1898

Chelan’s “Log Church” was built in 1898 when Washington was still a territory. It is the oldest structure in Chelan. It was a missionary church of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, and its pastors served other congregations in the area (Brewster, Winthrop and Twisp), traveling on horseback, sometimes in bad weather.The congregation first met in 1891 in a school, after previously meeting in families’ homes. The logs for the church were cut uplake and rafted down to Chelan.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum

1901

The Chelan Hotel was built on sand dunes in 1901 by Caroline and C.C. Campbell on property that cost $400 in 1898. Their son Arthur was in the first Chelan High School graduating class in 1907. The hotel opened in 1901 with 16 rooms that cost 50 cents per night. The downstairs restaurant was added in 1914. The resort is still owned and operated by the Campbell family.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum

1907

In 1898 T.A. Wright owned a general merchandise store in a wooden false front building, which burned down in 1906. In 1907 the current building was built and was the home of Jackson & Co. General Merchandise until 1936 when it became the Furniture Market and then the Chelan Furniture Co. In 1978 the building was bought by SwimWorld.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum

1907

Built in 1907, the building was originally the Miners & Merchants Bank. During the 1930s a women’s shop (the Smart Shoppe), occupied part of the basement and had its own entrance on Emerson Street. In 1932 the bank began using paper money—silver coins had been preferred until then. In 1930 the first ever bank robbery in Chelan County, the bank was robbed of $1,000 by two gunmen, who were captured in Manson after a 30-minute chase. The museum opened in 1970 when the bank (by then Seattle First National) needed to be modernized, and the building was donated to the Lake Chelan Historical Society. Two walk-in safes remain in the building.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum

1914

The theater was built in 1914 and was named for the manager’s daughter. Many of the furnishings are original. During the 1920s all the candy sold there cost a nickel—Lifesavers, Hershey bars, Juicy Fruit gum, and Baby Ruths. Talkies were first shown in 1930; before that the shows were accompanied by a piano. The current digital sound and projection system was added in 2013. The Ruby is believed to be the oldest continuously-running movie theater in Washington state.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum

1927

The Chelan Motor Company was originally built in 1927 by Robert Little as a garage and a Ford Motor Company dealership; there were 40-50 cars in the valley then. Goodyear tires sold for $8 to $13. The two gas pumps visible under the overhang allowed cars to pull off the street to fill up. Now there is a real estate company on the ground floor and offices above.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum

1937

This 1927 concrete bridge at the mouth of the Chelan River replaced an older bridge that had carried horse and foot travel for almost 50 years. The dam just downriver was built in 1927 also and raised the level of the lake 21 feet. The LED lights on the bridge replaced older incandescent lights, and the colors are changed seasonally to the Chelan H.S. colors (green, white, red), Seahawks (navy, green and grey), or other choices. It is known as “the old bridge” to distinguish it from “the new bridge,” built in 1977 downriver, above the dam. The Chelan River is the shortest river in the state of Washington at 4.1 miles long.

Photo courtesy of the Chelan Museum