HISTORY WARNING: Everett and Cherry Valley Railway Traditional Cache

HISTORY WARNING: Do NOT do this cache unless you are interested in local history and are willing to "plow" through the "long-winded" description below, which is the only reason for this cache.

In May 1911 The Everett and Cherry Valley Traction Company Railway became the second railroad to serve Monroe and the first to head south crossing the Skykomish River here on what is today Buck Island in Al Borlin Park. But in 1911 the cache site was under the river probably somewhere between the second and third bridge pylons in the photo below.

The closest parking is at the north end of the park at N 47 51.286 W 121 57.767 near MHS 11 – Shingle Bolt Wars. This now quiet city park was once the scene of much activity beginning with the building of the Great Northern Mainline in 1892, which then triggered the area’s logging boom. The parking area is on the bank of Woods Creek, and as you face the creek, you can look upstream past the access bridge and see first the old Milwaukee RR Bridge and then the Great Northern Mainline both crossing the creek. Just beyond it (now partly on SR 2) and on the east side of the creek is the site of Holmquist’s Mill, where a horrific train wreck happened in 1904. Across the creek and up the embankment from where you stand is the site of the Buck Shingle Mill, later the Monroe Mill Company. Take the trail that follows Woods Creek as it flows sourthwest. Off the trailhead on the bank of the creek here is one of the old waterwell sites. More are behind you back in the woods where they also struck natural gas back in 1909. Only a few hundred feet further downstream was the confluence where Woods Creek joined the Skykomish Rivera a hundred years ago so that much of Buck Island was under the river back then.

When you reach the cache site, look north and follow the break in the trees and look for the old Condensery Smokestack, which is just on the west side of Ann Street. This is the line of The Everett and Cherry Valley Traction Company Railway, which ran along the west side of Ann Street until it reached the north bank of the river, now the north bank of Woods Creek. The photo above shows the bridge from the Ann Street side, and the 1910 Plat Map below shows the route. The cache site is roughly in the vicinity of the "M" in the middle of the river.

The history of The Everett and Cherry Valley Traction Company Railway is a short one. Upon completion of construction, Great Northern acquired the line and began rail service in June 1911 running two trains a day south through the Snoqualmie Valley, of which Cherry Valley is a side valley north of Duvall, to Duvall and Tolt (now Carnation) generally running parallel to what is SR 203 today. A month later the Milwaukee Road Railroad began similar service on their new branch line, which crossed the river a littler further east. (See MHS 6 – Buck Island Branch RR Line.)

In July 1917 the Great Northern and Milwaukee Road operations between Monroe and Tolt were "Unified" pursuant to an order from the Director General of Railroads, Wm G. McAdoo, when the Railroads were nationalized for approximately two years because of World War I. However, as the two lines were parallel, service on the old Everett and Cherry Valley Traction Company Railway line were soon discontinued and the line was later taken up and the bridge removed.

Another in a series of caches that focus on Monroe-area history. Sats are variable here, so you are looking for a small pillbox wedged between a leaning tree and a companion stump inside Al Borlin Park. You will need to bring your own pen/pencil. "Cache seekers assume all risks involved in seeking a cache."