In 1890, John F. Stevens conducted the first known survey of the area. He wrote that there was no indication that the pass was used — there was no sign of any trails, blazes, campsites, or old campfires, for at least ten miles in either direction, and that the area was thickly forested and covered with almost impenetrable brush. Stevens wrote, “the region promised nothing to the prospector, while Indians and Whites crossing the mountains used either Snoqualmie on the south or the Indian Pass on the north.”
In 1889 James J. Hill decided to extend his railroad to the Pacific Coast from Montana. Mr. Hill hired John F. Stevens to be the chief locating engineer to determine the route of the railroad. In 1890, Stevens conducted a thorough survey for the Great Northern, and located what would eventually become Stevens Pass. He determined it to be the best suited for a railway crossing of the North Cascades. The town of Skykomish was established in 1892. The first scheduled train went through Skykomish on 18 June 1893.
In 1897, President Grover Cleveland signed an executive order creating the Washington Birthday Reserves. This included the establishment of the Washington Forest Reserve covering over 3.5 million acres of land. Despite being a controversial decision made in the final days of Cleveland's term, the creation of forest reserves was a response to growing concerns about deforestation and depletion of natural resources in the United States.
In 1907 the name of the Forest Reserves was changed to National Forests. In July 1908 the Washington National Forest was divided into sections. The southern section, designated the Snoqualmie National Forest, surrounds Pinecone Mountain. Over time, the national forests in the area underwent administrative changes, and in 1974, the Mount Baker National Forest and the Snoqualmie National Forests were combined to form the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The earliest rudimentary road on this route was likely built as a tote road by the railroad for the construction of grades and tunnels. An 1893 map shows a wagon road along the Tye River above present-day Skykomish, all the way to the Pass. Records indicate that the Skykomish Tote Road (County Road No. 851) connected the towns along the rail line at least as far as Skykomish. Photographs of the same era indicate a rough graveled road at Baring, Berlin, and Skykomish.
In 1912, King County citizens along the rail corridor formed a Good Roads Club to promote a cross-Cascades highway. In 1913, a collaboration was jointly announced by King, Chelan, and Snohomish counties to build an auto route over Stevens Pass. This route was formally named the Cascade Scenic Highway (King County Road No. 999), and was surveyed by the County Engineer in May 1913.
Over the following year, the development of the Cascade Scenic Highway led to the taking of 27 properties in King County. A majority of these properties belonged to timber companies such as Weyerhaeuser, Grotto Lumber Co., Baring Cedar Co., and Skykomish Lumber Co. The founder of Skykomish, John Maloney, also contributed 8.5 acres of private land. Among these acquisitions, a portion of the original Pinecone Mountain property was included.
Completion of the entire highway was delayed by World War I and by funding and construction delays. King County had essentially completed its 28-mile share by 1917. However, the road remained incomplete, and it was not until 1924 that the first automobiles even attempted a crossing. The official opening of the highway did not take place until July 1925.
The construction of roads through the area, including the Cascade Scenic Highway and the Stevens Pass Highway (now US 2), provided greater access and connectivity, playing a key role in the development of the region. The Cascade Scenic Highway involved significant property takings, and its completion was delayed, but it ultimately provided a scenic and important route across the Cascade Mountains.
After State Road 15 (present day US 2) was added to the state highway system and became the responsibility of the state in the 1930s, its unpaved portion from Gold Bar through Stevens Pass was realigned and paved. In the late 1930s, State Road 15 was re-designated Primary State Highway 15 in accordance with the newly established primary/secondary highway nomenclature. Primary State Highway 15 was later re-designated Alternate US 10. Then, in the late 1940s, Alternate 10 was renamed US 2.
In more recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on protecting wilderness areas in the United States. Wild Sky Wilderness was established in 2008 inside Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, making it the first new national forest wilderness area in Washington in over two decades. The wilderness spans over 106,000 acres of pristine forests, alpine meadows, and mountain ridges, located just half a mile from Pinecone Mountain. Its establishment has provided greater protection for the natural environment and recreational opportunities in the region.
Born in Oxfordshire, England in 1871, Ernest Grimbly immigrated to the United States in 1892, seeking a new life in the American West. After arriving in Philadelphia at the age of 19, he made his way to Seattle, where he married Dorcas "Dora" Balkwell in 1895. The couple had a daughter, Olive, in 1897, but their marriage eventually unraveled, and by 1901, Dora had married her second husband.
Ernest Grimbly was the first known owner of Pinecone Mountain, a property nestled in the Cascade Mountains along the Skykomish River. Records indicate that he owned the land as early as 1897, and formally claimed the property in 1902 under the Homestead Act[3]. Tragically, Ernest's life was cut short on February 27, 1907, when he passed away in Everett, Washington, at the age of 36. His brief ownership of Pinecone Mountain marked the beginning of the property's recorded history.
The Balkwell family, originally from Ontario, Canada, has a long history in the Skykomish Valley in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
James S. Balkwell was the brother of Ernest Grimbly's wife Dora. Also known as Jas, he was born in 1866, and immigrated to the United States in 1880. James S. Balkwell married Matilda Timpe in 1899, and the couple had a son James M. Balkwell Jr., in 1902. James S. Balkwell later died on 8 March 1936, in Baring, WA.
On 7 November 1901, James Balkwell acquired the Pinecone Mountain property from his brother-in-law, Ernest Grimbly, for $287.50.
In August of 1905, James sold the timber rights to Pinecone Mountain for 10 years to Henry Wiese. At the same time, he sold a parcel of property to the north, also to Henry Wiese. It's unclear from the records whether the intention was to sell the "northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter" or if it should have been NENW and NWNE. This would determine whether Henry owned a large 80 acre block north of Pinecone Mountain, or 2.5 acres high on the side of Grotto Mountain. The maps from 1907 and 1912 disagree.
In 1914, James was forced to sell a small portion of his land to the government, for $1, to facilitate the construction of the Cascade Scenic Highway[4]. He later went on to assist as a laborer in building the highway that had claimed a piece of his property.
In early 1916, James filed a declaration of homestead, attesting that he and his family lived there, with his second wife, Kate, and his two children James and Joyce. This was probably a legal move prior to mortgaging the property later in 1916 with Harry Sears.
By 1926, Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills owned the properties north and east of Pinecone Mountain.
Harry Sears apparently owned Pinecone Mountain in 1936. By 1936, the land north of Pinecone Mountain was owned by the US government, while the land east was owned by Northwestern Portland Cement Co.
On 20 April 1988, Adeline Young purchased the Pinecone Mountain property from Spurlock Wilma Cam DC.
Later that month, Adeline gave the property to George and Brian Young.
Brian Philip Young died on 10 September 2018 leaving the property to his brother George W. Young.
George W. Young sold the property to Pinecone Mountain LLC in September 2021.