Mineral City is situated on Silver Creek, four miles (6.4 km) north of Galena. The Silver Creek drainage area is rugged and difficult to navigate.[1]Monte Cristo is accessible to the north via Poodle Dog Pass.[2] Mineral City was established in 1892 on the site of a previous settlement, Silver City, which was established in 1873 by Theron Ferguson (1840-1918), but abandoned by the 1880s.[3]
History
Mineral City lies on a speculated route between the territory of the bəsx̌əx̌əx̌alč band of the Skykomish, based in Index, and the Sauk to the north.[4]
The first mining claims in the area, the Silver Creek Mining District, were located by George White and Hill Tyler in 1871.[5] Hans Hansen recorded the Norwegian Claim along Silver Creek in 1874.
Monte Cristo stakeholders considered building a railway passing through Mineral City to Monte Cristo via a tunnel under or switchback over Poodle Dog Pass, but this was ruled out as too expensive.[6] Later, in 1935, a road was proposed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from Mineral City to Monte Cristo.[7] However, this road was never built.
Prospector Joseph "Joe" L. Pearsall (1855-?) discovered the more successful Monte Cristo site via Mineral City.[9][10]
The plat for Mineral City was filed on June 20, 1892 by Elisha Hiram Hubbart (1839-1895). The town site consisted of 15 blocks, and was located in the Anna Quartz mining claim.[11] At its peak, it had 2 hotels, 2 saloons and 2 stores.
After a 1980 storm, a quarter-mile (0.4 km) length of the ridge between Galena and Mineral City collapsed, washing out the road. The route remains impassable by vehicles.[12]
