Mineral, Washington | |
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![]() Downtown Mineral | |
Coordinates: 46°43′01″N122°10′51″W / 46.71694°N 122.18083°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Washington |
County | Lewis |
Area | |
• Total | 0.66 sq mi (1.72 km2) |
• Land | 0.66 sq mi (1.72 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 1,470 ft (448 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 193 |
• Density | 290/sq mi (110/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
ZIP code | 98355 |
Area code | 360 |
FIPS code | 53-46090 |
GNIS feature ID | 1523205 [2] |
Mineral is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis County, Washington, [3] on State Route 7 near the Pierce/Lewis county line. Mineral originally began as a logging camp and mining town. Prospectors searching the area for gold instead found coal and arsenic. By the early 1920s, the mines closed, and with a devastating fire to the town's largest sawmill, Mineral began to turn to tourism as its main industry, primarily through recreational fishing on Mineral Lake. [4] The population was 193 at the 2020 census, [5] down from 202 at the 2010 census. [6]
The Mineral Log Lodge, built in 1906, was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [7]
The town was founded no later than 1897 on the shore of Mineral Lake, adopting the name from the lake and the veins of ruby of arsenic in the region. The area was referred to as Mineral City and Mineral Creek in its early days. [8] [4] The lake was once known as "Goldsboro Lake". [9]
Primarily a timber community, arsenic mines opened and the population peaked at 1,000 residents by the 1920s, with a flourishing downtown district. However, mining efforts ceased due to more efficient methods being available to obtain the mineral, and the largest mill, owned by the Mineral Lake Lumber Company, was destroyed by fire in 1922 and never rebuilt. The town shrunk in size and became a "bedroom community". [4] [10]
Mineral is near the location of the famous Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting in 1947. [11] The community was the location of the 1985 Mineral, Washington murders, one of the most famous unsolved murder cases in the United States.
Over 500 acres (200 ha) were purchased by the YMCA of Greater Seattle in 2021, with support from the Nisqually Indian Tribe, to create a campground north of Mineral on the lake. The land was originally part of the Nisqually people's dominion which was yielded in the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek. [12] Plans included acquisition of up to 1,600 acres (650 ha) acres in several phases over forthcoming decades. Members of the Mineral community were overwhelmingly against the campground. [13] [14]
After several community meetings, environmental studies, and local endorsements, a rezoning of the area was denied by the Lewis County commissioners in November 2022. [15] The land was zoned as a forest resource. The YMCA proceeded with a lawsuit against the county in December. Despite the veto of the "master planned resort", the YMCA completed their timetable to purchase 1,600 additional acres two months later in early 2022. The larger tract adjoins the original land purchase and the YMCA proposed that the parcel remain as a "working forest". [12]
Follow-up community meetings and a county commissioner revote in early 2023 remained against the zoning for the campground. [16] [17] A judgment from the Thurston County Superior Court in January 2024 reversed the commissioner's decision. The ruling, citing that the commissioner's decline was based on bias, racial animus, and infringement of free speech, required that the original master plan be approved within 30 days. The commissioner board formally accepted the YMCA plan two weeks later, under protest, while mentioning the continuing causes of concern, especially for law enforcement coverage in and around the Mineral area. [18] [19]
Mineral is in northeastern Lewis County, 3 miles (5 km) south of the Pierce County line. The community sits at the southern end of Mineral Lake, 4 miles (6 km) south of Elbe and 12 miles (19 km) north of Morton. It is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of State Route 7.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Mineral CDP has an area of 0.66 square miles (1.7 km2), all of it recorded as land. [1] Water from Mineral Lake flows north down Mineral Creek to the Nisqually River, which reaches Puget Sound northeast of Olympia.
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mineral has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. [20]
Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad is a heritage railway that runs from Elbe to Mineral and is operated with steam locomotives and historic cars. The route leads through forests, crosses the Nisqually River and ends at the Mt. Rainier Railroad and Logging Museum in Mineral.
Mineral affords views of Mount Rainier. Mineral is most noted as a fishing destination. The lake is stocked yearly with rainbow trout and other fish species. On the opening weekend of Washington's fishing season, the town more than triples in population due to the influx of anglers. The local catch-phrase is "Mineral Lake, home of the 10 pound trout." [21] [22]
Mineral is the location where one of the tallest specimens of Douglas fir was recorded, measuring at approximately 120 meters (390 ft) high.
The Mineral Elementary School, opened in 1944 as a replacement for a previous school that burned down, closed in 2003. [23] Students in the community are overseen by the Morton School District. [24]
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third parties |
---|---|---|---|
2020 [25] | 64.90%281 | 32.56% 141 | 4.02% 11 |
Mineral has historically leaned heavily towards the Republican Party and Conservatism. As Mineral is an unincorporated community, there are no defined bounds and the precinct may be incongruous with the census boundaries.
The 2020 election included 6 votes for candidates of the Libertarian Party and 2 votes for write-in candidates.
Thurston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat and largest city is Olympia, the state capital.
Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 59th-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Tacoma. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. Pierce County is in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Lewis County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 82,149. The county seat is Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia. Lewis County comprises the Centralia, WA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.
Chehalis is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census.
Morton is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,036 at the 2020 census.
Napavine is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. It is also included in the Centralia, WA micropolitan area. The population was 1,766 at the 2020 census.
Toledo is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 631 at the 2020 census.
Winlock is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,472 at the 2020 census. It was named after territorial army general, Winlock M. Miller, who briefly resided there. Winlock is mostly famous for having the World's Largest Egg, reflecting its former status as a major producer of eggs. Early in its history, Winlock attracted many immigrants from Finland, Germany, and Sweden.
Rainier is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. Beginning as a train stop in the 1870s, Rainier was first settled in 1890 and would become known as a logging town. The city was officially incorporated in 1947.
The Chehalis River is a river in Washington in the United States. It originates in several forks in southwestern Washington, flows east, then north, then west, in a large curve, before emptying into Grays Harbor, an estuary of the Pacific Ocean. The river is the largest solely contained drainage basin in the state.
Randle is a small town in eastern Lewis County, Washington, United States. Randle is located on U.S. Route 12 and is notable as the northeastern access point to the Mount St. Helens Windy Ridge viewpoint, by way of forest service roads that cut through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The Dungeness River is a 28-mile (45 km) long river located in the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It rises near Mount Constance in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park, flows through the Buckhorn Wilderness, passes by the town of Sequim, and empties into the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Dungeness Bay, behind the Dungeness Spit. One of its main tributaries is the Gray Wolf River. It is crossed by the Dungeness River Bridge.
Onalaska is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 657. Onalaska is located along Washington State Route 508.
Packwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in easternmost Lewis County, Washington, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 319, while the town and surrounding Packwood community had a total population of 1,073.
Ryderwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cowlitz County, Washington, west of the city of Vader. Known locally as the "Village in the Woods", the town began in 1923 as a logging settlement and considered itself the "World's Largest Logging Town". Ryderwood became a retirement community in the 1950s. The population as of the 2020 census was 383.
Boistfort is an unincorporated community in the northwest United States, in Lewis County, Washington, about twenty miles (30 km) southwest of Chehalis. The original one-room school in Boistfort was established in 1853 and was the first school district in Lewis County and the Territory of Washington.
The Yelm–Rainier–Tenino Trail, formerly the Yelm–Tenino Trail, is a rail trail located in Thurston County, Washington, United States.
Riffe Lake is a long reservoir on the Cowlitz River in the U.S. state of Washington. The 23.5 mi (38 km) lake was created by the construction of Mossyrock Dam, the tallest dam in the state, in 1968 by Tacoma City Light.
Lewis and Clark State Park is a public recreation area located six miles (9.7 km) northeast of Winlock and immediately south of Mary's Corner in Lewis County, Washington. Named after the explorers Lewis and Clark, despite the expedition not venturing in the area during their travels, the state park occupies one of the last major stands of old-growth forest in the state. When the park opened in the 1920s it was visited by over 10,000 people per year.
Chehalis–Centralia Airport is a city-owned public use airport located in Chehalis, a city in Lewis County, Washington. The airport lies one mile (1.6 km) west of the town.