Tacoma Program Center Construction Fund
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Tacoma Branch | Tacoma Board
The Mountaineers was established in 1906 and over the years has grown into the largest outdoor-recreation organization in the Northwest, including branches in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Everett, Bellingham, Wenatchee, and Kitsap County.
Tacoma's "Auxiliary to the Mountaineers" was formed in March 1912 primarily due to the efforts of A. H. Denman, an attorney with a love for photography and the mountains. He was assisted by John B. Flett, a botany professor, and J. Harry Weer, a wholesale grocery executive.
Weer presided as president for seven years and was the first Summer Outing chairman from Tacoma. Many Summer Outings in the Northwest were chaired by Tacoma Branch leaders over the decades of these historic expeditions.
Tacoma Mountaineers had been active in the club from the beginning. Charles Landes, a professor at Tacoma High School and brother of Henry Landes, the club's first president, led the first Local Walk in the Tacoma area, on March 16, 1907. That excursion, from American Lake to Steilacoom, was The Mountaineers' third outing. Late in 1910, the member roster showed 10 Tacomans out of 375 members.
Before 1912 ended, the Tacoma branch had staged a five-day winter outing at Longmire, which became an annual event. The outing was moved to Paradise in 1917, and the attendance figures for 1923 show 160 were present. These isolated treks, although stopped a decade or so later for insurance reasons, were perhaps the first organized efforts to get area residents into the mountains in the winter and effectively pioneered the way for the snowshoeing, skiing and winter mountaineering that would soon follow.
For more than 50 years, the Tacoma branch had its own retreat at Irish Cabin, located near the main channel of the Carbon River along the road to the Carbon River entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.
The cabin had been built sometime before the turn of the century by a man known only as Mr. Irish, who worked a nearby copper mine. Then it was deserted for about two decades, approachable only by trail up the north side of the Carbon River. In 1923 a corduroy road of sorts was built up to Olson's cabin on Cataract Creek, but a tangle of brush hid it from travelers who dared to drive their Model Ts up the rutted, muddy road.
In April 1926, a group of Tacoma Mountaineers, led by Leo Gallagher, was passing by and decided to investigate the old cabin. They found a fairly large building constructed almost entirely of split cedar, including the floor. Gallagher, Harriet Taylor and W. W. Kilmer decided that a little repair work would transform the cabin into a Mountaineer home.
During the depression the branch bought the cabin and 18 acres surrounding it for $300. However, the area's virgin forest was logged off not long afterward, destroying much of the charm and beauty of the site.
A rehabilitation program was begun in the late 1940's, when a new foundation and beautiful river-stone fireplace were built and the kitchen was remodeled to handle crowds for festive dinners, group gatherings and lively weekend outings. Soon there was nothing left of the original "cabin" but the main floor and walls. Bunks in the cabin were bought and paid for by individual members, with the names of the owners stenciled on them. Eventually there were sleeping quarters for 60 overnighters.
Before the road to Mowich made the 24 "Irish Cabin" peaks more easily accessible, Irish was the place to stay for hiking and climbing on the north and west side of Mount Rainier. But after the 1950's road improvements in Mount Rainier National Park made it easier to drive to trailheads from Tacoma, the Cabin Peaks climbs became popular day trips.
The historic use of Irish as a base camp was over but fond memories of wonderful outings there motivated the Tacoma Branch to maintain the "cabin" for many years. It was a destination for climbing course field trips, a very active youth group, and the annual Thanksgiving Dinner. The job of keeping the cabin habitable, free of squatters and vandalizing became an expensive consideration, and eventually in 1978 the Tacoma branch dismantled the building and it was taken down. The "unimproved" property is still used by for car camping, and by several courses for field trips.
Tacoma is the only branch to have its own clubhouse, located at 2302 North 30th Street, appropriately in historic "Old Town" near the Ruston Way Waterfront Park on Commencement Bay. Leo Gallagher donated the site, engaged the architect Silas Nelson of Tacoma to design a functional, one-story home for the branch. Volunteers worked for more than a year before the building was usable by the club for the first meeting there in March 1956. Finishing work continued for several years until the building was cozy. There was no central heating for a long time and members often had to come to meetings dressed in their climbing clothes so they could stay warm.
Gala fundraisers were held to enable the branch to buy appliances and furniture. At present the clubhouse is a very inviting, well-appointed place for the diversity of activities and programs the branch offers Mountaineer members throughout the year. When the club is not using the facility, the clubhouse is rented and is a popular venue for weddings, receptions, seminars, memorials and social affairs.
Purposes and mission
The club's charter lists its purposes:
- To explore and study the mountains, forests and water courses of the Northwest and beyond.
- To gather into permanent form the history and traditions of these regions and explorations.
- To preserve by example, teaching and the encouragement of protective legislation or otherwise the natural beauty of the natural environment.
- To make expeditions and provide educational opportunities in fulfillment of the above purposes.
- To encourage a spirit of good fellowship among all lovers of outdoor life.
- To hold real estate and personal property and to receive, hire, purchase, occupy, and maintain and manage suitable buildings and quarters for the furtherance of the purposes of the association, and to hold in trust or otherwise funds, received by bequest or gift or otherwise, to be devoted to the purposes of said association.
The club's mission:
To be the premier Northwest outdoor recreation club, dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and protection of natural areas.
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