Like a large dysfunctional
family composed almost entirely of head-strong 18 to 24 year olds,
Granite was home (if you want to call it that) to hard rock
miners, loggers, fir traders, ranchers, and of course the
indigenous Native Americans of the region who considered the
mountaintop and surrounding valley claimed by the energetic
townsfolk to be sacred ground - a place where revered ancestors
could more easily cross over into the house of the living on
certain occasions to impart wisdom and guidance.
Investigation status: I have not yet
been able to do much personal scouting of the reported location of
Granite owing as to how it is within undeveloped private land and
the only access roads in go through Weyerhaeuser timber property.
One of my primary goals for 2009 is to more vigorously work the
few contacts I have within Weyerhaeuser in hopes to gain access to
the site.
In the meantime, I have been able
to track down some promising leads in the Oregon Historical
Society archives that refer to fur trapping and trading activities
in and around that area by "freelancer" woodsmen dealing
with the Hudson's Bay Company. I also have been in communication
with various members of Friends of Vanished Oregon regarding an
effort to coordination research into old mining and mineral rights
claims for the Alsea/Kings Valley/Tillamook corridor.
I am also working hard to get my
1986 Ford Bronco in highway-ready condition so I can make a
pilgrimage this coming summer to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in
order to visit the Hudson Bay Company Archives contained there. I
have already contacted the curator of the Archives and I have
submitted a letter of intent and documents of support to
demonstrate that I am a serious and qualified investigator. I will
keep everyone posted as things progress.
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