The Hidden Wealth Beneath Palmer
A rare, high-quality discovery of cannel coal on a local homestead sparks a $150,000 investment frenzy near the Northern Pacific tracks.
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A valuable find of cannel coal, said by Geologist Woodhouse to be the first ever discovered in this state or in the Pacific Northwest, is reported from the Hagermann brothers' homestead, two miles west of Palmer. There are seven veins, with the sixth vein being six feet nine inches wide and of excellent quality. Vein number seven is even wider, being over eight feet across. The find has been stocked for $150,000, and $3,000 worth of shares have been sold to active miners residing in Wilkeson. The miners were brought in as shareholders because they could recognize the value of the find. By running a tunnel 3,000 feet into the side of a hill, all of the veins can be crosscut. A mining expert places the aggregate amount of coal in sight at nearly 2,000,000 tons.
“If the Hagermanns had not been practical coal miners it is doubtful if the presence of coal would have been detected.”
This discovery highlights the early era of resource extraction that built the infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest. Today, these sites near Palmer (near Black Diamond) serve as reminders of the town's industrial legacy, which has since shifted toward residential development and environmental preservation.
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