Mineral, Washington

How Mineral is governed

Mineral appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Lewis County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Mineral does have local officials.

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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

minerallake.com

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Population over time

From 202 in 2010 to 193 in 2020 (−4.5%).

History

The area was first settled by non-indigenous people in the 1890s, mostly homesteaders and coal mining and timber prospectors. The earliest known settler was the Fritz family in 1891. The town was founded no later than 1897 on the shore of Mineral Lake, adopting the name from the lake and the veins of ruby of arsenic in the region. The area was referred to as Mineral City and Mineral Creek in its early days. The lake was originally known as Round Top Lake and also as Goldsboro Lake. Many of Mineral’s settlers were from Kentucky.

Primarily known as a timber community, Mineral's economic beginnings started with a false find of silver on Mineral Creek in 1892, leading to land speculation and a silver rush. A small colony under the name Mineral City, and an undeveloped camp known as Contact City, began but lack of the promised metal led to abandonment. The remains of both mining sites disappeared after a flood in 1902.

In place of silver, arsenic mines were opened and the first roads into the community were built in 1900. The first store opened in 1902. A rail line to the community that offered passenger and freight services was completed in 1905 by the Tacoma Eastern Railroad, leading to the economic expansion of what would become Mineral. The arsenic mines were temporarily successful for approximately five years but they began to wane, losing value as the market for the mineral disappeared. A minor recession occurred due to the closing of the mines as workers were paid in company stock rather than wages.

Timber became a major economic force in Mineral after the Mineral Logging Company sawmill was constructed in 1907, at one point employing 200 people. Mineral Lake was often used as a holding pond due to the vast amounts of logging and children who swam in the lake often received infections known as "cedar poisoning". The population peaked at 1,000 residents, and possibly as high as 1,600, by the 1920s, with a flourishing downtown district that contained three general stores, an ice cream shop and a variety of entertainment venues. A movie house showed three different films per week. Tourism was an important economic engine during this time and the town grew large enough to contain two hotels and an automobile agency.

During Mineral's timber years, Scandinavian and Japanese laborer communities existed in the town. Although Japanese children attended the local school, the Japanese community remained separate from the white population of Mineral.

Several factors led to the decrease of the town. Leading the decline was conversion to oil as a primary fuel burning source after World War I and a destructive coal mine fire in 1920. In the following years, coal efforts ceased due to more efficient mining methods, and the largest mill, owned by the Mineral Lake Lumber Company, was destroyed by fire in 1922 and never rebuilt. The town shrunk in size and became a "bedroom community".

Timber harvesting in the hills around Mineral remained active though at a lesser rate. A small, though fruitful undertaking was the retrieving of hemlock logs that sunk to the bottom of the lake during the early 20th century. A shingle mill, known originally as the M.R. Smith Shingle Company, remained in operation until the mid-1970s. The last store from Mineral's early years burned down in 1975.

Mineral is near the location of the famous Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting in 1947. The community was the location of the 1985 Mineral, Washington murders, one of the most famous unsolved murder cases in the United States.

YMCA Campground

Over 500 acres (200 ha) were purchased by the YMCA of Greater Seattle in 2021, with support from the Nisqually Indian Tribe, to create a campground north of Mineral on the lake. The land was originally part of the Nisqually people's dominion which was yielded in the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek. Plans included acquisition of up to 1,600 acres (650 ha) acres in several phases over forthcoming decades. Members of the Mineral community were overwhelmingly against the campground.

After several community meetings, environmental studies, and local endorsements, a rezoning of the area was denied by the Lewis County commissioners in November 2022. The land was zoned as a forest resource. The YMCA proceeded with a lawsuit against the county in December. Despite the veto of the "master planned resort", the YMCA completed their timetable to purchase 1,600 additional acres two months later in early 2022. The larger tract adjoins the original land purchase and the YMCA proposed that the parcel remain as a "working forest".

Follow-up community meetings and a county commissioner revote in early 2023 remained against the zoning for the campground. A judgment from the Thurston County Superior Court in January 2024 reversed the commissioner's decision. The ruling, citing that the commissioner's decline was based on bias, racial animus, and infringement of free speech, required that the original master plan be approved within 30 days. The commissioner board formally accepted the YMCA plan two weeks later, under protest, while mentioning the continuing causes of concern, especially for law enforcement coverage in and around the Mineral area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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