Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
Ruby had a natural spring at the north end of town, but not caring for unadulterated water built a brewery there in a cave. Fourth of July celebrations were memorable. The festival of 1890 featured real life bullets kicking up dust among spectators as sheriff’s deputies fired at an Indian suspect trying to escape on a stolen race horse. The horse was killed and the Ruby town council staggered by a $250 bill from its owner, at a time when the municipal treasury contained $14.50.
For eleven healthy months Ruby was the temporary county seat of Okanogan County. The first county treasurer, E.C. Sherman, had more than $14.50 on hand….nearly two thousand dollars, in fact, which for lack of a vault he kept buried in a baking powder can behind his cabin.
In January of 1891 an Indian scare caused Ruby to message the state capital for “troops, arms and ammunition.” Plans were mapped for herding women and children into the Fourth of July Mine Tunnel. Nothing came of this, nor did much come out of the mine tunnel as in 1893 the price of silver collapsed during a nationwide business panic. A few years later, only three people still stood occupied in Ruby. By 1900 there were none. Ranchers dragged many of the buildings off to near by Happy Hill, while others were burned. Only a few stone foundations remain today in a lonely forested canyon.
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NAME: Ruby
COUNTY: Okanogan
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 1
CLIMATE: Cool winter and summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime. COMMENTS: Just off S.R.182.
REMAINS: Not much.
Otherwise know as the “Babylon of the West,” Ruby was as wide open as any mining camp in the West. It was a raw-edged town with little regard for law and order. Ruby’s heyday as a silver mining town was in the 1890s. Situated in a narrow valley between steep mountain slopes, heavy winter snows created frequent avalanches that buried buildings and people. Ruby has been completely ravaged by time, fire and vandalism. No building remains in the lusty, boisterous town. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.
For eleven healthy months Ruby was the temporary county seat of Okanogan County. The first county treasurer, E.C. Sherman, had more than $14.50 on hand….nearly two thousand dollars, in fact, which for lack of a vault he kept buried in a baking powder can behind his cabin.
In January of 1891 an Indian scare caused Ruby to message the state capital for “troops, arms and ammunition.” Plans were mapped for herding women and children into the Fourth of July Mine Tunnel. Nothing came of this, nor did much come out of the mine tunnel as in 1893 the price of silver collapsed during a nationwide business panic. A few years later, only three people still stood occupied in Ruby. By 1900 there were none. Ranchers dragged many of the buildings off to near by Happy Hill, while others were burned. Only a few stone foundations remain today in a lonely forested canyon.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
NAME: Ruby
COUNTY: Okanogan
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 1
CLIMATE: Cool winter and summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime. COMMENTS: Just off S.R.182.
REMAINS: Not much.
Otherwise know as the “Babylon of the West,” Ruby was as wide open as any mining camp in the West. It was a raw-edged town with little regard for law and order. Ruby’s heyday as a silver mining town was in the 1890s. Situated in a narrow valley between steep mountain slopes, heavy winter snows created frequent avalanches that buried buildings and people. Ruby has been completely ravaged by time, fire and vandalism. No building remains in the lusty, boisterous town. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.
