Federation Forest State Park History

Federation Forest State Park is an oasis of old growth forest preserved by women who banded together to effect social change and influence public policy despite barriers to their participation in political life.

In the park, Douglas fir trees soaring 200-300 feet high into the forest canopy have been growing for 300-400 years or more. Long after they die, their fallen trunks or standing snags continue to provide habitats for a diverse community of life.

Glacial River

Federation Forest State Park has three miles of frontage along the north bank of the White River. The river’s distinctive muddy appearance comes from its headwaters at Mount Rainier’s Emmons Glacier, the largest glacier in the contiguous United States. The glacier, a slowly-descending river of ice, constantly grinds the volcanic bedrock at its base into a fine powder, which is carried downstream in suspension by the river, giving it a milky appearance, especially in late summer when glacial meltwater is predominant.

The White River flowed into Puget Sound via the Duwamish River before 1906. A massive flood in that year created a logjam and debris dam in the vicinity of today’s city of Auburn that diverted the White River into the Puyallup River and Commencement Bay. The changed flow was made permanent by a diversion wall constructed to maintain its new path.

The rerouted river continued to cause frequent flooding until Mud Mountain Dam was completed in 1948 about 14 miles downstream from Federation Forest State Park to capture some of the river’s sediment load and provide storage capacity during flood events.

Indigenous Lands

Federation Forest State Park lies within the traditional territories of Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Puyallup Tribe and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. For thousands of years, the White River and the travel route from its upper reaches over Naches Pass to the plateau lands of today’s eastern Washington have been integral parts of their cultures.

Naches Pass, at 4,923 feet, is one of the lowest passes across the Cascade Mountains within today’s Washington State, and the route has served as a well-used connector between the Coast Salish people on the west and Sahaptin people on the east, with trade and marriage binding people together across the mountains.

Treaties and Conflict

The Oregon Treaty between the United State and Great Britain in 1846 established the border between the two countries’ colonial administration at the 49th parallel, putting the site of today’s Federation Forest State Park under American jurisdiction.

Local tribes ceded ownership of the area to the US federal government under duress in the Treaty of Medicine Creek in 1854. Poor communication at the treaty council and provocations by territorial officials and local settlers afterwards led to armed conflict between allied tribes against US government forces and volunteer militias. On October 27, 1855, Indigenous warriors being pursued by a territorial volunteer militia killed nine white settlers in the White River Valley, downstream from today’s Federation Forest State Park. In retaliation, Indian Agent Michael Simmons ordered all noncombatant tribal members to an internment camp on Fox Island in Puget Sound in November 1855.

The last major battle of the Puget Sound Indian War, as the period became known, happened on or about March 10, 1856 (sources vary), at Connells Prairie near the White River. Regular US Army soldiers confronted Indigenous warriors led by Chief Leschi and others, who fled over Naches Pass to eastern Washington after the engagement.

The Indigenous internees continued to face difficult conditions on Fox Island with poor shelter, inadequate food and lack of medical care. Of approximately 700 people detained at the site, 80 died just between May and September 1856, mostly from respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis.

Even though active resistance had ended, the internment order continued to be used as a justification for violence against any Indigenous people away from the camp, despite the fact that most were simply trying to avoid the unhealthy conditions there and continue their traditional food harvesting rounds.

Land Disposal

Government surveys were completed in 1898 and the land in today’s Federation Forest State Park was transferred into private ownership under various federal land disposal laws.

In 1900, 58 acres, including the Greenlees Grove in today’s park, were acquired by Edgar Kittredge as a Cash Entry patent, a type of sale of public domain lands to private individuals.

More than 250 acres of today’s Federation Forest State Park was granted to the Northern Pacific (NP) Railroad in 1901. The US Congress had approved the grant in 1864, which eventually conveyed nearly 40 million acres of public domain lands to subsidize the construction of railroad lines into the western states. The land in today’s park was subsequently sold to the White River Lumber Company, a subsidiary of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, which planned to harvest all of the timber on the property.

In 1902, 61 acres of today’s park, including the area of today’s park picnic area and White River Trail, were granted to the State of Washington by the US Government in fulfillment of a promise to the state at statehood in 1889. The grant was a portion of the millions of acres of public domain lands given to the state to manage as a trust “for all the people” in support of public institutions.

In 1908, 164 acres, including the site of today’s Catherine Montgomery Interpretive Center and the network of nature trails that radiate from it, was acquired by Addie E. Anderson as a Cash Entry patent. The Kittredge and Addison patents were subsequently acquired by the White River Lumber Company.

Making a Park

One of the guiding principles behind the creation of state parks in Washington was the desire to preserve examples of old growth forest alongside the highway system being developed in the state.

Jeanne Caithness Greenlees, a high school teacher in Everett, originated an idea for the Washington General Federation of Women’s Clubs (now the General Federation of Women’s Clubs—Washington State—GFWC--WS) to raise funds for the preservation of a highway-side old growth forest. Despite many institutional barriers to women’s participation in civic life, the emergence of women’s clubs in the early 20th century provided women an opportunity to influence policy and further progressive goals such as the right to vote, the alleviation of poverty and the conservation of natural resources.

Greenlees gave up her teaching position after marrying in 1925, as was customary (and often mandatory) at the time, but remained active in women’s organizations. She pitched her idea to Esther Maltby, president of the GFWC—WS. With Greenlees, the “Tree Lady,” as the Chairperson of the organization’s Forestry Committee, they launched the “Save a Tree” fundraising campaign in 1926. Donors received a “Save a Tree” button for a donation of $1; for a donation of $100 or more, a protected tree would be marked with an engraved metal commemorative plaque.

The first donation, of $500, came from National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather, who had long advocated for protected forest corridors along the nation’s highways. Greenlees made appeals to women’s organizations across Washington, securing donations of $100 or greater from more than 70 clubs. The clubs ranged from small-town book clubs to statewide organizations including the Federation of Washington Colored Women’s Organizations, which had been founded in Spokane in 1917. Large donations also came from Seattle retailers including Bon Marche and Frederick & Nelson, and many individuals who had profited from the timber industry, including Mrs. John P. Weyerhaeuser.

Within two years, $25,000 had been raised to exercise an option to purchase 63 acres of old growth forest from the Snoqualmie Lumber Company (a subsidiary of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company). The tract was located along the route of the “Sunset Highway” being constructed to tie together eastern and western Washington over Snoqualmie Pass. When presented with the check from the club, Weyerhaeuser manager George Long, perhaps jokingly, said that “the option would never have been granted had the firm believed that the women could carry out the terms.” George Long had in fact given a generous donation to the “Save a Tree” campaign himself. Another generous donor, Charles L. Pack, who promoted forest research at the University of Washington, offered a more complimentary accolade to the women who had succeeded in securing the funds to purchase the park land: “Hats off to the clubwomen of Washington. They finish what they begin.” The property was transferred to the State Parks Committee in 1928.

Upon completion of the highway, the park, variously called “Women’s Federated State Park” or “Big Tree State Park,” was dedicated on June 12, 1934. Sadly, Jeanne Caithness Greenlees and George Long both passed away not long after.

Almost immediately, challenges arose to maintaining the park. A runaway slash burn after logging on the west boundary of the park burned trees within the park. The Washington Highway Department, concerned that the tall trees in the park might pose a hazard to motorists by falling onto the highway, ordered the removal or topping of many trees. A logging contractor inadvertently trespassed onto park lands, cutting 22 trees, many over 1,000 years old. After a windstorm on December 2, 1938, toppled 19 park trees, some onto the highway, the Highway Department ordered the State Parks Committee to clear all trees for two hundred feet on each side of the road. Leaders of the State Parks Committee and the GFWC—WS agreed to close the park, using the original deed’s reversionary clause to recoup the purchase price. Today, the site of the original park is largely occupied by the Exit 45 interchange on Interstate 90. None of the old growth trees remain.

Making a Park Again

On March 29, 1939, Governor Clarence D. Martin approved Senate Bill 371, which provided that:

"In accordance with the wishes of the Washington State Federation of Women’s Clubs, for the purpose of preventing the timber in Big Tree State Park from being further damaged and a continued menace to public safety, the State Parks Committee is hereby authorized to sell or enter into an exchange for the disposition of said park…"

In October of that year, the $25,000 repayment was deposited into an account designated by Senate Bill 371 for the purchase of lands to establish a replacement old growth forest park.

As early as 1921, the Natural Parks Association of Washington had lobbied the State Parks Committee to preserve the primeval forests along the route of the ancient Naches Trail, which, after use and reconstruction by the government, military and settlers who had taken advantage of the route, was being developed into another cross-state highway.

On January 13, 1941, the State Parks Committee purchased 222 acres of land straddling the Naches Trail route from the White River Lumber Company. They exercised their option to purchase the timber on the property on August 18, 1942, after additional funding was appropriated. Having learned from the earlier forest protection attempt that the park needed to be large enough to be resilient to logging activity on adjoining lands or natural disasters such as fire or windstorms, the GFWC—WS and the State Parks Committee secured Governor Arthur B. Langlie’s approval of House Bill 309 on March 20, 1943. The bill appropriated $125,000 from an unused portion of gasoline taxes reserved for state parks for the purchase of an adjoining 294 acres of equally spectacular old growth forest from the White River Lumber Company. The purchase was completed on May 22, 1944. The new “Women’s Federated Forest State Park” was dedicated on July 16, 1949

On November 20, 1961, Commissioner of Public Lands Bert L. Cole ordered the withdrawal of 61 acres of state trust lands adjacent to Federation Forest State Park to be leased to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (WSPRC--the successor to the State Parks Committee) for park purposes, further buffering the sanctity of the big tree groves at the heart of the park.

In 1971 the Washington State Legislature decided that continued lease of trust lands for park purposes was not in the best interest of the state and directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the WSPRC to negotiate a sale of the leased lands. The two agencies entered into a contract for the purchase of 15,083 acres in 24 parks, including the 61 acres in Federation Forest State Park, at a total purchase price of $11.4 million. However, the timber on the lands was excluded from the contract, as there was no source of funding.

The timber on the leased trust lands in Federation Forest State Park alone was appraised to be more than 2.3 million board feet valued at $839,000. In 1980, the legislature authorized the sale of bonds to cover the cost of the timber; on September 15, 1992, it was deeded to the WSPRC, securing its permanent protection. 

On October 21, 1974, the WSPRC officially changed the park name to Federation Forest State Park.

Catherine Montgomery Interpretive Center

Catherine T. Montgomery (1867-1957) was a founding faculty member of the New Whatcom Normal School (today’s Western Washington University), a teacher training college, where she served from 1899-1926. Never married, she spent much time “tramping,” as hiking and mountaineering was called in the day, throughout Washington and beyond. She accompanied her colleague Ella Higginson, one of the most prominent writers of the Pacific Northwest, on journeys through Alaska as she researched her 1908 book Alaska, the Great Country. Montgomery, as well as Higginson, were honored members of the GFWC—WS.

In her role as the Supervising Teacher of Primary Grade Education at the college, she met textbook salesman Joseph Hazard in 1926, just months before her retirement. Hazard, also an ardent mountaineer, recounted later that when they met, Montgomery had suggested that the Mountaineers organization that Hazard belonged to should promote “a high winding trail down the heights of our western mountains… from the Canadian border to the Mexican boundary line.”

In 1928, the Mountaineers Trails Committee was charged with promoting the trail envisioned by Montgomery, eventually resulting in the designation of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCNST) by the US Congress in 1968. Today’s PCNST passes by Naches Pass on its 2,653-mile route from Mexico to Canada, 14 miles east of today’s Federation Forest State Park.

In 1951, Montgomery donated a two-acre parcel adjacent to the existing Federation Forest State Park to the WSPRC, with the stipulation that the tract be designated as the Ella Higginson Grove.

On her death at age 90, Catherine T. Montgomery willed $89,000 of her estate to the GFWC—WS to be used for natural history education at Federation Forest State Park. The bequest was used to build an interpretive center that tells the story of the ancient forest and its relationship to the people whose lives are entwined with the landscape.

On September 20, 1964, the Catherine Montgomery Interpretive Center in the park was dedicated in her honor, with a keynote speech by Governor Albert D. Rosellini. At the dedication, past GFWC—WS president Esther Maltby was honored with the designation of a park nature trail in her name. The GFWC—WS continues to support the preservation of Federation Forest State Park with donations and volunteer work parties to enhance visitor experiences at the park.

On December 25, 1983, during an extreme cold spell with subzero temperatures, a severe storm, with winds up to 110 miles per hour, pounded the White River region. The park manager’s residence at Federation Forest State Park was crushed by an ancient Douglas fir toppled by the storm, one of more than 400 old-growth trees felled by the winds within the park.

That event proved the wisdom of the decision to protect a large area of old-growth forest for the second version of the park, however. Foresters surveying the effects of the storm noted that despite the loss of many individual large trees, the closed forest canopy remained intact throughout the park, preserving its valuable habitat.

A small state park property nearby, 30-acre Mahler State Park, suffered much greater damage in the same storm. Due to its small size, 920 trees were toppled, rendering the park unusable. The park was removed from the state park system in 1994.

In 2018, as part of a WSPRC project to provide more holistic exhibits within the Catherine T. Montgomery Interpretive Center, the Muckleshoot Tribe provided two carved cedar house posts for inclusion in the center. The posts were designed and carved by apprentice carvers Keith Stevenson and Tyson Simmons, utilizing a downed tree from Federation Forest State Park. According to Louie Ungaro, Cultural Committee Chair for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, these were the first house posts installed outside of the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation since treaty times.

The enhanced exhibits reflect a continuing evolution in the understanding of the role that ancient forests like those protected at Federation Forest State Park play in the health of regional ecosystems and cultural identity.

 

 

Our Forests

I cannot bear to think of it, that to the solemn hush of forest land

Where rest and calm and peace walk hand in hand

With reverence for Creator of all things,

Man should come, and rest and peace take wings.

 

I cannot bear to think of it, that fir and hemlock, pine and cedar

All should pay the price of Mammon’s lusty call

That from the mountains, hills and templed shore

Our forest kings should pass forever more.

 

I cannot bear to think of it, that children of tomorrow’s sun may say

“God gave, ye took it all away,

Was there no voice within, no spirit brave

That cried to you, at least a part to save?”

Twere better far to think that thro’ our efforts made from day to day

Some share of Nature’s gift has come to stay

And how much better for the soul of man

If he can say “I’ve done the best I can.”

---Jeanne Caithness Greenlees