LAST functioning lumber flume in USA
N 45° 43.167 W 121° 37.822
10T E 606588 N 5063789
This old wooden flume is the last of its kind.
Waymark Code: WMG9PK
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/02/2013
Views: 8
According to the website referenced below, the Broughton Lumber Flume of Cook, Washington, was the last functioning lumber flume of its type in the United States when it closed in December 1986. Portions of the flume can be seen at these waymark coordinates, on both sides of the road.
Around 1913, a fellow named William Drano (also called "French Billy"), created a company to build a flume, for the purpose of moving lumber from these mountains down to the lumber mills. Originally, the flume ran between Drano Lake and Willard, about 4 and a half miles. In the 1920s, Broughton Lumber Company purchased the flume and extended it another 4 and a half miles to their mill. Logs that were placed in the flume in Willard would arrive at the mill in about an hour. From top to bottom, the elevation difference in the flume was about 1,000 feet. The mills closed in 1986.
Portions of the flume can be seen all along highway 14. This waymark is located along Chenowith Road, where you will be able to see the flume remnants on both sides of the road, and can step out of your car to stretch your legs and take a few photos of the flume.
This flume was used in a TV episode of Lassie called "Lassie Rides the Mountain" (filmed in 1967) and also in Disney's "Charlie the Lonesome Cougar" (also filmed in 1967, where the cougar rides the flume). The flume also appeared in the 1971 movie "Sometimes a Great Notion" starring Paul Newman.