Liberty is the one of the oldest mining towns in Washington State. Located north of Ellensburg within what is now the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, this is the site of one of the most fascinating gold rushes in the state. Gold has been found in various areas throughout Washington, but there has still never been a discovery like this one.
Gold was first discovered in Swauk Creek in 1873, but this wasn’t the typical gold discovery… miners found huge nuggets and fascinating crystalline gold specimens unique to the area and unlike anywhere else in the state! Word of huge nuggets weighing several pounds got out quickly, and the a town sprang from nothing to become the largest mining camp in Washington.
Liberty has had two locations. The first town developed out of a growing mining camp in 1873 about two miles from the current townsite down in the valley. In the late 1870s, more people settled at the current townsite and named it Meaghersville. However, when Liberty faded and people moved away, the Meaghersville camp assumed the name Liberty as the post office was established there in 1892.
Farmers Turn to Mining
Many local Kittitas Valley homesteaders shifted to mining gold after the discovery. As a result, Liberty survived for many years even after the peak of gold mining was long over and most of the miners had left town in search for greener pastures elsewhere. It was a relatively peaceful mining town for most of its life, unlike other mining towns which were wild and unruly most of the time.
Although reports of gold being found in the central part of the Washington state began surfacing in the 1860s, there was no major gold mining in the area as most people concentrated in rich areas of California, Nevada and other significantly gold-rich states.
However, when some really large gold nuggets were discovered in the Swauk Creek in 1873 by local farmers miners in many parts across the country began to pay attention and in a matter of months, a gold rush was on with thousands of miners coming in the area in search of gold.
The Placer Miners
By the end of 1873, the Kittitas Valley was swarming with prospectors searching for gold. First, the early arrivals settled near the Swauk Creek, and other rich deposits were discovered at nearby Williams Creek. Other places where gold was discovered included Negro Creek, Boulder Creek, and the Baker Creek among others.
Placer mining actively continued throughout central Washington in the 1870s and 1880s. The richest pockets were found in the Williams Creek and the Swauk Creek although there were several other small mining camps scattered all across the region. Towards the end of the 1880s, the placer gold began to diminish and miners moved to other places that still had rich ores.
This miner is happy for good reason! Pounds and pounds of gold nuggets found in Liberty, Washington. Several great pictures like this are on display at a kiosk in downtown Liberty that show some of the amazing mining history of this small Washington town.
Hydraulic and Lode Mining
As the placer gold deposits declined most of the early miners left for other areas with rich gold deposits. Chinese miners (who were willing to work harder for less gold) took over some of the claims after the white miners left. However, the introduction of hydraulic mining renewed interest in mining in the area around Liberty as the machines made it easy to mine deep, ancient river channels.
Dredging mining was established in the 1920s to keep the town alive but soon collapsed as the dredge was too expensive to maintain. You can still see some dredge tailings on Swauk Creek. The valley was too narrow and the bedrock too shallow to operate the dredge effectively.
Still Some Gold Left to Find
Today liberty is still an active mining area, although most of the mining is done on a small-scale. There is an area on Williams Creek where you can do some panning right at turnoff to Liberty from Highway 97. It has been removed from mineral entry, meaning that anyone can do some gold panning there without needing to worry about mining claims.
The extensive mining over the years have depleted gold deposits in the area but miners still find some gold worth mining. There is always fine gold left behind that the old-timers missed with their primitive mining equipment. If you visit the area you will notice that there are still some mining operations going on here. These are either on private land or active claims, so be aware of that.
A few remnants of the early legacy of Liberty town still remain. There are quite a number of structures from the past century with several remnants of mining tools and equipment right in town. An early arrastra has been constructed that is quite interesting. There is a good informative kiosk right in town with some really good pictures (the pictures in this article are pictures I took when I visited in 2019) showing off some of the gold nuggets and some of the amazing crystalline gold specimens too.
If you enjoy mining history, or just want to explore an area with rich Washington history then Liberty is a great place to visit. You can easily find areas to camp in the surrounding Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest.
Next: 12 of the Richest Mining Areas in Washington