Franklin, Washington

[robert]

me and a buddy went out there this last Saturday and went for a hike around out there.... The cemetery is over grown now and u can only see/find about 10 head stones i think is what we counted we hiked down almost to the river and didn't find anything other than a cable on the hill side and that ta-rain is bad unless u know what ur doing we had to use the rope on some of it to get up and down. The trolly cart track is starting to fall down now and back in the ravein on the hill side it looks like that there was a mine shaft entrance there into the base of the mt/hill side there and I think thats where the mine got sealed up at we are planning to go back out and hike the hill side behind the cemetery and see if we can find anything up there


Davidw..... u had mentioned that there is a gem mine up there is that where on the hill side is it down by the river? is it straight down from the cemetery? where? im interested in know more about the layout of the old town before we make another trip out there to do more investigating on the hill side

[robert]

Don Mason, a member of the Black Diamond Historical Society and their resident expert on Franklin, told me that the area behind the tracks (which carried a water pipe, according to him) was the rock pit. No mines were located there. I went down the path that goes down the hill toward the river just after Christmas, as I've heard from Bill Kombol, owner of Palmer Coke and Coal, that the Gem Mine was down there (named after the coal seam it was in), and there are lots of remnants of a incline down to the mine, but I wasn't able to find the mine, and I suspect that it was covered over by a landslide.

did he mention where at on the hill side the gem mine was at by the old town?

[Darin]

me and a buddy went out there this last Saturday and went for a hike around out there.... The cemetery is over grown now and u can only see/find about 10 head stones i think is what we counted we hiked down almost to the river and didn't find anything other than a cable on the hill side and that ta-rain is bad unless u know what ur doing we had to use the rope on some of it to get up and down. The trolly cart track is starting to fall down now and back in the ravein on the hill side it looks like that there was a mine shaft entrance there into the base of the mt/hill side there and I think thats where the mine got sealed up at we are planning to go back out and hike the hill side behind the cemetery and see if we can find anything up there


Davidw..... u had mentioned that there is a gem mine up there is that where on the hill side is it down by the river? is it straight down from the cemetery? where? im interested in know more about the layout of the old town before we make another trip out there to do more investigating on the hill side

Welcome to the forum!!!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time there and great info on the update of the cemetary and the tracks.

[robert]

Me and my hiking partner are gonna be going back out there this weekend and need more info on anything that anyone has seen or heard about anything out there please

[Darin]

Me and my hiking partner are gonna be going back out there this weekend and need more info on anything that anyone has seen or heard about anything out there please

Have ya checked with the museum in Black Diamond yet? They may be able to help some since they do tours of the old town.

[Davidw]

I've had some confusing information on the location of the Gem (named for the coal seam)mine from other members of the Black Diamond Historical Society. I haven't spoken with Don Mason since I talked to Mr. Kombol.

[robert]

I've had some confusing information on the location of the Gem (named for the coal seam)mine from other members of the Black Diamond Historical Society. I haven't spoken with Don Mason since I talked to Mr. Kombol.

Have you been out there lately? or any other old towns in the area? Bain, Spiketon?

[Davidw]

Have you been out there lately? or any other old towns in the area? Bain, Spiketon?

Nope, not since December. I did talk to Mr Kombol again, and he said that the Gem Mine was not where I was thinking it was, but further up the river, and rather hard to get to. Are you refering to Bayne? I've been there, but there's nothing to see, as everything is private property. Spiketon, no. It's down near the Carbon River, in Pierce County.

[Calamity June]

What a great bunch of pictures David. I've been in Franklin quite a few times this year, if a person can get in there before everything start leafing out in the Spring, you can see a bit more of the place, ruins, but not much more than your photos.

It really is a magical place to walk into, I like to imagine what it was like to live there and walk the train track and soak in the spectacular views of the area.