/saloon site. (Pieces of it remain today.) The wood was not wasted—as many mine timbers, ties, and boards for building construction were in sharp demand.
Since it was a company town, nothing was privately owned unless the company approved. The houses were all one style: either one or two bedrooms on either side of a front room with a kitchen-pantry space in the back, without indoor plumbing or electrical lighting.
All families used a common water tap placed every three or four streets about town. Water had to be hauled home from the tap by whatever method the family had. There was always a long line at the water tap.
Saturday’s ice cream was carried around the town covered with ice to prevent melting and sold door-to-door. At each house the ice cream would be scooped out and placed in the housewife’s container.
The company store remained closed on Sunday, so if anyone needed something they walked three miles to Wilkeson, one way. Even the train did not run on Sunday and the Carbonado people were not supposed to buy from any store other than their own company store. If caught bringing goods into town, a man ran the risk of losing his job.
Farmers from neighboring towns, especially Sumner, snuck into Carbonado at night to peddle their wares. Driving at night on those wagon roads was a challenge but they needed the money. The Carbonado store didn’t carry green vegetables so the townspeople took the risk of buying from the farmers in the woods.
Mines decline under regulations
On March 17, 1937, the pumps were turned off in the main mine and slowly the old workings, over 15 lineal miles of tunnels, were flooded with icy water. The mine had produced some 10,000,000 tons of good-grade coal, during the 57 years of productivity. The company pulled out, leaving Carbonado economically stranded. The buildings were sold to those who could afford them for as little as $240 to $340 for a house.
Other mines operated in the area sporadically during the 1940s and into the early 1960s. The last Carbon River mine opened in 1963, selling coal to the Wilkeson Stone Quarry, the Carbonado School and the local people. Coal sold for $12 a ton and was only worked on the weekends.
In 1968 the federal government passed a new law declaring all mines to be gaseous and continued inspections of the mines, finding numerous problems. In 1974, when regulations demanded that the owners install a telephone system to the outside world, the cumulative demands seemed too much and the telephone line seemed pricey.
Giving up, the owners of the last coal mine in the Carbon River vicinity blew the mine shut at both entrances.
In 1980, the town celebrated their 100th anniversary with 400 in attendance. The only surviving business in town left from the prosperous decades today is the Carbonado Tavern.
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References: Carbon River Coal Country by Nancy Irene Hall; the Enumclaw Courier-Herald, December 11, 2002 (Thanks, Sherrie Acker.)
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