Just north of Eatonville, you can escape to another century by visiting a pioneer homestead dating to the late 1800s. The cabins you see here are restored to their original appearance, and it's believed that one of the cabins is unaltered and may be the oldest in Pierce County.
The cache was placed with permission and is available year-round outside the homestead, but please respect the farm's privacy when the chains are up.
Eatonville and the surrounding areas were first settled by Scandinavians. The homestead was built in 1887 when Torger Peterson, along with the Anderson and Halversen families, arrived to cultivate the valley and make it their home. To obtain the land in the Ohop Valley, Peterson had to file a homestead claim. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed for 160 acres of land in exchange for inhabiting and making improvements within five years. When the Northern Railroad came through, the government gave them 40 square acres for every mile of track laid. The excess land was sold as parcels of 20 to 80 acres for $2.50 an acre. Peterson met Anderson and Halversen while trying to obtain land; Peterson had to throw a shack up to secure the claim. It was hard work homesteading the land while also working at the Tacoma Mill.
Early one morning, while the men were at work, the women had three Indian visitors who came in, ate all their food, and emptied the rest of it into their sacks and left. The women were in shock and didn’t know what to do. The next morning, the Indians returned with fresh salmon. The settlers’ supplies were in huge demand by the Indian women, so one day they visited another home in the valley, came into the cabin unannounced, took flour, sugar, coffee, and other items and left without a word being said. A few days later they showed back up and dropped off a quarter of venison on the dining room table and left without saying anything. This became a common occurrence, and soon the settlers and the Indians became good friends.
Soon after, they began cultivating the land, growing potatoes, carrots, and grains, and raising cows, chickens, and hogs. By the early 1900s, everything thrived. Children attended school regularly as education was important to the settlers as well as religion. The Indian children as well as the adults were taught English and attended all of the extracurricular activities. Anderson had some experience as a doctor, treating the settlers and Indians when there was an accident or illness.
In 1906, Peterson was elected County Commissioner, and he was determined to get a road built from the Ohop Valley all the way to Mount Rainier to make life easier for the settlers and to draw more sightseers to the valley on their way to the mountain. He made it a mission of his for about 20 years, and finally the Mountain Highway was born.
Peterson and the other Ohop pioneers built a solid productive ground, and their prosperity was connected to Eatonville’s founding and impacted the whole community.
2016 was the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and to celebrate, Visit Rainier and WSGA hosted the Visit Rainier Centennial GeoTour - 100 caches placed in and around Mount Rainier National Park. The geocaches highlighted the rich history, scenic wonders, quaint communities, and hidden gems of the Rainier region. Participants received geocoin and pathtag prizes for finding all the caches.
