Once upon a time, in the late 1800s to be precise, there was a booming mining town deep in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBS). The town was called Monte Cristo and it became a mining attraction because of its rich mineral deposits. With the help of a railroad and financiers like John D. Rockefeller, the town grew to support over a thousand residents (mostly miners), several shops, a schoolhouse, a brothel, a hotel and many homes.
Not long after its peak, mining operations began to slow, and residents began to abandon the town. By 1907, the town was completely deserted. It survived as a tourist attraction for many years until the last remaining structures burned down in 1983. In 1992, the old Monte Cristo town site became part of National Forest land with access from the Mountain Loop Highway (Hwy 92). Today it is a popular spot for campers, hikers, anglers and ghost adventurers. There is very little information available on the origins or whereabouts of the people who lived and even grew up in Monte Cristo, but Jan Hollenbeck, the MBS forest archeologist, came across some information in old census records that indicated that there were 88 Japanese laborers who lived and worked on the railroad from Everett to Monte Cristo for an undetermined period of time.
This became a subject of interest to the Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific American Experience (The Wing) based in Seattle, Wash. The museum has been working on putting together an exhibit showcasing the lives of early Japanese laborers in different sectors including mining, canneries, and railroads. The Wing has partnered with the MBS for more than 20 years, mostly on projects headed by adults, but this year, they thought it would be great to research the history of Japanese laborers in Monte Cristo and tie their youth program (YouthCAN) into the experience of going out to the town site and collecting images, sounds and other information for their ‘sound-scape’ exhibit.
After several weeks of research, art creation, and careful planning, 11 inner-city youth set off along with Forest Service and National Forest Foundation staff on the 4-mile trek along the original railroad to the old Monte Cristo town site. We found that not much of the original town remains on the site. The youth took pictures of metal scraps, an old garage, and recorded the sound that the original turntable makes when it’s rotated.
Several youth marveled at an interpretive sign at the entrance of the town site with a picture of what the town looked like at its peak compared to what the area looks like now. “I can’t believe that people lived and worked here, this is so cool!” one youth exclaimed. After spending the day roaming through the old town, learning about the history, and collecting sounds and data, the youth camped at a nearby campground. For many of them camping was a completely new experience.
Being able to explore an area that was once a booming town and reflecting on what life could have been like for the residents at the time was a pretty powerful thing, but what made a lasting imprint was that one 17-year-old youth on his way back to his tent stopped himself, gazed up at the sky and yelled “Whoa! Are those stars?!” The trip ended with a group star-gazing session at night and a visit to the Granite Falls Historical Museum arranged by Forest Service staff the following morning.
The artwork depicting the lives of early Japanese laborers that the youth have been creating is in Tatebanko style, 3-D Japanese paper dioramas complete with Karakuri engines to give them movement and sounds that were recorded at the Monte Cristo site. It is expected to be showcased spring of next year at The Wing.
